More Scores, More Controversy
October 21st, 2005
New Yorkers got another set of student test scores this week — and more debate about what they mean. The results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress found that, while the performance of fourth and eight graders in New York State had improved over the past decade, there has been little progress in the past two years. And critics pointed to the gap between the results on the national test — which showed little recent improvement — and the scores on statewide tests, which indicated sharp gains by New York students.
Education expert Diane Ravitch told the Sun that the national results provided evidence that “New York State practices grade inflation.” “The state has been dumbing down its test,” said Sol Stern of the Manhattan Institute.
Not so, said a Daily News editorial, branding such accusations politically motivated. In fact, the paper said, the national “scores show that huge numbers of New York children are doing terrifically.”
Using the results to try to assess Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s school reforms — pro or con — is a bit of a stretch, since the city results won’t even be available until December. Looking beyond the city — and beyond Wonkster’s turf — the scores provided the first report card on the Bush administration’s No Child Left Behind education law — and the news was not good for the White House. “No one can be satisfied with these results,” Ross Wiener, of the Education Trust, which backed No Child, told the Washington Post. “There’s been a discernible slowdown in progress since ‘03, at a time when we desperately need to accelerate gains.” In response, the Post reported, “The administration scrambled to put the best face on the numbers and to defend the law.” Guess it took their minds off Harriet Miers and a possible indictment of Karl Rove.
By Gail Robinson on October 21, 2005, 6:51 pmIn category: Education | 1 Comment »

