CSAP may be on its way out
Essentially flat scores since '01 signal need for different approach
By Nancy Mitchell, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published May 2, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
Photo by George Kochaniec Jr. / The Rocky
Dieu Hang Huang listens to her third-grade teacher, Mischa Bettis, at Denver's Castro Elementary School. Castro third-graders posted strong gains in CSAP reading scores.
Colorado's $22 million testing program appears headed for replacement after more than a dozen years and scant evidence of improvement in recent results.
Thursday's release of third-grade scores found seven of 10 children reading at grade level in February, a figure that has fluctuated little since at least 2001.
That figure means more than 40,000 mostly 9-year-olds could pick out main ideas and summarize what they've read, among other comprehension skills, at a level deemed proficient by state educators.
It also means nearly 17,000 children across Colorado could not.
State Department of Education officials released unofficial results of the 11th administration of the third-grade reading portion of the Colorado Student Assessment Program, known as CSAP.
Results show 70 percent of 57,914 third-graders scored proficient or advanced this year, down from 71 percent in 2007. Proficiency rates peaked at 74 percent in 2003 and 2004.
Ken Turner, the state's deputy commissioner of learning and results, said that the fairly flat line does not signify stagnation in Colorado classrooms.
"The profile is not unlike that of other states, Maryland and others, that have seen rapid improvements in the early years . . . and then it kind of plateaus," he said.
Still, "it probably is in part a signal it's time to modernize," he said.
Gov. Bill Ritter also believes CSAP "can be improved upon in a very significant way," he said Thursday.
Students in third through 10th grades take CSAP exams in reading, writing, math and science. The third-grade results are released first, so teachers can prepare remedial reading plans, if needed, for students entering fourth grade.
The rest of the results will be released in July.
Denver Public Schools' third-graders showed a slight improvement - 1 percentage point - over the 2007 results of their peers.
As at the state level, results for the capital city district have changed little over time. In 2002 and in 2007, half of DPS third-graders were reading at grade level. In 2008, it's 51 percent.
"It's frustrating they were essentially flat," said Superintendent Michael Bennet, who is in his third year of evaluating third-grade results.
Most other large metro districts similarly held steady or saw slight changes.
Jefferson County, the state's largest district, remained at 77 percent proficiency, while Boulder Valley inched up to an 85 percent proficiency rate. Boulder was the highest-performing district - again - in the metro area.
Some smaller districts saw bigger swings in their results, reflecting the wider changes that can result when the test-taking pool is small.
Sheridan, with only 88 test-takers, dropped 13 points from 2007. Mapleton, a district in the midst of one of the nation's most dramatic reform efforts, dropped 9 points.
In Denver, Bennet said his first step will be talking with principals of schools making gains to determine why. Ten more schools saw improvement this year than last year, with 53 showing gains, 42 posting declines and two staying static.
Bennet said he's hopeful that district steps to increase preschool and kindergarten seats this fall will help.
While others may debate which test should replace CSAP, he said the real issue is bigger than any particular assessment.
CSAP scores are flat, but so are high school graduation rates and other measures of progress in education.
"That leads me to conclude we're not as aligned as we need to be to accomplish the objectives we all want," Bennet said. "What that's going to take is systemic, transformational reform of how we deliver education, not just as a city, not just as a state, but as a country."
Ritter is calling for a "revolutionary shift" in public education, one that includes revising academic standards and developing new tests to measure them.
His plan, the Colorado Achievement Plan for Kids or CAP4K for short, is working its way through the legislature.
Another bill passed Thursday by the House would eliminate CSAP writing exams and use the saved money for teacher training and after-school programs.
Turner, with the state, said it's important to put CSAP in context. While results may be flat, national tests show only six states outperforming Colorado in fourth- grade reading, and Colorado ranks third on eighth-grade writing exams.
mitchelln@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5245
Third-grade reading results
How metro-area districts fared - the percentage of third-graders scoring proficient or advanced on state reading tests taken each spring.
