“Oklahoma’s decision to revert to its 2017-2018 student assessment cut scores while launching a new standards validation study reflects a serious commitment to transparency, academic integrity and clear and honest communication with parents about how their children are doing. These actions reestablish confidence in Oklahoma’s educator-led standard-setting process that ensures students are mastering content and achieving state benchmarks.
“This thoughtful course correction from the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability sends a clear signal: Oklahoma is prioritizing honest, rigorous expectations that provide families with accurate insights into student achievement. At a time when some states have chosen to lower expectations or obscure results, Oklahoma is choosing to lead with clarity and conviction.
“We commend Oklahoma’s state education officials for taking this important step to uphold higher standards, build public trust and support policies that ensure that students receive the targeted support and resources they need to succeed.”
About the Decision
In 2024, the Oklahoma Department of Education took troubling action by lowering passing (“cut”) scores on its state assessments, creating a misleading picture of student proficiency and widening the state’s “honesty gap”—the difference between state-reported proficiency and results on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).
For example, in 2024, Oklahoma reported that 47% of fourth graders were reading on grade level, while only 23% of students scored proficient on the most recent NAEP—revealing a 24-point gap. By contrast, and because of a more rigorous and transparent standard-setting process adopted in 2018, that gap was only one point in 2019.
Oklahoma leaders and the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability (OEQA) are taking action to restore higher expectations by reverting to the 2018 passing score standards. In addition, OEQA is launching a standards validation study, which will evaluate these previously established cut scores to determine whether they remain valid measures of student mastery on the new test.
The state’s Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) recommended the standards validation process to the Oklahoma Department of Education given the limited revisions to the state content standards and testing blueprint during the 2024 cut score setting process. The TAC is composed of multiple nationally renowned assessments experts who are contracted by the Department to provide psychometric advice and guidance based on industry best practices.
