Are test-score gains 'real'?

A new article from Education Next examines whether schools that raise test scores of disadvantaged students do so by improving underlying cognitive capacities or by "artificially" boosting scores to higher levels than predicted, based on measures of cognitive ability. The authors draw on data from 1,300 8th graders attending 32 public schools in Boston -- traditional public schools, exam schools (admitting the city's most academically talented), and charters. In addition to state scores typically used in research, the authors gathered measures of cognitive ability that psychologists refer to as "fluid cognitive skills." Cognitive ability is often characterized as crystallized knowledge (e.g., vocabulary) or fluid cognitive skills (abstract reasoning). Researchers found that attending a school that produces strong test-score gains does not improve fluid cognitive skills. However, longitudinal studies also indicate that gains in processing speed support gains in working memory capacity (crystallized knowledge) that in turn support fluid reasoning. Developing school-based strategies to boost fluid cognitive skills could be an important next step in helping schools provide even greater benefits for their students, having an equally profound impact on academic and life outcomes. More

Source:  Public Education News Blast

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Los Angeles Education Partnership (LAEP) is an education support organization that works as a collaborative partner in high-poverty communities.