DISTRICT 2006 2007 2008
Aurora 46 46 47
Boulder Valley 85 84 85
Brighton 68 70 65
Cherry Creek 77 78 76
Commerce City 61 56 52
Denver 51 50 51
Douglas County 83 81 82
Englewood 63 69 64
Five-Star Schools 63 67 66
Jefferson County 75 77 77
Littleton 79 83 81
Mapleton 53 54 45
Sheridan 56 64 51
St. Vrain Valley 74 77 74
Westminster 49 49 49
Statewide 70 71 70
STATE BREAKDOWN
Total test-takers 57,914
Total not taking exam 239
OVERALL PERFORMANCE
% Unsatisfactory 11
% Partially proficient 18
% Proficient 64
% Advanced 7
GENDER
% Girls, proficient/advanced 73
% Boys, proficient/advanced 67
ETHNICITY
% Hispanic, proficient/advanced 52
% White, proficient/advanced 81
% Black, proficient/advanced 54
% Asian, proficient/advanced 77
% American Indian, proficient/advanced 58
POVERTY
% proficient/advanced, free/reduced lunch 53
% proficient/advanced, not free/reduced lunch 81
TEST-TAKING ISSUES
Parent refused to allow student to test 44
Student experienced extreme frustration 23
Misadministration of exam 29
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May 2, 2008
4:13 a.m.
Suggest removal
amicuss writes:
Could it be that our assumptions about what students should be able to do by a certain age or grade level is incorrect? Maybe the majority of students have reached their appropriate levels and that's why test scores have remained stagnant for so many years. Can anyone explain how or why this isn't a possibility?
May 2, 2008
5:29 a.m.
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jane writes:
I would agree with you there. CSAP is actually not an easy test. I'd love to see a nationally normed test (like ITBS) implemented. Another option is a test that easily reveals growth from beginning of year to end, like Scholastic Reading Inventory. Perhaps the two in combination.
May 2, 2008
7:48 a.m.
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thats_just_me writes:
Just another thought, but is it not possible that, just maybe, not everyone can achieve at grade level? Again, we fail to recognize that life is just not fair and some are actually able to learn more easily than others. We are not all the same.
I do believe that we do need a testing system so that we can measure progress of the student. From there it might (might in italics) be possible to extrapolate the abilities of a teacher or a school if the correlations are strong enough.
May 2, 2008
9:14 a.m.
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DeimosJB writes:
Amicuss makes the argument (as I understand it) that maybe our kids are already doing OK. Maybe they've already reached the right level, and we need to adjust our perceptions.
I will offer the following two counters to this argument:
1) Students from industrialized nations all across the world are gaining on American students. Some countries have already surpassed the US, and are pulling farther ahead every year. So my first argument is that students throughout the world can and are doing better than American students are doing, which shows that American students still have room to grow.
2) American students in private schools and home schools beat their public/government schooled counterparts (accounting for demographics, race, etc) in every area. I am more familiar with home school data, so let me present some:
*The average cost per student in America is $6058, yet we saw a Denver Post article a couple days ago that schools can't afford field trips anymore. The average cost for home-school: $450.00, leaving plenty of funding for field trips.
*Average SAT score for public school: 1019. Average for home school: 1100.
*8th graders who are homeschooled are performing approximately four grades above the national average.
*Approximately 70% of homeschoolers attend religious services.
*On standardized testing, homeschoolers average in the 87 percentile, while public school peers average in the 61 percentile in reading (white).
*On standardized testing, homeschoolers average in the 87 percentile, while public school peers average in the 49 percentile in reading (minority).
Granted, not every home-schooled student scores the exact same on a test. As Thats_just_me mentions, some people are just smarter than others. But a side-by-side comparison of average students in home schools, private schools, and public/government schools reveals that our public school students have not hit their peak. It IS realistic for us to expect better, and when government-funded public schools, with mandated curriculum, mandated methodology, mandated failure, don't get the job done, it is our responsibility to give our kids opportunity to do better.
May 2, 2008
9:27 a.m.
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Drhaney writes:
Let me get this straight.
