State improves grade on school testing

FROM SUN STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

Monday, June 23, 2003 | 11:02 a.m.

FROM SUN STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

RENO -- Nevada is doing a better job of testing students and holding schools accountable for results, a new report shows.

The second annual Princeton Review Testing the Testers report ranks Nevada 17th nationally, up from 35th a year ago.

New York and Massachusetts ranked first and second, respectively. Montana placed last.

Rankings were based on surveys conducted over the last winter in four areas, including the "sunshine" category that measures whether tests are open to public scrutiny and ongoing improvement. Nevada got a B in it.

"We are providing much more information on our website, so you might believe our rating will go up in the coming years," Paul La Marca of the state Department of Education told the Reno Gazette-Journal.

Clark County Schools Superintendent Carlos Garcia told the Las Vegas Sun this morning Nevada's improved accountability rating comes with a flip side: Lower student test scores will be likely.

Because the No Child Left Behind Act requires districts count results from every student, including those in special education and English Language Learner programs, overall results on last fall's Iowa Basic Skills test showed drops.

"In the short term we'll see lower numbers because for the first time we're really testing every child," Garcia said. "But in the long run, more accountability is a good thing for our students and for our state."

In the category of academic alignment, which measures how close tests are to state curriculum standards, Nevada improved from an F to a B-minus.

Nevada received B-pluses in the categories of policy and test quality, which examined whether tests were capable of determining that curriculum standards are being met.

Test quality was weighted at 15 percent, academic alignment at 20 percent, sunshine at 30 percent and policy at 35 percent.

The report noted Nevada has programs in place for schools not doing well on certain tests and provides remedial help for children at such schools.

"Students who do not perform well on (the Iowa Test of Basic Skills) are provided with a remediation plan that addresses areas of academic weakness," the report says. "The state requires and funds remediation for students who need help in high school English, math and science."

Pepper Sturm of the Nevada Legislative Counsel Bureau said the state's rankings should see continued improvement since a new state law puts state testing requirements in line with the federal No Child Left Behind Law.

That law holds schools accountable for student achievement.