The State Board of Education is expected to lower minimum proficiency standards on two new high school math tests after results came in lower than expected. The move raises questions about whether benchmarks for new assessments will accurately gauge a student's readiness for college or a career, while some people say the requirements are too tough and place students at risk of not graduating.

The State Board of Education is expected to lower minimum proficiency standards on two new high school math tests after results came in lower than expected.

The move raises questions about whether benchmarks for new assessments will accurately gauge a student�s readiness for college or a career, while some people say the requirements are too tough and place students at risk of not graduating.

Preliminary results for Ohio�s geometry test showed that 24 percent of high school students who took it scored �proficient� or higher. State education officials had predicted that 59 percent would meet the benchmark.

On the math II exam, 21 percent scored �proficient� or higher, well below the 56 percent projected.

The tests, developed by the American Institutes for Research, were given for the first time this spring.

At the state Department of Education�s request, a board committee Monday unanimously recommended approval of lower cut scores. The full board is to vote today.

Describing exam results as �outliers compared to all other (state tests),� Jim Wright, director of the Office of Curriculum and Assessment, told committee members that initial benchmarks set months ago were projections based on data from other states. �Now, we have better data available ... actual Ohio student data,� Wright said.

If lower cut scores are approved, 52 percent of students would score �proficient� or better on the geometry test and 35 percent on math II.

Under state law, Ohio uses five levels or ratings on state exams: limited, basic, proficient, accelerated or advanced. �Proficient� has long been used to indicate the minimum needed to meet state expectations. So will students who score �proficient� under the lower cut scores still be ready for college and career upon graduation?

Rebecca Vazquez-Skillings, chairwoman of the board�s achievement committee and an at-large board member from Westerville, said yes.

�We�ve strengthened the standards overall, and (students) should be ready if they are proficient,� she said. The lower scores �are a baseline, a starting point� that will increase in the coming years. She said this allows the �change to occur more gradually, not overnight.�

A.J. Wagner, an elected board member from Dayton, says that based on preliminary test results, many students will be at risk of not graduating. He noted that even with lower cut rates, nearly two-thirds of math II students and almost half of geometry students would score below proficient.

Under graduation requirements that start in 2018, students must earn a total of at least 18 points of a possible 35 in taking seven end-of-course state exams. Students earn 1 to 5 points on each test: from 1 for �limited� up to 5 for �advanced.� The system allows students who score below � proficient� on some tests to graduate.

To receive a diploma, students also will have the option of earning a yet-to-be-decided score on a college entrance exam or a technical or industry certificate.

ccandisky@dispatch.com

@ccandisky