After all my complaints about reporters whose articles reflecta complete misunderstanding of what test score gaps mean, it's nice to see a good example of a testing-related article that addresses the issue reasonably and gives the readers useful information:
The 2003 scores on [Georgia's] most crucial exam [the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test or CRCT] are reason for optimism and concern.
On the positive side, the percentage of elementary and middle school students who met the minimum goal on the state's curriculum tests continues to go up. And over the four years that the state has given the test, performance has risen dramatically in reading -- an area in which the state has spent a lot of time and money.
However, thousands of kids still aren't at grade level when tested on core subjects, and the state's black and Hispanic students still are lagging well behind white students.
First thing to note: Overall, students are improving, but the kids who aren't improving should be a concern. It is also a point of concern that certain ethnic subgroups are performing worse than others.
"The good news is everything improved, and that is really positive," state Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox said. "What you see when you disaggregate [by race] is you're still dealing with an achievement gap."
Bingo. This is one person who has it exactly right. These high-stakes testing sitations are indeed helping the student body as a whole. The students who don't rise are lagging behind because of their failure to achieve, not because the tests are biased, or because the expectations are too high. The fact that this administrator specifically refers to an achievement gap, instead of a score gap, indicates that she knows the scores indicate where problems are, and are not in and of themselves the problem.
The Criterion-Referenced Competency Test...[is]...designed to determine whether students are performing at grade level in core subjects...The bump in reading scores is not an accident. Millions of state and federal dollars have been used around Georgia to boost reading performance...For instance, at Shoal Creek Elementary School in Rockdale County, students have 90 minutes of uninterrupted reading time. There are no phone calls, no announcements, no conferences.
"That's a sacred reading time," said Janet Wheeler, now in her third year as principal of Shoal Creek. The program started last year, and Shoal Creek did show a slight improvement in its reading scores. But more importantly, Wheeler said there is a buzz over reading in her school.
Great. The school looked at the test scores and figured out an educational change that might improve scores, and attitudes. The school didn't just decide to spend a lot more money on test preparation, which is a trap that some fall into because, again, they're seeing the scores, and not the skills behind them, as the problem.
That same emphasis hasn't been put on English and math, and it is showing in the results...Performance on the math curriculum test generally lags behind other subjects, although there were gains in all grades. The state is currently revamping its core curriculum...the new curriculum will be more focused and allow more in-depth instruction in core subjects, like math.
The test scores show that many metro Atlanta school systems were among the top performers in the state, although some saw a drop in the percentage of kids who met the state standards. The results also confirm the existence of an achievement gap in Georgia.
Again, I'm impressed by the fact that this reporter isn't shying away from calling the gap what it is - an achievement gap.
For instance, in fourth grade, 88 percent of Georgia's white students met the state standard in reading. However, the number dropped to 73 percent for African-Americans and 65 percent for Hispanics. The gap exists in all subject areas in all three grades.
Experts say poverty, access to resources and socialization are among the reasons that such gaps exist.
It's nice to see "experts" quoted (even if briefly and without identification) on the topic of root causes instead of the standard critics who disagree with testing in general. Many reporters believe, I think, that test results - especially score gap results - cannot be discussed in a "balanced" fashion unless comments about test bias (usually broad, unsupported anti-testing claims) are included as well. That's not true, not least because one rarely sees testing critics define "bias" correctly or provide data to support their claims.
Posted by kswygert at October 16, 2003 11:07 AM