New scoring makes 3rd-,4th grade test harder to pass
Posted Wednesday, July 15, 2009 from Press of Atlantic City

TRENTON - The state Department of Education plans to raise theminimum passing scores on state NJASK tests given to third- andfourth-graders this spring, making it harder for students to passthe test.

By DIANE D'AMICO, Education Writer, 609-272-7241 | Posted: Wednesday, July 15, 2009

The new higher passing score will lower the statewide passingrate for both grades by more than 20 percent in language arts and10 percent in math.

DOE officials will present the new passing scores to the stateBoard of Education at today's meeting. The change mirrors a similarincrease last year in the passing scores for state tests given tostudents in grades five through eight.

The Department of Education's stated goal is to raiseexpectations at every grade level and identify students in need ofextra help earlier in their academic careers.

State officials declined to comment before the meeting, saying afull presentation would be made to the board. A presentationprepared for the meeting, and temporarily posted on the DOE Website, outlined the proposed changes.

Third-graders in 2009 will have to have 50 percent of thelanguage arts test questions correct to pass, up from 40 percent in2008. In math, they will need 52 percent correct to pass, up from42 percent in 2008.

Fourth-graders will have to get 54 percent of language artsquestions correct to pass, up from 44 percent in 2008. In math, thefourth-graders will need 50 percent correct, up from 42 percent in2008.

The report says that with new scoring, the percentage ofstudents passing the tests statewide in 2009 will drop. The passingrate on the third-grade language arts test will drop from 86percent in 2008 to 62 percent. The fourth-grade language arts testpassing rate will drop from 82.6 percent to 63 percent.

In math, the third-grade statewide passing rate will drop from86.7 percent in 2008 to 75 percent in 2009. The fourth-gradepassing rate in math will drop from 84.8 percent to 74 percent.