DOE releases PARCC average raw scores
The Louisiana Department of Education has released the preliminary average number of points earned by students statewide by grade and subject on the PARCC test.
The notice read: “Please note that standardized tests are not scored using ‘percent correct’ like a daily quiz. Raw scores represent only the first step in the scoring process for standardized assessments, as they include points earned on tasks of varying degrees of difficulty, requiring students to show varying degrees of proficiency. In no way do the numbers below indicate statewide average scale scores, statewide cut scores, or statewide average achievement levels.”
To see the data, click here.
On Oct. 28, State Superintendent of Education John White said the raw scores will show how many points a student earned, versus how many points were available, such as 75 points out of 110 points. The raw data does not indicate whether a student earned a basic, proficient or unsatisfactory score, or how the scores fall on the PARCC scale.
On Wednesday, White met with superintendents from across the state to give them context about the scores. Ouachita Parish Schools Superintendent Don Coker said his district is comparing raw scores with the state scores, but they won't have real information until after the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education sets the cut scores next week.
The raw scores, he said, will be weighted, and the final scaled scores will depend on how those questions are weighted.
Coker said he's glad he got the raw scores so he'll have a better idea of how the process works and where scores fall, "which makes it more transparent."
He noted math scores are low statewide and after the cut scores are sent next week, the district's leadership will better be able to determine what areas of classroom instruction should be bolstered.
A group of 32 educators, BESE members and legislators filed a formal public records request late last week with the Louisiana Department of Education asking for raw testing data and a scale to convert the information to a score.
In a news release, the group announced it believes the results of the Spring 2015 PARCC testing are in the possession of the DOE and constitute public records under Louisiana law.
In the request, the group asked the DOE to provide:
“1. For each math and English language arts test, sometimes referred to as PARCC tests for grades 3-8 given in the Spring 2015, please identify the Common Core standard being tested by each question, the raw point value of each question, and give the number and percentage of students on a statewide basis answering each such question correctly or partially correct.
“2. Provide also a conversion table for each test listed above that converts raw scores or percentage of correct answers to scale scores.”
Mike Deshotels, retired educator and author of The Louisiana Educator blog, said, “The first request is for an item analysis of each test question to tell the public and the standards review committee exactly what percentage of our students got each Common Core standard correct. This helps the review committee determine which of the CCSS need to be looked at more closely and either be removed or modified.”
“The second item asks for a conversion table to convert raw scores to scale scores,” Deshotels said. “For example, we want to know that if a student got 70 percent of the questions right on the PARCC test, what scale score does that equate to? (Remember that the scale scores run from 650 to 850 on all PARCC tests.) We also want to know the reverse of the example given above. Suppose a student gets a scale score of 725, we want to know using the conversion table exactly what percentage of the questions the student got right.”
The request, drafted by attorney J. Arthur Smith III, additionally calls for the DOE to provide parents “with the raw score performance of each of their children participating. In addition, please provide each requesting parent with a list of Common Core standards related to any questions their students did not answer successfully. Parents should have the option of sharing this information with the child’s current teacher.”
Regarding individual raw scores for students, Louisiana Department of Education spokesman Barry Landry said, “Due to student privacy, the department is only releasing raw scores to districts that request their data.”