6.3 Second phase: Elementary education (primary and lower secondary), age 5/6 - 13/14
6.3.1 Control
6.3.2 Purpose(s)
6.3.3 Participation
6.3.4 Nature
6.3.5 Administration
6.3.6 Grading process
6.3.7 Consequences
6.3.8 Use of results
6.3.9 Output statistics
General/national
Assessment in the United States is primarily undertaken at state and local levels. Most states set standards for what students should learn and how well they should learn it.20
All US states have some state-wide testing policies in place to measure student progress, along with some form of official curriculum documents and specific centralised learning standards. 54 Most specify what students should know in the core areas of mathematics, reading, writing, science, and citizenship and test students to ensure their learning.171
Many states also have mandatory promotion/graduation tests.10 See 4.2.2 in addition.
Periodic large scale national assessments, which enable student performance to be measured against external norms, are also undertaken by some states on a voluntary basis. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has also assessed students' knowledge in reading, writing, science, mathematics and other subjects since its introduction in 1969. 89
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a regularly administered, congressionally mandated assessment programme, assesses representative national samples of the nation's students attending public and private elementary schools, junior high schools and high schools. NAEP, which represented the first federal funding for the collection of nationally representative test data on a continuing basis, is designed to make available reliable information about the academic performance of US students in various learning areas. NAEP has also contributed to the shift towards focusing on outcomes when considering educational quality. See sections 6.2.2, 6.2.3, 6.2.4, 6.2.5, 6.2.6 and 6.2.8 in addition.48, 83 Further information on NAEP testing is also available via the NAEP website.
Federal national testing
During the period of office of the Clinton Government (1993-2001), school principals were encouraged to support Voluntary National Tests (VNTs) in Grades 4 and 8 (children aged 9-10 and 13-14) respectively.20 The tests, in reading in Grade 4 and mathematics in Grade 8, were originally developed with a view to introduction in 2002, and were intended to measure student performance against a uniform standard to determine where improvements could be made. President Bush also supports statutory testing in reading, mathematics and science from Grades 3 to 8 (students aged 8-14). This forms part of his 2002 Education Act - No Child Left Behind. As a result, all states in the USA are expected to have in place standards (identifying what a child should know and learn) for all Grades for mathematics and reading. In addition, since the 2005-06 schools year, standards for science have been developed. Beginning in the 2002-03 school year, schools were expected to administer tests in reading and mathematics in three Grade spans - Grades 3-5; Grades 6-9 and Grades 10-12 respectively and, since the 2005-2006 school year, have been expected to administer tests each year in all of Grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 in mathematics and reading and, starting in the 2007-2008 school year, in Grades 3-8 inclusive in science in addition. The current reauthorisation of the No Child Left Behind Act puts the emphasis on turning around struggling schools and improving the academic performance of older students. It includes a continuing commitment to closing the achievement gap through high state standards and accountability. Source.
Further information is also available via the No Child Left Behind website.
National agencies
The National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) is an independent, bipartisan group set up in 1988 by Congress, to set policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Its members include governors, state legislators, local and state school officials, educators, business representatives, and members of the general public. Its responsibilities include:
Further information is available from the NAGB website.
Kentucky
In April 1999, Kentucky introduced a new integrated testing and accountability programme called the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS). This replaced the previous KIRIS testing programme, and is closely linked to the Kentucky core curriculum.35
CATS includes:
Maryland
Children's readiness to proceed from the kindergarten year (age 5-6) to Grade 1 (6+) is assessed using the Maryland Model for School Readiness. Further details are provided in section 6.1.1.
The Maryland School Assessment (MSA) is a student performance evaluation programme taken by all students in Years 3 to 8 and in Year 10 (aged 8/9 to 13/14, and aged 15/16). It repaced the the Maryland School Performance Assessment Programme (MSPAP) in the 2002/03 academic year. Further information about MSA is provided below. Information about MSPAP is available in the Appendix.
Massachusetts
The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) was implemented in response to the Education Reform Act of 1993.7 It was originally implemented for students in Grades/Years 4, 8, and 10 and has since been expanded to include children in Grades 3, 5, 6 and 7 in addition. MCAS measures student performance based on the Massachusetts curriculum framework learning standards, and provides a means of reporting on the performance of individual students, schools and districts. It serve as one basis of accountability for students, schools, and districts. The stated goals of MCAS are to:
Wisconsin
The Wisconsin Student Assessment System (WSAS) is a comprehensive state-wide accountability programme designed to provide information about what students know in core academic areas. It comprises:
In addition, since the start of the 2005 school year, the Wisconsin Reading Comprehension Test (WRCT), taken by children in Year/ Grade 3, has been replaced by the reading assessment tasks of the WKCE-CRT. 122 See the Appendix for further information.
