Federal

Federal Review Puts State Tests Under Scrutiny

By Lynn Olson — November 29, 2005 3 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
BRIC ARCHIVE

By the end of this month, 26 states will have undergone a “peer review” to determine whether their standards and tests meet the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

The reviews, conducted by a team of at least three experts in the fields of standards and assessment, are required under the law. The reviewers do not look at the standards and tests themselves, but at documents showing that the assessments meet the law’s requirements.

Boxes of tests arrive in the scanning room.

As of Nov. 21, the U.S. Department of Education had posted letters to six states—Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, and West Virginia—on its Web site granting them “deferred” or “final review pending” status under the law.

To receive deferred approval, a state must be able to fully implement its standards and tests this school year; “final review pending” indicates the state still has not met the preponderance of NCLB testing requirements and must submit more evidence. Such documentation can range from technical reports or test manuals, to state statutes and regulations, to memos summarizing the testing program.

One of the issues giving states trouble is a requirement to provide “performance descriptors” that explain the competencies a student must master in mathematics or reading to reach a particular performance level, such as “proficient.”

Those descriptions must pertain to specific academic content, said Sue Rigney, an education specialist at the Education Department. “What’s not acceptable is to see these very generic descriptors that are the same across grade levels and content areas,” she said.

States also are struggling to prove the quality of their alternate assessments for students with disabilities who cannot take the regular exams, and those tests’ link to state standards.

View a complete collection of stories in this Education Week special report, Testing Takes Off.

States were required to have alternate assessments in place by 2001 under the prior reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. But it wasn’t until last summer that the department provided guidance about the criteria for such tests if they are pegged to other than a grade-level standard.

As a result, said Rachel Quenemoen, a senior research fellow at the National Center on Education Outcomes, based at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, states have been designing alternate assessments during a period of constantly changing policy and emerging research.

“The states have come a long, long way,” she said, “but the depth of the research and the attention that it’s gotten is very, very slim. The conditions under which states were working with alternate assessments have changed dramatically.”

‘Really Encouraged’

As they add tests this school year to comply with the nearly 4-year-old NCLB law, states must design performance standards for those new tests that mesh with those already set for other grades.

In many cases, that will require states to revisit their existing cutoff scores, so that students who perform well in one grade can reasonably be expected to perform well in the next.

Much of that standards-setting will occur over the summer of 2006, after the new tests are given for the first time this coming spring. That will require the federal Education Department to gather additional evidence from most states before it can give full approval to their systems.

Even so, said Kerri L. Briggs, a senior policy adviser in the office of the deputy U.S. secretary of education, “I think we’re really encouraged at this point about where states are.”

Fewer than a dozen states, she noted, had received final approval of their testing systems under the previous reauthorization of the federal education law, in 1994. This time around, the department has made it clear that waivers of the law’s testing requirements will not be acceptable.

“From the get-go, we’ve been really serious about this provision, in particular,” said Ms. Briggs, “and we have every intention of implementing it.”

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Reading & Literacy Webinar
Literacy Success: How Districts Are Closing Reading Gaps Fast
67% of 4th graders read below grade level. Learn how high-dosage virtual tutoring is closing the reading gap in schools across the country.
Content provided by Ignite Reading
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Artificial Intelligence Webinar
AI and Educational Leadership: Driving Innovation and Equity
Discover how to leverage AI to transform teaching, leadership, and administration. Network with experts and learn practical strategies.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School Climate & Safety Webinar
Investing in Success: Leading a Culture of Safety and Support
Content provided by Boys Town

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

Federal Trump's K-12 Record in His First Term Offers a Blueprint for What Could Be Next
In his first term, Trump sought to significantly expand school choice, slash K-12 spending, and tear down the U.S. Department of Education.
11 min read
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos listens at left as President Donald Trump speaks during a round table discussion at Saint Andrew Catholic School on March 3, 2017, in Orlando, Fla.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos listens at left as President Donald Trump speaks during a round table discussion at Saint Andrew Catholic School on March 3, 2017, in Orlando, Fla. The education policies Trump pursued in his first term offer clues for what a second Trump term would look like for K-12 schools.
Alex Brandon/AP
Federal From Our Research Center How Educators Say They'll Vote in the 2024 Election
Educators' feelings on Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump vary by age and the communities where they work.
4 min read
Jacob Lewis, 3, waits at a privacy booth as his grandfather, Robert Schroyer, fills out his ballot while voting at Sabillasville Elementary School, Nov. 8, 2022, in Sabillasville, Md.
Jacob Lewis, 3, waits at a privacy booth as his grandfather, Robert Schroyer, fills out his ballot while voting at Sabillasville Elementary School, Nov. 8, 2022, in Sabillasville, Md.
Julio Cortez/AP
Federal Q&A Oklahoma State Chief Ryan Walters: 'Trump's Won the Argument on Education'
The state schools chief's name comes up as Republicans discuss who could become education secretary in a second Trump administration.
8 min read
Ryan Walters, then-Republican candidate for Oklahoma State Superintendent, speaks at a rally, Nov. 1, 2022, in Oklahoma City.
Ryan Walters speaks at a rally on Nov. 1, 2022, in Oklahoma City as a candidate for state superintendent of public instruction. He won the race and has built a national profile for governing in the MAGA mold.
Sue Ogrocki/AP
Federal Why Trump and Harris Have Barely Talked About Schools This Election
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump haven't outlined many plans for K-12 schools, reflecting what's been the norm in recent contests for the White House.
6 min read
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris participate during an ABC News presidential debate at the National Constitution Center, Tuesday, Sept.10, 2024, in Philadelphia.
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris participate in an ABC News presidential debate at the National Constitution Center on Sept.10, 2024, in Philadelphia.
Alex Brandon/AP