Cognition is the process by which knowledge is acquired through the use and interpretation of environmental symbols. When groups of students achieve results that indicate aggregate performance at a particular level in one area, the group should be expected to achieve aggregate performance at the same level in other cognitive areas. Groups can do just as well in one cognitive area as in any other cognitive area. The following discussions focus on the major subject areas of reading (and/or English Language Arts) and mathematics. A. Norm-Referenced Tests Results from 2000-01 show that scores on the ITBS for this year exceed the cohort mean (57th percentile) in mathematics in grade 3, but performance does not reach the effectiveness level (73rd percentile) in either subject in any grade. Overall, district-wide performance as measured by the ITBS is higher in mathematics than in reading, except in grades 2 and 4, as shown in the graph below:
B. Standards-Based Tests On the ISAT, performance in reading is generally higher than in mathematics, except in grade 3, as shown in the graph below:
On the PSAE, a greater percentage of students meet/exceed the standards in reading than in mathematics. While this is true for students on this test statewide as well, the difference between performance levels in reading and mathematics is significantly greater for the district than for the state.
C. OVERALL ANALYSIS: Cross-Subject Norm-Referenced and Standards-Based Test Results While the data from these two testing instruments appear to conflict somewhat in terms of cross-subject performance, it should be taken into consideration that the ISAT was in its second year of administration in 2000-01, and the PSAE in its first year of administration. Furthermore, the patterns on the ISAT and PSAE in both performance across the grade levels and across subjects are similar at both the state and district levels, suggesting that the district patterns observed may be related to the tests themselves or to state mandated standards and/or curriculum. While performance in both reading and mathematics is above state averages on the ISAT, the degree of difference is not significantly great. Performance on the PSAE is below state averages on both subjects, to a greater degree in mathematics than in reading. On both tests, performance in reading is generally higher than in mathematics. (That is, a higher percentage of students met/exceeded the standards in reading than in mathematics.) The ITBS, because it is a well-established test, and because it measures the performance of students from a much larger nationwide sample, may be a more reliable indicator than the relatively new ISAT. On the ITBS, performance in mathematics is higher than reading except in grades 2 and 4, and performance is below the effectiveness level in all grades in both reading and mathematics. Taken together, performance on these two indicators suggests a clear need to raise expectations for performance, enhance the rigor of the reading and math curricula, and address any instructional or content issues that may arise as a result of this review.
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