General/national
Tests administered at various levels in the USA are used to monitor student progress, as a criterion for Year/Grade promotion, for curriculum improvement, to influence policy and as a means of holding schools accountable.10 Some US states provide additional financial assistance to those schools which perform less well in state-wide assessments; others operate sanctions against schools revealed to be chronically failing through such tests, and some provide monetary rewards to high-performing schools.49
In all states, assessment of students through periodic testing assumes a high profile within courses and curricular programmes, and the collation of data from such teacher assessment (often in the form of tests at the end of a unit of study) provides important evidence of school performance.24
Multiple-choice standardised testing is almost universally used at elementary school level to determine Grade promotion.91 Placement in remedial programmes can also follow from the results of such assessment.
Not only has testing grown in the United States, the uses to which test results are put have also changed dramatically. The National Commission on Testing and Public Policy (NCTPP) has noted that the growth in testing since the 1950s accompanied a trend of greater reliance on test results to make critical decisions about children such as: entry to and exit from kindergarten; promotion from Grade to Grade; placement in remedial programmes; and graduation from high school.48
NAEP (national assessment of educational progress)
Periodic large-scale assessments, such as NAEP - the national assessment of educational progress, are undertaken by states on a voluntary basis. These assessments usually involve tests in a range of subject areas to students at several levels separated by two to three years. The assessment instruments are normed by age and results are compared locally and nationally. The goal of NAEP assessments is to identify any serious discrepancies in achievement.24 Specifically, the NAEP programme was designed to provide achievement data for the nation as a whole, and for sub-populations of students, on what students in US schools know and can do48. Consequently, NAEP is used to monitor student performance nationally and to produce and analyse long-term trends. See 6.2.1 also.
The ‘No Child Left Behind’ assessments
President Bush's 2002 Education Act, No Child Left Behind (NCLB), supported the introduction of statutory testing in reading, mathematics and science in Years 3 to 8 (children aged 8-14). As a result, all states in the USA are expected to have in place standards for all Years for mathematics, reading and science, and testing began from the 2002-03 school year, when schools were expected to administer tests in reading and mathematics in three Grade (year group) spans - Grades 3-5; Grades 6-9 and Grades 10-12. States must demonstrate their compliance with NCLB to receive federal funding. The testing requirements for NCLB are intended to improve standards across all systems towards common goals.
Kentucky
The overarching goal of the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS) is for all schools in Kentucky to reach ‘proficiency’ as defined by the Kentucky Board of Education (KBE). Scores received by students under CATS (which include test results, results from a student's writing portfolio, his/ her longitudinal assessment measure and several non-academic measures) are intended to be used for the purposes of student and school accountability. The accountability system provides the mechanism for measuring ‘proficiency’ and for providing feedback to schools on how they are progressing toward the long-term goal set by the KBE. By regulation, Kentucky's accountability system focuses primarily on schools and not districts. 35 36
Maryland
Like the Maryland School Performance Assessment Programme (MSPAP) which it replaces (see the Appendix), the Maryland School Assessment (MSA) is a student performance evaluation programme which provides an assessment - for students, parents, teachers and administrators - of the progress of each school towards annual goals. In addition to this school-wide information, the MSA produces individual student scores. 157
Massachusetts
The stated goals of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) are to:
The Massachusetts Department of Education does not rank schools or districts on the basis of MCAS results.
See section 6.2.1 in addition.
Wisconsin
The Wisconsin Student Assessment System (WSAS) is a comprehensive state-wide accountability programme designed to provide information about what students know in core academic areas. The Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examination Criterion-Referenced Tests (WKCE-CRT) are implemented to provide:
Test results are used by the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to:
WKCE-CRT also incorporates testing of Year/Grade 3 reading levels, which was previously undertaken using the Wisconsin Reading Comprehension Test (WRCT) (see the Appendix). See section 6.2.7 in addition.
National
In all states, and in all schools, all students are regularly assessed by their teachers. President Bush's 2002 Education Act - No Child Left Behind supported the introduction of statutory testing in reading, mathematics and science for all students in Years 3 to 8 (aged 8-14).
NAEP (national assessment of educational progress)
Since 1969, NAEP has tested a nationally representative cross sample of students in Grades 4, 8 and 12 (aged around 10, 14 and 18 respectively) across the USA.20 Since 1990, states have had the option of surveying representative samples of their own students to yield state-by-state NAEP scores in addition to the national samples used to monitor student performance nationally and to produce long-term trends. 24
The sample includes students drawn from both public and non-public (private) schools and reports results for student achievement in Years 4, 8, and 12. NAEP usually selects 100 public schools in each state, for each subject, in each year group, for the sample. Each school would then represent about one per cent of the students in public schools in the year group being assessed in that state. Because NAEP is not designed to provide information about individual students or individual schools, its administration design is complex. A multiple matrix sampling procedure allows for estimation of population characteristics from test results, while it avoids placing too much of a burden on students and schools 48.
