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This article originally appeared in the Mobile Register on July 15, 2001.

Making the Grade: It's Now Time to Take
Schools to the Next Level of Achievement
By Cathy Gassenheimer, A+ Education Partnership

Late last month, the state released test scores for public school students in grades 3-11. The news was good: The average scores for students in those grades were at or above the national average.

Clearly, we are making progress. We should be proud of the work of teachers and students across the state. But, as we celebrate, we need to look at what it will take to move achievement to the next level.

The student scores reported last month were based solely on Alabama student performance on the Stanford Achievement Test (version 9) last April. The SAT-9 is a nationally normed test, used in many states and school districts across the country. Because this test is designed to be used in several states, the questions are not completely aligned with our state's academic standards. This poses a dilemma for schools and
educators who are required by law to teach using Alabama's academic standards but may feel pressured instead to "teach to the test."

When we compare Alabama students' SAT-9 scores to a "national average," we are actually measuring against a sample group of students across the country who took the test in 1995. If we used this type of comparisons in football, this would mean that the University of Alabama's or Auburn's football teams' 2001 national rating would be based on the 1995 performance of other teams.

By nature, norm-referenced tests are useful for the purpose of comparing student scores against other student scores. To use another sports analogy, a norm-referenced test can tell you only where a student is on a mountain climb relative to the location of other student climbers. But, it won't tell you how tall the mountain is, how steep the ascent or whether the student actually reached the mountain's peak.

Difficulties masked

A 1995 legislative act required Alabama schools to use norm-referenced testing in grades 3-11. When a state is overly reliant on one type of testing, as Alabama is, it means that some groups of students' academic difficulties are "masked." For example, a school in Alabama is considered "Academically Clear" if a majority of its students score at the 40th percentile or higher. Thus, there are schools that are "clear" but have a significant number of students who are behind grade level.

These concerns about the state's present testing system prompted the state Board of Education to take a hard look at Alabama's current testing system earlier this year. The board formed a testing advisory committee made up of experienced teachers, principals, administrators and others.

This committee studied the latest research about testing and student achievement, looked at what other states were doing and studied President Bush's testing proposals. The committee also sought advice from the Southern Regional Education Board and experts within the State Department of Education.

The committee then went to work on fine-tuning Alabama's testing system. The committee aimed to design a system that would provide information that educators, parents, students, policymakers and the public can use to really raise student achievement for all our children.

The committee developed a set of general principles to help govern their work:

• Use a variety of tests to allow for comparing scores to a national sample and to achievement levels based on Alabama's curriculum;
• Align Alabama-developed assessment with Alabama's academic standards;
• Develop tests in grades 3-8, as advocated by President Bush, that are similar to the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) in rigor, format, type and reporting mechanisms;
• Design tests that emphasize the application of knowledge as well as content recall;
• Provide test data in easy-to-understand formats that can guide instruction and inform parents and citizens;
• Balance the need for testing against the need for more instructional time.

The committee also underscored the imperative for the state to provide ongoing, research-based professional development for its teachers to ensure effective instruction and to help them analyze and use testing data.

More Flexible

As a result of the testing committee's recommendations, Alabama has decided to begin adjusting and improving its assessment system. Next year, because the 1995 legislation was amended to provide more flexibility in testing, high schools will be able to focus on helping students prepare for the rigorous Alabama High School Graduation Exam, a test that is based on Alabama's curriculum. No longer will high school students be required to take both the graduation exam and the SAT-9 test.

The state will then begin to develop new assessments in grades 3, 5, 7 and 9 that will be based on Alabama's academic standards and curriculum and phased in over the next five years or so. In addition to filling in the blanks as required in the SAT-9 tests, some of these new tests will ask students to supply answers or write short essays. This information can be used to report, in a variety of ways, how well students have mastered the content (and to indicate areas that need attention).

It is important to note that Alabama is not the only state working to improve its testing system. Most experts will tell you that no state has the perfect assessment system. Dr. Ed Richardson and the State Board of Education should be applauded for their commitment to fine-tune and improve Alabama's current assessment system. This effort will result in a better and stronger system that should serve all students well.

A+ is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that works to improve the quality of education for all children in Alabama.