http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/metropolitan/727354 Oct. 24, 2000, 9:52PM Study questions growth in state's TAAS scores By JULIE MASON -- Copyright 2000 Houston Chronicle Political Writer A new study of Texas academic test scores raised doubts Tuesday about Gov. George W. Bush's claims of major improvements in the state's school systems and intensified presidential campaign rhetoric over the education issue. In a 14-page paper titled "What do Test Scores in Texas Tell Us?" four researchers at Rand, a private, nonprofit organization based in California, question the validity of much-touted gains in Texas Assessment of Academic Skills scores. Bush, the Republican presidential nominee, frequently cites a steady rise in TAAS reading and math scores as proof of his strong record on education in the state. But according to Rand, the TAAS results aren't being matched in national tests of Texas students, notably in the National Assessment of Educational Progress test, which researchers called the "gold standard" of student achievement. "Our findings from this research raise serious questions about the validity of the gains in TAAS scores," the researchers concluded. The study, which includes several findings unfavorable to Bush campaign claims of a "Texas miracle" in education, quickly drew the attention of the governor's Democratic rivals and criticism from the Bush camp. In Arlington Heights, Ill., where Bush campaigned Tuesday, spokeswoman Karen Hughes dismissed the researchers' findings and questioned the timing of the release. "The timing of this opinion, this 14-page opinion paper conducted by four researchers, is highly suspect and the conclusions are dead wrong," Hughes said. Hughes said the report "contradicts every credible, nonpartisan scientific evaluation" of Texas test scores. "The Bush campaign welcomes this renewed focus on Texas student test scores because the indisputable independent data all show without a doubt that Texas leads the nation when it comes to improving student performance," Hughes said. The Bush campaign noted that an earlier Rand study of national scores from 1990-1996 concluded Texas schoolchildren -- regardless of race or parents' income -- are likely to do better than counterparts in other states. The campaign of Vice President Al Gore, meanwhile, distributed copies of the new study to reporters and arranged a telephone news conference with Gore's running mate, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn. "This is one more part of the Bush record in Texas for the American people to worry about what kind of president he would be," Lieberman told reporters. "Miracles are being claimed, and we all hope and pray for miracles, but they're apparently not happening in Texas," Lieberman said. "There are not a lot of unusual accomplishments in Texas to justify the governor's bragging about it." In a prepared statement regarding the issue paper, Rand President and CEO James A. Thomson noted the "intense controversy" generated by the findings. Thomson said the research was "thoroughly reviewed" by experts inside and outside of Rand, and that the timing of its release was based on when the work was completed. "We don't produce findings for political reasons, we don't distribute them for political reasons and we don't sit on them for political reasons," Thomson said. "This is a scrupulously nonpartisan institution." In their report, researchers compared scores from the TAAS test with Texas students' performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress or NAEP, a national sampling test used voluntarily by 44 states. Researchers looked at how fourth- and eighth-graders scored in reading and math from 1994 to 1998, and found Texas children made much smaller gains on NAEP than on TAAS. Rand used NAEP as a benchmark, researchers said, because the national test is generally considered a solid indicator of student achievement. And it is not subject to the same pressure for improved scores that often accompanies tests such as the TAAS, which states use to rate their schools. Among their findings, Rand researchers noted that Texas fourth-graders improved in reading from 1994 to 1998 at about the same rate as other children nationwide, while the TAAS tests showed far greater gains in reading. Researchers also examined whether dramatic improvements by minority students shown in the Texas results were similarly reflected in national tests. Bush, who was elected governor in 1994, frequently cites improvement in black and Hispanic students' test scores in Texas. The study found that minority students in Texas showed significant gains on the TAAS, while their performance on the NAEP was similar to the less-dramatic results posted by minority students in other states. Although researchers offered no explanations for the different results on the state and national tests, they noted that a significant amount of class time is devoted to TAAS preparation. Jim Nelson, commissioner of education in Texas, called the issue paper "shoddy" and said it does a disservice to Texas teachers and students. Nelson and the Bush campaign touted more favorable findings in a July study by Rand, which found Texas students outperformed peers from similar backgrounds on national tests. That study, which was based on an analysis of NAEP tests from 1990 to 1996, ranked Texas second to North Carolina in improved test scores. At the same time, researchers credited reforms in education that predated Bush's term in office for contributing to the improved scores. Those factors, such as smaller class sizes and emphasis on preschool, were elements of a sweeping education reform law passed in a 1984 special session of the Texas Legislature. A commission headed by Dallas businessman and former Reform Party presidential candidate Ross Perot recommended the changes, and former Gov. Mark White, a Democrat, pushed legislation to support them. ------------------ Stay Cool...
