69ý

Federal

States’ Teacher-Exam Bar Set Low, Federal Data Show

By Stephen Sawchuk — May 14, 2013 4 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

Teacher-training exams have been subject to many criticisms: that there are too many of them, that their content isn’t relevant, and that their costs are objectionable. New data open a further avenue for criticism: They’re too easy.

Every state sets the passing score on its teacher-licensing tests below the mean score of the pool of test-takers, according to a federal analysis released recently, suggesting that the exams pose little challenge to many of the individuals taking them.

The data confirm a 2012 Education Week analysis showing similar gaps in a sample of states.

Released in an annual report issued this month by the U.S. Department of Education, the data compare the average passing scores on each state’s teacher exams against the average performance of candidates taking those tests. A clear pattern emerges of tests that, on the whole, most teachers pass partly because of where states set the bar, even as multiple groups call on states to institute policies to recruit academically stronger candidates.

Excluding the U.S. Virgin Islands, gaps between cutoff scores and the average score of test-takers range from a low of 10.1 points, in Arizona, to 22.5 points, in Nebraska. For the nation as a whole, the average certification-test passing score is set nearly 15 points below the mean score of candidates.

The gaps aren’t strictly comparable from state to state, because of differences in the subjects and certification fields tested and in the tests’ scales. Many states use the Princeton, N.J.-based Educational Testing Service’s Praxis series for their licensing tests, and others use state-specific exams designed by Evaluation Systems Group, a Pearson entity based in Hadley, Mass.

States also administer the tests at different points, typically requiring candidates to pass one before entry to a program and others before granting a candidate a teaching certificate. Finally, test content varies, though the exams often measure knowledge beneath the college level.

The federal data represent test-taking from the 2009-10 year.

New Rules

The analysis was made possible by new provisions in federal law. In its 2008 rewrite of the Higher Education Act, Congress directed states to begin reporting both the passing rate and the average scaled score of all test-takers on each teacher examination. (A scaled score is raw performance on the exam translated to its scale, which is used to facilitate year-to-year comparisons.)

States and individual higher education institutions are required to publish that information, and many other details, on teacher preparation on annual “report cards” to the public.

Though licensing-test cutoff scores have, in general, risen in recent years, states have instituted many more tests to meet requirements in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to staff all core-content classes with a “highly qualified” teacher—one who demonstrates subject-matter knowledge, among other things.

Some officials say the gaps are expected because the tests aren’t meant to do more than prevent the weakest candidates from teaching.

“These tests are a measure of minimum content knowledge. They’re not designed or validated to say that if you score significantly higher, you’re going to be a better teacher,” said Phillip S. Rogers, the executive director of the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification, in Washington, which represents individuals who direct licensing or sit on states’ teacher-standards boards. “What it does mean is that the person who passes the test has the minimum content knowledge that the jurisdiction thinks is necessary.”

The Education Department report notes that the gaps could be the result of other factors, too.

“It is also possible that a small gap ... signals relatively low-performing test-takers and a large gap signals relatively high-performing test-takers,” it says.

It is not possible to know the relative difficulty of the exams without knowing the spread of scores on the tests’ scale—such as what percent of test-takers scored at the bottom quartile. States do not have to report that information on their report cards.

Seeking Comparability

But teacher-educators said the report does raise questions about how to make the data more transparent and comparable.

“Cut scores on state teacher-licensing tests do vary widely across states, and we need more consistency,” said Sharon P. Robinson, the president of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, a Washington group that represents about 800 institutions.

The group supports efforts to establish common cutoff scores across states, which would “provide consistency across the profession in terms of expectations for candidates’ performance on these exams,” Ms. Robinson said. “However, multiple-choice and selected-response tests will not answer the most essential question: ‘Is a new teacher ready for the job?' "

AACTE has been working with a Stanford University center and about half the states to pilot an exam that purports to measure teacher-candidates’ classroom readiness, based in part on their student-teaching performance.

A version of this article appeared in the May 15, 2013 edition of Education Week as Bar for Teacher Exams Set Low in All States, Federal Data Show

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Artificial Intelligence Webinar
AI and Educational Leadership: Driving Innovation and Equity
Discover how to leverage AI to transform teaching, leadership, and administration. Network with experts and learn practical strategies.
Content provided by 
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School Climate & Safety Webinar
Investing in Success: Leading a Culture of Safety and Support
Content provided by 
Assessment K-12 Essentials Forum Making Competency-Based Learning a Reality
Join this free virtual event to hear from educators and experts working to implement competency-based education.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

Federal Opinion What's Really at Stake for Education in This Election?
What a Harris or Trump presidential victory might mean for federal education policy, according to Rick Hess.
5 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
Federal Trump's K-12 Record in His First Term Offers a Blueprint for What Could Be Next
In his first term, Trump sought to significantly expand school choice, slash K-12 spending, and tear down the U.S. Department of Education.
11 min read
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos listens at left as President Donald Trump speaks during a round table discussion at Saint Andrew Catholic School on March 3, 2017, in Orlando, Fla.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos listens at left as President Donald Trump speaks during a round table discussion at Saint Andrew Catholic School on March 3, 2017, in Orlando, Fla. The education policies Trump pursued in his first term offer clues for what a second Trump term would look like for K-12 schools.
Alex Brandon/AP
Federal From Our Research Center How Educators Say They'll Vote in the 2024 Election
Educators' feelings on Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump vary by age and the communities where they work.
4 min read
Jacob Lewis, 3, waits at a privacy booth as his grandfather, Robert Schroyer, fills out his ballot while voting at Sabillasville Elementary School, Nov. 8, 2022, in Sabillasville, Md.
Jacob Lewis, 3, waits at a privacy booth as his grandfather, Robert Schroyer, fills out his ballot while voting at Sabillasville Elementary School, Nov. 8, 2022, in Sabillasville, Md.
Julio Cortez/AP
Federal Q&A Oklahoma State Chief Ryan Walters: 'Trump's Won the Argument on Education'
The state schools chief's name comes up as Republicans discuss who could become education secretary in a second Trump administration.
8 min read
Ryan Walters, then-Republican candidate for Oklahoma State Superintendent, speaks at a rally, Nov. 1, 2022, in Oklahoma City.
Ryan Walters speaks at a rally on Nov. 1, 2022, in Oklahoma City as a candidate for state superintendent of public instruction. He won the race and has built a national profile for governing in the MAGA mold.
Sue Ogrocki/AP