Parent Pages
Sibling Pages
Child Pages
The 2000 Stanford testing data are on the State Education Dept web site.
The State people have been bragging about the improvement from 98 to 2000. They claim it validates the SOL program. Let's look at some of the Stanford 9 data.
First, here are the Statewide data for 2000 scores
Statewide 2000 Stanford 9 Scores Grade Reading Math Language (Basic) BATTERY 4 53 60 60 57 6 59 65 55 61 9 60 55 51 57 and the changes from 1998
Changes in Statewide Stanford 9 scores, 1998-2000 Grade Reading Math Language (Basic) BATTERY 4 3 7 6 4 6 1 7 4 3 9 2 1 3 2 We see that statewide these scores improved at each grade level and for every subject to levels that in every case are above the national norm (50). There's no telling whether the SOLs were responsible for any of this but there is a strong post hoc inference.
The Richmond data are another matter entirely. Let's look first at the percentage of students taking the test. In 1998, 2% to 10% fewer of the Richmond kids took the test
% of students taking Stanford 9, 1998 Grade VA RIC Difference 4 96% 92% -4% 6 96% 86% -10% 9 93% 91% -2% In 2000, the Richmond percentages taking the test dropped still farther
% of students taking Stanford 9, 2000 Grade VA RIC Difference 4 96% 89% -7% 6 96% 86% -9% 9 92% 85% -8% It didn't help the scores. Here are the 2000 scores for Richmond:
Stanford 9 Scores, Richmond, 2000 Grade Reading Math Language (Basic) BATTERY 4 30 39 42 37 6 33 35 35 38 9 36 30 34 36 In fact, those scores are a slight improvement from 98:
Stanford 9 Score Changes, 1998-2000, Richmond, Grade Reading Math Language (Basic) BATTERY 4 1 4 1 1 6 0 2 1 2 9 0 -2 1 0 Compared to the nice improvements in the statewide scores, however, these numbers reveal that Richmond is falling still farther behind. In '98 we were 20 points behind
Richmond v. Statewide Stanford 9 Scores, 1998 Grade Reading Math Language (Basic) BATTERY Average 4 -21 -18 -13 -17 6 -25 -25 -17 -22 9 -22 -22 -15 -19 Average -23 -22 -15 -19 -20 In 2000 we had fallen to 22 points behind
Richmond v. Statewide Stanford 9 Scores, 2000 Grade Reading Math Language (Basic) BATTERY Average 4 -23 -21 -18 -20 6 -26 -30 -20 -23 9 -24 -25 -17 -21 Average -24 -25 -18 -21 -22 with declines vs. the State average in every subject
Changes in Richmond v. Statewide Stanford 9 Scores, 1998 to 2000 Grade Reading Math Language (Basic) BATTERY 4 -2 -3 -5 -3 6 -1 -5 -3 -1 9 -2 -3 -2 -2 Just think: We are paying taxes to support this system that is harming our schoolchildren and getting worse every year. Indeed, we are paying more taxes than almost any jurisdiction for much worse performance. Indeed, the School Board is increasing its spending on failed programs.
The really surprising thing here is that we are not hearing the enraged howls of the citizenry. Neither do we hear of a crash program to improve the Richmond schools. For sure the first step to fixing the schools is to realize that they are broken. Until we do that, clearly and explicitly, we must expect that the system will continue to fail its customers.
Back to the Top
Back to the Testing Page
Back to the Issues Page
Last updated 02/24/02
Please send questions or comments to John
Butcher