Results of school testing delayed

Tuesday, Dec. 3, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Students in the fourth- and eighth-grades will have to wait a little longer before they learn how they scored on new tests for academic achievement.

More than 30,000 students took the examination in October with the results due Dec. 15.

But Tom Klein of the state Department of Education said CTB/McGraw-Hill Publishing Co., which compiled the test, is behind in its grading. Results are expected to be mailed to each of the 17 Nevada school districts in January.

Overall, however, Klein said the CTBS TerraNova examinations have turned out to be a success, dispelling many fears and "scurrilous rumors."

Nevada was the first of five states to adopt the CTB/McGraw Hill examination, which used extensive pictures and drawings to make the test more interesting to children.

"We encountered some anxiety over the introduction of the new test," said Klein, coordinator of proficiency examinations in the department. "With testing completed, there are now more than 30,000 students in Nevada who can attest that the TerraNova contained no inappropriate content."

"There were some rumors there might be sexually oriented questions on the test," Klein said. "There were also concerns there would be questions about what is going on in the home."

Most of the questions arose in Clark County and in Pahrump," Klein said, who added parents picketed the school offices in Pahrump. The examinations, he said, did not contain any of the material that some parents had objected to.

Students, he said, seemed to like the tests, based on the feedback. "Some felt it was more like a normal exercise than a test," he said.

Fears have been expressed that test scores may be lower because the tests were changed this year. "We don't know what to expect," Klein said. But in some cases, results do fall when something new is introduced.

But he said in this case, the extensive use of graphics and pictures might help produce higher scores.

For seven years, the state used the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills and districts graded their own examinations. But the state Board of Education last January decided to try the new examination and a new law requires the scoring be in one place.

Klein said McGraw-Hill has been delayed in developing a national norm on which to score the examination. This norm will allow the comparison of Nevada students against other states.

The results of the examination, once returned to the school district, will be sent to parents. And the district will publish the results in a school-by-school breakdown, probably in March when it issues its accountability report for the year, Klein said.