The Washington Post has the goods on the new standards set this week for the Maryland State Assessment, or MSA. Having sat in on standard-setting committee meetings myself, I know a bit about how time-consuming, and brain-draining, the process is...
The passing standards vary for each test and grade level. The math exams, for example, will be scored on a scale of 0 to 800, with 379 set as passing for a third-grader and 392 for a fifth-grader. Reading test scores now range from 100 to 700, but officials said they plan to recalibrate the numbers to match the math standards.
The impact of the scoring system likely will hit local school districts next month, when the state plans to release a detailed breakdown of test scores by county, school and individual student. Statewide results, officials said yesterday, show that although most students met the new targets, fewer than half of Maryland's eighth- and 10th-graders scored proficient in math.
Maryland apparently has a huge standard-setting group, which, interestingly, includes non-psychometricians with a vested interest in the process - that is, parents:
Although the law requires all subgroups to make progress each year, it is up to each state to determine what those yardsticks will be. That put the 300 Maryland parents, educators and testing experts who met last week to fine-tune the passing scores in a bind. Set the targets too low and risk being accused of watering down standards; set the bars too high and risk making it too difficult for many students to pass...
Eight committees last week examined how the state tests correlate to what students should know now and by 2014. Testing experts then reviewed the process, followed by another panel that checked for consistency among tests, scores and content. The final part was what Gary Heath, assistant state superintendent, called a "reality check": how students would be affected by the new scoring system.
All of those are necessary steps in standards setting. I wonder where the parents come in? Are they part of the "reality check"?
Posted by kswygert at July 23, 2003 10:27 AM