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Testing Programs for Oregon Public Schools
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Oregon has two testing programs. First is the Oregon Statewide Assessment test (OSA) given in different grade levels and the other is the high school Graduation Requirement Test (GRT).
The Oregon Statewide Assessment is different from national, norm-referenced tests used in many districts and states. The Oregon Statewide Assessment is a criterion-referenced assessment based on the Oregon Content Standards. As a result, the types of scores produced from the Oregon Statewide Assessment are somewhat different from those produced by national, norm-referenced tests. Norm-referenced tests assess a student’s broad knowledge, measuring performance against a relevant comparison group. Criterion-referenced tests measure specific skills in relation to pre-established standards of academic performance. Advocates of standards-based reform prefer criterion-referenced tests because they can be directly aligned to a given state’s standards.
Nationally, 70 percent of high school students must pass exit exams to get a diploma, according to the Center on Education Policy. Oregon was a late comer to establish a graduation testing program. It finally did so in 2008 but the state has push the dates back for implementation numerous times.
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The Oregon Statewide Assessment Test (OSA)
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The purposes of the Oregon Statewide Assessment Program are:
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To provide information on individual student achievement on performance standards set by the State Board of Education.
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To provide information for policy decisions by the legislature, the governor, the State Board of Education, and local school districts.
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To support instructional program improvement efforts.
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To inform the public about student achievement in Oregon schools.
Testing Grade Levels
 Under Oregon’s assessment system, reading and math tests are given at grades 3-8 and at grade 11; writing tests are given at grades 4, 7, and 11. Oregon is moving its 10th-grade tests in reading, writing, math and science to the 11th grade, saying many students need another year of high school to learn the skills covered on the tests. The tests were written for sophomores, and the minimum passing scores were set based on how sophomores performed on the tests. But, beginning with the 2010-1011 school year, they will be given to juniors, and the state's high schools will be judged by how many of their students pass the exams by the end of junior year. Oregon got permission from the U.S. Department of Education to make the standard easier for schools.
When Oregon sophomores take the tests, a lot of them fail, particularly in math. In 2009, 46 percent of 10th-graders flunked that test, 45 percent failed the writing test and 42 percent failed in science.
In 2007, the state delivered over 1.4 million tests through DE’s computer-based testing system, OAKS Online (OAKS = Oregon Assessment of Knowledge & Skills). The state-of-the-art testing system is unique among the 50 states and has several advantages over other online assessments and old-style pencil-and-paper testing. Students take tests online, and each test is individually adapted to the student taking the test. Students have up to three opportunities to take required tests in reading and mathematics. A major benefit of OAKS Online is that students and teachers receive immediate, detailed feedback and reports when tests are completed.
Subjects Tested
The assessment is made up of multiple-choice and performance assessments in these areas:
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Reading and literature knowledge and skills
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Mathematics knowledge and skills
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Science
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Social sciences
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Writing
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Mathematics problem solving
Oregon law mandates that public school students be tested annually in grades 3, 5, 8, and 10. The federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law mandates annual testing for all states by 2005-2006. NCLB does not explicitly require states to administer the same test from year to year.
For reading/literature and mathematics, scores produced from the Oregon Statewide Assessment are based on an achievement scale widely used in the Northwest. The scale, with numbers ranging from about 150 to 300, is similar to other scales such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scale or other "growth" scales. Each point on the scale is at an equal distance from the previous point on the scale, so changes up or down can be charted and viewed as comparable from year to year.
Writing and mathematics problem solving rely on a model, which trains expert "judges," typically classroom teachers, to match student work to criteria for performance on a predetermined scale. Writing is analyzed by two different raters on six elements or traits of good writing, and each trait is rated on a scale of 1 - 6 (low to high). Raters of mathematics problem solving assessments look at four elements or dimensions of good problem solving. Each dimension is rated on a scale of 1 - 6; in addition, the work is analyzed for the correctness of the solution.
Starting in 2007, under the No Child Left Behind law, Oregon had to check with a panel of teachers, professors, principals, business leaders and others to make sure that the tests were difficult enough for each grade. In 2007, those groups decided Oregon's math and reading tests were too easy in elementary and early middle school, so they raised the passing score on state tests in grades three through seven.
Where to Find Test Results
The Oregon Department of Education's Web site has a "Accountability/Reporting" table where you can find test results for any Oregon school district as well as individual schools within a district. You can obtain results by school year, sub-group (gender, ethnicity, etc.), and by subject (reading & literature, mathematics, science, etc.). Should you desire, you can also download the data (Microsoft Excel) into a spreadsheet.
