This paper discusses how cut scores are set and used and how accurately they reflect student achievement. Regardless of the method used, the cut-score setting process is subjective. The cut score is the point on a score scale that separates one performance standard from another. Cut scores may also be used to set performance levels for…

Responds to a critique by Susan S. Goldsmith of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) English Language Arts tests, focusing on Goldsmith's critique of test development, uniform topic focus, use of open-response items, and lack of explicit testing in vocabulary and grammar. Goldsmith replies to the response, highlighting needed…

The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System is a damaging and dangerous "reform" with fundamental flaws: assumptions that all children undergo the same developmental process and that everyone requires the same knowledge to be successful; the fact that the guide and exams cover irrelevant material; and the idea that testing is…