Tests show improvements

Louisiana high school students have shown significant improvement over the past four years on end-of-course tests but still have a long way to go, according to figures released Thursday by the state Department of Education.

In some cases, students’ scores at the top performance levels — excellent or good — on a four-level scale rose by nearly 20 percentage points since the 2007-08 school year, according to the department.

“These tests are tangible proof that the state’s education reforms are working,” state Superintendent of Education John White said.

High school students have begun taking the end-of-course exams in the past few years as the state has phased out the Graduation Exit Exam, which tests students on multiple subject areas learned over the course of several years.

The GEE had been a staple in Louisiana public schools.

Walter Lee, superintendent of the DeSoto Parish School System, said the EOC exams are a better indicator of student achievement than the GEE.

“With the GEE, there’s no way to identify which particular year or course a student might have been deficient in,” Lee said.

Under past rules, students had to pass the GEE to earn a standard high school diploma.

A report by the Center on Education Policy found the value of the GEE was hard to prove, and may even hurt high school graduation rates.

The report said one study concluded the exam had no impact on graduation rates, while another review established a link between exit exams and increased dropout rates.

This past year is the last time Louisiana students will take the GEE, other than in a few exceptions, said Scott Norton, assistant state superintendent for standards, assessments and accountability.

It’s not like the state considers the GEE an inherently bad test, Norton said. Rather, the trend in high school education is moving toward EOC exams because they are considered superior, he said.

EOC tests are taken at the completion of English, algebra, biology and geometry courses, and are designed to determine whether students have mastered the specific courses, Norton said.

EOC tests are equally or more difficult to pass than GEE exams, Norton added.

“I would say the EOC test is generally more rigorous,” he said.

Department of Education figures show the percentage of high school students scoring at the “good” and “excellent” levels in algebra has risen from 37 to 56 since the 2007-08 school year.

Louisiana student achievement has risen from 49 percent scoring in the good and excellent levels to 66 percent in English II since the 2008-09 school year, while the percentage of students scoring at those levels in geometry has jumped from 34 percent to 50 percent during the past three school years, according to a state Department of Education compilation.

The department only released data for the past two years in the biology category, which shows students’ scores at the top levels have improved from 43 percent to 51 percent during that time frame.

But Norton said that although Louisiana high school students are showing significant gains over time, the scores are not where the state would like them to be.

“You look at algebra, where the scores rose to 56 percent,” Norton said. “We’re still a low-performing state; we still have a long way to go.”

Comments

1) Comment by bourbon-soda - 06/07/2012

From http://www.doe.state.la.us/topics/eoc.html there is no evidence that the EOC is any better in this regard.

2) Comment by bourbon-soda - 06/07/2012

From http://www.doe.state.la.us/topics/gee.html# it appears to be a home brew test for Louisiana with results presented in coarsened increments of uncertain magnitude, for arbitrary "grade levels," with no readily available information about actual test scores or to comparison to the rest of the country, A 20% improvement in actual test scores would raise suspicion of fraud, but a 20% improvement in actual test scores is not what is being advertised here.

3) Comment by xuaerb - 06/07/2012

@tradewinns - FYI The test are not administered by the teacher that taught the course. I know because I teach Geometry, and I administered the English test. My students were tested by the Spanish teacher.

4) Comment by 1ryben - 06/07/2012

"These tests are tangible proof that the state’s education reforms are working" Which reforms? I could be mistaken, but the change to EOC from GEE was started before Mr. White's arrival. Either way, if we assume that THESE results prove that THESE reforms worked, it does. It prove that ALL reforms will be successful.

5) Comment by spqr - 06/07/2012

It is a standardized test loaded with numbers to satisfy the appetite of those needing any and all type information (scores by grade, class, race, school, school district, age and so much more-absurd really, but available). State monitors walk the halls during testing, stringent rules are applied to all involved, oaths must be signed by teachers as well as completing after school training prior to giving the test, students sit in assigned seats in sterile classroom where walls have been covered and/or items removed. Phones and computers are off. Additional time is alloted for those needing it. It is serious business and equals the ACT in preparation and norm.

6) Comment by tradewinns - 06/07/2012

"..... students’ scores at the top performance levels........", these are not the students that are holding back education in La. or the US. how have the bottom dwellers improved? the bottom dwellers seem to outnumber the top performers. the EOC test, are they administered by the state with a standard acceptance for performance? or are they administered by the teachers who taught the course at their schools? the difference is the level of learning. doctors, lawyers, electricians, plumbers, just about every field that requires a standard of knowledge is tested by their respective states to insure they are competent. and yet when it come to a HSD, noone seems to care if there is a level of competence or not. so why not just issue a HSD to everyone when they enter the first grade and then if the individual wants to learn, they can stay and learn, the others can just go straight to our welfare rolls. this will save the taxpayers money immediately and in the future.

7) Comment by bourbon-soda - 06/07/2012

Is this a conventionally standardized test with national norms, or a home- brew test for Louisiana? What information is lost by reporting only "excellent," "good," or "fair" rather than number scores? A rise of 20% in 4 years on a legitimately standardized test like the ACT, would not be plausible.