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| Statewide 2011 OSA Results |
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In late August of 2011, State Schools Superintendent Susan Castillo announced the results of Oregon student performance on the 2010-2011 assessment tests in reading, mathematics, writing and science.
Oregon made its elementary and middle school math tests much harder this year, and braced for passing rates to plunge as students faced the tougher targets. But in every grade, students leaned into the challenge and passed at dramatically better rates than had been predicted. Fewer students passed than on the old, easier tests − but the skill level they showed was substantially higher, state officials say. Educators say those stepped-up math results reflect a combination of two things:
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Math is being taught better in Oregon elementary and middle schools, with harder topics introduced earlier and taught at greater depth so that students retain them.
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Schools, knowing they needed to cover more ground for students to succeed this year, tested more students near the very end of the school year instead of having some students' final math scores based on what they had learned by February or March.
The changes to Oregon's math test have been in the works for about four years. The state Board of Education voted in 2007 to change the state math curriculum to cover fewer topics at greater depth, making Oregon one of the first states to join a national move in that direction.
In reading, writing and science, where tests were unchanged this year, elementary results were flat except for a drop in writing scores, while middle schools showed modest gains in reading and writing. High school students did far better on the test than ever before − not entirely surprising, since tests that had always been given to 10th-graders were moved to 11th grade this year.
Percentage of Students Meeting State Standards on the State Assessment Tests
Finding Test Scores
Source: Oregon Department of Education and The Oregonian.
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Oregon Graduation Requirements Test
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Starting with the senior class of 2012, it will get tougher to graduate from high school in Oregon, under a plan passed in 2008, by members of the Oregon state Board of Education. Every high school graduate's transcript will show whether the student passed or failed state tests in writing and math, even though passing is not required. The act also requires students to give three speeches that meet state standards. If the student has passed, that could allow them to bypass placement tests at community colleges and remedial classes at public universities − a step that university and community college leaders have indicated they are likely to adopt. In addition, parents and taxpayers will be able to see how well each school is doing at getting graduates to measure up in writing and math, putting pressure on schools to raise their performance.
The state also needs to design a way for students to show they read well enough to meet state reading standards without passing the state reading. The Oregon Department of Education will establish a system to do that.
One-third of Oregon sophomores failed the state reading and writing exams in 2007, and 45 percent failed the state math test.
Oregon will be the 27th state to require students to pass a state high school graduation exam. California began requiring students to pass state reading and math exams in 2006. Washington graduated its first class of students in 2008 who had to pass state reading and writing exams to get a diploma. Oregon will be one of just two states (the other one is New Jersey) to allow students to substitute a locally graded essay or work sample if they can't pass the state graduation test.
6,800 Oregon Seniors Expected to Graduate in 2012 Still Have Not Passed the Reading Test
About 6,800 Oregon high school seniors have yet to pass the state reading test and will be denied diplomas if they don't pass that exam or an equivalent test created and graded at their school. Last school year, schools knew which juniors had failed the test during 10th grade. The share of students in the class of 2012 who haven't passed shrunk only from 29 percent at the end of sophomore year to 17 percent at the end of junior year.
Twenty-six large and medium-size high schools, including 15 in the metro area, have more than 50 seniors at risk of failing to graduate because of weak reading skills.
The state will allow students to demonstrate they read well enough to graduate by completing two "reading work samples" that are judged by a trained adult at their school. For each, a student is given an informative or literary passage of at least 1,000 words − just a little longer than this article − and asked to read it carefully, making notes in the margin, then to offer short answers to five to eight questions. If the answers are deemed to show enough understanding, interpretation and analysis of the passage, earning at least 12 points on an 18-point scale, the student passes. The state does not plan to collect the scores or monitor the grading, said Derek Brown, the state's manager for the assessment of essential skills.
Oregon's class of 2012 is the first required to pass a reading test to graduate.
August 2009: Delay in Writing and Public Speaking
Oregon's state school board is again delaying tougher graduation requirements for high schools, pushing back a writing mandate until the class of 2013 and postponing indefinitely a public speaking requirement.
Just last year, the state Board of Education voted to require every student to pass state tests in reading, math, writing and speaking to get a diploma, beginning with the class of 2012. But today the board will make it official that, while incoming sophomores still have to pass a reading test to get a diploma, the writing requirement will be delayed until the following year and demonstrating proficiency at public speaking will be delayed until 2015 or later.
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