Chamber Encourages Business, Others to Support Truth in Testing
Knoxville, TN – The Knoxville Chamber and other organizations across the state are asking the Tennessee Department of Education to set the “cut scores” for state standardized assessments now instead of after the tests are taken in the spring. The Chamber’s board of directors recently adopted a resolution expressing its desires.
The Department must define “proficiency” for students taking the tests. In the past Tennessee has defined proficiency at a very low level - particularly low in math and science. That has resulted in the state telling parents that students are proficient, when in fact they are scoring at rather low levels. Tennessee “gamed” the scores in an effort to keep No Child Left Behind funding and avoid penalties. However, the result is a low bar, low expectations, and low achievement for students.
“If we don’t take this step (and set the cut scores now), then we negate the hard work we’ve done to increase standards,” says Karen Davis, president-elect of the Tennessee PTA. “That would put us right back to where we started, which would be a major disservice to the students and families of Tennessee.”
Tennessee enlisted in the American Diploma Project in 2008. As a part of that effort, known as the Tennessee Diploma Project, Gov. Phil Bredesen raised K-12 academic standards aligning them with national measures to make Tennessee students more competitive globally. The standardized assessments have been rewritten to reflect the higher standards and students will take the first assessments next spring.
The "cut scores" for proficiency have not been established for the new assessments.
The Department is currently considering administering the test and then establishing the cut scores after receiving student scores. Such a practice is too ripe for political pressure and could once again lead to low expectations and low achievement for our students. Instead, the Chamber and other organizations are asking administrators to set the cut scores according to national proficiency measures prior to the time that students take the tests.
“We must be honest with students and ourselves,” says Mike Edwards, president and CEO of the Knoxville Chamber. “You cannot expect students to have the high achievement levels they need to succeed in the jobs of the future if we are not truthful. We must know which students are truly doing well and which ones are not. Only then can teachers, parents, and the business community apply the resources needed to get students to learn at high levels.”
Organizations joining the Knoxville Chamber in passing similar resolutions are The Knox County Schools, the Oak Ridge Chamber, the Oak Ridge Economic Partnership, the Great Schools Partnership, Innovation Valley Inc., Tennessee Parent Teacher Association Board of Managers, Tennessee Business Roundtable, Knox County Council PTA, and the Public School Forum of East Tennessee.