NCLB State Assessment Systems 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under NCLB, high school students were required to be assessed at least once in which grade range in reading and math?
- Grades 9–10
- Grades 10–12 (Correct answer)
- Grade 11 only
- Grades 9–12 every year
Correct answer: Grades 10–12
NCLB required at least one reading and one math assessment for high school students in grades 10–12.
Question 2: What term describes a state assessment that has been reviewed and approved to confirm it aligns with state academic content standards under NCLB?
- Criterion-referenced test
- Standards-aligned assessment (Correct answer)
- Norm-referenced test
- Benchmark assessment
Correct answer: Standards-aligned assessment
NCLB required assessments to be standards-aligned, measuring what students were actually taught under state content standards.
Question 3: A school is in 'corrective action' under NCLB. Which of the following is a required corrective action option?
- Replacing all classroom teachers
- Implementing a new research-based curriculum (Correct answer)
- Converting to a magnet school without approval
- Reducing class sizes by 50%
Correct answer: Implementing a new research-based curriculum
Implementing a new research-based curriculum is one of the corrective actions required at the corrective action stage.
Question 4: Which NCLB provision required states to report on assessment results specifically for economically disadvantaged students?
- Title II teacher quality provision
- Disaggregated reporting requirement (Correct answer)
- Supplemental educational services requirement
- Highly qualified teacher definition
Correct answer: Disaggregated reporting requirement
NCLB's disaggregated reporting requirement forced states to break out assessment results for economically disadvantaged students and other subgroups.
Question 5: What was a key criticism of allowing states to set their own proficiency standards under NCLB?
- It made assessments too expensive
- States set standards so high that few students could pass
- States set low standards, inflating apparent proficiency rates compared to NAEP (Correct answer)
- It removed local control from school districts
Correct answer: States set low standards, inflating apparent proficiency rates compared to NAEP
Many states set low proficiency cut scores, making their AYP results look far better than NAEP scores for the same students.
Question 6: Under NCLB, what must a state's assessment system be based on to qualify for Title I funds?
- Nationally normed standardized tests
- State academic content standards (Correct answer)
- Federal Common Core standards
- District-level curriculum maps
Correct answer: State academic content standards
NCLB required assessments to be aligned to each state's own challenging academic content and achievement standards.
Question 7: A state assessment system must measure students against which types of achievement levels, as required by NCLB?
- Only 'pass' and 'fail' categories
- At least three levels: basic, proficient, and advanced (Correct answer)
- Five levels aligned to NAEP
- Two levels: 'meets standard' and 'exceeds standard'
Correct answer: At least three levels: basic, proficient, and advanced
NCLB required state assessments to report results in at least three achievement levels: basic, proficient, and advanced.
NCLB State Assessment Systems 4
Under NCLB, high school students were required to be assessed at least once in which grade range in reading and math?