In an article published in The Federalist Jenni White makes a case for deep sixing Common Core and the associated testing. The entire article is in the link. The article is based on a new study from Pioneer Institute. Here are some highlights: So what does Common Core actually do? Apparently, it largely reinforces ineffective progressive teaching philosophy. Throughout the paper, Rebarber and McCluskey make it clear: the best way of educating students is not one grounded in a single set of standards and aligned tests. Centralized mandates to this effect from both the federal government and states have had the effect of neutering school choice programs by imposing one kind of … [Read more...]
Southwest Washington State SBAC (Common Core) Test Scores 2015/16 vs 2017/18
This is Part 2 of our review of the Washington State SBAc test score results released on Sept 10, 2018. In our first article: https://swweducation.org?p=5232 we reviewed the results and offered a quick snapshot of an example. Today we offer a more detailed view of how the ten (10) districts in Southwest Washington State compare to each other and the State results. Let's start out by providing you the link to the State results: http://www.k12.wa.us/assessment/StateTesting/ScaleScores.aspx In this link you get to specific 2017-18 vs. … [Read more...]
Washington State Testing Scores – 2017-18
The latest test scores for Washington State K-12 were released by OSPI on September 10th. The scores are ranked with four (4) levels of results: Level 1 = Fail; Level 2 = Below level; Level 3 = Above level and Level 4 = Exceeding level. The "cut scores" are the break points between the different performance levels. The State Board of Education adopted the "cut scores" in January 2015 and claim NOT to have changed them since. The full details can be found at: http://www.k12.wa.us/assessment/StateTesting/ScaleScores.aspx If you open the link you will also be able to get information on: Test question examples Information on how to get your child/ren(s) scores Testing results data … [Read more...]
Washington State Common Core Test (SBAc) Results: State vs Evergreen vs Vancouver vs Battle Ground
Washington State Common Core (SBAc) Test Results 2014/15 to 2016/17 (3 years) This is the culmination of our reports on the SBAc test results of three (3) school district in Southwest Washington (SWW). We previously published data for the State of Washington; Evergreen SD; Vancouver SD and the Battle Ground SD. Those three districts are by far the largest in SWW. In the following tables we compare the four (4) groups to each other in two ways: 1st: By grade (3 to 8). We are not including high school because so few took the test that the outcomes are simply not usable. Within the grades we break out the English Language Arts (ELA) and Math separately. 2nd: We tracked students … [Read more...]
Washington Common Core Test (SBAc) Results: Vancouver School District vs. Washington State
On September 25th we brought you the results of the Battle Ground School District's 2016/17 Common Core Test known as the SBAc. You can find that article at: http://www.swweducation.org/?p=4299 On October 2nd we brought you the data for the Evergreen School District (click this link): http://www.swweducation.org/?p=4315 Today we bring you the data for the Vancouver School District (VSD) and show how their test results compare to the Washington State averages. Like the other two reports it is very detailed. The report is nine (9) pages in length and can be downloaded by clicking this link: VSD vs WA State SBAC performance 14-15 to 16-17 Let's walk through the highlights: … [Read more...]
Washington Common Core Test (SBAc) Results: Evergreen vs. Washington State
Last week we brought you the results of the Battle Ground School District's 2016/17 Common Core Test known as the SBAc. You can find that article at: http://www.swweducation.org/?p=4299 Today we bring you the data for the Evergreen School District (ESD) and show how their test results compare to the Washington State averages. Like the BGSD's results it is detailed. The report is nine (9) pages in length and can be downloaded by clicking this link: ESD vs WA State SBAC performance 14-15 to 16-17 Let's walk through the highlights: Washington State, for ELA, across the three (3) years of available data, showed slight improvement across all grade ranges tested The ESD varied a … [Read more...]
SBAc: Part 3 – Battle Ground SD vs. Washington State
This article is 9 pages. Rather than trying to format it to be readable in the blog it's easier if we provide the document for you in .pdf format. Download it by clicking on the link. It will take a few minutes to read. Here are the highlights: Looking at the test scores by following students as they move up in grades makes most of the results look better 40% to nearly 60% of the students taking the test are listed as failing. All prior tests showed a different picture. Why? Are the students suddenly dumber? Is the SBAc flawed? Were the prior tests too easy and not indicative of true performance? Battle Ground sometimes beats the State and other times falls short. Battle Ground … [Read more...]
Washington State SBAC (Common Core) Test Results – A different look
We bash Common Core and the SBAc test because we think they are severely flawed. That hasn't changed. However, to be fair, we want to present all views of the SBAc test results we can find. When we posted our article on the 2016/17 results someone got in touch and asked why the students weren't followed year-over-year. That is, 3rd grade becomes 4th grade becomes 5th grade, etc. Well, there is enough data to follow students for three (3) years so we went back and pulled that data. In the chart below we show the ELA and Math test scores for those who we have 3 years (the max) of data. When we look at this what do we see? Following the students gives a different … [Read more...]
Washington State Common Core Test (SBAc) – Followup
Following the release of the SBAc test results for the State of Washington we reached out to Nathan Olson (OSPI Communication Director) and asked: What changes were made in the data analysis from 2015/16 to 2016/17 that caused the delay in reporting to the public? Response: You’d asked earlier what was different about this year’s release. Superintendent Reykdal, first and foremost, wanted students and families and the public to know that this was one test – a single measure that should never be the sole indicator of a student’s success. Regarding the data, he was very intentional in focusing on gaps in the achievement of racial/ethnic groups; students who come from high poverty families … [Read more...]
Washington State Common Core Test (SBAc) Results – Washington State
Today, September 7, 2017, the Washington State Superintendent of Schools released the 2016/17 test results for the Common Core annual test called SBAc. We wanted to be among the first to release the results. As part of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and it's replacement, the ESSA, states are required to conduct annual tests to show their proficiency in English Language Arts (ELA) and Math. There is no requirement to use any specific test...other than to get approval from the US Department of Education (USDoE). States that adopted Common Core (Washington did so) tended to adopt either the SBAc (Washington's choice) or the PARCC testing system. Since these were rolled out the number of states … [Read more...]
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