The 2002 Education Act - No Child Left Behind - requires that parents be informed that their children have been selected to take part in NAEP testing. If a parent does not want his or her child to be tested, the child can be pulled out of the sample. 156
Kentucky
As part of the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS) the full cohort of students in Years 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11 and 12 (aged 9/10, 10/11, 12/13, 15/16, 16/17 and 17/18 respectively) are assessed in reading, writing, mathematics, science, social studies, arts and humanities, practical living and vocational studies. To ensure that the test provides complete coverage of the core curriculum content each year, a matrix design is used. This means that six different, equivalent test forms are administered each year. The advantage of this approach is that it allows broad coverage of the core content, providing maximum information to schools regarding their instructional programme, but keeps test time reasonable for the individual student. In most content area tests, a student answers only 24 multiple-choice items and six open-response questions. An additional four multiple choice items and one open-response item are included in each test booklet. These are pre-test items, which are being piloted as potential items for future tests. They do not count in student scores or the school accountability index.36
The test is not timed36.
Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS/5)
The Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS/5 test) is a national norm-referenced test in reading, language arts and mathematics. It is taken by all students in the cohort at the end of Grade 3, Grade 6 and Grade 9, students aged 9, 12 and 15 respectively.37
Writing portfolios
Portfolios of students' best work in different subject areas are also collected and scored for all students in Grades 4, 7 and 12 (ages 9-10, 12-13 and 17-18 respectively) by each school's staff.43
Maryland
All students are monitored on a daily basis through continuous classroom (teacher) assessment. In addition, there is a state-wide student performance assessment system - the Maryland School Assessment (MSA). All students in Years 3 to 8 and in Year 10 (aged 8/9 to 13/14 and 15/16 respectively) are tested on the Maryland content standards embedded in the MSA reading and mathematics tests and, since 2007, in science in addition. It is the policy of Maryland to include all students to the fullest extent possible in state assessment programmes. However, state assessment tests may be modified for students with disabilities or English as a Second Language (ESL). As a result, most students take the MSA, with a small percentage taking the Alternate MSA (Alt-MSA), an alternative test for students with severe disabilities.62.
Massachusetts
The Massachuetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) was originally implemented for students in Years 4, 8, and 10 and has since been expanded to include children in Grades 3, 5, 6 and 7 in addition. It is generally intended that the MCAS tests should be administered to all students in the relevant Years/Grades, including those with disabilities and to students with limited English proficiency. Indeed, in principle, the Education Reform Act 7 provides for no exemptions from taking the tests. This policy aims to ensure that all Massachusetts public school students are provided with the opportunity to learn the materials covered by the curriculum framework learning standards which are covered by the tests(see 5.2.1)77. However, the MCAS tests may be adapted to suit the needs of students with disabilities who meet eligibility requirements. Additionally, if a student is identified as having a disability/disabilities which prevent him or her from taking the MCAS tests, even with adaptations, that student must be tested by some alternate means of assessment, which is appropriate to the student's academic development. Also, some students with limited English proficiency who have been enrolled in school in the USA for three or fewer years may be exempt from the MCAS tests, or tested using modified/adapted (in some cases, Spanish language) tests.153
Parents may not legally refuse their child's participation in MCAS.153
Home-schooled students are not enrolled in the publicly-funded school system and are therefore not required nor entitled by law to participate in MCAS. Consideration may, in future, be given to permitting privately educated students, including those being home-schooled to participate in the MCAS testing programme if they wish to do so.153
Wisconsin
In general, all students in Grade 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10 take part in the overarching Wisconsin Student Assesment System (WSAS), under which the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examination Criterion-Referenced Tests (WKCE-CRT) are administered to all students in Grades 3-8, aged 8-14 respectively, and to students in Grade 10, aged 15/16. The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) is required to provide for inclusion of all students in the state-wide assessment programmes, using accommodations where necessary. Alternate assessments must be provided for students for whom the state assessment is inappropriate. 26
General/national
Multiple-choice standardised tests are used throughout the United States in continuous classroom assessment from kindergarten to university.91
Regular (day-to-day) classroom assessment and testing of students often takes the form of tests at the end of a unit of study. Many course programmes are closely modelled upon commercially published textbooks or work schemes. In these cases, tests may be provided in the form of tear-out pages in the work schemes.24
The most widely represented subject areas for testing are reading, mathematics and language arts. The latter typically include, in addition to reading, other elements of language development such as spelling, vocabulary, grammar and composition.10
Traditionally, the main state-wide testing programmes have been dominated by multiple-choice, short-answer or simple comprehension-type questions and this remains a strong feature of most of them. Indeed, the most prevalent method of testing is still via machine-scorable, multiple-choice answer sheets. However, there has been a significant move towards the assessment in greater depth of a variety of types of writing, and the inclusion of problem-solving activity in some of the mathematics tests. Many tests also now include provisions for more 'authentic' assessment techniques, also called performance assessment or alternative assessment, that require students to construct answers, perform or produce something for evaluation.24, 48
NAEP (national assessment of educational progress)
NAEP assessments usually take place around every two years; they can be implemented throughout the school year, but usually take place during the period January to March. The academic subject areas assessed vary from year to year, but reading, writing, mathematics, and science are the most frequently assessed subjects. To minimise the burden on students and schools, no student takes the entire assessment. Instead, assessment sessions are limited to one-and-a-half to two hours.84 In addition to traditional multiple-choice items, recent NAEP administrations have included open-ended questions that allow students to produce their own answers48.
