A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

At Crestview Elementary School, fourth grader Ashley reads about fishing in the Yurok culture while eighth grader Ricky devises and solves algebraic equations. At Del Mar Elementary School, Melanie struggles to make sense of her social studies textbook while Scott multiplies 4-digit numbers in his eighth grade mathematics class. Why are Ashley and Ricky developing more advanced academic skills than Melanie and Scott? Why are there such different expectations for what students can learn? To help ensure that all of America's children have the opportunity to achieve academic success in reading and mathematics, President Clinton has proposed the development of voluntary national tests in fourth grade reading and eighth grade mathematics.

Why Test Students in Fourth Grade Reading and Eighth Grade Mathematics?

Reading independently by the fourth grade is a gateway to learning in all subjects. By fourth grade, teachers usually stop teaching reading; students are expected to have made the transition from learning to read to reading to learn. As a poor reader, Melanie will likely face a difficult time in school without intensive interventions. She may have difficulty comprehending mathematics story problems, analyzing literature, and interpreting historical documents in the higher grades. She is more likely to be identified as learning disabled, receive lower grades, and not graduate from high school.⁽¹⁾ Melanie is not alone. Forty percent of fourth grade students read below the basic level on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and have trouble understanding the overall meaning of what they read.⁽²⁾

Learning some algebra and geometry by the end of the eighth grade is a gateway to taking challenging mathematics courses in high school and college.⁽³⁾ Having learned some algebra and geometry by the end of the eighth grade, Ricky enters high school prepared to study demanding mathematics. Upon entering college, he will be able to choose from a multitude of careers, particularly in some of the fastest growing industries such as information technology. Even if Ricky does not attend college, his higher math skills will yield benefits. Richard Murnane and Frank Levy have demonstrated that male high school graduates with higher math skills who do not go to college earn more than those with lower math skills.⁽⁴⁾ However, many of our students do not have the same opportunities as Ricky. Only 25% of eighth grade students and less than 15% of low income students take algebra by the end of eighth grade.⁽⁵⁾

How are the Proposed Voluntary National Tests Different From Other Tests?

The idea behind the proposed voluntary national tests is not to simply have another test. The reason for the voluntary national tests is to change the odds for kids -- to improve the chances that all children will receive high quality instruction in reading and mathematics. The voluntary national tests would be different from other tests. The unique features of these tests (described below) would enable parents and teachers to use the tests as tools to improve education from the grassroots level.

Public and Independent. The tests would be developed by an independent, bipartisan board -- the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) -- with extensive public proceedings and outreach. The tests would be based on the highly respected frameworks of NAEP, which NAGB also oversees and were developed through a broad-based consensus process. Under the guidance of NAGB, teachers, principals, business and community leaders, parents, and reading and math specialists would create the test items and specifications. Throughout this process, NAGB would hold public hearings to gather comments on the tests. The tests would be free of racial, cultural, and gender bias and would make accommodations for disadvantaged, limited English proficient, and disabled students. In addition, the National Academy of Sciences will conduct three studies related to the tests. It will study the quality and fairness of the test items and their use, make recommendations for practices and safeguards in the use of the test results, and determine if an equivalency scale can be developed to link commercially available standardized tests and state assessments to NAEP.

Unlike NAEP which is not an individual test and is given to a sample of students, the voluntary national tests would be given to individual students and yield individual student scores. The tests are strictly voluntary. No federal funding would be withheld from a state or local education agency based on its participation, and no individual test results would be given to the federal government. Under the current schedule, the pilot test would be conducted in March 1999, and the first field test in March 2000. The first voluntary national tests would be administered in March 2001, and a new version of the tests would be offered on an annual basis.

Tied to Challenging External Standards. The voluntary national tests would measure student performance against challenging external standards of what students know and can do. The tests would be explicitly linked to NAEP performance levels and, in mathematics, also to the performance scale used by the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).

The NAEP performance standards are high and challenging. In those cases where states set standards for performance, their standards are generally below the NAEP standards. A recent Southern Regional Education Board study revealed that in some states, more than 80 percent of the students are proficient on state assessments, but only 20 percent or less were proficient based on NAEP standards.⁽⁶⁾

The results of a standards assessment based on national and international benchmarks would be powerful tools for local change. With a clear picture of the performance of their children, communities could better invest their time, money, and energy in schools. Teachers could target students' needs and use test results for self-evaluations. Administrators could support the professional development their schools and teachers need. Parents could decide to become more involved in their children's education, and they could focus their involvement on the academic needs of their children.

Public Release of the Tests. Within two weeks after the tests would be given in March, all of the test items, answers, and explanatory information would be widely and publicly distributed through the Internet and other avenues. In May of the same school year, teachers would receive individual students' answers to every test item, along with explanatory information.

