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KSDE changes to assessment cut scores mean 2024-25 results are not comparable, district says
Summary
Assistant superintendent Holly Putnam Jackson told the board the Kansas assessment program adopted new performance-level descriptors and cut scores; district staff cautioned results from the new assessment should not be compared with prior years.
Dr. Holly Putnam Jackson, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning, told the Derby Board of Education that the Kansas State Department of Education and the state board approved changes to performance-level descriptors and cut scores for the Kansas assessment program.
"They approved a new assessment, and they have approved those new cut scores," Putnam Jackson told the board, explaining that the state convened educators this summer to realign standards and determine the score thresholds that represent performance levels. She said the state’s review found misalignments between prior state cut scores and other postsecondary indicators such as ACT scores, AP coursework and graduation data.
Putnam Jackson said the state concluded that the prior definitions of "proficient" did not align with some national measures and that the revised cut scores provide "more precise and transparent evidence of a measure of student achievement." She warned that the new scale and cut scores make year-to-year comparisons with prior state results invalid.
Board members asked whether the new scores can be compared to last year’s. "Absolutely," Putnam Jackson replied when explaining the guidance: districts should not compare this year’s scores with prior years because the assessment instrument and scoring scale were realigned.
Board members also asked about the number and difficulty of test items. Putnam Jackson said the state reduced the number of questions and shortened testing time in many cases to limit testing fatigue, but said the assessment blueprint and depth of knowledge standards remain aligned to grade-level expectations.
The district plans to treat 2024-25 assessment results as a new baseline and to use local diagnostic tools and next-year comparisons (such as I-Ready and other local measures) to track growth going forward.
Putnam Jackson said the state will publish preliminary score reports soon and is making resources available, including an informational Zoom for educators to explain the changes.
Direct quotes in this report come from Putnam Jackson’s presentation to the board during the Sept. 8 meeting.
