YSU prof says achievement tests don’t measure what kids learn in school

YOUNGSTOWN — Studies by a Youngstown State University education professor show that Ohio’s achievement tests are a better measure of a child’s socioeconomic living conditions than what they’ve learned in school.

The “lived experiences” of the pupils are what really determine how they do on such tests, and the result is the tests “have no academic validity nor educational accountability validity whatsoever,” Dr. Randy L. Hoover wrote in his study.

Hoover, who teaches in the Department of Teacher Education at YSU, did an examination of Ohio Achievement Tests in 593 Ohio public schools in 2000 and did a follow-up study covering 609 of the 611 public districts in the state this year.

For the complete story, see Sunday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com.