Proficiency
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Education
Opinion
Should/Does the School Improvement Industry Have Anything to Say About 100% Proficiency by 2014?
Proficency targets are the single most important factor determining the size of the school improvement market as measured by potential sales revenues.
Federal
Opinion
Is "Proficient" Too Much To Ask For?
"Outside of a handful of Asian nations, the typical 8th grader in many foreign countries would not meet “proficient” levels on U.S. tests of mathematics and science, according to a reanalysis of international achievement data being published today," begins this EdWeek story (Most Nations Fall Short of NAEP Proficiency, Analysis Finds). "Then again, the study also shows, neither do most American students."
Education
Letter to the Editor
Try to Explain Proficiency and Equity to the Media
"‘Proficiency for All’ Is an Oxymoron" (Commentary, Nov. 29, 2006) is indispensable reading for reporters and commentators who write about education because they are in a unique position to shape public opinion.
Federal
Opinion
‘Proficiency for All’ Is an Oxymoron
Richard Rothstein, Rebecca Jacobsen, and Tamara Wilder argue that accountability should begin with realistic goals that recognize human variability.
Education
'Proficiency for All' Is an Oxymoron
Is "proficiency for all" impossible? What should the No Child Left Behind Act require?
Assessment
Statistics Agency Gauging State ‘Proficiency’ Thresholds
The statistical arm of the U.S. Department of Education is conducting a study to see how states’ definitions of student academic proficiency compare with the way it is spelled out by the prominent national test known as “the nation’s report card.”
Education
A State Capitals Roundup
Washington State May Narrow Its Proficiency Targets
ington state’s Academic Achievement and Accountability Commission has tentatively decided to ask the state legislature to lower the scores on the state’s 10th grade reading, writing, and mathematics exams needed to meet new state graduation requirements.
Education
March Toward Proficiency
Following are the percentages of students who scored at or above "proficient" on the 2003 NAEP exams in reading and mathematics.
Assessment
Opinion
The Debasement of Student Proficiency
For proficiency goals to mean anything, states need to use a different kind of achievement test, W. James Popham argues.
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
Proficiency Is Not Enough
The 'No Child Left Behind' Act fails to balance equity with excellence, potentially neglecting many learners, writes Carol Ann Tomlinson.
Standards
States Revise the Meaning Of 'Proficient'
A number of states appear to be easing their standards for what it means to be "proficient" in reading and math because of pressures to comply with a new federal law. Includes "The Changing Definition of 'Proficient,'" and "Budget Woes Force States to Scale Back Testing Programs."
Education
The Changing Definition Of Proficient
The "No Child Left Behind" Act of 2001 requires that states set definitions of student proficiency in reading and mathematics achievement. Under the law, states must begin assessing student performance in those subjects in grades 3- 8 and once in high school by the end of the 2005-06 school year. And it sets a goal of having all students score at the proficient level by the end of the 2013-14 school year.
Assessment
A 'Proficient' Score Depends on Geography
What exactly does proficient mean? The answer, it appears, depends on where you live. Yet how states define the word is at the heart of the reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
Education
What's Proficient?
As the chart below shows, what's "good enough" to qualify as "proficient" may vary widely from state to state. Education Week compared the percent of students who scored at or above proficient on the National Assessment of Educational Progress and on state assessments in mathematics in 2000. Only the 25 states that participated in the state-level NAEP in 2000, tested students in math in the 4th or 8th grade that year, and reported test results by proficiency levels were included in the analysis. In every state, the percent of students performing at the proficient level on state tests was used, except where the state employs a different, but similar, term. See also the accompanying "What's Proficient" chart for 8th Grade Math.