People can't compare year to year test scores because exclusion rates are not available. Those unaware that most schools do not give statewide tests to remedial Special Education, Title I, and English as a Second Language students may not realize what these large exclusions can do to school test scores. A 70 is the minimum score for approval. In an effort to get tough on dope dealers, Gov. Keating recently signed HB 1203, which doubles the size of drug-free school zones in Oklahoma. The law forbids possessing with intent to distribute any controlled dangerous substance within 2,000 feet of a school, up from the current threshold of 1,000 feet.
Life is full of distressing ironies.
Information gleaned from individual ITBS and Oklahoma Core Curriculum scores may benefit parents and teachers of particular students. But average ITBS and Core Curriculum scores for schools, districts, and states are meaningless without full consideration of corresponding exclusion percentages for each. This generalization is an appropriate introduction to a discussion of Oklahoma's incredibly high scores on 4th and 8th grade NAEP reading tests. But the following information is necessary to understand why joy over Oklahoma's 1998 NAEP reading scores is the wrong reaction. The reported numbers of students who can't read at the most basic level are greatly determined by exclusion rates for Special Education students.