Proficiency
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Reading & Literacy
Is the Bottom Falling Out for Readers Who Struggle the Most?
A growing proportion of 4th and 8th graders read at the lowest level on national tests. Experts are working to understand why.
Student Achievement
Quiz
Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Education/Workforce Readiness?
Quiz Yourself: How are students doing with education and workforce readiness?
Accountability
Opinion
Counting 'Proficient' Students Creates Bad Accountability
Accountability targets based on the percentage of 'proficient' students obscure real differences between schools, encourage bad instructional practices, and encourage the wrong kind of intervention, writes Morgan Polikoff.
Reading & Literacy
States Are Setting Bar Higher for 'Proficiency'
A pair of studies show that states’ math and English tests are getting tougher and tougher to pass.
Education
Opinion
Using Blended Learning to Increase Reading Proficiency in Early Grades
With schools facing increasing pressure to have their rd graders read at grade level, technology can be a huge help.
Reading & Literacy
Report Roundup
Student Proficiency
What U.S. states expect students to know varies widely and often falls short of international standards for learning, a new report from the American Institutes for Research shows.
School & District Management
Opinion
Consortium Points the Way on Proficiency-Based Learning
David Ruff is the executive director of the Great Schools Partnership and coordinates the New England Secondary School Consortium (NESSC), a project of the Great Schools Partnership in Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. He favors a proficiency-based education model.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
NAEP Economics Results Highlight Proficiency Gaps
More than half of American 12th graders lack proficiency in economics, according to new results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress
Assessment
Opinion
Formative Assessment Efficiency, Summative Assessment Proficiency
I'm often surprised when teachers are surprised when their students perform poorly on tests. Sure there are kids whose scores belie their skills, such as those who have test anxiety or had a bad day or took the test on an empty stomach. For the most part, though, students' performance on tests is predictable based on their day to day performance in class. And that's the problem: teachers who are surprised by students' performance on tests often aren't assessing students' understanding in class as routinely or effectively as they need to be.
School & District Management
Science 'Proficiency' Wide Ranging Across States
A new report finds that in many cases, what a state has deemed a proficient score is equivalent to below "basic" on the science NAEP.
International
Letter to the Editor
Commentary Gave False Picture of NAEP Proficiency
To the Editor:
In a recent Commentary ("NAEP's Odd Definition of Proficiency," Oct. 26, 2011), James Harvey makes inaccurate assertions about the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, achievement levels—specifically, that they are invalid and that the "proficient" level is set too high.
In a recent Commentary ("NAEP's Odd Definition of Proficiency," Oct. 26, 2011), James Harvey makes inaccurate assertions about the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, achievement levels—specifically, that they are invalid and that the "proficient" level is set too high.
Assessment
Opinion
NAEP's Odd Definition of Proficiency
NAEP's proficient standard is beyond the reach of students and it has little to do with how states measure achievement, James Harvey argues.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Nation Should Seek More Than 'Proficiency'
To the Editor:
The news that states have failed to raise standards on math and reading tests is certainly disappointing, but not at all surprising (“What Do Rising Title I Achievement Scores Really Mean?,” Inside School Research blog, Aug. 10, 2011). The federal education framework set in place by the No Child Left Behind Act requires our country’s states, districts, and schools to focus exclusively on maximizing the number of students considered “proficient” on end-of-year tests. This myopic attention to “proficiency” has led to two disturbing, but wholly unsurprising results: First, as your report noted, states have lowered standards to increase the number of students considered “proficient.”
The news that states have failed to raise standards on math and reading tests is certainly disappointing, but not at all surprising (“What Do Rising Title I Achievement Scores Really Mean?,” Inside School Research blog, Aug. 10, 2011). The federal education framework set in place by the No Child Left Behind Act requires our country’s states, districts, and schools to focus exclusively on maximizing the number of students considered “proficient” on end-of-year tests. This myopic attention to “proficiency” has led to two disturbing, but wholly unsurprising results: First, as your report noted, states have lowered standards to increase the number of students considered “proficient.”