Tougher tests take toll
11/15/2006
Scores fell as education officials toughened key statewide exams to meet rising expectations
BY MEGAN BOLDT AND MARYJO SYLWESTER
Pioneer Press
More than two out of three Minnesota high school juniors fell short of higher-than-ever state math standards last year, according to test scores released today.
The results leave some education officials wondering whether a new slate of tests, written to measure new performance standards, accurately reflects what students are learning in the classroom.
“I think they wrote a test that’s too hard for kids across the state,” said Tom Nelson, superintendent of the South Washington County school district. “I guess the state is telling us to crank it up, and that’s what we plan to do. We’ll have to make changes to our coursework to make sure kids are prepared.”
Minnesota Education Commissioner Alice Seagren said the new test mirrors more demanding academic standards adopted in 2003 by the Legislature and Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who has made science and math priorities for state schools.
“We’re ramping up the rigor,” Seagren said. “We have to because of our world competition that we have now.”
Called the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments, the tests are the yardstick by which the state measures its progress toward its goal to have all students proficient in reading and math by 2014 — a target set by the federal government.
Reading and math tests are given every year to students in an increasing number of grades. In the 2005-06 school year, third- through eighth-graders and 10th- and 11th-graders took the exams.
Other findings released today include:
• The number of Minnesota schools that fell short of performance targets more than doubled from 2005. Out of 2,023 schools, 483 were deemed to have fallen short last year.
State officials attribute the change chiefly to having more grades tested last year — effectively giving more opportunities for a school to fail — and to the harder tests. Typically, according to Seagren and other officials, results fall when a new test is implemented but then rise as students and teachers adjust to the new expectations.
• Proficiency gaps between white and minority students are narrowing but persist. Statewide, there was a 37 percentage-point difference between white and black students’ overall proficiency, for example.
• The number of schools to receive five out of five stars on the state report-card rating system also fell. Seventy-eight schools received five stars in reading and math, down from 123 in 2005.
Education officials warn that this year’s results should not be directly compared with past scores because the new test was used. Rather, this year’s results will serve as something of a benchmark for future performance.
Falling short of adequate progress, however, can carry consequences for schools that land on that list — regardless of the test that was used — if the school receives certain federal aid for low-income students.
Third-graders were an exception to the score drops: About eight in 10 were deemed proficient in both reading and math last school year and in the year before.
Generally, students posted better results in reading than in math in 2005-06. For example, about 59 percent of fifth-graders were proficient in math — while 77 percent met that mark in reading.
The lowest proficiency level was on the 11th-grade math exam.
“The content on this test is more challenging,” said Mark Davison, a testing expert and professor at the University of Minnesota. “It’s telling us more about the changing nature of content in education — not about educational effectiveness.”
Peter Griggs, a senior at Henry Sibley High School in Mendota Heights, said the 11th-grade math exam was made easier last year by the advanced classes he had taken. But it was not easy: The math problems included numerous graphs and students had to recall several formulas in order to pass, Griggs said.
“It was harder than what I expected,” senior Sarah Temple added.
State officials think student apathy had a role in the high-school scores. Although schools are held responsible for the performance of their students, there are no consequences for students themselves.
On the 11th-grade math test, students left blank almost one-third of the questions that asked them to explain an answer.
Jessica Jones, a senior at Sibley, said it wasn’t uncommon for some students to rush through the exam — or even refuse to finish it.
“A lot of kids say, ‘It doesn’t count and I don’t care,’ “ she said.
The tests will count, however, for the class of 2010, for whom the MCAs will serve as the state graduation test — which students must pass by their senior year in order to graduate.
The state education department is exploring ways to prompt students to finish tests, Seagren said, including putting MCA scores on high school transcripts sent to colleges and universities.
While higher academic standards are important, some policy-makers say they are still disturbed by the differences between white and other students. The gap is closing but is still significant, said state Rep. Mindy Greiling, DFL-Roseville.
In St. Paul, for example, 41 percent of black students across all grades were proficient in reading, and 26 percent were proficient in math — marks that were reached by 78 percent and 65 percent of white students, respectively.
Greiling, a leading Democrat on education issues, said her party will try to use its newly won control of the Minnesota House to work to close those gaps by boosting money to early childhood education, all-day kindergarten and special education.
“To me, it says we have a lot of work to do on the achievement gap, and that’s what we need to focus on,” she said.
Seagren said she has no doubt students will tackle the new standards and performance will rise on future tests.
“Kids are going to get better and better and better and better,” she said. “Whatever the expectations, whatever the standards are that you set, kids are going to meet those standards.”