Ohio has withdrawn from the federally funded PARCC test, but the results came in from last spring’s tests. A little more than one-third “met expectations.” Put another way, nearly two-thirds “failed.”
Under the old state tests, 75-80% were proficient. Ohio softened the blow of high failure rate by creating a new category called “Approached Expectations.” This reduced the proportion of “failures.”
“That will have, for example, students that “Met Expectations” on PARCC rated as “Accelerated” by Ohio. And students will be labeled as “Proficient” by Ohio, even if they still just “Approached Expectations” of the 12 PARCC states.
“That means that many more kids will labeled as “Proficient” than the PARCC states would consider as meeting expectations.
“Jim Wright, ODE’s director of assessment, told the board this morning that shouldn’t be a concern.
“Educators across the country have warned that scores and ratings would drop with the new tests. The proposed ratings will bring a drop, just not the “cliff” that people warned about, Wright said.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Instead of “Approached Expectations,” how about, “Almost Didn’t Fail,” or maybe, “Better Luck Next Time”?
LikeLike
“Close only counts in horseshoes and hand granades”?
LikeLike
Close also counts in bocci ball
Oh, and also in encounters of the third kind.
LikeLike
Horseshoes, bocci ball, hand grenades and Atomic Weapons!
LikeLike
Black holes too
LikeLike
Darts
LikeLike
Jarts (lawn darts)
LikeLike
The general public still doesn’t understand. The comments on the article show many people believe this is evidence of public school ineptitude. Comment if you can spare a minute of time. Thank you!
LikeLike
I love how all the adults commenting were apparently much, much smarter than today’s children.
Public schools must have gotten much, much worse the moment all those people graduated from a public school, huh?
LikeLike
I’m blown away by the absolute venom directed at teachers &/or the their union. I can’t help wondering if each of those commenters actually had 1st hand experience with teachers to inspire such deep hatred, or if they’re just picking up & running with the demonization of the teaching profession that’s become fashionable in mainstream media &, sadly, the Republican party. I’m guessing that in most cases it’s the latter. Very sad. On a WSJ article I posted a link to Dianne’s recent post about Pennsylvania teachers’ union members voting to go to work w/o pay to support the students, but it seems like spitting in the ocean.
LikeLike
Keep posting, Lenny. Be fearless. The malefactors of great wealth are cowards.
LikeLike
It ain’t just the Rethuglicans but also the Dimocraps!
LikeLike
One of the problems with n m e standards. If you are in need – no one knows how close you are. Missing by .1 %? By 20%?
Same with exceeds: .5 or 30?
LikeLike
And even then, regardless of the percentage the kids “miss the mark”, it’s all still relative…and a big waste of students’ time! I’d rather my kiddos be learning! I would hate for them to turn into our new Rheepublicans and folks of that sort. Then again, I know my former students won’t because they were tested to death! 12 times a year, at least! And when they got their scores, many would toss them in the trash (it’s a good thing for expectations or their would have been in the floor lol), and some of the more passionate kids who “missed the mark” would tear up and want to quit! The kids who did well just stressed out more and asked how to improve. I’d tell them to just keep doing what they’re doing…learning.
LikeLike
Not a cliff? Really???
Texas pulls this trick every time they change tests now. I suppose every state has different terminology for their charade. What you end up with is a dumbfounding situation where a lot of parents think their kids are doing well (they trust the state), most teachers are shaking their heads and doing the best they can, administrators are chasing their tail, and politicians have the best of both worlds (they can use results for good or bad).
Sadly, the reality remains, we don’t really know how well our kids are doing. I’ve been through training for analyzing results from the STAAR (Texas) tests. We’re told everything is in order and well be ok if we keep working at it, it’s ok that the passing standards were lowered.
No it is not ok! The results are not reliable when tests are too hard. Children, both young and old, struggle so much that the stress has to have a negative impact on their cognitive abilities during the test. That factor can’t be quantified. There are other issues similar t o this as well in relation to accurate results.
Then there is what I believe is the single most significant issue, it’s the motivation behind creating these ridiculously difficult tests that are intended to FAIL most kids. We cannot and should not trust the quality of these tests.
-a retired administrator
LikeLike
I understand the frustration with standardized tests. Yet, when I used to travel through this country a lot, it was sad to see the disparity in where children were. In mobile, al I visited with friends and their children. Hearing them read as 4th and 5th graders was scary. This was not a poor neighborhood, so it cannot be blamed on that factor.
Stopping in Arkansas a similar visit, similar socio-economic (that’s where you find your friends – in the same level where you are) but totally different experience.
and this was way, way before NCLB (80’s).
How can you work towards the same level of development no matter where you are?
Apart from that, how do you know without some kind of testing where your students are?
The say-so of the teacher is too subjective – either direction.
What, then, is a workable and objective, not driven by profit or threats, method to measure?
LikeLike
Insanity is as inanity does. . . strike that. . . Inanity is as insanity does!
The river beckons, mid 80’s (hell it could be mid teens and I wouldn’t care) during the day, 60s during the night-won’t even need a fire other than to cook on.
Good floating, fishing, fooding, and generalized FUNNING!
Getting away from the insanities and inanities for the week.
LikeLike
Playing with numbers
They might just as well throw the test papers down the stairs and assign each step they land on a grade. It makes as much sense.
Wheeeeeee!
LikeLike