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Laura Vanderkam�s Gifted Exchange Blog regarding 12th grade math NAEP test results declining while high school GPAs increased peaked my interest on this topic.
FYI This first link to a Duke Gifted Letter discusses the difference between a nationally normed grade achievement tests and an individual state grade level achievement assessment. It raises the probability that at least some states have lowered the standards so that more of their students appear proficient (to meet NCLB requirements).
This next link profiles and ranks each state based the NAEP results. IL, for example, ranked 33rd
IF ANYONE KNOWS THE LINKS FOR STATE STANDARDIZED TEST RESULTS, PLEASE CONSIDER ADDING THEM HERE.
It was suggested in the first paper that if the state test averages are higher than the NAEP results, that state�s achievement tests (and education) standards may be quite low.
Idaho's "proficient" counts students whose typical classroom performance is C- or higher. NAEP's "Proficient" counts students whose classroom performance is typically B+ or higher. Thus accounting for the "difference of opinion"!
Two short papers published in a peer-reviewed online journal will answer any questions you have about this matter....
Using NAEP to confirm state testing results in the No Child Left Behind Act. (2007). Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 12(5). Available online: http://www.pareonline.net/getvn.asp?v=12&n=5
Please don't use NAEP scores to rank order the 50 states. (2005). Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 10(9). Available online: http://pareonline.net/getvn.asp?v=10&n=9
Of course, the lower the percentage of students who took the test, the higher the probability that the �cream of the crop� is represented in the state results for that test.
Massachusetts and Minnesota come out at or near the top by these standards, just as they did on the NAEP ranking.