Quarter of eighth-graders master math at new levels

Jul 31, 2010 — The Knoxville News-Sentinel

Lola Alapo

Jul. 30, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- Only an estimated 26 percent of Tennessee eighth-graders demonstrate mastery in math under new, more rigorous testing proficiency levels adopted Friday by state education officials.

Officials also predict that 52 percent of third-graders, based on the latest student scores, will fall below the proficient mark in math and 54 percent of high school students will be below proficient in Algebra I.

"We need truth in advertising," Gary Nixon, executive director of the Tennessee State Board of Education, said Friday. "It's not to lay blame at anyone's foot. If we're going to dig out of the hole we're in, we have to know where we are in order to move forward."

The state education board Friday set new proficiency levels or "cut scores." The scores are being applied to this year's Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program, or TCAP, exams, the first to reflect more rigorous standards implemented by the state.

The goal of the higher standards is to boost academic performance by Tennessee students. Education officials warn, however, that the test results will come as a shock to many students and parents who are used to thinking their children were making satisfactory progress.

The state has about 930,000 public school students. Parents will begin receiving students' TCAP results in October or November.

Applying the new proficiency standards, test data show that students' academic performance in math drops between the third grade and the eighth grade.

Tennessee Education Commissioner Tim Webb said it was likely because a large number of middle school teachers are "elementary-endorsed," meaning they had little training in teaching middle school math and science content.

"We have to develop intervention for the educators and the students," he said. That includes training aspiring teachers better and providing increased professional development for those in the classroom, he said.

The training will go into place by the fall, Webb said.

Cut scores will affect TCAPs given to students in grades three through eight in math as well as reading/language arts and science. They will also affect modified TCAPs in those subjects given to special education students and end-of-course exams for high school students in Algebra I, English I and II and Biology I.

The state has sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Education asking for a waiver to freeze all schools' accountability standings as they are currently under the federal No Child Left Behind law, state education spokeswoman Amanda Anderson said.

"We don't want to put them in a different accountability category simply because we have changed the measurements," she said. "We're still holding the schools accountable for increasing student performance."

Also Friday, education officials approved "common core standards" for Tennessee, bringing to 32 the number of states so far that have formally adopted similar math and reading curriculum standards, according to Education Week, a national newspaper that covers K-12 education and education policy.

That means the states will have a common assessment and measures. The first test based on the common core standards will be given in Tennessee in the 2014-15 school year, Nixon said.

The adoption was part of the state's participation in the federal Race to the Top competition for education innovation money. Tennessee received $500 million.

The standards are "a wonderful way of finally getting all students on the same level," said Chip Woods, 17, a Maryville High School senior and the state board of education's student representative. "There are some schools where some kids get stronger curriculum than others. (The standards) make all education evened out for students."

Lola Alapo may be reached at 865-342-6376. Visit her education page at www.facebook.com/lolaknoxnews.

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