Math A Test and Standards-based Tests
Following my work on the NY Regents Math A Panel last summer, which examined the causes of the high failure rate on the June 2003 Math A test, I undertook a
study of the psychometric methodology, based on Item Response Theory, that
New York State Education Department used on the Math A test. The Math A Panel
had access to a vast array of test data and, as I sifted through it, patterns
emerged of serious shortcomings in the methodology for maintaining a constant
performance standard. These problems will probably arise in many other
state standards-based tests, calling into question the validity of the
year-to-year comparisons of student performance in mathematics, mandated
by the No Child Left Behind Act.
Click here for a short version of the findings
Click here for a long version of the findings