>Nevada schools enrolled approximately 426,400 students in FY 2007 of whom 201,516 were in elementary schools and 189,501 were enrolled in high schools, [NDoE] and we test and re-test every single one of them. Our current interest in being “accountable” should have some accountants smiling.
What are we paying for? The current Executive Budget for NDE Proficiency Testing called for an overall appropriation of $4,229,114 including agency requests for $2,738,240 for the High School Proficiency Exam and CRT contract work. State expenses for norm referenced testing were estimated at $530,559. Writing Assessments were expected to cost another $364,321. [EBpdf]
The state funding above provides for the Nevada Proficiency Examination Program, including the High School Proficiency Examination in Reading and Mathematics; a Writing Assessment; the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, Iowa Tests of Educational Development; Criterion Referenced Tests in Reading, Mathematics, and Science CRT, Language Proficiency Assessment, Nevada Alternate Scales of Academic Achievement and the National Assessment for Educational Progress. [DoENV]
The Criterion Referenced Tests were developed by the Nevada Department of Education in collaboration with WestEd. Children in grades 3 through 8 take these standards-based examinations annually. Youngsters in grades 4 and 7 take both the CRT and the ITBS. Nevada State Board of Education President Cliff Ferry and Nevada Superintendent of Public Instruction Keith W. Rheault both serve on WestEd’s Board of Directors. [WestEd]
The English Language Proficiency Assessment is given to Nevada students designated as “Limited English Proficient” annually, and does not replace the State English Language Arts CRTs.
Who is getting paid?
Nevada has had a tough time with testing services. CTB/McGraw-Hill was dropped and fined $200,000 for mistakes. [LVRJ] Harcourt Assessments Inc. was supposed to be an improvement. During the “Harcourt Disaster” of 2002-03 Harcourt Assessment mistakenly failed hundreds of students, gave inflated scored to others, produced tests with missing pages, misspellings and flawed instructions in 2002, and then compounded the problems when it used the wrong scoring system in 2003 to score 3rd and 5th grade exams. These mistakes cost the company $425,000 for the first blunders and another $435,000 for the 2003 foul ups. [Bloomberg] [SBCom] [LVRJ]
The Nevada Department of Education now contracts with “Measured Progress” for the administration of the High School Proficiency Examinations in reading, mathematics, and science. While it may be technically classified as a non-profit, Measured Progress Inc. isn’t — as the old saw goes — in the business for its health.
Measured Progress boasts 350 full time employees, and a senior management of “experienced educators.” [MP] MP’s CEO is Stuart Kahl who co-founded the company in 1983. Kahl previously worked for RMC Research Corporation “where he helped generate statewide assessment business and directed several state contracts.” [MP] Richard Rizzo is MP’s CFO, founded Andover Capital Group, Inc. and served as president and CEO of Signal Capital Corporation. Rizzo formerly served as a director of First Capital Corporation and is now a director for Measured Progress and the Northmark Bank. The ‘non-profit’ Measured Progress Inc. doesn’t expect to secure profits from the test but from preparation materials. CFO Richard Rizzo explained to Bloomberg that “he expects to earn margins triple those of No Child exams by selling practice questions and tests that schools use to gear up for the actual exams. Getting a foot in the door with a No Child contract can also lead to sales of achievement or psychological tests not related to No Child. …“Companies could conceivably low-ball the customized test because they know they could go in and sell the off-the-shelf products with a 40-50 percent margin,” says Rizzo, 62, referring to tests that aren’t specially designed for individual states.” [Bloomberg]
The Iowa Test of Basic Skills and the Iowa Tests of Educational Development, both used in Nevada, are products of the Riverside Publishing division of Houghton Mifflin Inc. [BCedu] Houghton Mifflin and others have profited from the dramatic growth in the educational testing market since 1955. Test manufacturers sold approximately $7 million worth of tests in 1955, increasing to $263 million by 1997. [BCedu] The company reported revenue of $1282.10 million in 2005. [YhF] Houghton Mifflin agreed to a $1.8 billion buyout by HM Rivergroup in 2006, the latest in a string of management changes from Vivendi Universal SA in 2001 to TH Lee and Bain Capitalin 2002. [BG] A person should hope that the state, after its miserable experiences with CTB/McGraw-Hill and Harcourt has found reliable companies for its testing program, but the question remains — how much should we really be investing in testing as opposed to instruction?
How much “accountability” do we really need? Since the enactment of SB 1 in 2003 the Nevada Department of Education has enhanced its testing programs for grades 3 through 12 yielding a testing calendar that extends from October to July for the 2007-08 school year. [NDoE] State Senator Bob Beers (R-LV) was sufficiently concerned about the instruction time devoted to standardized testing to introduce SB 110 to limit the time spent on high stakes testing. [LVRJ] The rationale for the bill included the following: “Although here is an undeniable need for test data to evaluate the progress of Nevada’s public schools…the legislature hereby expresses that the demands for statistical information should not be allowed to unnecessarily divert the time for teachers and pupils to accomplish the work required to meet those standards..” Section 2 provides that school districts shall not administer tests not required by state or federal law, or adopt tests after July 1, 2007. Any additional adoptions may be considered if they conform to the findings of the Legislative Committee on Education, and have a demonstrable direct benefit to pupils or instructors.
The bill was passed and sent to the Governor on May 28, 2007.
SB 110 may be evidence that those companies wishing to profit further from the ever expanding testing carousel may want to start looking for another source of brass rings as states seek to slow down the merry-go-round.
Desert Beacon 