McBride, Dick Lowe Discuss Student Test Scores

Thursday, Rep. Mark McBride (R-Moore) and Rep. Dick Lowe (R-Amber) commented on a change to the method for scoring state academic test, which they say was not communicated to educators, parents, or the public.

McBride and Lowe serve as chair and vice chair of the House of Appropriations & Budget Subcommittee on Education. They said this change made it look as if student proficiency rates during the last school year have jumped when they cannot accurately compare the prior year.

"The Oklahoma State Department of Education dropped the ball on telling school administrators, parents or anyone about the change in the way they would determine student performance on state tests," the lawmakers said in a joint statement. "This left districts shocked and surprised when they saw this year's scores, and it puts a false narrative out there. While we want to recognize the heroic efforts of our state educators, and we don't in any way want to diminish the incredible work they do in educating their students, the truth must be told."

Oklahoma subject matter academic standards are updated every six years on a rotating schedule. Over 100 educators and other subject matter experts gather under the direction of the Oklahoma State Department of Education to update these standards. The standards are ultimately approved by the Legislature.

Once standards are updated in a particular subject, companies rewrite state tests to match the new standards. OSDE then works with testing vendors to develop new cut scores and performance-level descriptors (PLDs) to determine if a student is performing below basic, at basic or is proficient or advanced.

Since the test cut scores and PLDs are changed every six years, the current year's test in that subject cannot accurately be compared to the previous year's.

Standards usually only change one subject per year but due to delays caused by COVID, English language and math were updated on the same schedule. New test were developed and administered for the 2023-2024 school year, and new cut scores and PLDs were determined. When schools received their results from last year's state test, the number of students showing proficient or above in English language arts and math was inflated over the previous year, which McBride and Lowe said caused confusion.

They said they are seeking guidance on how to interpret the test scores and hope to share them with school administrators statewide, which can be shared with parents and other education stakeholders.

"Had OSDE done its job and communicated this process clearly before these scores were released, we would not have this misunderstanding," McBride said. "I can only hope they do better in the future."