Walters questions state test results, calls for new scoring

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma’s top education official has called into question the integrity of the state’s test scores for reading and math, seven months after his administration released students’ test results to families and three months after including the scores in report cards of school performance.

After months of reticence on the topic, state Superintendent Ryan Walters on Thursday accused Gov. Kevin Stitt and another state agency of “political interference” in the test results. Walters called for the scores to be recalibrated immediately.

Oklahoma students could score worse on state reading and math assessments in 2024 and still be considered proficient because of a change to performance expectations, state records show. This is because the state lowered the bar to reach a proficient score on annual exams, a process known as resetting cut scores.

When Oklahoma Voice uncovered the change in August, Walters at the time called media reports “fan fiction” but acknowledged the new test results would be “very different.”

Walters’ news release on Thursday represents a major change in rhetoric on the issue. He alleged for the first time that the process of setting new cut scores did not proceed in the way it should have.

Until this point, Walters hasn’t alerted to anything unusual taking place. Instead, his administration sought to distance itself from the matter, referring questions to the Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability (CEQA), which had approved the cut scores in July.

“Changing standards and proficiency targets is a routine process for many states, including Oklahoma, and the processes employed this year are no different from the previous year,” Walters’ office said in a statement in October.

In December, he released the Oklahoma School Report Cards, which evaluate schools based on their test results and other metrics, without mentioning the cut score change.

Walters celebrated the report cards as having the “most comprehensive and most transparent” data in state history. He said the report cards demonstrated that schools had turned a corner toward improvement, though a month later national test results would find Oklahoma failed to make any significant academic progress.

But on Thursday, Walters said the governor and the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability, a small state agency that the CEQA directs, had a “blatant disregard for the integrity of Oklahoma’s education system” and the release of the cut scores in July was premature.

“Parents, teachers, and students deserve accurate, carefully reviewed results, not a political stunt,” Walters said.

The governor’s spokesperson, Abegail Cave, said the cut scores are months old and no new information has emerged recently. She said releasing the cut scores is the responsibility of the state Education Department.

“Walters is trying to rewrite history because he has nothing of substance (to) campaign on,” Cave said. “While Walters continues to play games, the governor is going to continue to make Oklahoma top 10 in everything we do.”

OEQA director Megan Oftedal declined to comment on Walters’ remarks. OEQA answers to the commission and carries out its policies.

Cave said the small agency plays only an advisory role in the cut score process.

Walters’ office did not return a request for comment on why he made the allegations months after the cut scores were finalized and included in state report cards.

His administration has faced criticism over the scoring change, particularly because it released test results over the summer without acknowledging that the scoring method had changed significantly.

Proficiency rates spiked statewide, giving the impression that student performance had dramatically improved, but agency records later showed the uptick was the result of lowered expectations.

Senate Minority Leader Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City, noticed the change through her own child’s test scores. She said many suspected “something squirrely was going on” after results drastically increased.

“I really feel like our superintendent needs to take responsibility for the data and for the processes in his agency that he’s in charge of,” Kirt said Thursday.

While acknowledging his own agency was involved in the process of setting new cut scores, Walters said the governor and the CEQA are to blame for undermining the final test results.

He said CEQA failed to review how the cut scores compare to those in other states. Walters claimed the cut scores were released prematurely because of that lack of review.

Oklahoma law calls for the commission to conduct an “ongoing review” of the state’s cut scores, but it doesn’t specify that the review must be completed before commissioners can approve new  ones.

The law allows the commission to “adjust the cut scores as necessary” after finishing the review.

The OEQA, which answers to the commission, is preparing to conduct the legally required review and has chosen a vendor to carry out the study, Oftedal said.

Over the summer, the state Education Department initiated the process of establishing new cut scores after the state Legislature approved new academic standards for reading and math in recent years.

The agency and a testing vendor gathered committees of Oklahoma teachers who developed the new performance expectations that define what knowledge students should be able to demonstrate at each grade level to be considered proficient in reading and math.

The Education Department and the testing vendor presented the final cut scores to the CEQA in July, and the commission approved them, records show. The governor appoints each member of the commission, and his education secretary leads the board.

Walters urged the Legislature to update state laws to require the commission to confirm it followed statutory requirements.

“The governor and (the commission) have undermined public trust, and our kids are the ones who will pay the price,” Walters said.

Oklahoma Voice (oklahomavoice.com) is an affiliate of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization, supported by grants and donations. Oklahoma Voice provides nonpartisan reporting, and retains full editorial independence.