Tough state standardized tests - how does your state measure up?
A newly published study...conducted by Paul E. Peterson and Frederick M. Hess, editors of the quarterly journal Education Next...compared how fourth and eighth graders performed on state tests compared with the 2003 National Assessment of Educational Progress test.State tests are used to rate school performance under the federal No Child Left Behind law. Each state creates its own test and sets the passing score. The result is states with easy tests can appear to be doing well, while those with challenging tests can appear to be doing poorly.
"Some states have risen to the challenge and set demanding proficiency levels for their students, while others have used lower standards to inflate reported performance," the report said. "Not only is the disparity confusing, but, perversely enough, the states with the highest expectations often stand accused of having the most schools said to be in need of improvementeven when their students are doing relatively well."
The top five states in the rankings were South Carolina, Maine, Missouri, Wyoming and Massachusetts.
In other words, if a state claims that fewer students are proficient than NAEP scores would indicate, that state gets a higher score for challenging its students; the opposite holds for states whose students do not seem to perform as well on NAEP as on state exams. The full list of 40 states (10 do not have state tests which allowed for NAEP comparisons) is here.
Posted by kswygert at May 16, 2005 05:27 PM