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State Board Sets Teacher Test Pass Rate

Posted on: Thursday, 23 March 2006, 09:01 CST

By Matthew Bowers, The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va.

Mar. 23--RICHMOND -- When Virginia says "jump," prospective teachers now know how high.

Cut scores set Wednesday by the state Board of Education on its new certification test mean that 91.5 percent passed it the first time it was given, in January.

The test is split into reading and writing components. The board decided that people seeking teacher licenses must score at least 235 on a 100-to-300 scale on each part of the test, or total at least 470 points between the two tests. But it also agreed that the passing scores be re-evaluated for possible changes in two years, when more results are available to be analyzed.

The Virginia Communication and Literacy Assessment replaces use of the Praxis I standardized test. The new test doesn't include math, as does Praxis I, but focuses on communication skills. The board and state educators cited research concluding that effectively communicating with students and parents is key to academic success.

New teachers also must pass a Praxis II test in their specialties, such as math or social studies.

In other business:

--The Board of Education extended to April 30 the time for comments about proposed changes in the Standards of Accreditation, the regulations that control such things as how schools are rated and what students must do to graduate.

The new standards include first-ever sanctions for schools that lose their state accreditation, which may begin happening for the first time this year because of low test scores.

--Chesapeake Public Schools received one of the state board's quarterly Leadership in Cultural Diversity Education Awards. Ella Ward, vice president of the state board and a member of the Chesapeake School Board, made the presentation.

--Thomas Johnson Jr., a Norfolk lawyer and board member since 2003, has resigned his seat a year before the end of his term. This leaves two open spots on the nine-member panel, appointed by the governor to set policy for Virginia's public schools.

Johnson said in an interview that he hadn't planned to remain on the board for more than one four-year term, anyway. And with the board undergoing reorganization -- with a new president and, expected soon, the naming of a superintendent of public instruction -- he felt it would be better if new appointees helped "set the course."

Reach Matthew Bowers at (757) 222-5120 or matthew.bowers @pilotonline.com.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va.

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Source: The Virginian-Pilot

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