CRCT Results Reveal Flaws in System

publication date: Jun 9, 2008

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author/source: Kate Copsey / STAFF

By Kate Copsey / STAFF

North Fulton parents were rightly shocked that almost half the 8th graders in the public school system failed the math portion of the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT). This came on top of the news that many students also failed the social studies portion of the test. The official word is that “the scores were implausibly low” in the social studies portion, which led to the decision that the results were thrown out.

No such luck was offered to the alarmingly high number of math students who now are in summer school.

The Basic Problem
The eighth grade students in math have now completed three years of the new integrated math program. When you get a new curriculum in place, there are some expected dips in the achievement curve, which recover to higher than previous levels within a year or two. This was seen in the language arts curriculum adjustment that was completed a few years ago.

In preparation for the expected dip this year, the Fulton County School Board had included higher summer school costs this year. To compensate for that added expense, the student-teacher ratio was increased from 15 to 18 students in each class.

Unfortunately, neither the students nor the summer school teachers know exactly which part of the math curriculum (geometry, algebra or another topic) the individual students failed. These itemized, more detailed numbers will not be available until late June, but the middle school summer sessions finish on June 27. It’s an obvious dilemma. The students who failed the test are required to go to summer school, presumably to address the specific shortcomings. But those specific shortcomings won’t be known until summer school is out.

“They will concentrate on the major areas of the curriculum,” said Haynes Bridge Middle School’s summer school principal Monica In.

What Happened?
According to Haynes Bridge principal Debbie Reeves, “Some of those kids [who failed] are bright and on honor role. They did well during the school year and some had an average of 92 percent for that course.” Centennial High School principal John Bartley agrees with Reeves.

“A lot of students excelled or did well in class,” he said. “So the test did not translate to the classroom.”

In all, 2,226 Fulton County eighth graders are in summer school because they scored Level 1 on at least one part of the CRCT test, which is an increase of 1,147 over last year. Even at the fifth grade level that was a major increase in the failure rate (1,450 this year compared to 898 last year).

The Reasons for the Drop (or The Excuses)
If you ask parents what the problem is, they will likely blame the new math curriculum. Whether that is right or not is debatable, but some states have had great success with this method, and it does not excuse the fact that the test does not seem to accurately reflect the student’s knowledge.

One reason, according to Hillside Elementary School Principal Lori Fanning (who was also the Fulton County Schools Director of Math Curriculum), “They hadn’t seen CRCT problems.”

And the teachers could not use sample questions from past tests. The inference here is that you cannot expect teachers to teach kids how to pass without seeing sample questions before. The problem is that throughout the course, there is pre and post testing for each segment, so logically the students should be used to the curriculum questions.

Additionally, at the state level, an implementation chart includes using sample tests to perfect the questioning. If this was done correctly and fully, then the teachers should have had some samples to use.

Another suggested problem is that in past years, only the very brightest students would take algebra in middle school. With almost all the students now taking algebra and geometry in middle school, a good number would be expected to fail. Even if the percentage of failures was constant, the total numbers would increase because the number of students increased.

However, these eigth graders are on the third year of the integrated math. If the curriculum was set up correctly then they should be perfectly adjusted to the higher standard. A few more students needing extra help could be expected, but this large number cannot be blamed on the idea that the students were not capable of doing the more advanced work. Their capability is supported by the number of Haynes Bridge students who did well in their coursework but still failed the test.

And Now?
All the evidence points to the idea that the students did not fail the test as much as the test failed the students. The State Board of Education implemented a new curriculum with poorly planned tests and a badly timed summer school.

Regardless, hundreds of middle school students are slogging through summer school in an effort to pass the test. If they do not pass they can get a waiver, but that has to come from the federal level, not the state.

Centennial High School graduation coach Keynun Campbell is not concerned about the incoming students. He is confident that they “will identify students who need extra help in math,” and he will ensure they get it. He does not anticipate more students than normal needing the help though, regardless of the high number of eighth graders needing to retake the test.