Current Issue #5

By Lauren Edmonds
Test and Switch
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/26/opinion/26mon3.html

The government was shaming schools into giving annual tests for federal education aid. However, the state created weak tests or made the passing score lower to deceive the residents. When compared to federal tests the students’ performance was much lower than it had been on the state test. This will continue to happen “until the country develops a rigorous national test keyed to national standards.”


The comparison of the state versus national test was telling. When performing on the easy state tests, the students did well. However, when taking National Assessment of Educational Progress, a much more difficult test, the students’ performance was “dismal.” In Oklahoma the gap between the two tests was 60 percent in math and 51 percent in reading.

Many people are fine with mediocre scores. It gives the students a better self esteem. Just like the No Child Left Behind Act. Letting the students perform well on easy tests is not a true measurement of their performance. If we are not challenging them what will they learn? It is not giving us an accurate picture of the country’s students. How can their ability and understanding be challenged?

New York was not included in this study. I would have liked to have known how the students would measure up? I can recall the ELA Exam when Bloomburg was being reelected. It was a joke. Since the inception of the new tests, I think that it is more accurate, but until national standards are in place we won’t be able to compare ourselves to a national level.