Timing of new exam standards questioned

The day after New Jersey's public school teachers and administrators saw the state suddenly raise the bar on state tests, some were a little nervous.

While they couldn't quibble with the notion of raising standards, they voiced concern about the abruptness and, in some cases, the fairness of making such big changes with so little notice.

"Everyone agrees we have some low bars we need to raise, but it's the way you do it," said Steve Wollmer, spokesman for the New Jersey Education Association, the state's dominant teachers union. "Doing them retroactively is like raising the price of gas after you filled your tank."

On Wednesday, the state Board of Education boosted the scores needed to pass, or be "proficient," on several state tests. Although the state signaled plans to raise all scores in the future, it did so retroactively for tests taken last spring for grades 5 to 8, virtually ensuring more students will fail.

Even one teacher involved in the standard-setting process said he knows there will be repercussions for what his committee did in advising the state on the scoring changes.

"I'm just as worried as anybody -- I have a lot attached to these scores, too," said Michael Cirone, a Union City eighth-grade math teacher who was among dozens of teachers advising in the process last month.

But he stressed all teachers' ultimate goal should be providing the fullest education they can. "As a teacher, if the (passing) scores stayed the same," he added, "would you have taught any less?"

State board members raised the timing issue Wednesday, but state officials noted standards are typically set after tests are administered. The same process will be used next year when standards are set for third and fourth grades.

And officials acknowledged the changes will likely be a shock to the system, with passing rates expected to fall even as student performance rises.

"It doesn't change how students did on the test," said state Education Commissioner Lucille Davy. "The issue is who do we call proficient. ... We are basically changing the (grading) curve."

The change highlighted just how low the threshold for the scores had been. Students scoring as low as 33 percent correct had been deemed proficient.

Newark's newly appointed superintendent, Clifford Janey, yesterday called the move "welcome and overdue," given how low some of the passing scores were.

But Janey also said he hopes such a significant change all at once doesn't increase the testing pressure on schools even further and, in turn, on their teachers to resort to test preparation and other rote measures.

"I really have a concern that we lose sight on the fact we are growing children and not just preparing them to be crafty on tests," he said.