Moving the goalposts

I thought New York's Regents exams were supposed to mean something if you passed them? Not anymore. Emphasis added. [Link]

The feds left each state free to define what "proficient" meant. Like other states, New York made it easier to become "proficient."
Thus, the phenomenal test-score gains that New York has reported in recent years resulted not from students suddenly becoming smarter -- but from the state lowering standards.
In 2006, students in all grades had to earn around 60 percent of the points to reach Level 3 (proficiency) on the math test. But by 2009, they had to get only about half the points on the math test to meet state standards. In 2006, a seventh-grade student needed to get 59.6 percent of the points on the state math test to become proficient (Level 3); by 2009, it was just 44 percent. Remember the old days when 44 percent was a failing mark? Not any more.
In baseball, if you bring the outfield fences closer to home plate, you'll produce more home runs. In education, if you drop the number of points that students need to earn on the tests, you'll get more students passing.
The lowering of the bar may explain why the state has seen such phenomenal results on its math tests. In Buffalo, the proportion of students who met state standards leapt from an abysmal 29 percent in 2006 to an incredible 63 percent in 2009, in Syracuse from 30 percent to 58 percent and in New York City from 57 percent to 82 percent.
The state also made it easier for students to advance from Level 1 (the lowest category) to Level 2. In 2006, third-grade students had to get 43.6 percent of the points on the math test to earn a Level 2 -- but by 2009, they needed to get only 28.2 percent of the points. On the English language-arts test, the cutoff to earn a Level 2 in sixth grade dropped from 41 percent of the points in 2006 to just 17.9 percent in 2009.
In the city, a student who qualifies for Level 2 will be promoted to the next grade. In grades three through eight, the number of New York City students who scored at Level 1 in math fell by an astonishing 80 percent in only three years.
Ending social promotion, as the city rightly wants to do, is thus meaningless, because students can reach Level 2 by just guessing. Some of the city's lowest-performing schools have few or no Level 1 students because the state lowered the bar.
The downgrading of the vaunted Regents exams is the same sad story. To get a diploma, students must get a 65 on each of five Regents exams. Sounds tough -- but it's not anymore, thanks to the State Education Department's statistical magic.
On the algebra Regents, a student collects a passing score of 65 if he or she earns only 34.5 percent of the possible points. On the biology exam, a "pass" requires earning only 46 percent.

We are doing those kids no service by 'passing' them on these tests.