Making Sense of State Testing: What the Public Needs to Know

When most people hear “test,” they think of something simple. If a student takes a quiz with 10 questions and gets 9 correct, that’s a 90%—an “A.” But state testing doesn’t work like that. The way scores are calculated, reported, and used to rate both students and schools is far more complicated. And this complexity creates enormous pressure on administrators, teachers, and students.

Let’s break it down.

1. Raw Scores vs. Scale Scores

On a state test, the number of questions a student answers correctly is referred to as their raw score. But that raw score doesn’t directly translate into a percentage grade. Instead, the state uses a process to determine how many questions equate to different achievement levels.

For example:

• A 60-question test may require only 25 correct answers for one student to pass one year, but 28 correct answers the next year—depending on how the state adjusts the scores.

• Two students could answer the same number of questions correctly but earn different scale scores if the questions they got right carried different weight.

This process creates the scale score, which then places students into one of five categories:

• Level 1 or 2 = Below grade level

• Level 3 = Passing, on grade level

• Level 4 or 5 = Above grade level (Proficient/Advanced)

  
  

2. How Schools Are Scored

Student performance doesn’t just impact the child—it also affects the entire school.

• Each student who earns a Level 4 or 5 gives the school a point.

• That number is divided by the total number of test-takers to create a proficiency percentage.

Example: If 150 students take the test and 75 score a Level 4 or 5, the school earns a 50% proficiency rate.

But that’s not the only factor. Schools are also graded on student growth:

• If a student advances to a higher level (for example, from a 2 to a 3), the school earns growth points.

• Bigger jumps earn more points.

• Even students who stay at a 4 or 5 can earn points for the school.

This growth measure is meant to reward progress, not just achievement, but it adds another layer of complexity to how schools are rated.

3. The Moving Target of Cut Scores

Every five years, states reset the cut scores—the number of questions required to reach each proficiency level.

That means a school can actually improve its teaching and outcomes, but still receive a lower letter grade because the bar has been raised. Parents and community members often don’t see this nuance. To them, it appears that the school is failing, when in reality, the goalposts have simply shifted.

4. High-Stakes Pressure

State testing isn’t just about scores on a page. The stakes are enormous.

• Students:

  • Third graders must pass the reading test to advance to 4th grade.

  • High school students must pass Algebra I, Biology, and English II to be eligible to graduate.

• Teachers & Administrators:

  • School and district grades are tied directly to these test results.

  • Leaders face pressure to meet state targets, knowing their evaluations and community reputation are at stake.

• Schools:

  • By law, 95% of students must take the test—even those with severe disabilities who may not be able to meaningfully participate. If fewer than 95% of the students test, the school automatically drops a letter grade.

    
    

5. Lost Instructional Time

Perhaps the least understood impact of state testing is the time it consumes.

• Kindergarten through 3rd-grade students take state-mandated screeners three times per year.

• Districts give screeners to all subject areas tested students three times per year to project state test performance.

• Students in grades 3–8 take tests in Math and English Language Arts, with 5th and 8th graders also tested in Science.

• High school students face their graduation-required tests.

Add it all up, and nine full weeks of the school year are consumed by testing or test preparation. That’s nine weeks where instruction slows down, stress ramps up, and the focus shifts away from authentic learning.

6. The Bigger Picture

State testing was designed to measure learning and hold schools accountable for their performance. However, the system has become so complex that most people outside of education struggle to comprehend it.

Here’s what matters for the public to know:

• Test scores are not simple percentages. They are calculated, scaled, and compared in ways that can change from year to year.

• A school’s letter grade is tied to a formula with moving parts—proficiency, growth, cut scores, graduation rates, and more.

• The pressure created by these tests weighs heavily on everyone in the school system.

• The sheer volume of tests reduces the time available for authentic teaching and learning.

Final Thought

When discussing student success, we can’t reduce it to a single test score. Education is about preparing children for life, not just preparing them to bubble in answers. Understanding how these tests work—and the strain they create—helps us ask better questions about whether our accountability system is truly serving students, or simply measuring them in ways that don’t tell the whole story.