State to pad MEAP scores

Marks will be revised after 4th- and 7th-grade students did poorly on the tougher writing test.
By Mark Hornbeck / The Detroit News

LANSING -- Scores were alarmingly low on the statewide fourth- and seventh-grade writing tests this year, prompting education officials to decide the exams were probably just too tough for students to handle.
The Michigan Education Assessment Program office has pulled back the results of the writing tests taken in those grades so officials can figure out how to prop up the dismal scores. That could slightly delay the release of the results, which were due out next week.
"After analyzing the test and the results, assessment experts determined this year's writing 'prompts' (essay questions) were more difficult than previous years, requiring a revised scoring scale so the results are statistically comparable" to past scores, said Martin Ackley, spokesman for the Department of Education.
Some lawmakers and parents expressed skepticism about revising the scores, particularly in light of the state's goal to boost the substandard performance on writing tests by those two grades in previous years.
State education officials have stressed that they consider writing and other communication skills nearly as important in producing world-class students as proficiency in math and science.

Full Story: http://www.detnews.com/2005/schools/0504/29/A01-166339.htm