澳门跑狗论坛

Assessment

State Officials Urge Caution On 12th Grade NAEP

By Lynn Olson 鈥 May 26, 2004 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

President Bush wants to use the National Assessment of Educational Progress to compare the reading and math skills of 12th graders in every state, but the same cannot be said of state testing officials.

鈥淭his effort will be fraught with problems that include a lack of student interest in participating in the assessment, as well as a probable lack of motivation on the part of the students who do,鈥 warn members of the Association for State Assessment Personnel in a letter to the board that oversees NAEP.

In addition, says the letter, problems over the inclusion of students with disabilities on state NAEP tests in grades 4 and 8 could be even worse for 12th graders selected for the exams. States have expressed concerns that differences in the extent to which special education students are included in NAEP exams across states make it hard to compare results.

At its quarterly meeting, held May 13-15 in Denver, the National Assessment Governing Board reviewed some of the letters sent in so far in response to a proposal to expand the 12th grade assessment, which now yields results only at the national level and not for individual states.

A national commission convened by NAGB to study the future of the 12th grade NAEP issued a recommendation in March for state-level tests in reading, mathematics, science, and writing for high school seniors. It also advocated redesigning the tests to report on students鈥 readiness for college, employment, and the military. (鈥淧anel Recommends State-Level NAEP for 12th Graders,鈥 March 10, 2004.)

The letter from state testing personnel鈥攚hich was also sent on behalf of the Education Information Advisory Committee, a group representing state education agencies that reviews federal data-collection efforts鈥攅ncourages the governing board 鈥渢o think long and hard鈥 before making a final decision about implementing a 12th grade statewide NAEP.

Under existing state accountability systems, school districts often are concerned about whether the tests have any consequences for students, said Louis M. Fabrizio, the co-chairman of the advisory committee鈥檚 task force on assessment and the director of accountability services for the North Carolina education department.

Because NAEP is given to only a sample of students, and the students do not get reports back telling them how they鈥檝e done, 鈥渢he concerns are even greater, as far as whether students are going to take the tests seriously,鈥 Mr. Fabrizio said.

So far, NAGB has conducted nearly a dozen meetings to brief groups on the commission鈥檚 proposals and to get reaction.

Charter School Study

During the governing board鈥檚 meeting, it also reviewed plans to report on a nationally representative sample of charter schools whose 4th graders took NAEP reading and math tests last year. The original plan had been to report the results this past January. That report now will be released in December.

It will include descriptive data on the characteristics of the participating schools, as well as results broken out for various student subgroups, such as by race and ethnicity.

The National Center for Education Statistics, the branch of the Department of Education that runs NAEP, plans to use a statistical technique known as 鈥渉ierarchical linear modeling鈥 to help determine whether certain charter school characteristics, such as their governance, can help explain any achievement discrepancies between those independent public schools and other public schools beyond those accounted for by differences in their students.

A version of this article appeared in the May 26, 2004 edition of 澳门跑狗论坛 as State Officials Urge Caution On 12th Grade NAEP

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of 澳门跑狗论坛's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Reading & Literacy Webinar
Literacy Success: How Districts Are Closing Reading Gaps Fast
67% of 4th graders read below grade level. Learn how high-dosage virtual tutoring is closing the reading gap in schools across the country.
Content provided by 
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of 澳门跑狗论坛's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Artificial Intelligence Webinar
AI and Educational Leadership: Driving Innovation and Equity
Discover how to leverage AI to transform teaching, leadership, and administration. Network with experts and learn practical strategies.
Content provided by 
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of 澳门跑狗论坛's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School Climate & Safety Webinar
Investing in Success: Leading a Culture of Safety and Support
Content provided by 

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide 鈥 elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

Assessment Opinion Students Shouldn't Have to Pass a State Test to Graduate High School
There are better ways than high-stakes tests to think about whether students are prepared for their next step, writes a former high school teacher.
Alex Green
4 min read
Reaching hands from The Creation of Adam of Michelangelo illustration representing the creation or origins of of high stakes testing.
Frances Coch/iStock + 澳门跑狗论坛
Assessment Opinion Why Are Advanced Placement Scores Suddenly So High?
In 2024, nearly three-quarters of students passed the AP U.S. History exam, compared with less than half in 2022.
10 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Assessment Grades and Standardized Test Scores Aren't Matching Up. Here's Why
Researchers have found discrepancies between student grades and their scores on standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT.
5 min read
Student writing at a desk balancing on a scale. Weighing test scores against grades.
Vanessa Solis/澳门跑狗论坛 + Getty Images
Assessment Why Are States So Slow to Release Test Scores?
Nearly a dozen states still haven't put out scores from spring tests. What's taking so long?
7 min read
Illustration of a man near a sheet of paper with test scores on which lies a magnifying glass and next to it is a question mark.
iStock/Getty