Fred Smith: why the NY State Education Department deserves an "F" on their own exams
Fred Smith is an expert on testing who used to work in the NYC Board of Education, and has been instrumental in uncovering and publicizing the rampant state test score inflation that has occurred over the last eight years in NY state. He has an article in this month's City Limits, showing the lack of concerted action on the part of the Board of Regents and New York State Education Department, even after admitting that this inflation did indeed occur, to take the necessary steps to address it properly:Several issues have never been addressed:
--Why have SED administrators been protected, given their misleading reporting and defense of inadequate testing from 2006 to 2009?
--Why did the state’s technical advisors insist that cut off scores on the tests were lowered because the items had gotten harder—when they had evidence to the contrary?
--Who’s responsible for the field testing procedures that yielded inaccurate data on which the exams were
--Why have SED administrators been protected, given their misleading reporting and defense of inadequate testing from 2006 to 2009?
--Why did the state’s technical advisors insist that cut off scores on the tests were lowered because the items had gotten harder—when they had evidence to the contrary?
--Who’s responsible for the field testing procedures that yielded inaccurate data on which the exams were