The state Board of Education grudgingly agreed Thursday to let high-school seniors know how they did on state science tests they took last fall but took the unorthodox step of barring education department officials from crunching the data to compare districts and schools.
After putting it off for two months, the board set so-called cut scores on the tests, grouping student results into four categories starting with “distinguished” and bottoming out at “limited command.”
But the board refused to establish those tiers on social studies exams — even though state statute requires it — or release those results.
The majority of board members have grave concerns about the validity of the tests and the impression the results will leave.
On the 12th-grade science tests, just 2 percent of students were rated “distinguished” and 17 percent were “strong,” meant to signal they are on track for college or the workforce. In the recommended social studies scores the board rejected, 1 percent of seniors were “distinguished” and 9 percent were “strong.”
The board voted 4-3 in March to reject the proposed scores and revisited them this week at their two-day monthly meeting.
Speaking Thursday to The Denver Post editorial board, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan called the development “troubling.”
“I’ve never heard of a state that failed to do this,” Duncan said. “Maybe that’s a source of pride, I don’t know. But I’d be pretty concerned if I was a citizen here. I’d be pretty concerned if I was a parent and my child took that assessment.”
“There’s no upside there,” Duncan said. “There’s no educational benefit there. So is the agenda truly world-class education, or is the agenda something else? You start to question motives.”
Students who took the science tests will get individualized reports on how they did, as will their schools. Several thousand students skipped the tests in protest last fall.
This was the first, and likely last, time the tests will be given. Legislation awaiting Gov. John Hickenlooper’s signature eliminates state testing for high school seniors.
The motion approved 6-1 Thursday says the results cannot be used for district accreditation ratings or educator evaluations, in keeping with the bill.
Republican board member Steve Durham criticized the cut scores as subjective, saying they would be misused to portray a crisis.
He came up with the compromise limited release of the science results but criticized the social studies tests for testing students in subjects most have not been taught, particularly economics.
He said at Wednesday’s meeting that if someone wants to compel the board to release the scores, they can seek recourse in the courts. “That gives us a chance to make a legal case about whether they’re valid or not, so I’m not too worried about that,” Durham said.
Democratic board member Angelika Schroeder said students and families are familiar with the standards the exams cover and that releasing the results should not cause confusion.
Eric Gorski: 303-954-1971, egorski@denverpost.com or twitter.com/egorski
