Study: Pa. students held to mid-level standards
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The report card is out, and Pennsylvania again landed in the middle of the pack in the rigor of its state testing standards.
The National Center for Education Statistics released a report Wednesday that shows how proficiency standards for state tests measure up against each other and against the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, often known as the Nation's Report Card.
"This report and the NAEP itself is really used as a yardstick to keep states honest in setting proficiency levels that are rigorous, and shed light on the differences among the states," said Jim Buckheit, the executive director for the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators.
The study used a complex formula to compare what it considered proficient on the NAEP with proficiency standards for each state's tests in math and reading in fourth and eighth grades.
The goal of the study is to provide a means of comparison in a country where each state designs its own tests and sets its own standards. The implication of the study is that a student considered proficient in one state may not be proficient in another.
"NAEP is uniquely capable of providing comparable state-by-state results, which allows us to understand the relative stringency of state standards," said the center's Commissioner Jack Buckley in a news release. "The study shows that whether a child is considered 'proficient' largely depends on where he or she lives."
On a national basis, the report showed a wide variation among state proficiency standards, and also showed that most states' proficiency standards are at or below NAEP's definition of basic performance, meaning partial mastery of knowledge and skills. The study looked at data from 2008-2009 state assessments and from the 2009 NAEP assessment.
In Pennsylvania, the proficiency standard for fourth-grade reading tests was the 15th most rigorous in the country. For fourth-grade math, the standard was 32nd toughest.
For eighth grade tests, the state's proficiency standard was 27th-toughest, and for math, it was 18th.
First Published August 11, 2011 12:00 am
