Closing the “Honesty Gap” in Alabama
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As with most states, discrepancies have emerged between student proficiency rates as reported by Alabama state tests and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), most commonly called “the Nation’s Report Card.” For the 2013-14 school year, Alabama showed a seven-point discrepancy between state reported proficiency scores and NAEP in fourth-grade reading, and a nine-point discrepancy in eighth-grade math.
In Alabama, the standard for proficiency and minimum score are set by State Board of Education.
Alabama K-12 Education at a Glance:
- K-12 Student Population: 744,637 1
- HS Graduation Rate: 86% (2014) 2
- College Enrollment: 63.2% (2010) 3
- College Remediation Rate: 18% at Four-Year Programs; 44% at Two-Year Programs 4
Consequences of the Honesty Gap in Alabama:
According to 2010 figures, remedial education costs Alabama about $51 million directly and $29 million in lost income each year. 5 Nationally, developmental education costs students and taxpayers about $7 billion each year.6
How Alabama Closed the Honesty Gap: Historically, Alabama had some of the nation’s largest honesty gaps. In 2010, Alabama adopted the Common Core State Standards and immediately began preparing teachers. By 2013, the standards were being used statewide. That same year, the State Board of Education adopted the ACT Aspire-a test designed to reflect the higher expectations. In 2014, students began taking the new test. The new, more accurate measure revealed that less than half of Alabama’s students were on track to be ready for college in both English and math at almost every grade level, and scores were dramatically lower than on the previous Alabama Reading and Mathematics Test. As expected, parents and students were confused and angry with the new scores. Teachers and leaders assured them the scores were a new baseline and used them to explain just how low the previous expectations were and to illustrate how important it was to continue moving forward to see improvement. Alabama became a “Top Truth Teller” in both subjects, improving their gap from an astounding 57 percentage points to 7 percentage points in fourth grade reading alone.
Other States Leading the Way: More than half of all states demonstrated a 30-percentage point or more differential between their calculated proficiency rates and NAEP. Some states similar to Alabama, such as Kentucky and Tennessee, took early steps to correct the Honesty Gap with promising results. Kentucky previously had some of the nation’s largest gaps, but after adopting a new, high-quality assessment, became one of the “Top Truth Tellers” in eighth-grade math, narrowing a 32-percentage point discrepancy to 15 between 2011 and 2014. Additionally, between 2012 and 2014, the number of eleventh-grade students meeting college-readiness benchmarks on the ACT college entrance test increased by 15 percentage points.
After Tennessee revised their state test in 2010, not only did their discrepancies between NAEP and the state assessment narrow, but by 2013, they were the fastest improving state in the nation. With the adoption of new, high-quality assessments, each of these states has narrowed the discrepancies between their assessments and NAEP scores and all are among the top truth-tellers in the country.
For more information read more: What is the Honesty Gap?
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