NAEP assessments follow the frameworks developed by the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) and aim to use the latest advances in assessment methodology. For example, NAEP assessments include a large percentage of constructed-response questions and questions that require the use of calculators and other materials. Innovative types of questions have been used in assessments such as the arts and science to measure students' ability to perform hands-on tasks. NAEP long-term trend (LTT) assessments are designed to give information on the changes in academic performance of America's youth. They are administered nationally every four years and report student performance at ages 9, 13, and 17 in mathematics and reading. Measuring trends of student achievement or change over time requires the precise replication of past procedures. Therefore, the long-term trend instrument does not evolve based on changes in curricula or in educational practices, unlike the main NAEP national and state assessments in mathematics and reading, which respond to changes in the classroom by updating the framework for the assessment about every decade, as needed.
Kentucky
As part of the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS) in Kentucky, since 1999, students have participated in two specific types of state-wide annual test:
Both tests take place during a two-week period in April43.
Kentucky Core Content Tests
These tests aim to assess a student's understanding of core curriculum content. Students in specific year groups are tested on specific subject areas (see 6.2.3). To ensure that the test provides complete coverage of the core curriculum content each year, a matrix design is used. This means that six different, equivalent test forms are administered each year. The advantage of this approach is that it allows broad coverage of the core content, providing maximum information to schools regarding their instructional programme, but keeps test time reasonable for the individual student. In most content area tests, a student answers only 24 multiple-choice items and six open-response questions. An additional four multiple choice items and one open-response item are included in each test booklet. These are pre-test items, which are being piloted as potential items for future tests. They do not count in student scores or the school accountability index.36
The test is not timed36.
As mentioned above, the Kentucky Core Content Test employs both multiple-choice and open-response items. Either type of item can be written to elicit factual (recall) or higher-order thinking. In the Kentucky Core Content Test, open-response items are always designed to elicit higher-order thinking. Multiple-choice items present the student with four options, only one of which is correct. Open-response items request specific information, but students are free to organise and present the information as they choose within one page. The one-page limit is considered as the items are developed36.
The test blueprint is a public document designed to communicate the structure and contents of the Kentucky Core Content Test to classroom teachers, administrators, school councils, and other interested persons. It is available online. Details of the 'core content for assessment' are also available online. In addition, some of the Kentucky test items are released each year; these too are online documents.
The Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills
CTBS/5 takes place during April. These are norm-referenced multiple-choice tests. 43
Writing portfolio and writing prompts
In addition, as part of CATS assessment, students are required to provide a writing portfolio - a collection of their best work from various subject areas over time; and take writing prompts, which are written tests that measure skills taught in writing instruction. Normally, for their writing portfolio, students are expected to provide four pieces of work in Grade 4 (age 9-10), five pieces of work in Grade 7, age 12-13, and five pieces of work in Grade 12 (age 17-18). The writing portfolio pieces must normally be provided at the start of the test period, which is in April43.
See section 6.2.3 in addition.
Maryland
In continuous assessment in schools, a variety of assessment types are used. Many local districts use portfolios.
The Maryland School Assessment (MSA) is a student performance evaluation programme which meets the testing requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). It replaced the Maryland School Performance Assessment from 2003 (see the Appendix). It is a criterion-referenced test that measures student proficiency and advanced proficiency on the Maryland content standards embedded in the reading and mathematics Voluntary State Curriculum. MSA includes both multiple-choice and constructed response (short answer) questions. Tests are developed, written and selected by Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) staff and Maryland teachers, working with the commercial company selected to produce the tests. Potential test items go through an extensive process of editing and review to improve, correct or eliminate poor items. Students are tested for around 90 minutes each day over four days - two days for reading and two days for mathematics, for a total of about six hours. The new assessment includes both multiple-choice questions and constructed response (short answer) questions.157 Sample questions are available online.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) testing involves the following types of assessment:
Writing prompts are only used in English language arts tests. Students write a composition based on the writing prompt, which may relate to a reading passage, in the following subject areas:
Detailed examples of MCAS test questions can be accessed online.
