DOE study declares MCAS tests reliable

BYLINE: By JEAN McMILLAN, Associated Press Writer

DATELINE: BOSTON

The controversial MCAS tests, closely watched by parents, teachers
and elected officials, are reliable and valid, state education officials
said Monday, citing new studies.

"This test measures up to any test in the country," said Education
Commissioner David Driscoll.

But critics of the exam said they still think one test should not
determine whether a student graduates from high school.

And cynics said they would have been stunned if the Department of
Education's own study found anything other than validity
and reliability.

Driscoll said a new 151-page report showed the Massachusetts
Comprehensive Assessment System tests were reliable, meaning if a
student took it on a different day or took a different version, he would
get about the same results.

The test results were also consistent with student results on other
types of standardized tests used around the country, he said.


The report was prepared by the DOE with help from Advanced Systems in
Management and Evaluation of Dover, N.H., the state's testing
contractor, which conducted one of three studies that made up the
report.

The other two studies were conducted by the Center for the Improvement
of Educational Assessment, also of Dover, which is headed by a former
founder of Advanced Systems; and by the Human Resources Research
Organization, of Arlington, Va.

Despite the fact that one of the studies was developed by the designers
of the state's test and another was done by a company with ties to that
company, state officials said they were valid measures.

Education Department spokesman Darrell Pressley said: "These are
independent education research organizations and we have
complete confidence in our technical reports."

The report was reviewed and endorsed by the National Technical Advisory
Committee, comprised of testing experts from Massachusetts and around
the country.

Driscoll said the study, which used the 1998 MCAS tests for its review,
was part of the department's continuing effort to boost
confidence in the tests, which will be a graduation requirement
beginning in 2003.

But Anne Wheelock, an independent education researcher with the
Coalition for Authentic Reform in Education, said no single
standardized test should be used to determine whether a student
graduates.

"We need to make a graceful exit from the high-stakes testing policy,"
she said. "There's too much being asked of one test."

The Massachusetts Teachers Association agreed.

MTA President Stephen Gorrie said he applauded the state for conducting
the study, but said: "It's simply asking too much of a single test to
pinpoint which students deserve a diploma and which don't."

The union said the Education Reform Act of 1993 called for a
comprehensive assessment system that measured achievement based on
multiple indicators - not one exam alone.

Meanwhile, William Guenther, of the Coalition for Higher Standards,
which believes tests are key to improving education, praised the tests
and the study attesting to their validity.

"It's time to get over the arguments and debates over the technical
issues and start focusing where we need to focus and that is
on the education," he said.

Statewide results for the latest MCAS tests will be released the week of
Nov. 8, with a district and school breakdown a few weeks later.