Yeah, I read this dc....and you are right, this has been repeated many times. But the key is not the teachers, it's the administration. Read this passage again: Rand used NAEP as a benchmark, researchers said, because the national test is generally considered a solid indicator of student achievement. And it is not subject to the same pressure for improved scores that often accompanies tests such as the TAAS, which states use to rate their schools. This pressure is coming from the school administrations, many of whom have bonuses tied to TAAS test scores of their students. Like I have been saying, until admins bonuses are severed from TAAS results, nothing is going to change. I have not read the full report yet, but I will. Meanwhile, if you have not read the links of my signature, do so. ------------------ Save our children from the TAAS test: TAAS test report card TAAS test fact sheet
Does anyone know if the Bush campaign offer any proof to refute this claim other than to just say it was wrong and politically motivated? ------------------ Who would've thought Don Nelson would pass up Olumide Oyedeji not once, not twice, but thrice?
Of course not. He using a similar strategy that he used with the criticism that he promised all of the same pool of money in social security to 2 different groups. He's hoping that most Americans have already made up their minds and the best thing for him to do is just to keep his mouth shut until election day. ------------------
So, according to the article, Texas children are as good as everyone else on this NAEP test, and better than everyone else on the TAAS test. What's the problem?
The problem is that they're showing great improvement on the TAAS test because they are being prepped to take this test, and they're doing the same as everyone else on national tests because in effect they're not really making any great strides in learning. ------------------ Brought to you by the letter M.
They are saying the TAAS test is flawed. The TAAS testing system (given only in Texas) has shown dramatic improvement. The nationally administered NEAP test shows scores improving, but not any faster than in other states, and at a slower rate than shown by the test results. The Harvard study refered to in Behad's website has shown that Texas students are actually suffering because of the TAAS test. Because of the types of pressure being used to improve test scores, the curriculum in most schools now centers around teaching students how to take the TAAS test, rather than teaching the content and skills the test is trying to measure. The Harvard study, which follows the thoughts of many Texas educators, shows that scores are improving because students are being taught the test, but that actual education, teaching, is suffering, because so much time and resources are being spent on TAAS. The Rand Study in the story backs this up, by showing that Texas students aren't really improving like the TAAS resusts suggest. ------------------ Stay Cool...
But how is education suffering when they're doing just as good as everyone else on the other test? Sounds like they're being taught as well as others, and also being taught how to take a test that they are measured by and must pass in addition (which is what school and especially college is all about, learning how to take tests). If I could've spent high school doing nothing in class but learning how to take the SAT, I would've been thrilled. I don't see any evidence that suggests 'learning' is suffering with this article.
Of course you don't Freak, but had it been a more liberal governor running for president, and this came out, I'm sure you'd be all over it. ------------------ When you make an assumption, you make an ass out of yourself and umption. visit www.swirve.com
True story: A group of teachers is being taught "how to teach the TAAS test." The lecturere gives a wrod and the definition to select on the test. Multiple voices rise up saying, "that is not the definition of that word!" Instructor explains that it is on the test, they are just thinking of the "creative" and "literary" definition. You are right, Freak, they should only teach crap like this, or reading comprehension that never has the real answers as a choice - you just have to guess which one the testers made as the right answer. SAT prep is real learning, too. The point of this being bad is that Bush is pointing to the TAAS crap as an example of wahat a great education leader he is - that he will expand such a system to a national level. I don't know where you went to college, but I spent most of my years writing analytical essays, and research papers - not taking multiple choice tests. You must have been a business major. ------------------ EZLN
Even if education isn't suffering (although many say that it is), the miracle gains made by Texas's education system is a fraud. School is not about learning how to take tests. How many tests do we really take in our every day lives? How many employers pass out a multiple choice reading comprehension test every six weeks? And that's not to overlook the tremendous amount of pressure that is put on students to pass the test just so administrators can look good or schools can be considered exemplary. And what would you have learned? How many times in your day to day life do you have to figure out word analogies or geometry problems? There is an obvious problem with teaching kids how to take tests. Anyone can look good on paper, but what happens when they are asked to apply their skills? Children aren't learning about literature and geography, things outside the scope of the TAAS. ------------------ Brought to you by the letter M.
In my wife's school they base EVERYTHING around the test. They have a reading program, you would think, cool, they want to get the kids interested in reading. Nope. They have some ratio, like 2 books = 1 right answer on the test. Who cares about getting them to read, it gets points according to some stupid study. ------------------ There are 3 kinds of lies: lies, lies, and heypeeisms. -DrofDunkingDonuts
Crisco, Is that like the program that trades guns for books? Bring two books to school and get an extra point on the TAAS! This is really a great idea. At a time when the U.S. is falling behind the rest of the world in education, make standardized testing all the rage - if kids have trouble, just make it easier like they did with the SAT. Then they can point to rising scores, make parents feel proud. Our children are our future, our most important resource. Let's treat them like all of our other precious resources - strip mine 'em! ------------------ EZLN
