Watch me pull a rabbit (or test score) out of my hat...
Remember our last blog on the Magical TCAP scores that were much higher than expected? Well, thanks to the efforts of Tennessee Education Association, we now have a rather magical mathematical explanation from the Tennesse Department of Education for those incredible quick scores.
Here is what TEA is reporting on their Facebook Page:
Here is what TEA is reporting on their Facebook Page:
TCAP Update: Following the state's conference call, we now know that the state did change its methodology for calculating quick scores for students in grades 3-8. It is now using the cubed-root method the state has been using for high school EOCs. This change in methodology resulted in apparent grade inflation, leading parents and educators to believe students had performed better than in previous years. The change resulted in about a 4-point increase in cut scores from the method used in 2014.
Please visit the link below for documents provided by the state in its attempt to explain these changes. TEA still has many, many questions about the reliability of both the quick and cut scores, why these changes were made and how proficiency levels are determined. We will continue our efforts to get more answers from the state and insist that they #showthemath.
Our Instructional Advocacy and management teams are reading all comments left on our FB posts on this topic to formulate more questions for the state. Please continue to share your thoughts, experiences and even your rants.
Fortunately for those of us who really don't understand the state's explanation or mathematical terms like "cubed root," TEA has promised to continue its efforts to get more answers from the state. In the meantime, Momma Bears would like to express its appreciation for Tennessee Education Association and its willingness to publicly share information with parents.
Nothing Magical about making a Teacher Disappear
We realize that all too often our Tennessee teachers are forced to pay a high price for speaking out against testing. So, we appreciate TEA for speaking out when individual teachers can not. And we are indebted to Christina Graham and all other brave educators who have lost their jobs for daring to speak out and advocate for our children's best interest.
We urge Momma Bears everywhere to protect and defend these teachers for their advocacy because "in the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."--Martin Luther King, Jr.
We urge Momma Bears everywhere to protect and defend these teachers for their advocacy because "in the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."--Martin Luther King, Jr.
