Perspective on Article: Test scores plummet as state raises standards

I recently posted a blog about a state wide plan that would increase the number of credits that high school students will need to graduate. Now here is an article on how changes to New Jersey elementary and middle school proficiency test have caused scores to drop tremendously. This has affected both urban and suburban schools in the state of New Jersey.

Since the revision every school in Newark is seeing double digit drops in the percentage of 5^th and 6^th graders passing the language arts section. In Paterson, NJ passing rates dropped 50 to 60%. In the Chatams where nearly all students generally passed, currently have rates of 80% passing and special education down 50%.

More students throughout the state of New Jersey are not considered proficient, as a result of the states revisions. Consider this; in sum cases the bar was set so low that a student only needed to get 33% of the questions correct to be deemed proficient.

It appears from the data provided that most of these students were not sufficiently prepared for any type of testing whether it was rigorous or not. Certainly setting the bar low is not the answer and I think it only compounds the problem. If a student is conditioned for a test that only requires him/her to get 1/3^rd of the questions correct, then some if not most will prepare to accomplish this only and more time will be spent on leisure activities such as playing games, surfing the internet, and listening to their ipods.

In my opinion something is terribly wrong and a fix is needed. The revision needs to be revisited because the rate of non-proficiency can conceivably increase. Mistakes are made and it is my hope that this issue will be resolved.

I think there has been to much focus on teaching to the test. Students need to be motivated and pedagogical methods that focus on understanding, which brings meaning to the subject content matter need to be implemented.