High test scores may come from easy tests

EAST ST. LOUIS, Mo., Nov. 1 (UPI) -- High test scores at Illinois elementary and middle schools have some critics saying the exams might be too easy.

State figures show all third-graders in 287 Illinois schools met or exceeded expectations in math and more than half the eighth-graders in nearly all schools statewide met or exceeded expectations in reading, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch said Wednesday.

Jack Jennings, head of the Washington-based Center on Education Policy told the newspaper the schools could be focusing on the tests too much. "It could be the schools are just highly focused -- and that can be a problem if all they're doing is preparing kids for the test. Another possible explanation is the test is too easy," he said.

Illinois educators say teachers are just getting better at teaching the concepts.

Critics say some states have made their tests easier to avoid federal sanctions. "The problem with having comparatively low benchmarks is it misleads schools and parents into thinking their students are proficient when, in fact, on a national scale, they still have a long way to go,"said Jennifer Presley of the Illinois Education Research Council.