The following article was selected from the Internet Edition of the Chicago Tribune. To visit the site, point your browser to http://chicagotribune.com/. ----------- Chicago Tribune Article Forwarding---------------- Article forwarded by: Cayata Dixon Return e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Article URL: http://chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/article/0,2669,1-0107110205,FF.html ---Forwarded article---------------- 11th graders fare poorly on new test By Stephanie Banchero and Michael Martinez In the first year of Illinois' expensive and ambitious new high school exam, about 40 percent of the state's 11th graders failed in reading, writing or math, according to preliminary state figures obtained Tuesday by the Tribune. The dismal results indicate again that schools are struggling to prepare students to meet the rigorous educational standards state officials demand. Elementary school scores have been equally poor since the state launched a new test two years ago. "Of course, I'm disappointed," said Ron Gidwitz, chairman of the Illinois State Board of Education. "I wish the scores could have been higher. When you have 30-plus percent of the kids performing below standards, I don't think anybody would characterize that as good." Last year, Illinois became the first state to require high school students to take the traditional American College Test (ACT) as part of a larger package, called the Prairie State Achievement Examination. For the students the stakes are high: The test results appear on their transcripts, and some state colleges plan to use them for admission decisions. According to preliminary figures examined during a state board meeting Tuesday, 38 percent of the state's 11th graders failed the reading and writing portions of the test, 41 percent flunked the math test, 43 percent failed the science exam and 35 percent flunked the social studies exam. The early numbers are based on a representative sample of test results from about 10,500 students across the state. Board officials said the sample is a fair representation of the state and the final results should not vary much. The board is expected to release those results in October. The PSAE is the secondary school counterpart to the Illinois Standards Achievement Test, the state's 3-year-old exam for elementary schools. The tests measure whether students meet learning standards, which lay out what students should know and when they should know it. This year is the first time in two years that the state has had a measure of how well high school students are performing. Last year's high school test became optional after a Board of Education snafu. Patience urged The high-pressure PSAE, taken in April by the state's 120,000 11th graders, replaces the 10th-grade ISAT administered in 1999. The seven-hour, two-day exam includes the ACT math and reading portions, plus state-developed tests in social studies, science and writing. Educators believed the new test would be a more accurate measure of high school achievement because students would have an incentive to do well. Students who fail the exam can retake it their senior year. Illinois State Schools Supt. Glenn "Max" McGee said the public should be patient with the state's educational reform efforts, which began in earnest several years ago when the state scrapped the old assessment system for the current, more rigorous one. "We can't expect changes overnight," McGee said. "But if we maintain our standards, keep our expectations high and provide students and schools the necessary support, we will see changes. To think we are going to see sweeping changes in a year or two is a dream." `Alarming' One state legislator already is weighing in. "It's alarming if 40 percent did not pass," said Rep. Monique Davis (D-Chicago), vice chairwoman of the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee. The disappointing results raise questions about whether the Board of Education will lower the pass-fail mark for individual tests. On Tuesday, McGee presented a proposal detailing the recommended cutoff scores for pass and fail. For instance, a score below 155 on the writing test would be labeled failing. The scores in the sample are based on those cutoffs, and state board members have not yet decided whether to change them. The board could, for example, set the pass bar lower, which would decrease the percentage of kids who flunk. McGee and Gidwitz said they have no plans to do so. "We have set high standards, and I think we should stick with them," McGee said. Not pointing fingers While acknowledging the students' poor showing, McGee noted that the 11th graders who took the first mandatory PSAE haven't had much exposure to the state's new learning goals. "These kids didn't have the benefit of the learning standards for the first eight years of their education, and frankly it doesn't surprise me that these preliminary results are what they are," McGee said. "This test is a measure of what students have learned up through 11th grade, and it would be a mistake to point the finger at high schools and, certainly, [high school] teachers." McGee and Gidwitz said the state will continue to provide support for schools struggling to meet the high school standards. But Gidwitz said that for the most part it's up to local school districts to raise the achievement levels. "What we have here is a state where local control runs our schools," Gidwitz said. "What we are able to do, to some extent, is secure money from the state legislature and provide some leadership as to what we will accept as the standards. We aren't running the schools; local communities do." -- This is the ISTA-talk mailing list. 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