It is expected that MCAS will soon also test the learning standards in the foreign languages curriculum framework.78
MCAS testing usually takes place in late spring (April/May), with scoring (see 6.2.5) taking place in July/August78.
In general terms, for students whose performance is difficult to assess, work samples, projects and portfolios are also sometimes used for the purposes of assessment.82
Wisconsin
The Wisconsin Student Assessment System (WSAS) is a comprehensive state-wide accountability programme designed to provide information about what students know in core academic areas. WSAS also includes alternate assessment for students with disabilities and English language learners. It includes the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examination – Criterion-Referenced Test (WKCE-CRT) as one component. WKCE-CRT is administered to all students in Grades 3-8, aged 8-14 respectively, and to students in Grade 10, aged 15/16. Assessment generally takes place in October and November. The total time required for the administration of the tests varies by Grade/Year and ranges from four-and-a-quarter to seven hours. Testing may be spread out over several days. Schools set their own testing schedule. If a student is absent during testing, he or she must be allowed to retake the test. WKCE-CRT includes a combination of multiple-choice and short-answer items. It includes commercially developed questions used in schools across the country and questions customised specifically for Wisconsin. Released items in reading and mathematics are available to provide educators, students, and the public with examples of how students are assessed in these subjects on the WKCE-CRT. WKCE-CRT test results only give certain kinds of information about student achievement. For a more complete picture, daily class work, other test results, homework and other learning activities are considered. Released test items are available online.
General/national
Teachers produce their own forms of assessment; tests are only one of many forms in common use. Textbook publishers provide tests with virtually all programmes, but there has been an expansion of available options with portfolio, performance and project assessment becoming increasingly standard in commercial programmes. Overall, however, classroom assessment is the prerogative of the teacher and this is an area where there is much staff development undertaken. This reflects the emphasis on the local control of education, so that community standards and priorities can take precedence. Private test setting companies produce many of the multiple-choice standardised tests still used by teachers in their continuous assessment of students.91
For the main state-wide testing programmes much importance is attached to the perceived fairness and reliability of the tests; security of papers is tightly controlled as are marking and moderation procedures. Each state defines curricular objectives, both for the content of the curriculum and for achievement goals. These are often numerically expressed targets for test results and other indicators, providing a framework in which the tests are constructed and the results expressed. Reporting of results is increasingly in profile form.24
NAEP (national assessment of educational progress)
NAEP is conducted under congressional mandate and is directed by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the US Department of Education. The NCES currently contracts out (to the Educational Testing Service, ETS) the design of instruments and data analysis and reporting; the sampling and data collection activities; and the management of materials distribution, scoring, and data processing.84
Kentucky
Under the state-wide assessment programme in Kentucky (the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System, CATS), students in various year groups in publicly-funded schools (see 6.2.3) take two types of test, Kentucky Core Content Tests and the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS/5).36
The Kentucky Core Content Tests
The Kentucky Core Content Tests (for each content area) are developed by an appointed contractor in collaboration with a Content Advisory Committee (CAC) composed of Kentucky teachers. Essentially, the teachers draft test items which are edited by the contractor. In their final form, test items are reviewed by the same CAC that generated them and either selected or rejected for use as test items. In addition, items are reviewed by special committees for possible bias and for content accuracy. Items rejected by any of these committees do not appear in the test unless revised.36
Teachers draft test items to address every bulleted statement in the Core Content (the Kentucky state curriculum).36
All test items are piloted with a sample of Kentucky students before being used "live" for accountability purposes. Each year, every student test booklet contains a limited number of these pre-test items (see 6.2.4). The contractor subsequently scores them in order to determine which are workable and eligible for use in future tests. Pre-test items do not contribute to the school's accountability index and results for these items are not reported publicly 36.
Completed Core Content Tests are marked/scored by "Core Content Test Evaluators". These often include qualified current, retired or new teachers who work for a period during the school summer holidays.
Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS/5)
The CBTS/5 test is a national, norm-referenced test of basic skills, which aims to provide a score ranking showing how an individual student compares with other students in the nation. 43
Writing portfolios
Writing portfolios are scored by individual school staff using a scoring guide 43.Maryland
Under the Maryland School Assessment (MSA) tests in reading and mathematics are developed and marked by external contractors/test developers. 157
Massachusetts
The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) is externally marked by professional scorers and Massachusetts teachers who have been specifically trained. All open response answers are marked by professional scorers, using a scoring guide or rubric. MCAS rubrics indicate what knowledge and skills students must demonstrate to earn 1, 2, 3 or 4 score points. Students' writing/compositions are scored by Massachusetts teachers and evaluated on two criteria:
For all but long compositions, scorers view electronic copies of digitally scanned images of student responses on a computer monitor and assign scores electronically. Use of this computerised scoring system aims to ensure that student responses are randomly assigned to scorers; that second readings are truly "blind"; and that supervisors have immediate access to information about scorer accuracy. Students' long compositions are each scored twice (by two separate scorers) for both topic development and standard English conventions. 62, 153
General/national
Schools use either norm-referenced tests, criterion-referenced tests, or a combination of both. The most frequent type of testing is teacher-developed examinations.10
NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress)
Three achievement levels have been developed for reporting NAEP results, as follows:
However, results for individual students are not made available. NAEP combines all student responses to provide information on the performance of groups of students. NAEP reports overall results for the nation, the states, and for groups of students, such as males and females.
