Odomes’ lifelong friend to testify against him
August 25, 2011
Georgia Lou Rice
August 29, 2011
Louisiana ACT scores continue to rank below the national average and public school figures might be lower than documented depending on how numbers are reviewed, at least one administrator contends it is time to re-evaluate how students are tested and graded in terms of genuine learning.
“I’m a big data person,” Terrebonne Parish School District Superintendent Philip Martin said. “But I understand if you torture any number long enough it will confess to anything.”
Martin, while supporting some form of standardized testing to measure the progression of students, has been a vocal opponent to what some believe is an onslaught of government required exams that have funding appropriations tied to them to encourage success.
Last Wednesday, ACT scores, those tests commonly taken by students intending to continue to college to measure their readiness for higher education, were released and Louisiana, as expected by some, continued to score lower than a national average, depending on how one looks at the numbers.
According to the ACT attainment of college readiness, 35,870 or 100 percent of the enrolled graduating class of 2011 took the ACT exam. While the number of Louisiana graduates taking the tests that measures proficiency in English, reading, math and science increased by 5.4 percent between 2007 and 2011, the number of graduates in the state decreased during that same time period by 13.3 percent, making the grading level of representation uneven year to year.
Another statistic that can influence comparative numbers state-to-state is the number of graduates taking the test during a given year. While Louisiana is one of only eight states to have all enrolled seniors taking the ACT, other states have as few as 12 percent in Rhode Island, which scored significantly higher, a composite score of 23, than Louisiana, composite score 20.2, with significantly fewer students influencing their averages.
For Louisiana itself, the grades are disappointing while the national average was 21.1. On the Parish level that meant that Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes both scored 19.5, while St. Mary Parish students produced a score of 19.8.
National benchmark scores for the four testing areas were 66 for English, 52 for reading, 45 for math and 30 for science. The Louisiana scores were posted as 67 for English 45 for reading, 33 for math and 21 for science.
According to ACT guidelines, a student making a benchmark grade has a 75 percent chance of making a C in the given subject being measured, and only a 50 percent chance of making a B or A on the college level.
As of Monday, the Louisiana Department of Education had not released its assessment of 2011 ACT scores for state schools.
Martin said that ACT scores are misleading due to factors beyond measuring averages. “I’ll give you an example,” he said. “When I was a secondary supervisor we got the ACT scores. I looked at our district and thought we were still below the state average. Subsequent to that, I got from the Department of Public Education a list of all the public school districts and their ACT composites.”
Martin compared the number from one report to another and realized that on their own his schools were ranking higher than they were on the Department of Public Education report. Upon investigation he found that the state education office was, and continues, compiling data that includes both public and private school results to, in his opinion boost overall scores for the state.
“The purely college preparatory schools are thrown in there,” Martin said of numbers he believes do not accurately reflect learning levels in public schools. “It makes the state department of education look good when they up their average.”
Martin said that ACT scores are not being compared fairly. “We do not screen which kids take the ACT like some states do. The kids that take the higher-level classes as a group tend to do better. But none of them are being accurately represented.”
Martin charged that education departments commonly do what they can to make the numbers look as good as possible in order to secure more government funding. A representative with the Louisiana Department of Education could not be reached for comment by press time.
Martin also offered clarification to other standardized testing taking place this academic year. He dispelled rumors that the Louisiana Education Assessment Program is being eliminated, although he said one significant change is being made that will make testing fairer to students.
“What people are getting confused with is that high school students were taking the Graduate Exit Exam which is part of the LEAP. The state has moved that away from that and gone to end of course exams,” Martin said.
The superintendent explained that this means a student taking Algebra I will be tested for proficiency at the end of that course rather than waiting until the end of the year to see what he remembers.
“All of us being human, you are going to lose some of the finer nuances in a year’s period of time,” he said. “So while it is fresh in their minds and the just completed the class, the end of course strategy makes more sense.”
Martin said that until standardized testing can be made more standard and represent a real student census, grade numbers will be subject to interpretation, and Louisiana students, no matter what they know, could still score below national benchmarks.
Terrebonne High School instructor Julie Bernard teaches English II to seniors during the first hour of her day. What students are learning may be enhanced with a new testing procedure that drops the cumulative Graduate Exit Exam in favor of End-of-Course Exams. MIKE NIXON
