On Top of the News
Common-Core Backers Hit States’ High Proficiency Rates
5/14/15 | Ed Week

Behind the Headline
States Raise Proficiency Standards in Math and Reading
Summer 2015 | Education Next

A report released this week examines the gap in most states between the proficiency rates their students achieve on state tests and the proficiency rates they achieve on NAEP.  More than half the states have proficiency gaps of 30 points or more. The report was issued by Achieve and the Collaborative for Student Success. Achieve President Michael Cohen told reporters that states are “not leveling with students or parents” because they’re representing that “students are proficient when by external benchmarks they’re not.”

Education Next has examined state proficiency standards for the past six years, grading each state according to the size of the differential between the percentages of students identified as proficient by the state and the percentages identified by NAEP on the 4th- and 8th-grade math and reading exams. This year’s analysis found that many states have raised their proficiency bars since 2011.

– Education Next