Illinois elementary school pupils passed the newly revamped state achievement exams at record rates last year, but critics suggest it was more the result of changes to the tests than real progress by pupils.
Overall, children passed 77 percent of all math, reading and science exams they took in 2006, compared with 69 percent the year before, according to a Tribune analysis of test data.
The 8 percentage-point gain is the biggest one-year increase since the state started giving the Illinois Standards Achievement Test in 1999.
On most exams, the 2005-2006 gains outpaced the improvement made over the previous five years combined. Low-income and minority pupils posted the largest increases, which helped narrow the pernicious gap between their performance and that of their white, Asian and more affluent counterparts.
State and local educators attribute the improvement to smarter pupils and teachers’ laser-like focus on the state learning standards–the detailed list of what pupils should know at each grade level. They also say that the more child-friendly exams, which included color and better graphics, helped pupils.
But testing experts and critics suggest that the unprecedented growth is more likely the result of changes to the exams.
Most notably, the state dramatically lowered the passing bar on the 8th-grade math test. As a result–after hovering at about 50 percent for five years–the pass rate shot up to 78 percent last year.
While the number of test questions remained generally the same, the number that counted on pupil scores dropped significantly.
Last year, pupils were scored on 51 questions on reading tests, state officials said, compared with about 67 in 2005. Pupils also were scored on one extended response, compared with two the year before. Extended response, which requires pupils to answer in essay form, is tougher than multiple choice.
Pupils also had more time. In reading, for example, pupils had up to 165 minutes, compared with 120 the year before.
“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that something doesn’t compute here,” said Lawrence Aleamoni, an education professor at the University of Arizona who has written extensively about tests. “The big jumps tell me something is going on here. All of the changes they made to the test will certainly inflate the scores.”
But state education officials argue that the 2006 exams are just as difficult as the previous tests.
“Everyone on our staff wholeheartedly believes that teachers prepared their kids well,” said Becky McCabe, who oversees testing for the Illinois State Board of Education, which administers the tests. “The kids were prepared for the tests and it shows in the results.”
In 2006, pupils in Grades 3 through 8 took state math and reading exams as part of No Child Left Behind requirements. Fourth and 7th graders were tested in science. In previous years, pupils in Grades 3, 5 and 8 took math and reading, and 4th and 7th graders were tested in science.
Nationwide–largely in response to the federal law–states have begun tinkering with their state exams, in part, to help boost pass rates.
In Illinois, those changes helped lift the scores of all but 52 of 766 elementary and unit school districts in Illinois, according to the Tribune analysis. Generally, districts with high percentages of poor and minority pupils, which traditionally post the lowest scores, saw the largest gains.
Statistically, the lower the pass rate, the easier it is to show progress. It’s tougher to move from 80 to 90 percent passing, than from 30 to 40 percent, testing experts say.
For example, the pass rate of low-income pupils on the 8th-grade math exam doubled, from 32 percent in 2005 to 64 percent last year, according to the Tribune analysis. For non-low-income pupils, the rate jumped from 68 to 87 percent.
On average, the state’s 8th graders correctly answered 56 percent of all questions on the math exams, according to the Tribune analysis. Still, many passed the exam.
“It’s an anomaly that blows the credibility of this test,” said Jeff Mays, president of the Illinois Business RoundTable, which opposed changes to the 8th-grade math test. “I think we need an independent party to come and look at this and help us build a road map to credibility.”
Some schools posted gains that bested the state and their district. At South Loop Elementary School in Chicago, pupils passed 80 percent of all tests last year, compared with 51 percent the year before.
South Loop’s principal, Pat Baccellieri, said his staff’s continued focus on data propelled the gains. Three times a year, his teachers gather to pick apart results from in-school assessments. They analyze the results to determine where their pupils are falling behind. Then, they change teaching strategies accordingly.
“I like the state tests because they require pupils to use higher-order thinking, not simply regurgitate back information,” Baccellieri said. “They want kids to analyze, synthesize and evaluate. So, we push out kids to be critical thinkers. “I think that helps them in life.”
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sbanchero@tribune.com
dlittle@tribune.com
drado@tribune.com
AN ARRAY OF FACTORS LEAD TO LATE REPORT CARD
The Illinois State Board of Education typically releases the annual statewide school report card data between October and December the year students take the exam.
That information includes scores for every achievement test taken by the state’s elementary and high school students, individual school and district information, and statewide averages for all tests. The report card also gives information about which schools met targets under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
This year, however, a series of missteps by school districts, the state board and the testing company have delayed the report card. The state board has released only the results of the Illinois Standards Achievement Test, taken by pupils in 3rd through 8th grades. The stories in Tuesday’s paper and the graphics on the Tribune Web site are based on that information.
Parents began receiving individual results for their children last week. But the state board will not officially release the report card information–including results from the high school exam–until next week.
The Chicago Tribune will publish the analysis of the report card data and post the school-by-school results on its Web site March 13.
Illinois is the only state in the country that has yet to release official results from the 2006 state exams.
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Test scores show big gains
A higher percentage of pupils passed the state achievement exams in 2006, but critics say the increase is likely due to several changes to the tests. One change gave pupils more time to finish.
OVERALL RESULTS
Percentage passing the Illinois Standards Achievement Test
ILLINOIS
2005 69%
2006 77%
CHICAGO
2005 48%
2006 62%
PERCENTAGE PASSING IN 2006
By subject and grade
READING / MATH / SCIENCE
( ) Percentage-point increase from 2005*
Illinois
3rd 71% (4) / 86% (6) / –
4th 73% / 85% / 80% (9)
5th 69% (6) / 79% (5) / –
6th 73% / 79% / –
7th 72% / 76% / 81% (6)
8th 79% (6) / 78% (24) / –
READING / MATH / SCIENCE
( ) Percentage-point increase from 2005*
Chicago
3rd 51% (9) / 67% (12) / –
4th 58% / 69% / 57% (14)
5th 50% (7) / 58% (9) / –
6th 59% / 62% / –
7th 63% / 62% / 68% (14)
8th 72% (13) / 65% (32) / –
*In 2006, all states were required to test children in Grades 3 through 8. Previously, only 3rd, 5th and 8th graders took reading and math tests.
Note: The passing threshold for the 8th-grade math test was lowered, in part accounting for the large increase. The threshold was lowered to better align with the standards required for math tests in other grades.
Chicago Tribune
– See microfilm for complete graphic.
