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State test scores show narrowing of achievement gap Saturday, Jun 21, 2008 By John Lyon Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - Arkansas students' scores on benchmark exams improved overall this year and showed a narrowing of the achievement gap between whites and minorities on most tests, though the gap widened on some tests, state education officials said Friday. "We are very pleased," state Education Commissioner Ken James said at a news conference. "This is indicative of all the hard work that's going on across the state by our teachers and our administrators." For the first time, the Arkansas Benchmark Exam and the Iowa Test for Basic Skills were combined this year into one test, the Augmented Benchmark Exam. Officials said combining the exams made the testing process more efficient for teachers and students. The exam tests students' proficiency in math and literacy. Scores fall into four categories: below basic, basic, proficient and advanced. A score of proficient means a student is performing at grade level. Scores improved overall this year compared to last year, with the percentage of students scoring proficient or above increasing in every category except seventh-grade literacy, which held steady at 57 percent. The biggest increase was in fourth-grade math, with 74 percent of students scoring proficient or above this year compared to 65 percent last year. James noted some "significant firsts" in the results, including a record high of 56 percent of eighth graders scoring proficient or above in math. "For the first time, we have broken the threshold of the 50 percent mark in eighth-grade math," James said. In every grade except the eighth, more students scored at proficient or above in math than in literacy. James said this is a big change from when standardized testing began. "I think we had 12 or 13 percent of students in the state that were proficient and advanced (in math) when we first started the benchmark examinations," he said. For the second year in a row, the achievement gap between white and minority students narrowed on most tests. The gap between whites and blacks narrowed on eight of 12 tests, and the gap between whites and Hispanics narrowed on seven of 12 tests. James said areas where the gap widened will need to be looked at, but he noted that even on tests where the gap widened, scores for each racial group improved compared to last year. "There are a variety of factors that enter into that conversation, in terms of poverty and things of that nature, but again, the bottom line is we are charged with getting all kids - all kids - to the level of proficiency," James said. Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, 100 percent of students are to score at proficient or above by 2014. "There are obstacles to getting 100 percent of anything, but the bottom line is that I think that 100 percent goal for this country and for the state has continued to raise our level of aspiration, and I think that's what we need to continue to shoot for," James said. ------ On the Net: www.arkansased.org |