Kentucky
The state-wide Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS) includes Kentucky Core Content Tests and the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS/5), along with a writing portfolio and writing prompts.43
Kentucky Core Content Tests
Students' results in the Kentucky Core Content Tests are assigned a performance level as follows:
In addition, each of the first two levels of performance in reading, mathematics, science and social studies have each been subdivided into three levels (Novice non-performance, Novice medium, Novice high; and Apprentice low, Apprentice medium and Apprentice high) to better represent student performance. Source.
Kentucky law states that all schools shall expect "a high level of achievement of all students." That high level, defined by the Kentucky Board of Education, is the proficient level. The Kentucky Board of Education has set a goal for schools to have the average of all of their students reaching the 'proficient' level by 2014 38.
The writing portfolios aspect of CATS is scored by individual school staff using a scoring guide 43.
Maryland
In continuous classroom assessment in Maryland, some school systems report grades by percentages, others (the majority) use letter grades. The new student performance evaluation system - the Maryland School Assessment (MSA) - which began to be implemented in March 2003 (replacing the Maryland School Performance Assessment Programme, MSPAP, – see the Appendix), provides students, parents and teachers with two sets of scores on a report sent to the home of each student. One set - criterion-referenced scores - assess the student's performance when measured against the state standards in reading and mathematics. The second set - the norm-referenced scores - reveal the student's performance in comparison with other students nationally. Some test items are counted for both test scores.157
Massachusetts
See section 6.2.5 in addition.
The Education Reform Act of 1993 7specifically directed that any standardised tests used for assessment should be criterion-referenced in order to assess whether students are meeting the academic standards set out in the curriculum frameworks (see 5.2.1 and 5.2.4). For students whose performance is difficult to assess, the statute recommends the development of alternative methods such as work samples, projects and portfolios.82
Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) results are reported for individual students, schools and districts according to four performance levels defined by the Board of Education, as follows:
Details of these performance level definitions are available online.
For students scoring in the 'failing' and 'needs improvement' categories above, additional help is available via the Academic Support Services Programme (ASSP). ASSP allows districts to offer intensive small group instruction and innovative programming to provide expanded opportunities for students with the greatest need to improve their knowledge and performance. School districts primarily use ASSP funds to extend student learning time before and after school, on weekends and school vacations and during the summer. 150
Wisconsin
The Wisconsin Student Assessment System (WSAS) includes the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examination – Criterion-Referenced Test (WKCE-CRT) as one component. Criterion-referenced means that student performance on the tests is reported in terms of criteria, or standards. All reports compare student performance against Wisconsin standards and against other Wisconsin students. Performance level descriptions are used to help parents, educators and others understand what children who score at a given performance level on the WKCE-CRT are expected to know and be able to do at the time of testing. Since 1997-98, Wisconsin has been using four proficiency categories: advanced, proficient, basic, and minimal performance. Proficiency score standards associate each of four scale score ranges with a specific proficiency category. Cut-scores divide scale scores into the four categories. The advanced and proficient levels are the long term educational goals for all students. State-wide standardised test scores are reported by proficiency category.
Further information is available online.
General/national
Some performance indicator systems in the United States routinely trigger a response to a school's low performance in specified respects, by means of a planned improvement programme. For example, in New York State, performance by an individual student which falls below a state reference point in competency tests will result in the provision of appropriate remedial support. In South Carolina, at school or district level, provision can be declared 'seriously impaired'; the state then provides a programme of support aimed at achieving improvements which, in turn, are themselves measured by the indicator system. Many US states use performance indicator systems to identify the level of performance being achieved. High performance might result in some rewards. Low performance, particularly at the school level, is usually followed up by a detailed analysis and a planned improvement programme, usually supported by additional resources and staff development.24
In many states there is a general expectation (in some a requirement) that school development planning will ensue from the reporting process. The approach, in principle, is to monitor schools, present them with performance data and then leave it to principals, together with parents and general administrative guidance from the district, to take the school forward. Advice is available in a variety of forms, often through state-employed curriculum consultants. There are moves in some states towards more corporate strategies, sharing good practice, building up advisory services and changing assessment objectives in an effort to bring about curriculum improvement.24
President Bush's 2002 Education Act - No Child Left Behind (NCLB) supported the introduction of statutory testing in reading, mathematics and science in Years 3 to 8 (children aged 8-14). As a result, all states in the USA are expected to have in place standards for all Years for mathematics, reading and science, and testing began from the 2002-03 school year. States must demonstrate their compliance with NCLB to receive federal funding. Most states comply in view of their state-wide testing programmes for given Grades - see below. In addition, schools and districts which do not make adequate yearly progress toward state-set benchmarks for two years in a row will be named. Federal sanctions may also be applied.
