Attention Bluegrass Institute: This is How it's Done

The Kentucky Department of Eucation today issued a retraction for some misleading information contained in charts showing overall average scores for PLAN and EXPLORE tests given to Kentucky students.

The errors were called to their attention by Richard Innes, an analyst with the Bluegrass Institute, here, here and here.

KSN&C agrees with Innes's analysis.

This from KDE:

In News Release 09-017 (EXPLORE and PLAN Results Released), please note that the tables showing overall average scores for those assessments may be misleading.

The tables show Kentucky's average English, mathematics, reading, science and composite scores for 2006, 2007 and 2008, along with average scores nationwide for those years.

The tables should have indicated that the national scores are based on the averages of students who took those tests in 2005, when EXPLORE and PLAN were normed as part of a national study. The 2005 nationally normed score also...used the national average for 2006, 2007 and 2008 and will continue to be the "score of record" for national purposes until the tests are re-normed.

The corrected tables were attached to the press release and show the 2005 normed score only.

Now, if we can just the Bluegrass Institute to retract their exaggeration of of a recent UK study, we'll have two groups who have demonstrated some integrity this week.