Don't worry, the scores will go up once Obama is President. Also, as of 1/20/09, no more global warming, terrorism, Wall St. meltdown, world hunger, pollution...

Quote: Apparently kids AREN'T learning english...

Hudson County school officials in dumps over test scores

by Ken Thorbourne/The Jersey Journal
Sunday October 26, 2008, 3:12 PM

The three D's of demoralizing, disheartening and depressing have replaced the three R's when it comes to school officials in Hudson County and elsewhere assessing the toll this year's raised standards for passing exams in Grades 5, 6, and 7 has taken in their districts.

As a result of upping the number of questions students have to get right on these standardized tests -- which state officials argue is necessary to prepare students for tougher classes in high school -- school districts have seen the percent of students with passing grades plummet.

In Bayonne, the percent of 6th-graders reading at grade level dropped from 78 percent to 53 percent.

"It is very hard for the teachers who worked so hard, the parents, and even the students, who are working as hard as they can," said Ellen O'Connor, the district's assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, about the new scoring.

After inching up in reading scores the past few years, particularly in the 5th-grade, Jersey City saw its percent of 5th-graders testing proficient in English fall from nearly 73 percent to 32 percent. The 6th-grade passing percentage collapsed 19 points, from 49 percent to only 30 percent.

"When you change the testing rules it will take some time to develop accuracy and some kind of consistency," said Michael Littlejohn, director of testing in Jersey City.

The new scoring increased the percentage of points students need to accumulate on exams from between 33 and 46 percent to at least 50 percent, state and local officials said.

Union City Superintendent of Schools Stanley Sanger said the changes obscured academic progress in his district where 47 percent of students are specials needs or limited English students.

For example, 67 percent of Grade 7 students in Union City tested proficient in math last year. That number sank to 63.2 percent this year, but would have been 87.7 percent if scored by last year's standards, Sanger said.

"The students, parents, teachers, they all see the plunge," Sanger said. "It hurts their morale given all the hard work we have done."

Richard Vespucci, a spokesman for the state Department of Education, said the changes set a "new baseline" so students enter high school more prepared and graduate ready to compete in a global economy.

"The thinking is to challenge students more at the middle school level so there is a smoother transition to high school," Vespucci said.

Normally, he said, school districts take a few years to adjust to changes in testing, but then rise to the expectation level that's set.

The state is also asking to the federal government to ease up on No Child Left Behind rules this year, which penalizes schools that fail to show adequate yearly progress.

"In the end it's not about how high your scores can be but how successful your students can be after 12th-grade," Vespucci added.