Prof David Klein: NAEP is flawed IQ test, achievement is not ability

see  http://www.ams.org/notices/201101/rtx110100053p.pdf


Regardless of flaws in state assessments,
to the extent that the NAEP is an IQ test, it is measuring something different from what state tests
are designed to assess. Achievement is not the
same as ability



Overall, the prerequisites for the released NAEP
math questions in all categories for fourth and
eighth grades are minimal. Some questions test
insignificant vocabulary only. Calculators are
permitted on a substantial portion of the tests.
The NMP Task Group on Assessment identified
as “one of its greatest concerns” that “fractions
(defined here as fractions, decimals, and related
percent) are underrepresented on NAEP.” Perhaps
most importantly, many of the questions appear
to be IQ items rather than math problems, in the
sense that their solutions rely on almost no education or knowledge of mathematical techniques.
This is especially the case for those questions that
require students to complete a pattern or to fill
in geometric shapes with other geometric shapes,
like puzzles.
Indeed, NAEP scores have been used by psychologists for the purpose of estimating IQ, state
by state [6]


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