Test goal changes reset NCLB clock for schools

By Eileen Oldfield Staff Writer
   HILLSBOROUGH — A change in the state’s method of scoring some of the required tests under the No Child Left Behind Act is resetting the clock for the law’s requirement.
   The changed Adequate Yearly Progress designations for fifth- through eighth-grade test scores will go toward establishing a new baseline for test scores under the NCLB.
   Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum Lisa Antunes presented the 2007-2008 test scores at Monday’s Board of Education meeting; however, she said districts statewide received a Sept. 10 letter from Education Commissioner Lucille Davy informing them of the scoring changes.
   According to the letter, the tests were changed to produce better information on the students’ mastery of core concepts determined by the state. Because of the redesign and new definitions on proficient scores, students must earn at least 50 percent of the possible points in a subject area to attain a proficient designation.
   The State Board of Education adopted the changes July 20 — months after students took the tests.
   ”This year, we raised the bar that requires students to earn 50 percent of the possible test points in order to be deemed proficient,” the letter read. “… One result of the raising of the achievement standards is that more students may fall into the ‘partially proficient’ category.”
   According to Department of Education spokesman Rich Vespucci, the changes in scoring make this year’s test results impossible to compare to prior years.
   ”You can’t compare the one test to the other test,” Mr. Vespucci said. “In effect, now it’s become a different test.”
   The 2007 to 2008 testing scores will represent a new baseline for districts, with schools’ progress toward NCLB goals being measured during the next set of tests.
   As a result, any educational sanctions a district could incur would be waived for this year, with districts being held to last year’s sanctions.
   The district has not heard definite confirmation on the Adequate Yearly Progress numbers for the tests, Dr. Antunes said. Mr. Vespucci said the AYP goals should be released by the end of the month, though he did not have a confirmed date.
   Since a single failing subgroup can earn a school a “failing” designation under the NCLB, the scores can affect any penalties the district would receive for missing the expected gains.
   The NCLB Act sets requirements for schools to improve scores on standardized tests for students, with breakdowns by race, special needs, and language background.
   Language arts scores for fifth-grade Special Education students and Economically Disadvantaged students could cause concern for the district, with the subgroups receiving 28.6 percent proficient for Special Education students, and 51.5 percent proficient for Economically Disadvantaged students.
   Though the potential new goal is set at 82 percent proficient, neither group would have even met the 76 percent proficiency needed had the goal remained constant.
   The two subgroups received similar scores on the math portion of the exam, which the district expects will have a 73 percent proficient goal.
   In some cases, the Adequate Yearly Progress designation hangs in limbo, however. Math scores for the fifth-grade Black subgroup showed 64 percent proficient, with the old goal being 62 percent proficient.
   The Economically Disadvantaged, Special Education, and Hispanic subgroups missed both the new and old Adequate Yearly Progress goals, with the groups receiving 56.8 percent proficient, 40.8 percent proficient, and 54.5 percent proficient respectively. The potential new goal is 76 percent proficient, whereas the old goal was 66 percent proficient.
   Math scores for sixth-graders in the Special Education and Hispanic subgroups also hang in the balance. The Special Education students’ 52.6 percent proficient and the Hispanic students’ 54.5 percent proficient fall under the expected 62 percent proficient goal, but over former goal of 49 percent proficiency.
   Seventh-grade language arts scores for the Hispanic and Economically Disadvantaged subgroups fall between the scores too, with the Hispanic subgroup receiving 73.3 percent proficiency and the Economically Disadvantaged subgroup receiving 75.6 percent proficiency. Had the 66 percent proficient goal remained constant, the groups would attain Adequate Yearly Progress, however, a 76 percent proficiency goal has the groups falling short.
   Seventh-grade Special Education Language Arts scores missed both goals, receiving a 46.4 percent proficient rating.
   Seventh-grade Hispanic students’ 73.3 percent proficient score fell between the former 49 percent goal and the potential 56 percent goal for the math standardized tests. However, Special Education students, who received at 38.4 percent proficiency score, and Limited English Proficiency students, who received a 28.6 percent proficient score, missed both goals.
   Eighth-grade Special Education students received a 67.7 percent proficient on the language arts portion of their exam, placing them between the 66 percent proficient goal and the new 76 percent proficient goal.
   Eighth-grade Special Education students’ math scores remain a problem for the district, with the subgroup scoring 40.2 percent proficient — under both the old 49 percent proficient goal and the new 62 percent proficient goal. Eighth-grade Hispanic students received a 56.1 percent proficient score, placing the subgroup between the scores.
   The fourth-grade language arts scores for the Black subgroup scored 81.1 percent proficient with an 82.6 percent proficient goal. High School Language Arts scores for the Special Education and Hispanic subgroups received a 70.5 percent proficient and 83.8 percent proficient with an 85 percent proficient goal. The High School Special Education and Hispanic subgroups scored 57.4 percent proficient and 64.9 percent proficient on the math portion of their tests, with a goal of 74 percent proficient.
   The presentation is available on the district Web site, www.hillsborough.k12.nj.us.
   Despite some of the scores, many of which depend on what the state determines as the goal, Dr. Antunes said the district would not have changed its education plan had it known about the changed goals.
   ”All that means is that we have to have a plan,” Dr. Antunes said. “ … We’ve never lost sight of the fact that we don’t want to leave any child behind.”