Achievement Test Scores Drop. So What?1
Abstract
Achievement Test Scores Drop. So What? ANNEGRET HARNISCHFEGER and DAVID E. WILEY ML-GROUP for Policy Studies in Education CEMREL, inc. ecent reports on test score decline have spurred considerable public discussion and debate. 2 The apparent facts, as exhibited in the media, in statistical and research reports, and on the occasion of conferences are the following. Through the nineteen-forties, fifties, and up to the mid-sixties, achievement test scores steadily increased.3 Since then, many test scores have dropped. The reported test score declines are more dramatic in recent years and most evident for higher grades. They are especially pronounced in verbal tests, but hold for nearly all tested areas. Specifically: ·Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Nationwide, college-bound high school seniors show a decline in verbal and mathematical scores over the past decade. Females who used to earn higher scores than males in verbal aptitude fell below the male average, indicating a more drastic drop for female than for male students. The mathematics scores show smaller general declines that are substantially equal declines for males and females; female students have consistently had lower mathematics scores than males. ·American College Testing Program (ACT). Another test, widely used for college-bound high school seniors,