National Test of Student Math Skills

http://www.cnn.com/2004/EDUCATION/11/18/math.test.ap/index.html

The national test of student math skills is filled with easy questions, raising doubts about recent gains in achievement tests, a study contends. On the eighth-grade version of the test, almost 40% of the questions address skills taught in first or second grade, according to the report by Tom Loveless, director of the Brown Center on Education Policy at The Brookings Institution.

So, is the test flawed? Maybe...

The study analyzed questions from the 2003 math tests, and then determined a grade level for those questions based on the Singapore math textbook program. Loveless said he chose that program because of its clarity and strong international reputation, and he said it compared well to the math-class sequences used in states such as California and North Carolina. But using Singapore as a model presents skewed results, said Sharif Shakrani, deputy executive director of the National Assessment Governing Board. Math is taught differently in that country, with heavy concentration on computation early before other topics are introduced. U.S. schools go for breadth, he said, with more math skills to cover each year. Overall, he said, the questions on the national in fourth grade and eighth grade are commensurate with what's being taught in those grades.

I think I understand. If Mr. Shakrani is to be believed, it's not the TEST that's flawed; it's the instruction. Math is taught "differently" (meaning "well") in Singapore...

"I contend that if we do what he suggests, moving to much more complex skills, it would be akin to giving a test in Russian," Shakrani said. "We already are not doing well. If you increase the cognitive function of the math concepts and the way you test them, you will end up with scores so low you will not be able to make sense of the results."

OK, I guess I don't understand after all. WTH does this mean? Don't test at the appropriate level because the scores would be "too" low?? Then what are the exams measuring . . . and what are they supposed to measure???