Jennings says the most surprising aspect of the study were the results. The state test score trends were more positive than National Assessment of Education Performance (NAEP) trends. He said NAEP should not be a gold standard because it is not aligned with state curriculum, students are less motivated to do well and populations of students tested may differ.
As of deadline, NAEP did not return calls for comment.
“Our report might be controversial but we want to put out all the facts for a good discussion before the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act,” he says.
The study says other possible reasons for the results may include increased learning, teaching to the test, more lenient tests, scoring or data analyses, and changes in the populations tested. “Any or all of these factors in combination could be contributing to these trends,” the report indicates.
The NCLB will always be a moving target due to the constant revisions, appeals, corrections, rescoring, and other administrative issues, adds Jennings.
“But there is a clear need for more transparency in test data,” he says.
The report is available online at www.cep-dc.org
— By Shilpa Banerji
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