OXFORD – Local districts are calling into question the fairness of a decision by the New York State Education Department to change the cut scores on state math and English assessments which have already been administered.
Scores from the exams, which were administered across to students in grades 3 through 8 this spring, are due to be released next week. But on Monday, SED announced they were raising the bar on those tests. As a result, students will need to score higher than they have in the past to obtain “proficiency” level.
Norwich Superintendent Gerard O’Sullivan expressed frustration over the state’s decision to “change the bar” at this late in the game during the district’s board of education meeting on Monday.
“It’s not fair to the staff, it’s not fair to the community and it’s not fair to the students,” he said.
The topic was also discussed last night in Oxford, where Superintendent Randy Squier suggested the state was “putting the cart before the horse,” and raising the cut scores to “create a sense of urgency” for other changes coming down the pike as Commissioner David Steiner follows through with his promise to increase the rigor of education in New York.
Squier said Steiner has indicated major curricular changes, as well as “longer, less predictable tests” were in the works, and that SED will move forward with these changes despite the state’s fiscal situation.
But while he may be in favor of those long term changes, like O’Sullivan, Squier has concerns about raising the bar for these assessments after the fact. He says he’s already shared these concerns with Commissioner Steiner.
“We’ve met what we’ve been asked to do across the state,” he said, citing the fact that test scores have been on the rise as districts have gotten better at teaching to the standards set by the state. It would certainly have made more sense, he explained, to allow schools to adjust their curriculums accordingly before raising the bar.
As districts try to assess the impact of the decision on their schools and students, they will also have to answer to parents about their children’s scores.
“We’re trying to come up with a way to explain this to parents, because we’re still trying to understand it (ourselves),” Squier said.
State assessment scores have no bearing on a student’s average, nor are they a part of their permanent academic record, stressed school board member Joe Spence.
“The tests were really a measurement of how the schools were doing, not the kids,” Squier agreed. But students’ scores are used to determine who needs academic intervention services. For the coming year, the state will allow schools greater flexibility in this, to lessen the financial burden on districts, who are already feeling the budget crunch.
Also worrying for districts is the fact that assessment scores are used to determine whether schools meet Adequate Yearly Progress standards under federal No Child Left Behind regulations. Running afoul of these AYP goals can lead to schools being labeled “In Need of Improvement” under these guidelines. Norwich emerged from this level of accountability status just over a year ago.
According to a press release issued by SED, Commissioner Steiner plans to ask the US Department of Education to make an allowance for the transitional year. A similar adjustment was granted in 2005-06, when the state assessment program was expanded to include all grades from 3 to 8.