Editors note: Lorrie Shepard will be available on Monday afternoon for comment on the results of the 10th grade mathematics CSAP study.
A University of Colorado at Boulder study of the content and difficulty of the 10th-grade mathematics CSAP test commissioned by the Denver Area School Superintendents Council found that 31 percent of the questions asked are not taught until after 10th-grade geometry, which may unfairly handicap a large segment of 10th-grade test takers.
"For a student to score proficient on the 10th-grade math CSAP, he or she would have to rank in the top 10 percent of students nationwide on the PLAN pre-ACT test," said Lorrie Shepard, dean of the School of Education at CU-Boulder and lead author of the study.
The American College Testing Program's PLAN test is given to 10th graders to predict how they will do on the ACT, which is normally taken by students when they are in 11th grade.
"If we want test results that truly show us what students know and can do, we need to make sure that the cut points for scoring are set appropriately," Shepard said.
The CU study found the cutoff for advanced performance on the 10th-grade math CSAP is at the 99th percentile of the national norms on the ACT's PLAN test. To be considered proficient on the CSAP test, a student must score at the 90th percentile or above on ACT's PLAN test.
The study also found that many of the 10th-grade students identified as unsatisfactory on CSAP scored above average on the nationally-normed PLAN test.
Denver area superintendents have raised concerns about asking 10th graders to score proficient on a test that is more difficult than the ACT test that all 11th graders statewide are required to take each year. While the superintendents say they support high standards, they want to ensure that the standards appropriately match the grade level being tested.
The study was conducted by the CU-Boulder School of Education at the request of the Denver Area School Superintendents Council to determine whether the CSAP mathematics test is appropriate for the 10th-grade level.
Some of the study's findings include:
o The 10th grade CSAP test is well aligned with the Colorado Model Standards, which outline the types of skills and problem solving abilities students should have in computation, algebra, geometry, probability and statistics and measurement.
o 31 percent of the questions in the test require knowledge of mathematics that is not taught until after high school geometry, which usually occurs in ninth or 10th grade.
o Based on course-content level, the CSAP was found to be substantially more difficult than the SAT, Scholastic Aptitude Test, taken by high school seniors for college entrance into some colleges and universities.
o The CSAP 10th grade mathematics test was more difficult than the ACT college entrance exam, which is required of all Colorado 11th graders.
The superintendents council is asking the Colorado Department of Education to consider the study's findings when it recalibrates scoring for the state's mathematics CSAP tests given this year to bring it in line with the other assessments districts use.
The 10th grade CSAP in mathematics was administered for the first time in spring 2001. While Colorado fourth and eighth graders performed above average on the National Assessment of Education Progress, only 14 percent of Colorado 10th graders scored proficient or advanced on CSAP.
Co-authors on the study include CU-Boulder faculty members Dominic Peressini, Jeffrey Frykholm, David Grant and Damian Betebenner; CU-Denver faculty members William Briggs and William Juraschek; and Metropolitan State College of Denver faculty members Lew Romagnano and James Loats.
For more information, the entire study is available at on the Web at: .