Test scores improve, but is that helping students?

by desertjim

The Chicago Sun Times recently reported that, while increasing numbers of Chicago students are meeting state standards, the standards are inflated and Chicago Public School kids are not grasping the complex skills they need. The Sun Times quotes a report from the Consortium on Chicago School Research that says the average eighth grader who easily passed the state math test later scored only a 17.5 on the ACT college entrance exam. That is far below Chicago’s districtwide goal of 20 (which would give a student a shot at a minimally competitive college).

There seems to be a disconnect between the state standards and national tests such as the ACT. Does teaching to the state tests result in students deficient in the analytical skills they will need to compete in college? An extensive analysis by the Harvard Civil Right Project of scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) concluded that, “No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has not caused achievement to improve significantly, nor have gaps been narrowed”. A study by Policy Analysis for California Education shows similar results. Bruce Fuller (University of California at Berkley) said, “A lot of governors and a lot of state school chiefs have...claimed significant progress in terms of reading and math achievement, [but] in many cases...state officials seem to be exaggerating progress that has been made in children’s basic reading skills.”

Even the conservative Wall Street Journal says that, “NCLB is beyond uninformative, it is deceptive.” Referring to the same Harvard analysis mentioned above, the Journal says that NCLB has failed to raise test scores and instead pushes classrooms toward relentless drilling and holds good students hostage to the performance of the least talented. This is occurring, according to the Journal, when the economic future of the country depends more than ever on the performance of the most talented.

A study that indicates an actual improvement in reading and math scores comes from the Center on Educational Policy (CEP). But according to the report’s authors, the results do not indicate cause and effect relationship between NCLB and the improved scores. CEP states, “It is impossible...to determine the extent to which these trends in test results have occurred because of NCLB.” The National Education Association in reporting on the study claims that any improvements in test scores may have come in spite of NCLB rather than because of it. We are all aware that districts are devoting more class time to reading and math and are even spending time teaching students how to take standardized tests at the expense of providing a more broad-based education.

If state test scores are going up, but students are less prepared for college at the end of high school, what is the benefit of the testing? If even the most favorable study can’t demonstrate that NCLB is successful, why should the law be continued?

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