Kentucky
CATS assessment - see 6.2.2.
Maryland
See 6.2.2.
Massachusetts
Under the Education Reform Act of 1993 7 , the State Board of Education establishes regulations that define a process and criteria to determine whether a school or school district has "chronically failed to improve the educational programme provided to students served by the school district or an individual school". Whatever other considerations the Board of Education chooses to include in its regulations, the law requires that the Board consider student assessment results in determining whether or not a school district is under-performing.82 The Massachusetts Department of Education does not, however, rank cities or towns based on Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) scores. 153
For students scoring in the 'failing' and 'needs improvement' categories of MCAS testing (see section 6.2.6 above), additional help is available via the Academic Support Services Programme (ASSP). ASSP allows districts to offer intensive small group instruction and innovative programming to provide expanded opportunities for students with the greatest need to improve their knowledge and performance. School districts primarily use ASSP funds to extend student learning time before and after school, on weekends and school vacations and during the summer. 150
Wisconsin
A certificate or diploma or other written evidence issued by a school board showing that a student has successfully completed the course of study in elementary school is usually a condition of admission to high school in Wisconsin. See section 3.2.4.1.120
In October 1999, the Wisconsin legislature passed legislation affecting student testing, grade advancement, and high school graduation. For grade advancement, the legislation requires each school board to adopt written criteria for advancing students from Grade/Year 4 to Grade 5 and from Grade 8 to Grade 9. The board policy must include the student’s score on the Grade 4 and Grade 8 state tests (see 6.2.4) , the student’s academic performance, the recommendations of teachers (which are to be based only on academic performance), and any other academic criteria specified by the school board. Source.
In cases where students are exempted from taking the Grade 4 and Grade 8 tests - for reason of special educational need, for example - the school board must develop alternative criteria for evaluating students and students must satisfy these criteria in order to be promoted.121 See 6.2.2 and 6.2.6 in addition.
General/national
Schools are required to report to and consult with parents extensively.24
Students generally receive report cards at least twice a year (in some school districts, up to six times), which indicate the grades received in each of the subjects studied. These grades (usually on an A-F scale, where A is excellent and F, failing) are based on assessment of performance in tests given at intervals throughout the school year, participation in class discussions and completion of written and oral assignments.24
In cases where course programmes are modelled on commercially published textbooks or work schemes, and tests are provided in the form of tear-out pages in the scheme's workbooks, these completed test assignments, graded by teachers, can be taken home by students as an indication to parents of their children's work and progress.24
Many US states issue 'report cards' which rank schools' performance in state-wide testing. However, only some of these states release such information publicly; fewer still currently require such report cards to be sent home. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) makes the official publication of state/school report cards statutory. Reports on individual schools are part of the annual district report cards, also known as local report cards. Each school district must prepare and disseminate annual local report cards that include information on how students in the district and in each school performed on state assessments. The report cards must state student performance in terms of three levels: basic, proficient and advanced. Achievement data must be disaggregated, or broken out, by student subgroups according to: race, ethnicity, gender, English language proficiency, migrant status, disability status and low-income status. The law requires that the information be presented in an "understandable and uniform format and, to the extent practicable, in a language that the parents can understand". States and districts may also distribute this information to the media for publicising; post it on the Internet; or provide it to other public agencies for dissemination. Local school districts must notify parents if their child's school has been identified as needing improvement, corrective action or restructuring. Further information is available online.
