Our school system is very quick to point out the percentages of kids who are "above the benchmark" on DIBLES or "above grade level" on AR. The so-called "benchmark" for DIBLES is only the 40th percentile, so what's the big deal? So many parents are uninformed, and they take these meaningless stats as an indication that the school is doing great things. It's sad.
IL has really jumped on the low benchmarks bandwagon in order to circumvent the intent of NCLB (which I agree is flawed).
Many parents and taxpayers don�t realize the difference between �93% of Xgraders meet or exceed the state proficiency benchmark� and �our Xgraders fell at the 93rd percentile on nationally normed test�.
For those who do understand the difference, they are often unaware that IL benchmarks are near rock bottom in comparison to other states. It may finally sink in too late when the same group tests dead average for the ACT in high school.
