e:\doc\web\98\04\nsp.txt
The NSP is the closest thing we have to a national
performance based examination, from what I've seen, it
tests very little basic skills, requires skills typically 3 to
4 grades beyond what is presented in most textbooks, so
is guaranteed to fail large numbers of students, and deliberately
avoids ranking students against each other. It is the worst
test or 2nd worst (after CLAS) that I've ever seen.


> From:          Nanny714@aol.com
> Date:          Thu, 5 Mar 1998 15:14:47 -0500 (EST)
> To:            arthurhu@halcyon.com
> Subject:       Fwd: NSP Exam Problems!


> 
> ---------------------
> Forwarded message:
> Subj:    NSP Exam Problems!
> Date:    98-03-05 09:05:38 EST
> From:    Nanny 714
> To:      VTFORUM@list.uvm.edu
> CC:      ZorroFRR,RealSciGuy
> CC:      Roger.D.Rosenkrantz
> CC:      avoegele@together.net
> CC:      Gary.M.DeGasta@dartmouth.edu
> CC:      kelly@tally.sys.com
> 
>     On the old ACT 60 LIST I asked our deputy commissioner of education,
> Marge Petit whether the New Standards Reference Exams (NSP) had been
> "validated." Her response was that they indeed had since they had been
> "ground tested." Upon inquiring as to what "ground testing" means she
> informed me that the NSP exam results had been compared to another
> norm-referenced test and that they showed similar results. I state at the
> outset that the NSP exams have never been "validated" by any objective
> psychmetrician. I offer the following for your scrutiny:
>     The following are scores are taken from the Marion Cross school
> Calafornia Achievement Test (CAT) summaries. The CAT is a national
> norm-refernced test which has been validated by objective psychometricians.
> These are the results of the test given in the fall of 1995 to Marion Cross
> School fourth graders The score used is the median of the national
> percentile:
> Math Computation:  38.0
> Math Concepts and Applications:  76.0
>   Here is the breakdown of what is measured in each of the two categories:
> MATH COMPUTATION:
> Add Whole Numbers
> Add Decimals
> Add Fractions
> Subtract Whole Numbers
> Subtract Decimals
> Subtract Fractions
> Multiply Whole Numbers
> Divide Whole Numbers
> MATH CONCEPTS AND APPLICATIONS:
> Numeration

> Number Sentences
> Number Theory
> Problem Solving
> Measurement
> Geometry
>   The following are the results of the New Standards Reference Exam for the
> same groups of fourth graders which was given in the 95-96 school year. The
> New Standards Reference Exam measures an individual childs mastery of a
> particular standard rather than comparing the child to a group norm:
> Achieved the Standard:
> Concepts - 47%
> Skills -      74%
> Problem Solving- 57%
> 
> END
>     Assuming that math computation (if it exists at all) exists under the
> category of "skills" on the New Standards Project Reference Exam, please note
> the following:
>     The New Standards Reference Exam shows that 74 % of Marion Cross school
> students achieved the standard in the category of "skills."
>     On the other hand, the validated norm-referenced CAT shows that in the
> area of computation, only 40.3% of Marion Cross school fourth graders score
> above the norm (50th percentile).
>     There are significant differences in what the CAT and NSP Exam show in
> the area of "concepts (&applications)" as well.
>     Conclusion:
>     The yet to be validated exam adopted by the state known as the New
> Standards Reference Exam will influence schools to move away from basic
> skills like computation.
>     Finally, while parents are most concerned that their public school
> children are not receiving a good foundation of basic skills such as math
> computation, and are demanding a return to the basics, the state, through its
> initiatives are pushing our schools further away from the basics that parents
> allied with academics are demanding. What a MESS!!
>                                         Nancy Hall
>                                         Norwich, Vt.
>   
>      
> 
>