With No Child Left Behind mandates, each state sets levels of proficiency. Some are high and some are very low. Where does your state fall?

The Proficiency Illusion

The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation released a report on October 5th that shows a large discrepancy in how states set standards for proficiency. The foundation's president, Chester E. Finn, Jr. says, "A lot of states don’t expect very much of their kids, and [standards] are enormously discrepant from state to state, subject to subject and from grade to grade." [Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, edweek.org, October 5, 2007]

No Common Measuring Stick

Boston College conducted a study this year, State Tests, NAEP Often a Mismatch, released on June 13th. Researcher Henry Braun states, "The notion that in states with less stringent standards … students are being declared proficient and can make their way through the system … but are not ready to compete with graduates from other states that have standards that are much more stringent is a huge problem." [Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, edweek.org, October 5, 2007]

Math and Reading

In education, math and reading are considered crucial subjects and are monitored annually in schools. A study by Northwest Evaluation Association in Portland, Oregon shows that third grade assessments are less challenging than eighth grade assessments. [Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, edweek.org, October 5, 2007] A child can easily do well in third grade but find great difficulty taking the assessment in eighth grade. This glitch can give teachers, parents and students a false impression of how well the student is actually doing in school. Families often learn of the differences when they move out of the state.

Moving From State To State

Society is very mobile. Students cross state borders frequently. What happens when a student moves from a state with low standards to a state with high standards? These students find themselves very frustrated because they are not prepared for the more challenging curriculums. Grades can quickly drop from As and Bs to Cs and Ds. After taking the new state’s standardized tests, a student can fall from proficient to non-proficient. And, what about entering college? Students that ranked proficient in high school are asked to take remedial classes in college.

MAP

A MAP study, Measures of Academic Progress, reveals states with the highest and lowest proficiency benchmarks. The study included 26 states.

Highest

• California
• Massachusetts
• South Carolina

Lowest

• Colorado
• Michigan
• Wisconsin

To make it even more confusing, some states have different proficiency standards from grade to grade and subject to subject. The median score within the 26 states tested was 30 in math and 30.5 in reading. [Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, edweek.org, October 5, 2007]

Your State

The MAP test results are below. States not listed did not participate in the MAP assessment. Proficiency score in math is listed first, followed by reading.

• Arizona--30, 23
• California--46, 61
• Colorado--6, 7
• Delaware--25, 28
• Idaho--30,33
• Illinois--20, 35
• Indiana--35, 27
• Kansas--30,35
• Maine--43, 37
• Maryland--NA, 26
• Massachusetts--68, 55
• Michigan--6, 16
• Minnesota--30, 26
• Montana--43, 26
• Nevada--50, 46
• New Hampshire--41, 33
• New Jersey--13, 15
• New Mexico--46, 33
• North Dakota--20, 22
• Ohio--20, 21
• Rhode Island--41, 33
• South Carolina--71, 43
• Texas--30, 12
• Vermont--41, 33
• Wisconsin--29, 14
• Washington--36, 37

SOURCE: MAP [Measures of Academic Progress]

Iowa proficiency scores are set at 41 for both math and reading and the state consistently falls in the top three states for highest ACT score averages. While ACT scores rose, SAT scores dropped again this year. Many in the field of education are beginning to call for a unified standard.

Related Articles: College Entrance Scores Down, Experimental NCLB Pilot Program

Read previous articles on Educational Issues.

Copyright article 2007 Barbara Pytel. All Rights Reserved.