We need to stop and further spell out exactly what is going on with CMS test scores. Ann Helms has stuffed about all the info she can into her story, but there is more.
It should be clear that the tests were purposely made absurdly easy precisely to mask poor performance by low-income and minority students. State officials knew exactly what they were doing and why, and CMS let them.
Second, lets be clear about the scoring mechanics of a slightly harder test. Basically any student remotely near grade level should have scored 100 on the previous test. Now that the test demands more knowledge the unprepared students who were guessing their way to reasonable scores before are falling off a cliff.
Finally, the what next question. The most depressing part of the new scores is that they extend all the way down into the early grades, which means CMS has thousands and thousands of kids who will be chronically behind unless a way is found to get them up to speed.
