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Reading Stats & Assessment Standards-a legacy of reform
Posted:
Jun 23, 1995 9:00 PM
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Folks-
Several people questionned my assertion about the terrible state of fourth
graders' reading.
The following is from the California Dept. of Education Taskforce on Reading
which has been called together in an almost emergency situation, because of
the free fall of California reading scores. And from what I understand the
Golden State is the bastion of whole language instruction.
This is copied right off the Net.
>STUDENT ASSESSMENT DATA
>Tej Pandey presented an overview of the California Learning Assessment
>System (CLAS) data and the National Assessment of Educational Progress
>(NAEP) report on reading. Pandey explained the evolution from
>multiple choice to performance-based assessment.
>CLAS tests students against a standard and presents results in terms of
>six levels. Results released in April showed that only 23% of fourth
>graders achieved level 4 or above, and only 38% of eighth graders
>achieved level 4 or above.
>NAEP compares states based on the levels of advanced, basic, or below
>proficiency. While there is an overall national decline in reading,
>California now falls virtually at the bottom of 39 states reporting.
>Only one third of California's fourth graders achieve at basic or
>advanced levels. Task Force members discussed many issues around
>student achievement and assessment.
BTW. Why isn't everyone buzzing over the Assessment Standards? I'm
particularly interested in the "Equity Standard" on pages 15 and 16.
On page 15, "Assessments have too often ignored differences in students'
experiences, physical condition, gender, ethnic, cultural, and social
backgrounds in an effort to be fair. This practice has led to assessments
that do not take differences among students into account."
Lovely. So standards to the NCTM really mean standards depending on not what
kind of mathematician you are, but rather what type of person you are.
And I was attacked when I suggested there was more than a tinge of political
correctness to the NCTM and its "Standards".
Dan Hart
LAUSD "Equity above Excellence"
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