The Daily Howler - 10/12/05

BORN TOO LATE! If only Franke-Ruta had been around to fight hard for Candidate Gore: // link // print // previous // next //

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2005

BIG APPLE/BIG EASY: Was New York’s fourth-grade reading test easier this year? (See THE DAILY HOWLER, 10/6/05.) In this morning’s Times, James Kadamus says no, it was not. Kadamus is Deputy Commissioner of the state’s Education Department. He says the 2005 test was carefully constructed to be just as tough as the previous version:

KADAMUS: All questions used on the 2004 and 2005 tests were "field-tested" at the same time with the same students from urban, suburban and rural schools. This gave an accurate appraisal of the difficulty level of each question and each test. Scoring was adjusted accordingly.

All major tests, including the SAT and Advanced Placement exams, use similar methods to ensure a consistent level of difficulty over time.

If Kadamus is right, the 2005 test was just as hard as the test from 2004.