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Student test score descriptions get a makeover: Advanced, Proficient, Developing, Minimal

Student test score descriptions get a makeover: Advanced, Proficient, Developing, Minimal

Yahoo06-03-2025

The State Board of Education on Wednesday approved new labels to inform families and teachers about how students are performing on state standardized tests, aiming to provide clear descriptions that will not be demoralizing for lower-performing students.
Student scores will be ranked in one of four categories on California's annual tests in math, reading and science. The new categories will be: Advanced, Proficient, Developing and Minimal.
The old categories being replaced are: Standard Exceeded; Standard Met; Standard Nearly Met, or Standard Not Met.
In the 7-h6664 vote, the board majority rejected labels recommended by staff from the California Dept. of Education, which had conducted two rounds of focus groups.
Rob Manwaring, who was part of a coalition of nine groups that had raised concerns about earlier labels, was cautiously optimistic.
He said he understood the value of providing information in a positive, encouraging way, which is called an "assets-based approach," but that parents also need a sober understanding of where their child stands academically to convey an appropriate "sense of urgency."
"I think the labeling of the lowest level as Minimal and the second level as Developing seems to suggest that level of need," said Manwaring, senior policy and fiscal advisor for the Oakland-based advocacy group Children Now.
The coalition had expressed strong concern over labels for the lowest two groups that had been proposed in November: Foundational and Inconsistent.
The coalition — which included EdTrust-West, California Charter Schools Assn., Alliance for a Better Community, Teach Plus and Children Now — had said the terms Foundational and Inconsistent would "would make the data more confusing and misleading."
The state board delayed action in November, in large part because students, parents and rank-and-file educators were not given an opportunity to provide input. Focus groups in December and January reinforced the objections to Foundational and Inconsistent, according to a staff report.
Read more: Low math and English scores mark the nation's report card, California and L.A. included
Instead, state education department staff changed direction and recommended Basic and Below Basic for the lower two levels. These labels had the broadest support within focus groups of students, parents, teachers, testing coordinators and advocates.
The full set of recommended labels — Advanced, Proficient, Basic and Below Basic — also aligned with the labels used on a well-known nationwide test, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, which is often called the nation's report card. The proposed labels also are in common use on tests in other states.
But members of the appointed state board did not fall in line.
"Labels matter," said Francisco Escobedo. "We see our kids as continual learners.' Below Basic suggests failure, he said. 'Emerging is a more fitting word." He noted that Emerging is used for lowest level on a state test of assessing how well non-English-speaking students are learning English.
But a staff member pushed back — saying that a term to capture a student who is just starting to learn English is different from a description of a student's academic skills.
Other board members were not won over by Escobedo's suggested term. But they shared his concern over negativity.
"I also had a visceral reaction to the word Basic," said Haydee Rodriguez, who added that students use the word basic as a slang insult, a revelation that caused board President Linda Darling-Hammond to take pause.
Read more: Compton Unified stands out as a national leader in raising student test scores
Board member Cynthia Glover Woods first suggested Minimal for the lowest category. Another suggestion brought forward for the lowest scorers was Beginning.
Board members also slightly reworded the extended description of what became the Developing label — saying it did not convey that a student at that level was likely to need extra academic support.
Among those who voted no on the new labels, board member Alison Yoshimoto-Towery felt the discussion was being unnecessarily curtailed. Escobedo said the new labels remained too harsh. Gabriela Orozco Gonzalez said the views of students and parents in the focus groups should be respected — they apparently had no issue with the word Basic.
Disappointing scores, regardless of label
Even if the board had opted for the NAEP-style labels, they would not have been interchangeable across the tests.
In general, the NAEP labels represent a more rigorous grading standard, with a higher threshold for achieving a rating of Proficient or Advanced. These higher levels are harder to achieve on NAEP than on California tests concluded research that compared state tests with the national NAEP exams.
NAEP results remain low nationwide and in California and have generally failed to recover from the pre-pandemic levels of 2019. Math and English test scores of fourth- and eighth-graders largely held steady or declined nationwide over the last two years — results that were about the same in Los Angeles and California.
Not only are few students scoring as Advanced or Proficient, but fewer are achieving NAEP's version of a Basic ranking, the next level down.
On the most recent results from this test, for example, the percentage of L.A. students who scored as Proficient or better in fourth-grade math was 27%. For California it was 35%.
Read more: Low math and English scores mark the nation's report card, California and L.A. included
In fourth-grade reading, 25% of L.A. students tested as proficient or better. California's rate was 29%.
On California's tests, student proficiency rates are higher, but still widely trailing pre-pandemic achievement levels that themselves were considered unacceptable at the time.