The children taking the CSAP change year to year as they get older and move up in grade level. (If you follow the results as these children get older they actually get worse, especially in math.) While the methods of teaching, the teachers and administrators remain relatively constant year to year. Yet we are going to blame the CSAP test for lack of progress?
Teachers and administrators need to take a long look in the mirror before blaming poor results on a test. I agree it is time for a change but eliminating the only method of review we currently have is not the answer.
May 2, 2008
4:50 p.m.
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StraightTalk writes:
The article said that CSAP may be replaced because after more than a dozen years there is scant evidence of improvement.
If my boss said that I hadn't improved my performance in 12 years do you think that instead of firing me, my boss would through out the method by which I was being evaluated? Fat chance.
Teachers and administrators need to be held accountable for CSAP results (or lack thereof).
If there is a better method of measuring performance (like ITBS), that's fine with me, but at least properly describe the reasons for using a different yardstick.
May 2, 2008
6:05 p.m.
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teacher5000 writes:
Here is my problem with CSAP and I will speak as a parent not a teacher.
My son scored proficient and advanced in elementary school (at a school rated "low"). In middle school he went to an "excellent" school and his scores plummeted to partially proficient and unsatisfactory. Should his teachers be fired because he figured out there was NO benefit to him taking the test? StraightTalk, does your boss evaluate you based on someone elses behavior that you have NO control over. My son is now in high school, without ever spending a day in summer school or being held back. He had NO CONSEQUENCES, but according to a lot of people his teachers should be fired!
There is room for improvement in public education. How about this a student enters high school and takes a math placement test. The test indicates he or she should be in Algebra. At the end of the course (or when the student and teacher feel the material is mastered) the student takes a post test, it could even be a computerized test so no one is cheating. If the student passes he or she moves on. Is he or she fails remedial help is offered and the class is repeated until the student proves proficiency. Students who refuse to participate in remedial classes will not move on.
Another student may enter high school barely able to multiply. Instead of placing that student in Algebra (because we want to have HIGH standards) and allowing them to pull their peers down. That student will be placed in a class to get the intensive intervention that he or she needs. This will continue until that student can prove mastery. That means it might take more than four years to finish high school. It also means teachers will have to teach "outside the box", because not every student will respond to the same methods. Things like the construction math program at Loveland High School is a prime example.
Find out what the kid needs to know, figure out how to teach and evaluate the results (growth over time). What a concept!!!
No more social promotion, KIDS will be held accountable for paying attention, learning the material and proving they know it. No more squeaking by with a D, or doing a bunch of BS extra credit, no more parents demanding a grade be changed. No more teachers getting in trouble if they fail kids who do not know the material. No more judging schools, and teachers, soley on a single test and a drop out rate (which really just encourages schools to pass kids along so boost the graduation rate).
If we are going to spend millions on assessment let's make it useful for everyone.
May 2, 2008
8:36 p.m.
Suggest removal
onemansview writes:
It does not matter if the radar gun is calibrated in mph or kilometers per hour, above a certain limit, the ticket will read "speeding".
CSAP is not the problem, the total and utter lack of improvement over time at each grade level and the dismal decline in math as students progress from grade to grade are the problems.
Changing the standards will simply result in a one year increase or decrease in performance levels. In short order, the results will show the same flat trend because neither writing the goal (posting the speed limit) or changing the assessment (new radar gun) will change the instructional methods in the classroom. When those change, results will change. Until then, changing standards and assessments is merely a distraction proposed by those unwilling to make the needed changes in the classroom.
May 3, 2008
8:37 a.m.
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jane writes:
"1) Students from industrialized nations all across the world are gaining on American students. Some countries have already surpassed the US, and are pulling farther ahead every year. So my first argument is that students throughout the world can and are doing better than American students are doing, which shows that American students still have room to grow."
