Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 29, 1995 TAG: 9507310133
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
A change in the test procedure likely accounts for part of the decline in students who passed all three parts of the passport test this past spring, state education officials said Friday.
But they said they still are dismayed that nearly 35 percent of sixth-graders in the state failed to pass all three exams in reading, writing and mathematics.
"We can't explain away that one-third of young people are not passing the basic skills that they need. We have much work to be done," said William Bosher, state superintendent of public instruction.
Bosher had no immediate explanation for the lack of progress in the students' performance on the passport test, but he said he hopes the state's new Standards of Learning will help boost the scores.
The state Board of Education recently adopted the standards in math, science, English and social studies for all grades. They are benchmarks of the knowledge and skills that students will be required to master in each grade.
This year, nearly 81,000 sixth-graders were tested on one writing assignment as part of the passport exam. Last year, students had two writing assignments and received the higher of the two scores.
They were given two assignments in 1994 because the state was in the process of revising the passing score on the writing test as a result of an error that had been discovered in the passing score on an earlier exam.
"When you give students two assignments and give them credit for the higher score, more will pass," said Kevin Hughes, an associate in the assessment and testing division in the state Department of Education.
Last year, 84.2 percent of sixth-graders passed the writing test. That dropped to 77.6 percent this year.
Bosher said the pass rate undoubtedly was higher last year because the students had two chances on the writing test.
"This year, everyone had a single shot. But that can't be used as a justification for one-third of sixth-graders not passing," he said.
The number of students passing the math test this year decreased by only 1.9 percentage points - from 85.5 percent to 83.6 percent. And the pass rate for reading increased from 79.3 percent to 80.1 percent.
The number passing all three tests dropped from 70.4 percent to 65.6 percent this year, the same level as it was five years ago when the state launched the test.
The explanation for the drop doesn't remove the frustration of James Jones, Education Board president.
"It is not so much that I am concerned about this year's drop. I understand their explanation," Jones said Friday. "The problem is that we're not showing any progress."
Students must pass all three parts to be classified as ninth-graders or above and to receive a high school diploma.
In the writing test, students are asked to write essays. They are scored on such factors as style, word use and sentence formation.
The pass rate for all three parts has reflected an up-and-down pattern since the test was launched in 1990. It has exceeded 70 percent in only two years - 1991 and 1994 - and the results were skewed in both of those years, Hughes said.
In 1991, the passing score on the writing test was set too low because of an error in the method by which it was established, he said.
The mistake was not discovered until after the 1992 test. National testing experts were brought in to review the passport program to ensure that the state was using proper passing scores.
They recommended that the state use the two writing assignments in 1994 to help re-establish and validate the correct passing score for the test.
Several school systems in Western Virginia recorded large drops in the pass rates on the writing test this year, but they had smaller decreases or gains in reading and math.
Roanoke's pass rate on the writing test declined 10.3 percentage points; Pulaski County declined 8.1 percentage points; Botetourt County, down 7.9 percent; Roanoke County, down 6.2 percent; and Salem, down 5.5 percent.
Some school superintendents were puzzled by the results and had no immediate explanation for the decline.
"I don't know what happened. We've been scratching our heads and trying to figure it out," said Wayne Harris, Roanoke's superintendent. Roanoke's pass rate for all three tests declined from 67.8 percent to 59.4 percent.
The rates dropped in Salem and Roanoke County, too, but they were still among the highest in Western Virginia. "We were down, but we're still pleased," said Wayne Tripp, superintendent for Salem, which had a pass rate of 76.7 percent for all three tests.
The pass rate for all three tests was 74 percent in Roanoke County, despite the decline on the writing exam. Assistant Superintendent James Gallion said the county's rate was boosted by strong showings in math and reading.
by CNB