Tests Exceeded Level Of Instruction, He Says
By Michael Alison Chandler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, September 3, 2006
The low scores of Loudoun County's sixth- and seventh-graders on new state math tests may stem partly from the state's failure to set clear expectations about middle school math instruction, Superintendent Edgar B. Hatrick III said last week.
Although the district's performance on the Standards of Learning tests exceeded state averages, nine Loudoun schools did not meet benchmarks set by the federal No Child Left Behind law. Last year, five county schools fell short.
Seven of the nine schools that did not make the grade this year were middle schools, and the low math scores of their sixth- and seventh-graders were a key factor. It was the first year that SOL reading and math tests were administered in the fourth, sixth and seventh grades.
Hatrick, noting that sixth- and seventh-graders statewide had problems with the math exam, said the test assumed a higher level of math instruction in those grades than most students had received. The exam seemed to assume that all students were on track to take Algebra I in the eighth grade, Hatrick said.
"The premise that we are preparing all students to be able to take Algebra I in eighth grade -- it may be a good goal or objective to have, but it's not a goal that I'm aware that the state has been preparing for," he said.
He also pointed out that many students had scored well as fifth-graders but not as sixth-graders, which could mean that there were errors in the way the new tests were designed or scored. The passing rate on the math exam was 85 percent for Loudoun's fifth-graders last year but 58 percent for this year's sixth-graders.
Hatrick contacted Billy K. Cannaday Jr., the state superintendent of public instruction, to express his concerns. Cannaday said last week that he had reviewed the tests and found nothing wrong with the questions or the scoring, but the Virginia Department of Education has appointed a committee to study the issue.
Loudoun school officials said they would look into whether changes should be made in the curriculum.
About 50 percent of Loudoun students are prepared to take Algebra I in the eighth grade, said Sharon D. Ackerman, the district's assistant superintendent for instruction. She said the district plans to establish a goal on what that percentage should be in the future, basing the decision in part on a study of other school systems.
Hatrick said he is not sure that taking Algebra I in the last year of middle school is appropriate for every student.
Loudoun was not alone in trying to make sense of disappointing results on the SOL tests. Across Northern Virginia, the number of schools that did not meet the federal benchmarks -- known as adequate yearly progress, or AYP -- increased by a third, from 53 to 71.
In Loudoun, the schools that did not make AYP were Catoctin Elementary, Harper Park Middle, Mercer Middle, J. Lupton Simpson Middle, River Bend Middle, Seneca Ridge Middle, Smart's Mill Middle, Sterling Middle and Loudoun County High.
Two of the schools, Loudoun County High and Sterling Middle, have not met the federal standards for two years in a row.
The status for two other schools -- Forest Grove Elementary and Guilford Elementary -- has been classified as "to be determined." The district contested those schools' results after finding discrepancies such as some students' being counted twice, officials said.
Schools have until the end of this month to file appeals to the state Department of Education, and results will not be finalized until November.
Loudoun students' performance also fell on the SAT, according to results released last week, after several consecutive years of increases.
On average, Loudoun's college-bound seniors outperformed their peers across the state and country. But math scores dropped 11 points in Loudoun, from a record high of 539 last year, to 528, compared with a one-point decline in Virginia to 513 and a two-point decline nationwide to 518.
The reading score for Loudoun dropped nine points, from a record high of 534 last year, to 525, compared with a four-point drop statewide to 512 and a five-point drop nationwide to 503.
Ackerman said the drop could be explained in part by a 6 percent jump in the number of students taking the test, an increase consisting mostly of minority students and students for whom English is not their first language.
The number of Asians who took the exam increased by 30 percent, and the number of African American and Hispanic test takers increased by 20 percent. The number of white test takers increased by 2.9 percent.
Twenty percent of the nearly 2,000 students who took the college entrance exam in Loudoun listed English as their second language at home.
Ackerman said she was glad to see more minority students taking the test and considering higher degrees. To prepare them better in the future, she said, the district is looking at ways to incorporate some SAT training into the teaching of English as a Second Language.
Starting this fall, every high school will offer a semester-long SAT preparation course, which the district had planned to introduce before this year's results were released.
Among other things, the course will help students prepare for the test's writing section, which was new this year. Loudoun students scored 508, on average, in writing, compared with 500 statewide and 497 across the country.
The writing score was the lowest of the three, but Ackerman said she suspects that it will improve as students become accustomed to the essay and teachers learn how to prepare them for it.
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