NCES Finds States Lowered 'Proficiency' Bar

Results May Help Drive Common-Standards Effort

With 2014 approaching as the deadline by which states must get all their students up to “proficient” levels on state tests, a study released last week by the U.S. Department of Education’s top statistics agency suggests that some states may have lowered student-proficiency standards on such tests in recent years.

For the 47-state study , researchers under contract to the National Center for Education Statistics used student test scores to figure out where the proficiency levels on various state tests would fall on the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

Their results suggest that between 2005 and 2007, various states made their standards less rigorous in one or more grade levels or subjects in at least 26 instances. In 12 instances, particular states appeared to make their standards more stringent in one or more...

This article is available to subscribers only.

To keep reading this article and more, subscribe now or purchase this article.

Already have an account? Please login.


Subscribe to Education Week and Save

Get a full year and save up to 45%!

Premium Online + Print


37 issues + Online Access
$89

You Save 45%

SUBSCRIBE NOW

(See details.)

Premium Online


12 Months Online Access
$74

You Save 38%

SUBSCRIBE NOW

(See details.)


Correction: 
An early version of this story incorrectly said that a majority of states had made their testing standards less rigorous between 2005 and 2007, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. An NCES report found that among states that made changes to their testing systems, tests were made less rigorous nearly half the time.

Most Popular Stories

Viewed

Emailed

Recommended

Commented