The Scores are out
Jul 17th, 2009 by David Anderson
We are almost ready to dump the DSTP. It appears that we are stuck with it one more year. It is mid-summer and the scores have finally been released to the public. There is little meaning to the scores as far as the public is concerned. They do not tell what student progress was made in the school. You have to be an insider or put in yeoman’s effort to get year to year stats for the same students. If a student transfers schools, did they improve? The scores come out after most parents have made the choice of where to send their children. The scores are almost useless as far as the public is concerned. The sooner we change; the better it is for all concerned.
If you want to understand the real meaning of the scores such as understanding who is tackling special needs students and those in poverty, follow the link.
Just as a side note, my smart, well studied children exceeded the standard. I am puzzled how one can score in the 99th percentile and still not be distinguished. That’s the DSTP.
When the Governor of a state announces publicly a week before testing that the test is invalid … he invalidates testing scores himself. His, and other legislators comments were inappropriate a week before testing to schools, educators, parents and most of all students. Tell a student something doesn’t really count and then watch how they perform.
It may have affected high school tests, but it had no effect on middle and elementary. They were stable and may have risen a little in some areas. You don’t unlearn what you learned in 6 months. The tests are in fact invalid and should not be around next year. They are too cheap to dump them.