Before the end of the school year, teachers and parents would know how their students' performance measures against high academic standards, and they would have the tools to help improve their performance. Teachers and parents would have a clear explanation of what the NAEP standards are and detailed examples of proficient performance based on those standards. Teachers and parents could sit down with an individual student and address his or her particular needs. Teachers could evaluate their current teaching materials and instructional methods and make plans to help their students during the same school year. School principals and teachers could review the test results of their students to evaluate the effectiveness of their instructional programs, to plan their summer professional development, and to mobilize teachers, parents, and the community to join in activities to improve performance.

Rich Supplemental Information. The annual public release of the tests would include rich supplemental information that clearly explains the performance standards and the content area of each item. For mathematics, the content areas include numbers and operations, geometry, and estimation. Parents and teachers would receive examples of student work for each item, as well as examples of the work needed to meet different levels of performance. Teachers would have access to instructional strategies, research-based curricula materials, and a sample test a year before the first administration of the tests.

Through the Internet and other means, parents and teachers would have immediate access to test results and the elaborating information. In fact, the power of technology would give parents and teachers innumerable opportunities to help improve student performance in reading and mathematics. For example, through a voluntary national test website, parents and teachers would be able to request technical assistance, join parent and teacher networks, access sample lesson plans to teach demanding content, view lists of reading books recommended by the American Library Association and International Reading Association, and learn about programs that provide assistance in improving students' reading and mathematics skills.

Helping Teachers Teach Challenging Content. The challenge for teachers is to teach challenging content, and the tests would provide them with tools to accomplish this. The rich supplemental information described above would give teachers a clear understanding of the content areas in reading and mathematics. Each year the tests are offered, the content areas would remain the same, but the items would be different. The tests would not be designed to encourage teachers to have students memorize items or master "tricks" of testing. By keeping the content areas consistent from year to year and with new items each year, the tests would encourage teachers to teach students demanding content.

National Focus. The voluntary national tests would help focus the nation's attention on improving reading and mathematics education. The President and others would talk about the tests every week for the next two years. This national focus would help mobilize local communities to improve the quality of instruction in schools. Business and community organizations could form partnerships with schools, and community members could participate in campaigns to improve reading and mathematics. The Department of Education, with many partners, is already involved in such campaigns. Our America Reads Challenge includes a corps of trained reading tutors, reading specialists, and tutor coordinators; support for parents who want to improve the reading levels of their children; and early intervention for our most disadvantaged children. The Department of Education and the National Science Foundation (NSF) have developed an action plan to build public understanding of challenging mathematics, help equip teachers with the skills and knowledge to teach challenging mathematics, and to assist communities in efforts to implement high-quality curricula and instructional materials.

The voluntary national tests would challenge students to achieve high academic standards at key points in their education. Ensuring that every fourth grader can read independently and every eighth grader can solve challenging mathematics problems creates a foundation for their school careers. If we do not help them establish this foundation, students from schools like Crestview and Del Mar will be unequally prepared to enter the demanding workplace of the 21st century. Students like Melanie will continue to struggle to read, and those like Scott will continue to do rote computation. The voluntary national tests would give parents and teachers powerful tools to help all of America's children excel academically, compete in a global economy, and become responsible citizens in our democratic society. The voluntary national tests alone would not change American education. But they could help mobilize -- and focus -- local efforts to improve two of the most essential basics of American education: reading and mathematics.

1. Velluntino, F. R., Scanlon, D.M. & Spearing, D. 1995. "Semantic and Phonological Coding in Poor & Normal Readers." Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 59: 76-123; Natriello, Gary, Edward L. McDill, Aaron M. Pallas. 1990. Schooling Disadvantaged Children: Racing Against Catastrophe. New York: Teachers College Press; and McMillan, Marilyn, Philip Kaufman, and Steve Klein. 1997. Dropout Rates in the United States 1995. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

2. Campbell, Jay R., Patricia L. Donahue, Clyde M. Reese, and Gary W. Phillips. 1994. NAEP 1994 Reading report Card for the Nation and the States. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

3. Stevenson, David L., Kathryn Schiller, and Barbara Schneider. 1994. "Sequences of Opportunities for Learning." Sociology of Education 67: 187-198.

4. Murnane, Richard J. and Frank Levy. 1996. Teaching the New Basic Skills. New York: Free Press. For further discussion on the benefits of high math skills, see U.S. Department of Education. Planning and Evaluation Service. "Mathematics Equals Opportunity." White Paper prepared for U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley, Washington, DC, October 20, 1997.

5. U.S. Department of Education. National Center for Education Statistics. 1996. NAEP Facts: Eighth-Grade Algebra Course-Taking and Mathematics Proficiency. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

6. Musick, Mark D. 1996. Setting Education Standards High Enough. Atlanta: Southern Regional Education Board.

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