According to the Manchester Union Leader:
"fourth-graders posting average scores higher than those in 49 other jurisdictions" AND "eighth-graders also showed improvement from the last time the test was administered in 2007, with a score higher than those in 44 states or jurisdictions"
It almost gives you a reason to celebrate, unless you dig deeper.
How many NH 4th and 8th grade students are proficient in math per the NAEP?
56% proficient per 2009 4th grade (up from 52% in 2007)
NAEP – Mathematics 2009: Grade 4 State Results43% proficient per 2009 8th grade (up from 38% in 2007)
NAEP – Mathematics 2009: Grade 8 State Results
So we are celebrating the fact that barely half of the 4th graders passed the test and less than half of the 8th graders passed the NAEP?
I guess the good news is, we didn’t fail as miserably as the rest of the country!!
Now when you compare the percentages of students who passed the NAEP (The National test) to the NECAP (the NH State standardized test) you will see a significant difference in the percentages reported as "proficient". (ie…the state showed far more children were proficient than the Feds)
Let’s look at the NECAP scores for 2008:
73 % proficient per 2008 NECAP 4th grade
65% proficient per 2008 NECAP 8th grade
32% proficient per 2008 NECAP 11th grade
I don’t think you need to be a mathematician to figure out that the state told parents that 73% of 4th graders were proficient, yet the Feds are telling us that only 56% passed the test. In 8th grade the Lynch Dept of Ed told us that 65% were proficient in math and the Feds said 43%. Is this fuzzy math?
What parents don’t know is, there is an incentive to dumb down the standardized tests. You can see it when you compare the NAEP to the NECAP. This is a problem that has been addressed across the country.
An article on the subject in today’s New York Times quotes a well-known expert on the sad reality:
“What this amounts to is a fraud,” said Diane Ravitch, an education historian who has been one of the most vocal critics of both the state exams and Mr. Klein. “This is a documentation of persistent dumbing down by the State Education Department and lying to the public.”
So before we go and give Governor Lynch a big pat on the back for a job well done, let’s consider all the facts. Let’s understand that right now the NH Dept of Ed is using a measuring tool that misleads parents into believing their children are proficient in mathematics.
Most importantly, let’s not forget what our current Education Secretary, Arne Duncan said in an article from the Chicago Tribune
"In too many places….we are lying to children now. [When] we tell a child they are meeting the state standards, the logical implication is that child’s on track to be successful. In too many places…. if you are meeting state standards you are barely qualified to graduate from high school and you are totally unqualified to go to a university and graduate," he said.
This is the grim reality.
Let’s save the celebrations for when we actually have a good measurement tool that shows the vast majority of the students are proficient…
[Check out these sites to monitor math education in New Hampshire: Math Wizards and the NH Coalition for World Class Math]
