Friday, March 03, 2006
More Bad Education News
Proficient or not proficient, that is the question. The Education Trust has just compared the percentages of students scoring at the proficient or higher level on state assessment tests with the percentages of students scoring at the proficient level on the national assessment test. The news is not good for most states including Pennsylvania.
For example, Pennsylvania test results show that for 2005, 69 percent of elementary school test takers scored at the proficient or higher level in Math. However, on the national test, only 41 percent of fourth graders achieved proficiency. On the state’s reading assessment, 64 percent of Pennsylvania elementary students scored at the proficient level while on the national test the percent proficient was only 36.
To be sure, there will be some quibbling about which set of results is the better measure. But, there is no arguing that with the national test that we are comparing apples to oranges, as is the case when we compare results state to state.
If there is any welcome news in the report, it is that Pennsylvania’s scores on the national tests, while not tops in the nation, compare relatively favorably with other states. The down side is that the nation as a whole has far to go to be where it should be with student achievement.
Proficient or not proficient, that is the question. The Education Trust has just compared the percentages of students scoring at the proficient or higher level on state assessment tests with the percentages of students scoring at the proficient level on the national assessment test. The news is not good for most states including Pennsylvania.
For example, Pennsylvania test results show that for 2005, 69 percent of elementary school test takers scored at the proficient or higher level in Math. However, on the national test, only 41 percent of fourth graders achieved proficiency. On the state’s reading assessment, 64 percent of Pennsylvania elementary students scored at the proficient level while on the national test the percent proficient was only 36.
To be sure, there will be some quibbling about which set of results is the better measure. But, there is no arguing that with the national test that we are comparing apples to oranges, as is the case when we compare results state to state.
If there is any welcome news in the report, it is that Pennsylvania’s scores on the national tests, while not tops in the nation, compare relatively favorably with other states. The down side is that the nation as a whole has far to go to be where it should be with student achievement.
