Study: School tests aim too low

By Denise Smith Amos

Ohio and other states are aiming too low on some state school tests, painting an unreliable picture of academic achievement and setting up elementary students to fail, a new study by the Fordham Institute says.

The study, called "The Proficiency Illusion," was released this morning.

It says that No Child Left Behind's mandated tests on math and reading create a false impression of success, especially in reading and especially in the early grades, in the 26 states studied in the report.

"America is awash in achievement 'data,' yet the truth about our educational performance is far from transparent and trustworthy. It may be smoke and mirrors," the study says.

Federal education law requires that all students be proficient in reading and math by 2014, but states define what proficiency is.

Each states sets its academic standards and designs its tests and scoring methods, including the required number of points to pass a test - called a cut score.

Fordham's study says states, including Ohio, are setting the cut scores too low and too inconsistently to accurately gauge how students are progressing.

Ohio's reading and math cut scores ranked among the lower half of the 26 states examined, the report says.

But Ohio officials say that the report's methodology is "fairly suspect." Fordham's methods can't accurately assess one state's tests against another's.

"We have a lot of apples and oranges here, " said Stan Heffner, associate superintendent of curriculum assessment for the Ohio Department of Education.

Low cut scores on a test means students can miss many questions and still pass, or be considered proficient.

Heffner said that Ohio's tests are difficult, perhaps more than other states, so lower cut scores reflect that.

From the Cincinnati Inquirer, Wednesday, October 3, 2007. See http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071003/NEWS01/310030046