People making these comparisons fail to realize they are comparing apples to oranges. Very few countries educate all children. Even fewer educate all children through high school. Public education in Japan ends at 8th grade. The school hours and expectations also vary greatly - students in Japan, for example, go to school longer hours, more days, and have strict discipline guidelines. If you want to increase school hours and days, you will have to pony up the money. If you want results in the classroom, classroom disruptions will have to be eliminated through the removal of students who will not conform and the idea that public education is a "right" will have to go by the wayside. You can't have American ideals and foreign standards.
2) American students in private schools and home schools beat their public/government schooled counterparts (accounting for demographics, race, etc) in every area.
Again, apples to oranges. Home schooled and private school students are at an advantage because their parents are, by nature of their choices, educated and involved. That is the number one indicator of success (in addition to age and socioeconomic status of parents) regardless of where kids go to school.
Finally, if a doctor tells his patients they must take this medicine if they want to live, and the patient refuses and dies...Do we blame the doctor?
May 3, 2008
9:53 a.m.
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teacher5000 writes:
Onemansview
I agree with what your saying, but you analogy is flawed. If I get a speeding ticket I get a monetary fine and points against my license to go with it (a consequence for my choice). The manufacturer of my car is not fined for failing to prevent me from speeding, the person who taught me to drive is not ticketed for failing to teach me not to speed, the person who built the road, made the sign or designed the radar gun is not ticketed!!!!
How are kids held accountable for CSAP? In elementary school you can motivate or scare kids into taking the test seriously. By high school they will or they won't. If a kid comes from a home where education is valued and their parents will be mortified if their precious darling brings home anything less than proficient you might squeeze some effort out of them. Other families (like mine) really don't care because we see the flaw in the system, others just don't care or don't understand how important the tests are. That is why everyone sits around scratching their heads wondering why tests scores keep falling as kids get older (DUH they are educated enough to know we are wasting their time). That is also why schools resort to paying kids or offering academic credit to motivate kids.
My son who blew off CSAP for 4 years decided to take it seriously this year, to "help his school out". He is already studying for ACT and even talking about getting a tutor to make sure he does well, because the test will directly impact HIS LIFE. Assessment is fine, but let's make it meaningful.
Before anyone jumps on Colorado's ACT scores let me point out that Colorado is one of the few states that requires all students to take the ACT. Again college bound students will make every effort to get a good score. Students who are taking it because the government thinks they should will not wast their time. Therefore other states, where only college bound seniors, take the test will post higher scores (DUH).
Tie academic achievement (instead of seat time) to grade advancement and graduation and you will see test scores go up! Make high school relevant by providing a variety of offerings including (gasp) vocational programs for those who want it and you will see graduation rates go up.
May 5, 2008
5:03 p.m.
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mateo writes:
What really blows my mind is that the state will spend $22 million on the test rather than trusting the teachers to make those judgements themselves. If that money were to be put into the budget for getting more people in those schools who actually give a damn and understand that they are really responsible for the future of humanity. The teachers that remain and are "good" teachers are burnt out trying to balance out 'giving a damn for the students' and taking care of themselves. $22 mil. is a good chunk of change, why waste it on tests. Students will learn how to succeed when they realize that life isn't about filling out bubbles.
May 6, 2008
12:47 p.m.
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DeimosJB writes:
Jane,
1) I lived in Japan, and public education most definitely does not "end at 8th grade". Also note that they most certainly do not have stricter discipline guidelines. My wife was a teacher while we were in Japan, so don't feed me that garbage.
2) Comparing American public/government school students to American private/home school students is not an "apples to oranges" comparison. Again, with teaching being kind of important to my family, I'm careful to account for demographics, I'm careful to account for gifted/handicapped disparities, I'm just plain careful in posting my numbers.
I'm not saying here that the building is the problem, which is apparently what you took out of the post, I'm saying that everything about our current educational system is the problem, as evidenced by the twin facts of 1)Educational institutions in many industrialized nations that are better than ours. 2) Improvement that our own students experience, ceteris paribus, when moving from a public/government educational system to a non-public/government method of learning.
Thanks for your diagnosis doctor. Next time you throw out garbage, at least cite a country that I haven't lived in and can't immediately call B.S. on.