As if the official passing score of 55 on the state's Regents exams were not low enough, the Buffalo News reported this week that students needed to answer just 33 percent of the questions correctly to achieve that score on the Regents exam in biology, and 45 percent of the questions in math. The news that the grading curves for the state's assessments were even more generous than they had seemed was greeted with cries of outrage from teachers, administrators, politicians, and even students. "Wow, what a scam!" said one teacher. The explanation offered by an assistant state superintendent was that the "scaled scoring" system used by the state to translate 33 percent to 55 percent is not an after-the-fact adjustment but an elaborate system that takes into account the difficulty of test questions to translate raw scores into scale scores.
Should a state be ashamed of setting a passing score this low? Not necessarily, so long as the assessment is good and the "cut score" isn't going to remain low forever. Developing a tough test but setting the initial passing bar low can be a shrewd reform strategy, provided the bar is then continually raised. A state that has high expectations for students spelled out in rigorous academic standards--and solid tests aligned with these standards--has taken important steps toward standards-based reform. Yet--regrettably but realistically--many of today's students are not prepared to meet high standards. This leaves states with three tough options: 1) flunk lots of students, 2) offer easy tests that most students can pass, or 3) offer challenging tests but set cut scores low at the outset, then ratchet them up. Option three may be the most likely to lead to improved instruction. New York claims that next year the cut score goes up to 65. Some doubt that this will actually happen. Watch this space.
"Regents Grading Curve Bends Generously," by Peter Simon, Buffalo News, July 17, 2001 http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20010717/1036527.asp