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Proficiency

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Image of a student reading in the library.
Allison Shelley for American Education: Images of Teachers and Students in Action
Reading & Literacy Is the Bottom Falling Out for Readers Who Struggle the Most?
A growing proportion of 4th and 8th graders read at the lowest level on national tests. Experts are working to understand why.
Sarah D. Sparks, June 15, 2021
5 min read
Student Achievement Quiz Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Education/Workforce Readiness?
Quiz Yourself: How are students doing with education and workforce readiness?
June 14, 2021
Assessment Is 'Proficient' Insufficient? A New Wrinkle in the Debate Over NAEP Achievement Levels
A modification to the Nation's Report Card achievement level descriptions of "basic," "proficient," and "advanced" performance is the latest in a nearly 30-year battle over where to set the bar for student performance.
Stephen Sawchuk, November 18, 2018
7 min read
Standards & Accountability Opinion Counting 'Proficient' Students Creates Bad Accountability
Accountability targets based on the percentage of 'proficient' students obscure real differences between schools, encourage bad instructional practices, and encourage the wrong kind of intervention, writes Morgan Polikoff.
Charles Taylor Kerchner & Morgan Polikoff, August 16, 2016
5 min read
Reading & Literacy States Are Setting Bar Higher for 'Proficiency'
A pair of studies show that states’ math and English tests are getting tougher and tougher to pass.
Catherine Gewertz, February 9, 2016
4 min read
Education Opinion Using Blended Learning to Increase Reading Proficiency in Early Grades
With schools facing increasing pressure to have their rd graders read at grade level, technology can be a huge help.
Matthew Lynch, February 3, 2016
5 min read
Reading & Literacy Report Roundup Student Proficiency
What U.S. states expect students to know varies widely and often falls short of international standards for learning, a new report from the American Institutes for Research shows.
Caralee J. Adams, September 30, 2014
1 min read
School & District Management Opinion Consortium Points the Way on Proficiency-Based Learning
David Ruff is the executive director of the Great Schools Partnership and coordinates the New England Secondary School Consortium (NESSC), a project of the Great Schools Partnership in Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. He favors a proficiency-based education model.
Tom Vander Ark, December 2, 2013
6 min read
School & District Management Report Roundup NAEP Economics Results Highlight Proficiency Gaps
More than half of American 12th graders lack proficiency in economics, according to new results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress
Erik W. Robelen, May 7, 2013
1 min read
Assessment Opinion Formative Assessment Efficiency, Summative Assessment Proficiency
Teachers who are surprised by students' test performance often aren't assessing students' understanding in class routinely or effectively.
David Ginsburg, January 23, 2012
2 min read
School & District Management Science 'Proficiency' Wide Ranging Across States
A new report finds that in many cases, what a state has deemed a proficient score is equivalent to below "basic" on the science NAEP.
Erik W. Robelen, December 14, 2011
4 min read
Federal Letter to the Editor Commentary Gave False Picture of NAEP Proficiency
To the Editor:
In a recent Commentary ("NAEP's Odd Definition of Proficiency," Oct. 26, 2011), James Harvey makes inaccurate assertions about the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, achievement levels—specifically, that they are invalid and that the "proficient" level is set too high.
December 13, 2011
1 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
iStockphoto/Olga Axyutina
Assessment Opinion NAEP's Odd Definition of Proficiency
NAEP's proficient standard is beyond the reach of students and it has little to do with how states measure achievement, James Harvey argues.
James R. Harvey, October 25, 2011
6 min read