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Big Changes Could Result in Lower Test Scores

August 9th, 2013

New York education officials announced this week that test scores in the state plunged last year. It was the first time those students were tested on a new set of education standards called the Common Core. Georgia has also adopted the standards, and state education officials expect a similar drop in scores.

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Just 31% of New York students passed both math and reading tests last year. The year before, 55% passed reading and 65% passed math. Georgia Department of Education spokesperson Matt Cardoza says Georgia says officials expect to see similar results next year when students in grades 3-12 take new tests.

“The closest thing I think we’ve seen to that is what happened with our end-of-course test in coordinate algebra this spring,” Cardoza says. “That was the first test that was aligned to new standards, but also a completely new test.”

Just 37% of students passed that exam. Cardoza says the test involved more critical thinking questions and fewer basic algorithms. Although the new tests haven’t been devised yet, the state will move toward more written responses and fewer multiple-choice questions.

After New York’s scores were released, a national teachers’ union issued a statement saying the state’s teachers didn’t feel prepared to teach the Common Core. Tim Callahan, a spokesperson for the Professional Association of Georgia Educators, says some Georgia teachers feel the same way.

“For the most part, we’re hearing they don’t feel fully prepared yet,” Callahan says. The ones we’ve spoken with say they do support the standards; they think they’re pretty good, but they are very concerned that they haven’t had enough training and implementation time to really fully assimilate them.”

The state offers some Common Core training, and local districts can offer their own. Callahan says some teachers don’t think it’s enough. But, he says, they may have an edge over educators in other states.

“The only saving grace I can think of is the fact that the Common Core, by all accounts, has been very closely matched to the GPS standards, which had been in place for a few years prior,” he says. “And so there was a growing comfort level with those.”

The GPS, or Georgia Performance Standards, were used to help write the Common Core. In addition to a redesigned test next year, the U.S. Education department will require states to raise their minimum scores, which will make it tougher to pass.