What Do Test Scores in Texas Tell Us?

dc.creator	Stephen P. Klein et al
dc.creator	Laura Hamilton
dc.creator	Daniel F. McCaffrey
dc.creator	Brian Stecher
dc.date	2000-10-01T00:00:00Z
dc.date.accessioned	2015-07-20T22:07:28Z
dc.date.available	2015-07-20T22:07:28Z
dc.identifier	1068-2341
dc.identifier	https://doaj.org/article/f48647bd01d143ed9cf2c566b1f2a65c
dc.identifier.uri	http://evidence.thinkportal.org/handle/123456789/11228
dc.description	We examine the results on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS), the highest-profile state testing program and one that has recorded extraordinary recent gains in math and reading scores. To investigate whether the dramatic math and reading gains on the TAAS represent actual academic progress, we have compared these gains to score changes in Texas on another test, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Texas students did improve significantly more on a fourth-grade NAEP math test than their counterparts nationally. But, the size of this gain was smaller than their gains on TAAS and was not present on the eighth-grade math test. The stark differences between the stories told by NAEP and TAAS are especially striking when it comes to the gap in average scores between whites and students of color. According to the NAEP results, that gap in Texas is not only very large but increasing slightly. According to TAAS scores, the gap is much smaller and decreasing greatly. Many schools are devoting a great deal of class time to highly specific TAAS preparation. While this preparation may improve TAAS scores, it may not help students develop necessary reading and math skills. Schools with relatively large percentages of minority and poor students may be doing this more than other schools. We raise serious questions about the validity of those gains, and caution against the danger of making decisions to sanction or reward students, teachers and schools on the basis of test scores that may be inflated or misleading. Finally, we suggest some steps that states can take to increase the likelihood that their test results merit public confidence and provide a sound basis for educational policy.
dc.language	English
dc.language	Spanish
dc.language	Portuguese
dc.publisher	Arizona State University
dc.relation	http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/article/view/440
dc.relation	https://doaj.org/toc/1068-2341
dc.rights	CC BY
dc.source	Education Policy Analysis Archives, Vol 8, p 49 (2000)
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	DOAJ:Education
dc.subject	DOAJ:Social Sciences
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	DOAJ:Education
dc.subject	DOAJ:Social Sciences
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.title	What Do Test Scores in Texas Tell Us?
dc.type	article