Results Show Delaware Students Struggle With Standardized Test

A new standardized test linked to Common Core academic standards is proving to be a challenge for Delaware school students.

First year results from the Smarter Balanced test released Wednesday show, on average, that barely half of Delaware students who tested are proficient in English language arts.

Statewide, less than 40 percent of students scored proficiently in math, including less than one-fourth of 11th graders.

Despite the results, Gov. Jack Markell and outgoing education secretary Mark Murphy say Delaware students did better than expected, based on a nationwide field test of more than 4 million students in Delaware and 20 other states last spring.

Officials noted that student performance levels were expected to drop compared to the previous multiple choice standardized test, because the new test is more rigorous.