Are Public Officials Explaining Test Scores Adequately?
Q. What are we to make of situations in which the same set of students look pretty good on one standardized test, but pretty so-so on another? How can you tell which test is accurate? Officials can jimmy the “cut scores” and “pass rates” of statewide standardized tests to suit their purposes – create a “crisis” that “requires” more tax funding, for example — or make themselves look better than they really are. The statistical gymnastics are endless, to the point where we need a Consumer Reports type evaluation of information dispensed by our own state officials, whose salaries are paid by . . . us! According to Matthew Ladner, vice president of research at the Arizona-based Goldwater Institute, it’s difficult for the public to sort through all the information about what test scores mean, especially when top state education officials don’t understand what the scores mean, either, or perhaps fuzz up the meaning if it makes them look bad. He wrote this message to supporters in April 2008