Overall, the state tests offer a more precise check than NAEP on what students in California are supposed to be learning. The NAEP test, in contrast, tests a small sample of students to allow for state-to-state comparisons.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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However, the index remains 0.4pc below its record intra-day high of 8,908.82 and its latest jump comes a day after a series of high-profile takeovers of companies on the London markets. Georges Debbas of BNP Paribas said: 'UK stocks are among the cheapest in Europe. 'The country is also the most friendly to the US, as it's the only one to have a firm trade agreement in place. That allows you to have a more constructive view on the market.' The FTSE 100 is on track to close at a record high today amid renewed hopes about the prospects of trade talks between the US and China. The UK's flagship stock index climbed as much as 0.4pc to 8871,41, which was above the record close it achieved in March. Stock markets plunged around the world following Donald Trump's 'liberation day' tariffs in April but equities have staged a dramatic recovery as the US president walked back on the most-severe of his measures. The S&P 500 on Wall Street remains just 2.3pc short of its record high in February, while the Nasdaq Composite is 2.9pc away from its peak set in December. European stocks were more cautious than those in Britain as investors stayed on edge awaiting fresh signals from the second day of tense US-China trade negotiations. The continent-wide Stoxx 600 was flat at 553, with the Cac 40 in Paris little changed at 7,793.37 and the Dax in Frankfurt edging down 0.2pc to 24,137.25. In London, the FTSE 100 was up 0.4pc and the FTSE 250 gained 0.2pc. The spotlight remains on the talks in London between the world's two biggest economies, as investors eagerly watch for any signs of progress or a thaw in relations. Gains in carmakers, which rose 1pc, were offset by financial services and industrial shares, which fell 0.8pc and 0.4pc, respectively. Among stocks, Novo Nordisk gained nearly 2pc after a report said activist hedge fund Parvus Asset Management is building a stake in the drugmaker. In Britain, Bellway gained 4.3pc after the British homebuilder raised its forecast for full-year volume production. Shares of Aberdeen gained 5.2pc to lead the FTSE 250 after JP Morgan upgraded the fund manager's stock to 'overweight' from 'neutral'. The FTSE 100 opened higher amid optimism there will be a fresh trade truce between the US and China as talks in London enter a second day. The UK's blue-chip stock index rose 0.3pc at the open to 8,862.40 while the mid-cap FTSE 250 gained 0.1pc to 21,310.57. Stock markets in China turned lower as investors worried the trade talks between Washington and Beijing officials did not go well. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong was up as much as 0.5pc in early trading after US officials said the talks had been 'fruitful' and President Trump indicated he had received good reports. However, by the afternoon the index was down as much as 0.8pc, with the Shanghai Composite also turning gains of 0.2pc into losses of as much as 1pc. Meanwhile, gold turned losses of as much as 1pc into a decline of just 0.2pc. 'People seem to be speculating that the talks didn't go well,' said Fu Shifeng, investment director at Cheng Zhou Investment told Bloomberg. 'The rally in gold prices as well as rare-earth stocks seems to suggest that.' Thanks for joining me. Donald Trump warned it was 'not easy' to hold negotiations with China as trade talks in London entered a second day. The US president insisted he was only getting 'good reports' about progress between the teams of officials from Washington and Beijing. 'We are doing well with China. China's not easy,' President Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday. 'I'm only getting good reports.' US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said it had been a 'good meeting' on Monday, while Mr Trump's commerce secretary Howard Lutnick said the negotiations had been 'fruitful'. Stocks rose in Asia overnight, with European markets expected to open higher amid hopes that the negotiations will ease trade tensions between the world's two largest economies. Apple's AI event falls flat as iPhone maker struggles | Investors sent shares downwards as Apple unveiled minor upgrades Thames Water lenders demand reprieve on fines in £17bn rescue deal | Ofwat urged to consider 'regulatory reset' after struggling utility giant hit with record penalty Nervous families freeze spending in blow to growth hopes | Fresh pressure on Rachel Reeves as retail sales rise just 1pc Miliband warned carbon capture project faces collapse without £4bn injection | Fledgling green tech has already received almost £22bn in public subsidies SNP ferry scheme suffers fresh blow after rain causes ship to flood | Glen Rosa is already behind schedule and £100m over budget Asian shares were mixed on Tuesday as investors kept an eye on the China-US trade talks that might help stave off a recession. A second day of talks was planned after US and Chinese officials met in London for negotiations over various issues. The hope is that they can eventually reach a deal to reduce painfully high tariffs against each other. Most of the tariff hikes imposed since Donald Trump escalated his trade war are paused to allow trade in everything from tiny tech gadgets to enormous machinery to continue. In Asian trading, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gained 0.2pc to 38,177.71, while the Kospi in South Korea jumped 0.3pc to 2,865.24. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.2pc to 24,127.30 and the Shanghai Composite index was down 0.5pc to 3,384.47. In Taiwan, the Taiex surged 2.1pc to 22,242.14. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.8pc to 8,587.20. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat, at 42,761.76, the S&P 500 rose 0.1pc, to 6,005.88. and the Nasdaq rose 0.3pc, to 19,591.24. In the bond market, the yield on benchmark 10-year US Treasury notes fell to 4.478pc from 4.494pc late on Sunday.

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