| The SAT 9 Reading and Language test scores of an urban school district's 7th and 11th grade students (N = 5,234) over a five year span (1998--2002) were appraised to determine the efficiency and validity of state-mandated standardized testing in California. The results indicated that: socioeconomic status and ethnicity were highly predictive factors of standardized test scores; ranges of individual students' scores were wide but yearly scores of cohorts correlated to a high degree; and, females outperformed males whenever the difference of means was statistically significant (at alpha level .03). The study concluded that a rotation of subjects and/or semiannual testing would benefit the cost-outcome ratio. It is posited that the current assessment program (STAR) does not fulfill the spirit intended by law. |
