A year since the tests were taken, results have finally been released for the 2006 state ISAT tests. The results: The Trib aced its coverage, the Sun-Times front page flunked.

Over at the Sun-Times, the editors bought the bureaucratic spin hook, line and sinker, with this unquestioningly glowing front page:

"Vroom" says the Sun-Times. adding "SOARING TEST SCORES PUT MORE CHICAGO SCHOOLS ON TOP". Yea, break out the champagne!!!

Oh, wait, hold that. The Tribune recognized that the REAL story was the accelerating dumbing down of the test and its scoring. Instead of taking the bureaucrats at their word, the Trib confronted them directly:

In case the pictures don't come through on this email, the Trib's headline is "WHY TEST SCORES WENT UP", with a subhead that presents a multiple choice answer:

A. Pupils were given more time
B. Only one essay factored into grade
C. Passing bar lowered on 8th-grade math test
D. Pupils smarter, teachers more focused

The answers: State officials say D, critics say the test is easier

Now, to be fair to the Sun-Times, coverage inside the paper did raise the issue of the lowering scoring standards, noting that "the tests reflected a laundry list of changes. Some question whether scores soared, in part, because of those changes."

To use the current vernacular, gee, d'ya think???

The Sun-Times bulleted these factors (among others) under the heading, "Test Changes":

* Ten extra minutes per reading and math section, for a total of 30 extra minutes per subject

* New answer sheet, making it harder to put answers in the wrong place

* Pass score in eighth-grade math dropped from 67th to 38th percentile to conform with other tests [yee-gads!!!!]

* New testing contractor and new scoring system

* Weight of open-ended "extended response" questions ... dropped from 15 to 10 percent

* In Chicago only: A second standardized test was dropped, making it easier for teachers to focus on ISAT-tested skills...

* In Chicago only: New reading tests given twice before ISAT to pinpoint student weaknesses. The tests made by same company that wrote the ISAT.

You can read the full coverage online:

http://www.chicagotribune.com
http://www.suntimes.com

For more background on the testing, the dumbing down of tests in Illinois and nationally, a look at who is opposed to tests and why, the flakiness of essays on standardized tests, and much more, see our web page at:

http://www.illinoisloop.org/test.html
Illinois Loop: Testing and Assessments

-- Kevin Killion