Arizona's student testing requirements not so bad, study shows
Associated Press
Aug. 17, 2006


TUCSON - A new report shows that most states with high school exit exams have more stringent requirements than Arizona.

Arizona is one of 19 states that don't require school districts to offer remediation courses for students who don't pass Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards, and is one of five that allows students to use course grades to augment test scores.

The report on the 25 states that are or will be implementing exit exams for high school students was released Wednesday by the Center on Education Policy, a nonpartisan advocacy group for public schools based in Washington, D.C. According to the report, two-thirds of the nation's 15 million public high school students take some sort of state-standards test, although almost all states' tests cover only what's taught through 10th grade.

Only six states - Florida, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma and South Carolina - require failing students to attend state-funded tutoring sessions, the report shows.

Arizona makes no such requirement, although all districts can apply for part of a $9 million fund to offer tutoring to students gearing up for the test.

The report's writers say the state has done well in implementing the test.

"Arizona and California have had a great deal of difficulty holding to this requirement because of the high rate of difficulty for students, especially Latino students, to pass the test," said Jack Jennings, president of the Center on Education Policy. "In other places, it isn't much of a problem."

In the report, Arizona was listed as one of many states that offer support to teachers, give test-preparation materials to students and release sample questions. It also mentions the state's efforts last year to increase funding for tutoring and offer a statewide help hot line.

Other states, however, pump much more into tutoring programs.

Tucson Unified School District is highlighted in the report as one of four districts in the country that offer interesting approaches to remediation.

The district allowed seniors who didn't pass AIMS to take summer classes in preparation for the July test and even permits students to come back for a fifth year to pass AIMS.


>From: Alejandra Sotomayor <asotomayor@MINDSPRING.COM>
>Reply-To: "AZBLE: Forum for Discussion of Bilingual Education in Arizona"
><AZBLE@asu.edu>
>To: AZBLE@asu.edu
>Subject: 31% ELL passed AIMS
>Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 09:17:54 -0700
>
>
>AIMS rules not as tough as most states'
>
>
>Report compares exam with other tests nationwide
>
>By Jeff Commings
>
>arizona daily star
>
>Tucson, Arizona | Published: 08.17.2006
>
>http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/142491
>
>Most states with high school exit exams have more stringent rules than
>Arizona, according to a new report.
>
>Arizona is one of 19 states that don't require school districts to
>offer remediation courses for students who don't pass the AIMS test,
>and is one of five that allow students to use course grades to augment
>test scores.
>
>The report on the 25 states that are or will be implementing exit exams
>for high school students was released Wednesday by the Center on
>Education Policy, a nonpartisan advocacy group for public schools based
>in Washington, D.C.
>
>It shows that about two-thirds of the nation's 15 million public high
>school students take some sort of state-standards test, although almost
>all states'
>tests cover only what's taught through 10th grade.
>
>The report shows that only six states - Florida, Maryland, North
>Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma and South Carolina - require failing students
>to attend state-funded tutoring sessions.
>
>Arizona makes no such requirement, although all districts can apply for
>part of a $9 million fund to offer tutoring to students gearing up for
>the test.
>
>But given two recent lawsuits contending that AIMS - Arizona's
>Instrument to Measure Standards - is unfair to English-language
>learners and unconstitutional, the report's writers say the state has
>done well in implementing the test.
>
>"Arizona and California have had a great deal of difficulty holding to
>this requirement because of the high rate of difficulty for students,
>especially Latino students, to pass the test," said Jack Jennings,
>president of the Center on Education Policy. "In other places, it isn't much of a problem."
>
>In the report, Arizona was listed as one of many states that offer
>support to teachers, give test-preparation materials to students and
>release sample questions. It also mentions the state's efforts last
>year to increase funding for tutoring and offer a statewide help hot line.
>
>By comparison, though, other states pump much more into their tutoring
>programs. California, for example, spent $20 million in the 2005-06
>school year. At the other end of the spectrum, New Mexico offers no state money.
>
>Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne said the
>Legislature approved enough money for tutoring but not all students are
>taking advantage of it. Knowing that, Horne would not want to make
>remediation a requirement.
>
>
>"I'm hoping the word is spreading now that the first class has had the
>(graduation) requirement, that the younger kids are getting the
>message, but some kids won't," Horne said. "It won't hit them until
>their senior year."
>
>Tucson Unified School District is highlighted in the report as one of
>four districts in the country that offer interesting approaches to remediation.
>
>The district allowed seniors who didn't pass AIMS to take summer
>classes in preparation for the July test and even permits students to
>come back for a fifth year to pass AIMS.
>
>Another issue regarding the AIMS test is using classroom grades to
>boost failing scores. Arizona, Indiana, Mississippi, New York and
>Washington offer such an alternative, in addition to other ways to
>boost scores from classroom work.
>
>Jennings was not aware of any other states interested in using grade
>augmentation as an option. Horne has been an opponent of the move and
>said he'll continue to push for its demise.
>
>"I think to get a diploma, students should pass the test," Horne said.
>
>Though Arizona is bracing for an election involving the state
>superintendent's post, and it's likely that a few changes are bound to
>affect the AIMS test - including adding a science portion to the
>reading, writing and math sections - Jennings said the controversy is
>bound to peter out soon.
>
>"If a state has this policy and maintains it, then the controversy will
>die down," he said. "If Arizona stays the course over the next two
>years, the controversy will die down and it will become a part of everyday schooling."
>
>�œ Contact reporter Jeff Commings at 573-4191 or at
>jcommings@azstarnet.com.
>
>By the numbers
>
>�œ 1999: The first year AIMS was given
>
>�œ 2006: The first class required to pass AIMS to graduate
>
>�œ $8.7 million: Amount available for remediation classes
>
>�œ 72: Percentage of students who passed AIMS reading in 10th grade in
>2006
>
>�œ 72: Percentage of students who passed AIMS writing in 10th grade in
>2006
>
>�œ 67: Percentage of students who passed AIMS math in 10th grade in
>2006
>
>�œ 31: Percentage of English-language learners who passed AIMS in 10th
>grade in 2006
>
>Source: Center on Education Policy
>
>Read the report
>
>�œ The Center on Education Policy is online at www.cep-dc.org. The link
>to download the report is in the left-hand column.
>
>
>