The Los Angeles Times had a really interesting take on the Accountability Progress Report last Friday.
Basically, the paper found that California's use of a less difficult test -- the CAHSEE, which is first given in 10th grade -- to assess the performance of high school students led to more secondary campuses meeting federal guidelines. If the state relied on STAR results, fewer schools would meet federal proficiency standards.
The Times analysis identified about 300 high schools that were reported as meeting all federal standards even though their combined proficiency scores in math or English language arts on the California standards tests fell below proficiency levels required for federal compliance this year. Their passing marks were based on much higher scores registered on the easier high school exit exam.
In practical terms, this means that high schools are not being consistently evaluated on what their students are supposed to be learning. The situation exemplifies California's complex, uneven and often competing state and federal accountability systems.(snip)
Unlike elementary and middle schools, high schools are not rated on whether students master course work intended for their grade level. Instead, the accountability measure is the high school exit exam. It's one of California's high school diploma requirements, designed as a minimum standard for confirming what students have learned. The exam's math section, for example, is based on seventh-grade standards with portions of first-year algebra.
The paper notes that despite the less difficult test, only 48 percent of high schools met federal adequate yearly progess (AYP).
By the way, overall results for the CAHSEE (the California High School Exit Examination) are due out tomorrow.
Make the Cahsee easier.