Tuesday, April 23, 2013

California STAR Physics Reference disappointment

Despite high-level assurances that the California Department of Education (CDE) would update its published physics reference sheet. It has yet to happen, and much of California is deep into the 2013 STAR-testing administration season. We will quietly hope California's physics CST-takers won't find the changes too surprising, confusing, or off-putting.

The problem was detailed in a previous Blog of Phyz post.

The Physics Reference Sheet as used on the operational form of the STAR Physics CST is different from the Physics Reference Sheet included on the most recently published Released Test Questions document. And it's different from the Physics Reference Sheet offered as a stand-alone PDF on the CDE's STAR Program Resources: CST Science Reference Sheets page.

As of this posting, the reference sheet available at this link carries a 2005 copyright date. The sheet used on last year's operational form seems to have been changed in 2012. I must presume it's being used in 2013 as well. But to see it, you'll have to refer to the previous Blog of Phyz post. The state of California has not made this document public.

Disappointing. But not entirely surprising. I hope, at some point, to learn why CDE and ETS moved (with neither review by nor approval of its own Assessment Review Panel) to alter the document that had been used from 2004 through 2011.

They chose to then compound this error by updating neither the RTQ document nor the stand-alone reference sheet. It makes them appear completely out of touch and unconcerned. Or as if they're trying to keep the new reference sheet a secret. I can only hope this is not how they wish to be seen.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dean, I had forgotten about the revision until I came across one that we got back from last years testing. I don't know if this is against the rules to keep the old reference sheets.

Physics Reference said...

I don't think so