PA graduation tests inadequate

From the Centre Daily Times

Study finds many Pa. graduation tests inadequate
By MARK SCOLFORO - Associated Press Writer Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2009

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Many of the graduation tests being used in Pennsylvania schools fail to adequately measure whether students perform at 11th grade levels in math and reading, according to a study released Wednesday.

* Copy of the Study

Education Secretary Gerald Zahorchak said the study shows Pennsylvania needs to take steps to ensure its high school graduates are ready for post-secondary education and the workplace.

"It's not a good situation," he said Wednesday. "The data obviously tell the story."

The study by two Penn State University education professors found great variation in the type of tests being used and how they are administered and applied.

The professors called it the most comprehensive look at the tests school districts use as an alternative to the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment, which measures all students at various stages, including 11th grade.

It was commissioned by the state Education Department at a cost of $276,000.

The study found there are districts that measure reading skills in ways that do not involve actual reading - by testing vocabulary, for example. Some districts' graduation assessments give students credit for their attendance, course grades or good citizenship.

Math and reading tests in just 18 of the 418 districts that were evaluated passed muster by fully meeting the study's standards, which compared the local tests with statewide proficiency standards. Unpaid panels of Pennsylvania public school educators examined the local tests.

Panelists described some assessments as thorough and professional, while others evidenced a lack of concern for the purpose of graduation tests, the report said.

As a condition of participation in the study, school districts were promised that their ratings by the panelists would not be disclosed publicly, although superintendents can get their own.

The Pennsylvania State Board of Education has proposed a statewide standard for graduation by 2014 that would include final exams in English, math, science and social studies. But opposition by the state school boards' association and some state lawmakers has stalled it.

In July, the Independent Regulatory Review Commission issued a report saying graduation tests should be tailored to individual districts rather than imposed uniformly across the state.

More than 50,000 students graduated in 2007 based on their local district's alternative test, and the Education Department has concluded that tens of thousands of students are currently allowed to graduate without sufficient skills.

Education Department spokesman Mike Race said the study "raises very serious questions about these local assessments, which is what we've been saying for months."