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By Zack Harold CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- New, tougher Westest standards might make it appear that student achievement has declined this year, but education officials say the results will provide a clearer picture of how West Virginia stacks up to national and international competitors. Bill Mullett, Kanawha schools' director for counseling and testing, said state officials have increased "cut scores" on every section of the Westest 2 this year. That means students need to score more points to achieve "mastery," an indication they are keeping up with their grade-level's curriculum. "I think the intent is to bring our Westest more in line with other measures of academic progress so a more accurate picture can be presented of the academic status of our students," he said. "There may be just a little bit of pain in that." Last year's test apparently was too easy on students. "The focus within the state of West Virginia is preparing our students for an international scene," Mullett said. "We're in global competition. There are studies that suggest our students are not matching or maintaining the same level of progress as students in other states and students across the world." Liza Cordeiro, spokeswoman for the state Department of Education, said that's exactly what is going on. Cordeiro said the department came up with the new cut scores based on last year's scores, the first set of Westest 2 results available. She said in 2009 the department relied on testing companies, educators and other experts to set the cut scores. "This year comes along, and we now have a real set of data because kids took the Westest last year," she said. "It wasn't just something we pulled out of a hat and said, 'Oh, that's a good score.' " She said the department started working several years ago to align West Virginia's school curriculum with national and international education standards. Tougher standards will ensure West Virginia students can compete with their peers across the United States and abroad, she said. Once the curriculum was competitive, Cordeiro said the department then needed to update its statewide assessment to align with the new curriculum. The department debuted its new, more rigorous Westest 2 last year. Most state schools saw scores fall under that new test - even those with long track records of Westest success. Although many hoped for a rebound on the 2010 test, the state has upped the ante again by introducing new, higher cut scores. Third-graders, for instance, had to score 413 points on the 2009 test's reading portion to achieve mastery. In 2010, that same student must score 426 points on the reading section to make mastery, a difference of 23 points. On the math section, third-graders needed to score 557 points to achieve mastery in 2009. This year, they need to score 581 points to make mastery. Cordeiro said she doesn't see the tougher test or curriculum as a bad thing. "I look at the positive and say it's good news for the students," she said. She said the state is now providing students with an education and testing that ensures they're "truly college and career ready." It's higher expectations," Cordeiro said. "We know our students can meet those expectations." But even with a tougher test, Cordeiro said there's no easy way to compare the Westest to other states' assessments. "Our Westest is our Westest," she said. She did say the new test better aligns with gauges like the National Assessment of Educational Progress reading and math tests. Cordeiro said the education department will send a letter home to parents explaining why students' 2010 Westest scores might be viewed less favorably than last year's. Mullett said Kanawha County is working to institute a "growth model" that would show parents how much progress their children made over the last year even if they didn't do as well with respect to the mastery standards. Poor Westest results came at a steep cost for some Kanawha principals last year. Last year's low scores left seven Kanawha County schools - Cedar Grove Elementary, Cedar Grove Middle, East Bank Middle, Hayes Middle, Malden Elementary, Riverside High and Stonewall Jackson Middle - identified as "persistently low achieving" That status gave the schools access to a share of $33 million for school improvement West Virginia received from the federal government, but the money came with a catch. To receive the funds, principals at six of those schools had to step down. All but one, Scott Monty at Hayes, agreed to leave their positions. Kanawha School Superintendent Ron Duerring said there might be a second round of school improvement grant money, but he didn't know if that would require more principals to leave their posts. He said Kanawha might opt out of the program, anyway. "I don't know that we'll participate in that. We'll just have to see," he said. He said the county needs to look at more than test scores before penalizing schools for low test scores or for not achieving "annual yearly progress" standards. "I think that there will be a more reasonable approach with the increase in cutoff scores," he said. Instead of penalizing schools or administrators on test results alone, Duerring said he would like for the county to look at trend data. That way, officials could tell if schools are making progress, slipping lower or remaining stagnant before making any decisions. "We'll just have to take it school by school and see what's happening in those schools," the superintendent said. |
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