News
Larger trend to raise student achievement
August 26, 2010
The new changes to the scoring method were based in part on a series of studies indicating that scoring a Level 3 was not by itself a strong enough predictor of a students’ future success on high school Regents exams or college coursework, according to the state education department.
Within the next few years, the format and
standards on the state tests are expected to change as well, with
the tests becoming longer and more challenging.
The changes were announced in late May by the Board of Regents as
part of a broader educational reform effort to align the state
curriculum with national standards.
“‘Proficiency’ on our exams has to mean something real; no good purpose is served when we say that a child is proficient when that child is not,” Regents Chancellor Merryl H. Tisch said in a recent news release.
Spring said district leaders are still
reviewing Mohonasen’s testing data to identify problem areas – both
for individual students and each grade level.
“As always, our goal is to see every student succeed to the best of
their ability and these exams are one indicator of many that aid us
in achieving this goal,” Spring said. “We will continue to take a
close look at these results and look for ways to improve teaching
and learning for the students of Mohonasen.”
While Spring said it is difficult to see such a large drop in proficiency levels, she adds that Mohonasen is already focused on making sure students are more prepared for college and the 21st-Cenury workplace.
“We applaud this move by state leaders to increase standards,” she said. “Now we must all work together to implement these standards in ways that are good for kids.”
