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Testing Programs for Oregon Public Schools
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Oregon has two testing programs. First is the Oregon
Statewide Assessment test (OSA) given in different grade levels and the
other is the high school Graduation Requirement Test (GRT).
The Oregon Statewide Assessment is different from national,
norm-referenced tests used in many districts and states. The Oregon Statewide
Assessment is a criterion-referenced assessment based on the
Oregon Content Standards. As a result, the types of scores produced
from the Oregon Statewide Assessment are somewhat different from those produced
by national, norm-referenced tests. Norm-referenced tests assess a student’s
broad knowledge, measuring performance against a relevant comparison group.
Criterion-referenced tests measure specific skills in relation to pre-established
standards of academic performance. Advocates of standards-based reform prefer
criterion-referenced tests because they can be directly aligned to a given
state’s standards.
Nationally, 70 percent of high school students must pass
exit exams to get a diploma, according to the
Center on Education Policy. Oregon was a late comer to establish a graduation
testing program. It finally did so in 2008 but the state has push
the dates back for implementation numerous times.
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The Oregon Statewide Assessment Test (OSA)
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The purposes of the Oregon Statewide Assessment Program
are:
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To provide information on individual student achievement
on performance standards set by the State Board of Education.
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To provide information for policy decisions by the
legislature, the governor, the State Board of Education, and local school
districts.
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To support instructional program improvement efforts.
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To inform the public about student achievement in
Oregon schools.
Testing Grade Levels
 Under
Oregon’s assessment system, reading and math tests are given at grades 3-8
and at grade 11; writing tests are given at grades 4, 7, and 11. Oregon
is moving its 10th-grade tests in reading, writing, math and science to
the 11th grade, saying many students need another year of high school to
learn the skills covered on the tests. The tests were written for sophomores,
and the minimum passing scores were set based on how sophomores performed
on the tests. But, beginning with the 2010-1011 school year, they will be
given to juniors, and the state's high schools will be judged by how many
of their students pass the exams by the end of junior year. Oregon got permission
from the U.S. Department of Education to make the standard easier for schools.
When Oregon sophomores take the tests, a lot of them fail, particularly
in math. In 2009, 46 percent of 10th-graders flunked that test, 45
percent failed the writing test and 42 percent failed in science.
In 2007, the state delivered over 1.4 million tests through
DE’s computer-based testing system, OAKS Online (OAKS = Oregon Assessment
of Knowledge & Skills). The state-of-the-art testing system is unique among
the 50 states and has several advantages over other online assessments and
old-style pencil-and-paper testing. Students take tests online, and each
test is individually adapted to the student taking the test. Students have
up to three opportunities to take required tests in reading and mathematics.
A major benefit of OAKS Online is that students and teachers receive immediate,
detailed feedback and reports when tests are completed.
Subjects Tested
The assessment
is made up of multiple-choice and performance assessments in these areas:
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Reading and literature knowledge and skills
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Mathematics knowledge and skills
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Science
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Social sciences
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Writing
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Mathematics problem solving
Oregon law mandates that public school students be tested
annually in grades 3, 5, 8, and 10. The federal No Child Left
Behind (NCLB) law mandates annual testing for all states by 2005-2006.
NCLB does not explicitly require states to administer the same test from
year to year.
For reading/literature and mathematics, scores produced
from the Oregon Statewide Assessment are based on an achievement scale widely
used in the Northwest. The scale, with numbers ranging from about 150 to
300, is similar to other scales such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)
scale or other "growth" scales. Each point on the scale is at an equal distance
from the previous point on the scale, so changes up or down can be charted
and viewed as comparable from year to year.
Writing and mathematics problem solving rely on a model,
which trains expert "judges," typically classroom teachers, to match student
work to criteria for performance on a predetermined scale. Writing is analyzed
by two different raters on six elements or traits of good writing, and each
trait is rated on a scale of 1 - 6 (low to high). Raters of mathematics
problem solving assessments look at four elements or dimensions of good
problem solving. Each dimension is rated on a scale of 1 - 6; in addition,
the work is analyzed for the correctness of the solution.
Starting in 2007, under the No Child Left Behind law, Oregon
had to check with a panel of teachers, professors, principals, business
leaders and others to make sure that the tests were difficult enough for
each grade. In 2007, those groups decided Oregon's math and reading tests
were too easy in elementary and early middle school, so they raised the
passing score on state tests in grades three through seven.
Where to Find Test Results
The Oregon Department of Education's Web site has a "Accountability/Reporting"
table where you can find test results for any Oregon school district as
well as individual schools within a district. You can obtain results
by school year, sub-group (gender, ethnicity, etc.), and by subject (reading
& literature, mathematics, science, etc.). Should you desire, you
can also download the data (Microsoft Excel) into a spreadsheet.
