by Lance T. Izumi, Fellow in California Studies
Pacific Research Institute
August 22, 2000

Announcer lead: Time for Perspectives. Lance Izumi says that we should be cautious about the recent rise in student test scores.

The recent news that California's student test scores have risen over last year's scores has been greeted with optimism by politicians and education officials. Yet, are these gains reason for celebration, and if so, celebration of what?

There is justifiable concern that some of the gains may be fraudulent. Copies of the test are easy to obtain. Test questions don't change from year to year. Practice tests with nearly identical questions are easily available. Reports also indicate that some school districts, such as San Francisco Unified, increased scores by preventing low-performing students from taking the test. Unsurprisingly, complaints of cheating abound. Assuming, though, that such cheating isn't enough to explain the entire increase in test scores, then what does?

Some educators believe that reducing class size in grades K-3 increased test scores. However, a recent study of California's class-size reduction program specifically says that it's difficult to tell if reducing class size has had a significant effect on scores. One study author, Brian Stecher of the RAND Institute, says that even if class-size reduction has had some positive effect, that effect was relatively small.

The most likely reason for rising test scores, especially in the early grades, is a change in the way reading is being taught. Previously, California favored whole-language reading instruction, which emphasizes literature and recognizing whole words by sight. Now, however, there has been a switch to phonics-based instruction which emphasizes letter-sound relationships to form words. This change is evident in California's new rigorous phonics-based reading standards and the increased state funding for phonics instructional programs.

The return to phonics is supported by quality data. After examining eighty years of research, the late Harvard education professor Jeanne Chall found that phonics instruction was more effective than whole-language instruction and led to higher student achievement.

The lesson here, then, is that if the rise in test scores is legitimate, we must be aware of the real cause behind it if we are to continue to improve education in the classroom.

With a perspective, I'm Lance Izumi.