Re: State's new skills test is too easy, study says

[Karen Hartke <khartke@FAIRTEST.ORG>]

I thought it might be interesting to point out a couple of things in this
report:
'> State's new skills test is too easy, study says
>
> But Texas officials say new assessment exam will
> challenge students
>
> By Michelle M. Martinez
> American-Statesman Staff
> Saturday, January 5, 2002
>
>
> For more information about the Texas Assessment of
> Knowledge and Skills, go to
>
> http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/taks/index.html
>
>
> A new statewide assessment test, scheduled to be tried
> in Texas public schools later this month, is still too
> easy for students, according to a group that will
> release a study on the exam Sunday.
>

> Although the foundation's researchers did not actually
> review the TAKS questions, the report cites concerns
> that the test will contain questions that are too easy
> for the grade being tested and will have more
> questions about skills than academics.
>


> The state will tweak test questions based on student
> performance on this year's TAKS. The test will be
> administered in phases starting with fourth- and
> seventh-graders on Jan. 28.

Tweak?  I wonder if this means throw out questions that too many kids get
right, because if they do, then the test doesn't fail enough kids and
therefore isn't "tough" enough.  That is good ole boy test making strategy
taken from making norm-referenced tests and MIS applied to criterion
referenced tests (weren't we just talking about this on the list recently?)


> "I think it's premature to try to judge what kind of
> test this will be," said Debbie Graves Ratcliffe,
> education agency spokeswoman.
>
> The state hired Achieve Inc., a national nonprofit
> organization, to analyze whether the test matches
> state standards. Achieve determined that TAKS was
> "strongly" aligned with the curriculum, Ratcliffe
> said. Patterson said her research indicates otherwise.

Now you have a conservative organization complaining that the pro-test and
stanards group Achieve is being too SOFT on kids.  You knew it had to
happen.

But also, notice, that Achieve report says TAKS is "strongly aligned" with
state standards.  This is the kind of mumbo-jumbo we hear from them again
and again.  It means a question measures something that could be said to be
a part of a "standard". Note - they won't say TAKS or MCAS or other tests
are "perfect" or should be used for high-stakes in any case. But they'll
take our tax dollars to measure, report and do a huge PR job for the
"alignment" of our tests.

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