Education

Results of Revised Conn. Test Raise Educators’ Eyebrows

By Debra Viadero — February 23, 1994 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Local school administrators in Connecticut are raising questions about the first results from the state’s newly revised student-testing program.

The state recently overhauled its testing program, raising standards for student performance on the assessments and replacing multiple-choice questions with open-ended questions and performance-based tasks.

But some school officials have complained that the results on the writing portion of the test do not reflect accurately what their students can do.

“We were surprised at the writing results at the 8th-grade level,’' said Carol Parmelee-Blancato, the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction for the Middletown school district.

According to test results released last month, only 47 percent of Middletown 8th graders scored at the remedial level on the test.

The teachers of some of the students who did poorly on the test questioned whether the results were accurate, Ms. Parmelee-Blancato explained.

“We’re just asking the state to provide us with more information so we can determine what the causes are,’' she added.

Other districts, such as the relatively affluent communities of Durham and Middlefield, plummeted in the state rankings as a result of poor writing scores.

‘What Is Going On?’

Despite local officials’ concerns, “There is no evidence of any problems with the test,’' said Peter Behuniak, the state director of student assessment.

The writing portion of the test, for which students were given a prompting question or statement and told to write for 45 minutes, changed little in the revised testing program, Mr. Behuniak said. The only differences on that part of the test were that students’ writing was judged according to higher standards and a more detailed scoring rubric was used.

Mr. Behuniak said the state education department also has not received any more inquiries this year than it has in previous years.

Still, state assessment officials have agreed to meet with local school administrators to review scores and answer questions.

One such review, completed late last week, has already validated the test results for Durham students, Mr. Behuniak said.

Statewide, students fared poorly on all sections of the new test, which was administered to 120,000 students in grades 4, 6, and 8 in reading, writing, and mathematics. The number of students who failed to meet state educational standards tripled from 1992 to 1993.

“When superintendents see that, it’s not too surprising that their first reaction is, ‘What is going on?’'' Mr. Behuniak observed.

A version of this article appeared in the February 23, 1994 edition of Education Week as Results of Revised Conn. Test Raise Educators’ Eyebrows

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Briefly Stated: February 21, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 7, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: January 31, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education Briefly Stated: January 17, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read