NAEP (national assessment of educational progress)
NAEP test results are reported on a national (and recently in trials, on an individual state) basis. A multiple matrix sampling procedure allows for estimation of population characteristics from test results, which means that individual districts, schools, students etc. are not identified. 48 Results are reported for the nation as a whole, by region, gender, racial/ethnic group, parental education, community type and, on a voluntary basis, by state 10. However, only group statistics are reported; no individual student or teacher data are released.83
State assessment programmes
Results of the main state-wide assessment programmes are aggregated at state, district and school levels. In some cases, they also yield data about classes and individual students. Public reporting of school and district performance in such tests is a substantial undertaking in most of the states which have them, although the reporting procedures vary in the style, format, detail and quantity of documentation. Some may identify state-mandated targets year by year and include, for example, state-wide results and progress made on the various indicators along with detailed breakdowns of attainment sub-sets in subjects, showing relative strengths and weaknesses in relation to the average scores of a school's reference group. This latter information is intended for school and curriculum development purposes and is used by principals to identify in-service and resource needs for their schools.24
Use of such "league tables", based usually on the results of multiple choice tests, has increased in recent years, due in part to demands from parents, businesses and the taxpaying community for more accountability.29
Performance indicator systems in the United States have established core sets of data against which performance can be measured on an annual basis. The information is published in a variety of ways, including district and school reports, college and university publications and a wealth of national statistics. These reports provide a focus for discussion between managers at different levels, educationists and the public they serve. They also provide a series of starting points for negotiation of policy and funding issues. Through the variety of published documents which have emerged on all phases of the system, there is, albeit to a greater extent in some states and districts than in others, public access to clear information on the input and resource characteristics of most educational institutions.24
In many states there is a general expectation (in some a requirement) that school development planning will ensue from the reporting process. The approach , in principle, is to monitor schools, present them with performance data and then leave it to principals, together with parents and general administrative guidance from the district, to take the school forward. Advice is available in a variety of forms, often through state-employed curriculum consultants. There are moves in some states towards more corporate strategies, sharing good practice, building up advisory services and changing assessment objectives in an effort to bring about curriculum improvement 24.
Kentucky
By law, each school district and publicly-funded school must produce and distribute school and district report cards. The purpose of the School Report Card, introduced in the 1999/2000 academic year, is to keep parents and community members informed about what is going on in each Kentucky school. The elements of the School Report Card are:
Results of the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS/5) assessment are published by district and school. Parents also receive individual student reports detailing their child's performance in the Kentucky Core Content Tests and the CTBS/5 assessment.38 See 6.2.6. and 6.4.8.
Maryland
The Maryland School Assessment (MSA), which replaced the Maryland Scool Performance Assessment Programme (MSPAP) from March 2003, provides students, parents and teachers with two sets of scores on a report sent to the home of each student. One set - criterion-referenced scores - assesses the student's performance when measured against the state standards in reading and mathematics. The second set - the norm-referenced scores - reveals the student's performance in comparison with other students nationally. Some test items are counted for both test scores.157
Massachusetts
Under the Education Reform Act of 1993 7 , each district is required to maintain an individual record on every student and employee. Each student record includes a confidential identification number, basic demographic information, academic programme and course information and other data determined by the Department (of Education). 82
State-wide, district and school results in Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) testing are published. These provide details of percentages of students at each performance level by subject, and are available online.
However, the Massachusetts Department of Education does not rank cities or towns based on MCAS scores. 153
Wisconsin
See section 6.2.6.
General/national
To enter high school, students need to complete elementary school and the vast majority of those aged 14 to 17/18 enrol. 24
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
The results of National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) testing are available online via the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) website.
The tables below show recent NAEP percentage achievements in mathematics, science, reading and writing for the states covered in detail by the INCA Archive:
Grade 4 (children aged 9-10 years)
Percentage of students proficient or above in:
| Reading 2005 |
Writing 2002 |
Mathematics 2005 |
Science 2005 | |
| National Public Schools |
30 |
(:) |
35 |
27 |
| Kentucky |
30 |
27 |
27 |
36 |
| Maryland |
32 |
30 |
38 |
26 |
| Massachusetts |
44 |
44 |
49 |
38 |
| Wisconsin |
32 |
(:) |
42 |
35 |
Grade 8 (students aged 13-14 years)
Percentage of students proficient or above in:
| Reading 2005 | Writing 2002 | Mathematics 2005 | Science 2005 | |
| National Public Schools |
29 |
(:) |
29 |
27 |
| Kentucky |
31 |
25 |
22 |
31 |
| Maryland |
32 |
35 |
30 |
26 |
| Massachusetts |
44 |
42 |
43 |
41 |
| Wisconsin |
34 |
(:) |
36 |
39 |
Sources:
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/reading/
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/writing/
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/mathematics/
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/science/
Promotion/progression
In many states, the practice of 'social promotion' - moving students on regardless of their ability - does take place. Children often progress through the Grades simply by 'putting in time' because of pressure from parents, determined their child will not suffer the stigma of staying down a year, and because many principals are reluctant to halt their progress and make the school look bad. A small, but growing minority of districts are however acting to reduce this practice. It is estimated that between 15 and 20 per cent of American students are held back in the same Grade in any year. In urban districts, more than 50 per cent of children will be retained at least once 12.
In New York, since 2000, any student aged over 9 who has not reached the required standard to proceed to the next year, has been required to attend summer school until they meet new minimum academic standards. In order to be promoted to the next Grade, they are then required, at the summer's end, to pass a proficiency examination and demonstrate a 90 per cent attendance record. Those who then fail the end of summer exam have to repeat their last Grade, and spend an extra hour in class after school or attend evening classes.51