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| Statewide 2011 OSA
Results |
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In late August of 2011, State Schools Superintendent Susan
Castillo announced the results of Oregon student performance on the 2010-2011
assessment tests in reading, mathematics, writing and science.
Oregon made its elementary and middle school math tests
much harder this year, and braced for passing rates to plunge as students
faced the tougher targets. But in every grade, students leaned into the
challenge and passed at dramatically better rates than had been predicted.
Fewer students passed than on the old, easier tests
− but the skill level they showed was substantially higher, state
officials say. Educators say those stepped-up math results reflect a combination
of two things:
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Math is being taught better in Oregon elementary and
middle schools, with harder topics introduced earlier and taught at
greater depth so that students retain them.
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Schools, knowing they needed to cover more ground
for students to succeed this year, tested more students near the very
end of the school year instead of having some students' final math scores
based on what they had learned by February or March.
The changes to Oregon's math test have been in the works
for about four years. The state Board of Education voted in 2007 to change
the state math curriculum to cover fewer topics at greater depth, making
Oregon one of the first states to join a national move in that direction.
In reading, writing and science, where tests were unchanged
this year, elementary results were flat except for a drop in writing scores,
while middle schools showed modest gains in reading and writing. High school
students did far better on the test than ever before
− not entirely surprising, since tests that
had always been given to 10th-graders were moved to 11th grade this year.
Percentage of Students Meeting State Standards on the State
Assessment Tests
Finding Test Scores
Source: Oregon Department of Education and The
Oregonian.
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Oregon Graduation Requirements Test
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Starting with the senior class of 2012, it will get tougher
to graduate from high school in Oregon, under a plan passed in 2008, by
members of the Oregon state Board of Education. Every high school graduate's
transcript will show whether the student passed or failed state tests in
writing and math, even though passing is not required. The act also requires
students to give three speeches that meet state standards. If the student
has passed, that could allow them to bypass placement tests at community
colleges and remedial classes at public universities
− a step that university and community college
leaders have indicated they are likely to adopt. In addition, parents and
taxpayers will be able to see how well each school is doing at getting graduates
to measure up in writing and math, putting pressure on schools to raise
their performance.
The state also needs to design a way for students to show
they read well enough to meet state reading standards without passing the
state reading. The Oregon Department of Education will establish a
system to do that.
One-third of Oregon sophomores failed the state reading
and writing exams in 2007, and 45 percent failed the state math test.
Oregon will be the 27th state to require students to pass
a state high school graduation exam. California began requiring students
to pass state reading and math exams in 2006. Washington graduated
its first class of students in 2008 who had to pass state reading and writing
exams to get a diploma. Oregon will be one of just two states (the other
one is New Jersey) to allow students to substitute a locally graded essay
or work sample if they can't pass the state graduation test.
6,800 Oregon Seniors Expected to Graduate in 2012 Still Have
Not Passed the Reading Test
About 6,800 Oregon high school seniors have yet to pass
the state reading test and will be denied diplomas if they don't pass that
exam or an equivalent test created and graded at their school. Last school
year, schools knew which juniors had failed the test during 10th grade.
The share of students in the class of 2012 who haven't passed shrunk only
from 29 percent at the end of sophomore year to 17 percent at the end of
junior year.
Twenty-six large and medium-size high schools, including 15 in the metro
area, have more than 50 seniors at risk of failing to graduate because of
weak reading skills.
The state will allow students to demonstrate they read
well enough to graduate by completing two
"reading work samples"
that are judged by a trained adult at their school. For each, a student
is given an informative or literary passage of at least 1,000 words
− just a little longer than this article − and
asked to read it carefully, making notes in the margin, then to offer short
answers to five to eight questions. If the answers are deemed to show enough
understanding, interpretation and analysis of the passage, earning at least
12 points on an 18-point scale, the student passes. The state does not plan
to collect the scores or monitor the grading, said Derek Brown, the state's
manager for the assessment of essential skills.
Oregon's class of 2012 is the first required to pass a
reading test to graduate.
August 2009: Delay in Writing and Public Speaking
Oregon's state school board is again delaying tougher graduation
requirements for high schools, pushing back a writing mandate until the
class of 2013 and postponing indefinitely a public speaking requirement.
Just last year, the state Board of Education voted to require
every student to pass state tests in reading, math, writing and speaking
to get a diploma, beginning with the class of 2012. But today the board
will make it official that, while incoming sophomores still have to pass
a reading test to get a diploma, the writing requirement will be delayed
until the following year and demonstrating proficiency at public speaking
will be delayed until 2015 or later.
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