Pennsylvania Shows Broad, Consistent Improvement

Pennsylvania Shows Broad, Consistent Improvement in Test Scores
Only State with Rising Test Scores Across the Board

Student achievement has risen across the board in Pennsylvania according to a 50-state study of test results by the Center on Education Policy (CEP), an independent nonprofit organization. From as early as 2002 to 2008, Pennsylvania showed gains on its state reading and mathematics tests at grades 4, 8 and 11, the Washington, D.C-based group found. Pennsylvania also made improvements at the basic, proficient and advanced levels of student achievement.

Pennsylvania was the only state in the CEP study with rising test scores across the board—at all three grade levels and all three achievement levels in both reading and math. Twenty-five states, including Pennsylvania, had the three or more years of comparable test data needed to analyze trends at all the grades, achievement levels, and subjects covered by the study. The other 25 states did not have as complete a set of trends because they had made changes in their testing programs within the past three years that affected the comparability of their data.

“Not only is it impressive that Pennsylvania’s schools have made such consistent improvement since 2002, but they also show gains at the high school level where nationally there is a serious problem,” said Jack Jennings, president and chief executive officer of CEP.
While many states showed across-the-board gains at the elementary and middle school levels, Pennsylvania was one of only five states to demonstrate gains in high school at all three achievement levels and both subjects (out of 25 states with necessary data). Among all states, gains were less prevalent at the high school level.

“The most important point of this analysis is that Pennsylvania has made solid progress in test scores between 2002 and 2008,” emphasized Jennings. “Pennsylvania’s results look good in our study, and the state is also in the top tier of states in its performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress.” Comparisons with other states have to be done carefully and include information in addition to test results, Jennings noted, because “every state has a different test, different cut scores, different curriculum standards, and different demographics.”

For three years, CEP has been conducting a unique study of all 50 states’ test results in reading/English language arts and math. This multi-year research, supported by charitable foundations and advised by a diverse panel of national experts, is the most comprehensive analysis ever done of state test results.

The full report:
http://www.cep-dc.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=document_ext.showDocumentByID&nodeID=1&DocumentID=285

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Federal and State Accountability in Washington State

NEWS RELEASE
Embargoed: Not for release before 10 a.m. PST Wednesday, July 29, 2009
CONTACT: Chloe Louvouezo at (202) 955-9450 ext. 320 or clouvouezo@communicationworks.com
Washington State Educators Prefer to Improve State High School Test Rather Than Eliminate It, Study Finds
High school teachers and administrators in Washington State have revised curriculum and instruction significantly to respond to federal and state testing and accountability policies, according to a new in-depth report by the Center on Education Policy (CEP). In particular, teachers have made a strong effort to ensure they cover the types of writing and reasoning skills emphasized by the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL), which serves as both a state high school exit exam and Washington’s accountability test for the No Child Left Behind law.

The CEP report, Lessons from the Classroom Level: Federal and State Accountability in Washington State, was based on detailed observations of 15 classrooms in English language arts, math, and science, as well as on interviews and focus groups with 145 teachers, administrators, parents, and students in six Washington State high schools in six different districts. (The schools and districts participated anonymously in the study.)

The administrators and teachers participating in the study cited several positive effects of the WASL, including better alignment between high school curriculum and the state’s academic standards, instruction that encouraged students to write coherently and explain how they reached their answers, and improved writing and reasoning skills among students.

While many teachers referred to the WASL in their instruction and made an effort to teach skills they expected to be tested, the standards and test did not appear to have a constricting effect. In the classrooms observed for the study, teachers often initiated open-ended discussion or Socratic-type dialogues and used technology creatively to motivate students.

Several districts and schools also offered additional courses, interventions, or parallel academic programs for students who have failed the WASL or are at risk of failing.

Study participants said they would rather see the state make changes to the WASL than eliminate it, as Washington State superintendent Randy Dorn has considered doing.
“Teachers and administrators told us that the uncertainty surrounding the future of the WASL has created confusion and stress,” said Jack Jennings, President and CEO of CEP. “Most wanted to keep the WASL and make it better instead of scrapping it.”
Study participants suggested several changes to the WASL, including shifting to an assessment that includes pre- and post-testing to capture individual students’ growth over a school year; breaking down test data in ways that are more relevant to teachers; and providing more professional development on using data to guide instruction.

Study participants also proposed changes to the No Child Left Behind Act and related state accountability requirements. These changes included using alternative measures of achievement for accountability, and revising accountability and test requirements to better consider the needs of English language learners and other students.
Washington State is one of three states participating in a larger study by CEP on the classroom impact of federal and state accountability. Last year, CEP issued reports on Rhode Island and Illinois.


Full report:
http://www.cep-dc.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=document_ext.showDocumentByID&nodeID=1&DocumentID=28

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Is There a Plateau Effect in Test Scores?

Many in the research, policy, and media worlds have taken for granted the existence of a phenomenon known as the “plateau effect,” wherein test scores rise in the early years of a test-based accountability system and then level off. The theory holds that the first few years of score gains, in which teachers and students are rapidly adjusting to the new test, are “low hanging fruit,” and that scores plateau in later years once the “easy” ways of making gains have been exhausted. But the most comprehensive study of the plateau effect to date, released today by the Center on Education Policy (CEP), calls this phenomenon into question.

Drawing from its database of reading and math test results from all 50 states going back as far as 1999, CEP researchers looked for evidence of a plateau effect in 55 trend lines from 16 states with six to ten years of consistent test data. The study revealed several main findings:
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In the current testing context, one cannot assume the existence of a plateau effect when trying to predict state test score trends.
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The largest gains did not consistently show up in the early years of a testing program.
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A clear upswing in test results was apparent after the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).
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In the three states with longer trend lines, gains generally did level off after nine or ten years, but the data were too limited to know whether this is a consistent pattern in state test performance.

The full report, State Test Score Trends Through 2008: Is There a Plateau Effect in Test Scores?, is the second in a series of 2009 CEP reports analyzing student achievement trends.

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