News
State Education Department raises the bar on student achievement; Change could initially result in lower test scores for districts across the state
On July 28, the New York State Education Department (SED) released test scores for the grades 3-8 math and English language arts exams that were administered to students in May 2010. The results reflected newly adopted procedures from SED that raise the scores—referred to as “cut scores”—students must earn in order to be considered “proficient” in a subject.
“We want to make our parents and community aware that the state has implemented a new scoring system and the possible effects this could have on individual student test scores and overall district results,” said Superintendent Dr. Michael Mugits.
Under the state’s testing system, “cut scores” are used to group students by level of performance. Students at Level 1 are not meeting learning standards; those at level 2 are partially meeting standards; pupils at Level 3 are meeting learning standards; and those at Level 4 are meeting learning standards with distinction. SED has revised the cut scores for Level 3—essentially raising the level at which students are considered proficient compared to prior years. This, in turn, could make Green Island’s, as well as other districts', overall scores appear lower.
“Our sense of orientation is to success, excellence and meeting our potential,” adds Mugits. "We as a district must make the commitment to relieve ourselves from the SINI [School in Need of Improvement] label.”
Part of a larger trend to raise student achievement
SED’s change in the cut scores for the grades 3-8 math and English language arts scores are just one part of a larger effort in New York to raise student achievement. Education Commissioner David Steiner and his colleagues have been traveling around the state over the last few weeks to not only forewarn of an expected drop-off in test scores, but also to share details on the state’s new push toward tests that are less predictable and more demanding. In a report released by the Board of Regents on July 28, 2010 entitled: "A New Standard for Proficiency: College Readiness," (PDF document) the Regents used a variety of academic performance statistics to justify this change, saying, "The Regents raised (academic) standards a decade ago. Now the Regents are embarking on a new era of reform to improve student achievement and better prepare graduates for college."
In a press release on the SED Web site, SED Senior Deputy Commissioner John King said, “The data shows that schools responded to the assignment they were given—they worked hard to help students achieve standards as measured by the state tests that were being given at the time. And more students did, in fact, pass those tests. The problem is that those exams didn’t sufficiently test students’ abilities—the bar was set too low. But we’re changing that now. It’s time to end the annual debate over whether our tests have become easier and to put to rest questions about what it means to achieve proficiency in New York.”
In the same press release, Regents Chancellor Merryl H. Tisch added, “For the past several years, we have seen more and more students scoring ‘proficient’ or better on our state tests. At the same time, however, their performance on the NAEP exam— the gold standard in testing— has remained essentially flat. We haven’t been testing the right things in the right ways. ‘Proficiency’ on our exams has to mean something real; no good purpose is served when we say that a child is proficient when that child is not. So we’re improving our assessments by raising cut scores, making the exams less predictable, testing more areas, and making the tests longer. But more rigorous exams are only one piece of the Regents broader reform vision— a vision that includes a more challenging curriculum, better training for teachers and principals, and a world-class data system. In short, we are lifting the bar to ensure that New York remains at the very forefront of the national effort to raise standards.”
For more information, go to the
SED website.
