PAWS results improve, last year's results deemed unusable
Wyoming students generally performed better on state assessments this spring than in past years, according to statewide results released Wednesday.
More students who took the Proficiency Assessments for Wyoming Students, or PAWS, tested proficient and advanced proficient in math and reading at every grade level tested this year than did so in 2010. PAWS tests all students in grades three through eight and once in high school in reading, math and writing and in grades four, eight and once in high school in science.
However, the 2010 results cannot be used to compare gains because Wyoming was granted a waiver from federal accountability, Superintendent of Public Instruction Cindy Hill said in a news conference Wednesday in Casper. Hill said she did not know why 2010 results were put online last fall. The results disappeared from the Wyoming Department of Education website three hours after the news conference.
"We were very clear with [the U.S. Department of Education] verbally and in writing that the scores were unretrievable and there were no scores, so we can't use those scores," Hill said.
Math and reading tests were mandated by the 2001 reauthorization of the U.S. Elementary and Secondary Education Act, also known as the No Child Left Behind Act. The scores are used to determine "adequate yearly progress" toward the goal of every student performing at a proficient level. Schools and districts that do not make AYP face sanctions.
The 2010 PAWS test administration was plagued with problems, most with the online test platform from testing company NCS Pearson. The state Department of Education requested a waiver from AYP determinations July 9, 2010 under then-Superintendent Jim McBride.
Less than three weeks later, a third-party, independent analysis concluded the technical problems did not hinder student performance. Results were posted to the department website, and districts and schools were encouraged to use the data except in cases of known technological problems.
The U.S. Education Department excused Wyoming from requirements to test students and use those results to determine AYP in a letter dated Nov. 16, 2010. The letter did not advise Wyoming officials how to use the 2010 data.
Hill said federal department officials told her using the data, even internally, was "deceitful."
"They were very clear with us that we shouldn't be using them, and they were very upset with us that we have been," Hill said.
Officials at the U.S. Department of Education could not confirm or deny Wednesday the advice was given.
Hill refused to answer questions about a statewide dip in proficient students on the writing test, which changed little from 2010 and will be pulled out of future PAWS administrations. Hill, who took office in January, said districts and schools may use the 2010 data but she and the state Department of Education will not, on guidance from the feds.
Multi-year trends are more valuable, said Sheryl Lain, instructional leader at the department. Data comparing 2006, the first year of the test, and 2011 show large gains across the board.
Lain referenced writing scores, which educators say are the most volatile. Comparing writing in 2011 to 2006 doesn't account for changes in scoring in 2010.
Hill said this year's switch to paper and pencil likely helped some students perform better, but chalked up the gains to better instruction, a focus on education from the state Legislature and favorable testing environments at schools.
When asked whether the six-year trend reflects the Legislature's financial investment in education, Hill said yes, but school leadership played a larger role.
Wyoming students generally performed better on state assessments this spring than in past years, according to statewide results released Wednesday.
More students who took the Proficiency Assessments for Wyoming Students, or PAWS, tested proficient and advanced proficient in math and reading at every grade level tested this year than did so in 2010. PAWS tests all students in grades three through eight and once in high school in reading, math and writing and in grades four, eight and once in high school in science.
However, the 2010 results cannot be used to compare gains because Wyoming was granted a waiver from federal accountability, Superintendent of Public Instruction Cindy Hill said in a news conference Wednesday in Casper. Hill said she did not know why 2010 results were put online last fall. The results disappeared from the Wyoming Department of Education website three hours after the news conference.
"We were very clear with [the U.S. Department of Education] verbally and in writing that the scores were unretrievable and there were no scores, so we can't use those scores," Hill said.
Math and reading tests were mandated by the 2001 reauthorization of the U.S. Elementary and Secondary Education Act, also known as the No Child Left Behind Act. The scores are used to determine "adequate yearly progress" toward the goal of every student performing at a proficient level. Schools and districts that do not make AYP face sanctions.
The 2010 PAWS test administration was plagued with problems, most with the online test platform from testing company NCS Pearson. The state Department of Education requested a waiver from AYP determinations July 9, 2010 under then-Superintendent Jim McBride.
Less than three weeks later, a third-party, independent analysis concluded the technical problems did not hinder student performance. Results were posted to the department website, and districts and schools were encouraged to use the data except in cases of known technological problems.
The U.S. Education Department excused Wyoming from requirements to test students and use those results to determine AYP in a letter dated Nov. 16, 2010. The letter did not advise Wyoming officials how to use the 2010 data.
Hill said federal department officials told her using the data, even internally, was "deceitful."
"They were very clear with us that we shouldn't be using them, and they were very upset with us that we have been," Hill said.
Officials at the U.S. Department of Education could not confirm or deny Wednesday the advice was given.
Hill refused to answer questions about a statewide dip in proficient students on the writing test, which changed little from 2010 and will be pulled out of future PAWS administrations. Hill, who took office in January, said districts and schools may use the 2010 data but she and the state Department of Education will not, on guidance from the feds.
Multi-year trends are more valuable, said Sheryl Lain, instructional leader at the department. Data comparing 2006, the first year of the test, and 2011 show large gains across the board.
Lain referenced writing scores, which educators say are the most volatile. Comparing writing in 2011 to 2006 doesn't account for changes in scoring in 2010.
Hill said this year's switch to paper and pencil likely helped some students perform better, but chalked up the gains to better instruction, a focus on education from the state Legislature and favorable testing environments at schools.
When asked whether the six-year trend reflects the Legislature's financial investment in education, Hill said yes, but school leadership played a larger role.
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