SACRAMENTO, CA - Except for a vocal band of extremists, most people see testing as a necessity for both the education and accountability process. Students must be tested to see if they are learning in the classroom and meeting the standards of knowledge enacted by our state policymakers. The question, however, is whether California’s standardized test, the Stanford-9 (SAT-9) exam, actually accomplishes those goals. Because of key problems with the test, both the content and progress of learning remain unclear.

When the state released the 2001 SAT-9 scores last week, the headline on the California Department of Education press release trumpeted scoring increases. From 1998 to 2001, the percentage of California students scoring at or above the 50th percentile has increased significantly. In math, for example, in 2001, 54 percent of fourth graders scored above the 50th percentile versus 39 percent in 1998--a 15-percent gain. Even given much lower gains in the upper grades, such increases sound impressive, and, no doubt, some gains can be explained by greater learning in the classroom. Some increases, however, may have more to do with the way the test is designed.

In an analysis published earlier this year, the state Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) pointed out that: “The [California Department of Education] did not stipulate the rotation of questions from year to year in its contract with the publisher of the Stanford-9. So for the five-year duration of the contract--which expires after spring 2002--the test given in each grade is exactly the same in each of its administrations. Teachers know the exact question that their students will be asked and upon which their school will be evaluated.” The LAO warned that “it is important to vary test questions from year to year in order to minimize possibilities for literal ‘teaching to the test’ and outright cheating.”

Further, experts note that when a test uses the same questions every year, scores rise simply because students and teachers become more familiar with the format and questions. Those scores will keep rising until a new format with different questions is introduced. When a new test is instituted, scores drop. This is why increases such as those on the SAT-9 may not signify true learning but instead teachers using knowledge of the questions, or even actual copies of previous exams, to prepare students.

More problematic, the SAT-9 isn’t aligned to California’s rigorous subject-matter standards. Thus, high scores on the SAT-9 don’t necessarily mean that students have acquired the knowledge and skills required by the standards. California has developed and is experimenting with a separate standards-aligned test. John Mockler, executive director of the State Board of Education, says that people will be surprised at students’ poor performance on this exam compared to their rankings on the SAT-9.

Indeed, on the recently administered standards-aligned English test, only 30 percent of students reached the proficiency level the state has targeted.

During next year’s elections, Governor Davis and others will likely take credit for increased SAT-9 scores and the supposed increased learning that they represent. Californians would do well to withhold judgment on how much the government-run school system has improved until the state has a better test in place.

--- Lance T. Izumi