State Education
Department to release ELA and math scores on July 28; change in 'cut
scores' will mean fewer students in level 3 at all school districts
across New York
Saying that the English Language Arts and mathematics exams taken by
thousands of students in grades 3-8 across the state in May were not
adequately measuring student performance, the state Education
Department plans to raise the "cut score" or minimum
score for students getting Level 3 scores.
The released results will reflect newly adopted procedures from SED
that raise the scores students must earn in order to be considered
“proficient” in a subject. Here's the link from the state Education
Department web site:
http://www.oms.nysed.gov/press/Regents_Approve_Scoring_Changes.html
Level 3 has historically meant "meeting state standards" and Level 4
has meant "exceeds state standards." Students scoring in Levels 2
and 1 were not meeting state standards and often received additional
help in that subject.
The state Education Department raised the "cut" scores for students
considered "proficient," meaning they scored in Level 3. As well,
the "cut" scores were changed between levels 1 and 2, meaning that
more student scores would be considered as not meeting standards.
The new "cut" scores between levels 2 and 3 – the score a child must
achieve to be considered "proficient" and meeting the state's
standards (at left below) and the new "cut" scores between levels 1
and 2 (the score below which a child must score to be considered
"not meeting state standards" (at right below) – are as follows:
| Grade | New English Language Arts "cut"
scores between levels 2 and 3 (was 650 for all grades) |
New Mathematics "cut" scores between levels 2 and 3 (was 650 for all grades) |
| 3 | 662 | 684 |
| 4 | 668 | 676 |
| 5 | 666 | 674 |
| 6 | 662 | 674 |
| 7 | 664 | 670 |
| 8 | 658 | 673 |
| Grade |
New English
Language Arts "cut" scores between levels 1 and 2 (varied by grade) |
New Mathematics "cut" scores
between levels 1 and 2 (varied by grade) |
| 3 | 643 | 661 |
| 4 | 637 | 636 |
| 5 | 647 | 640 |
| 6 | 644 | 640 |
| 7 | 642 | 639 |
| 8 | 627 | 639 |
The scores were released on Wednesday, July 28.
Here
is the state Education Department's information about the test
scores statewide.
Here are Scotia-Glenville's specific 2010 scores.
“We were not surprised to find that the number of Scotia-Glenville
students achieving a Level 3 – which means they met the state's
standards under the old 'cut' scores – were lower than in the past,"
said Superintendent Susan Swartz. "We will, as we have in the past,
work with students to ensure that they meet the state standards and
realize success in school and beyond."
She stressed that Scotia-Glenville will also continue to provide
additional services to students who are struggling.
The tests were moved to May this year in an effort to allow teachers
to cover more material from the particular grade before testing a
child on the material. The ELA exams used to be given in January and
the mathematics exam was given in March. This past year, they were
both moved to May.
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.
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 (National Assessment of
Educational Progress) 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.”
