July 29, 2010 - On Wednesday, July 28, the New York State Education Department (SED) released test scores for the grades 3-8 math and English language arts exams that were administered to students in May 2010. The results reflect newly adopted procedures from SED that raise the scores students must earn in order to be considered “proficient” in a subject.

State officials recently announced that they were increasing the scoring targets (or “cut scores”) on the exams after research showed that a large percentage of New York’s students were not adequately prepared for college. Under the state’s testing system, “cut scores” are used to classify students into one of four performance levels. Students at Level 1 are below standard; those at Level 2 meet the basic standard; pupils at Level 3 meet the proficiency standard; and those at Level 4 exceed the proficiency standard. SED has just raised the cut scores for Level 3, meaning students must achieve at higher levels than ever before in order to be considered proficient.

How does the scoring change affect North Colonie?

North Colonie Central Schools—like districts throughout NYS—saw a dip in student test scores because of these new procedures. Overall, fewer students were considered “proficient.”

“While the results did show a drop, the average scores earned by students remained about the same,” Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction D. Joseph Corr said. “This illustrates that the drop in passing rates came from setting a higher cut score for proficiency, not from a fall-off in student performance.”

In the 2008-09 school year, 94 percent of students at the elementary level scored at or above the Level 3 learning standards on the mathematics assessment. Based on the results released by SED, 76 percent of elementary students scored at or above Level 3 on the math assessment in the 2009-10 school year. In 2008-09, 93 percent of Junior High students scored at or above the Level 3 learning standards on the mathematics assessment. According to SED, 81 percent of Junior High students scored at or above Level 3 on the math assessment in the 2009-10 school year.

Similarly, elementary students taking the NYS English language arts assessment also saw about a 21 percent drop in the number of Level 3 or above test scores—from 88 percent in 2008-09 to 67 percent in 2009-10. Junior High students saw an 11 percent drop in the number of Level 3 or above test scores – from 87 percent in 2008-09 to 74 percent in 2009-10.

“We were expecting to see a drop in the passing rate because of the higher cut score set by the state,” Corr said. “It is important that parents and students understand that student performance is not on the decline, the bar has just been raised.”

Under current regulations, students who score at Level 2 or below are entitled to receive Academic Intervention Services (AIS). Yet, because the Board of Regents anticipated such a shift statewide and was concerned about the costs it would carry, it has amended AIS requirements for the coming year to give districts some flexibility.

Corr said district leaders will be reviewing this analysis of the testing data to identify problem areas and prepare for the coming school year.

Part of a larger trend to raise student achievement

SED’s change in the cut scores for the grades 3-8 math and English language arts scores are just one part of a larger effort in New York to raise student achievement.

In a report released by the Board of Regents last week entitled: "A New Standard for Proficiency: College Readiness," (PDF) the Regents used a variety of academic performance statistics to justify this change, saying, "The Regents raised (academic) standards a decade ago. Now the Regents are embarking on a new era of reform to improve student achievement and better prepare graduates for college."

Education Commissioner David Steiner and his colleagues have been traveling around the state over the last few weeks to not only forewarn of an expected drop-off in test scores, but also to share details on the state’s new push toward tests that are less predictable and more demanding.

In a press release on the SED Web site, SED Senior Deputy Commissioner John King said, “The data shows that schools responded to the assignment they were given—they worked hard to help students achieve standards as measured by the state tests that were being given at the time. And more students did, in fact, pass those tests. The problem is that those exams didn’t sufficiently test students’ abilities—the bar was set too low. But we’re changing that now. It’s time to end the annual debate over whether our tests have become easier and to put to rest questions about what it means to achieve proficiency in New York.”

In the same press release, Regents Chancellor Merryl H. Tisch added, “For the past several years, we have seen more and more students scoring ‘proficient’ or better on our state tests. At the same time, however, their performance on the NAEP exam— the gold standard in testing— has remained essentially flat. We haven’t been testing the right things in the right ways. ‘Proficiency’ on our exams has to mean something real; no good purpose is served when we say that a child is proficient when that child is not. So we’re improving our assessments by raising cut scores, making the exams less predictable, testing more areas, and making the tests longer. But more rigorous exams are only one piece of the Regents broader reform vision— a vision that includes a more challenging curriculum, better training for teachers and principals, and a world-class data system. In short, we are lifting the bar to ensure that New York remains at the very forefront of the national effort to raise standards.”

For more information, please visit the SED Web site.