Attention DU lawyers and/or educators: Test scores and potential criminality.

[Smarmie Doofus]

Are there any statutes on the books that protect the general public against this sort of thing? It is so *blatantly* fraudulent as it denies the general public accurate info on which to base its educational and political decisions.

To get to the gist, look at the 8th grade math scores ( can't seem to transport the image but it's on the linked site in the form of a line graph.) NYC kids scored a four point proficiency improvement on the NAEP ( gold standard; this is not disputed anywhere that I know of) and on the NYS/NYC tests the same 8th graders jumped *26* ( twenty six) points.

In the same two year period of time. (2007 to 2009). During the same two year period Mayor Bloomberg ( education reformer, data-wonk, school choice advocate, blah, blah, blah) ran a (abortive) campaign for president of the US and a ( successful) campaign for reelection as Mayor. ( The NAEP scores for NYC kids were released just after the election. How... everybody together, now!.... conveeeeennnieent.)

Here's my question: this is *legal*? And if there *is* some question about it's legality, under whose jurisdiction would it fall? In other words... who should be investigating? ( And if the answer is the US DOE just send me some cyanide pills or enough rope with which to hang myself.)



>>>>>http://www.uft.org/news/teacher/top/math_tests_no_improvement_since_2007/>>>>>

Federal math tests find no improvement in city since 2007

by Maisie McAdoo

Dec 17, 2009 12:25 PM

Despite a relentless focus on test performance since Mayor Michael Bloomberg took over the school system, New York City failed to score any significant gains in either 4th- or 8th-grade math in the latest round of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the gold standard national achievement test.

The findings directly contradict results on the New York State tests, which show city students making large performance gains since 2007.

The city’s 4th- and 8th-graders did make progress from 2003 to 2007, the national tests show, but the momentum flatlined after 2007. In addition, on the closely watched racial achievement gaps, the city has not narrowed the black-white or Hispanic-white gaps in math since 2003, the NAEP results revealed, though the mayor and Chancellor Joel Klein have made heavy investments in trying to close the gap.

“We have heard endlessly from the administration that the sole reason our students gained ground was because of the city Department of Education’s test-focused approach to education. They led the public to believe that in fact we were closing the achievement gap. Clearly that is not the case,” UFT President Michael Mulgrew wrote in a letter to members on Dec. 8, the day the results were announced.
A more reliable test

The NAEP, designed and administered by the federal Department of Education, is widely considered the gold standard measure of student achievement, both because it is so rigorous and because it is far less subject to political pressures than state achievement tests. NAEP tests challenging skills and knowledge levels that a national panel of experts believe are appropriate at each grade.

On the NAEP exams, New York City 4th-graders gained one point in proficiency since 2007 while the city’s 8th-graders rose four points.
In contrast to the NAEP results, the city’s recent state test results showed 4th-graders gaining more than 10 points and 8th-graders a whopping 25 points in proficiency since 2007.

Such unusual leaps have led State Education Commissioner David Steiner and Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch to call for an overhaul of the state tests and resetting the proficiency bar.

They have also led the UFT once again to challenge the city DOE’s reliance on these tests.

“The administration has made this flawed state test data the key barometer for everything from school progress reports and teacher bonuses to school closings,” Mulgrew told members in his letter. “Now it even wants to use this data to decide teacher tenure. But its approach is fundamentally flawed, because state test results are not aligned with true learning.”
Spinning the results

Chancellor Klein, in a presentation to reporters, argued that the city’s small upticks showed the city making progress from 2007 to 2009. But NAEP determined the narrow gains were “statistically insignificant.” Still, the chancellor went several rounds with skeptical reporters in trying to make his case.

The chancellor’s office also privately commissioned the National Center for Education Statistics to pull apart the city scores from a “rest-of-state” average for New York. (A rest-of-state average removes the one-third of students from the state total who are city students.) An elaborate PowerPoint, which his office prepared for reporters, showed the city outperforming the rest-of-state average on NAEP over the last four years.

Other DOE PowerPoint slides showed the city’s black and Hispanic youngsters narrowing performance gaps with their suburban counterparts in some instances. “Whose blacks are on top?” the chancellor demanded, showing reporters the slides.

But the reporters did not seem persuaded. The chancellor did not present the underlying data for his rest-of-state comparisons, and his claims that city minority students were closing in on suburban minorities could not be fully verified.
An urban district focus

The city’s performance on the NAEP is part of a federal focus on urban school districts that began in 2003. Before then, NAEP results were only reported for entire states.

............snip........

But the city has scored higher than the urban district average since TUDA began, testament to its well-educat

more at link ( including line graph of 8th grade math tests)