SCORES: Idaho Department of Education releases 2025 ISATs
The author was correct to begin the article by stating “overall scores remained mostly stable when compared to last year’s results.” However, I take issue with the author’s subsequent interpretation of the most recent test scores which reflects poorly on his/her understanding of basic statistics. The differences in proficiency rates cited in throughout the article are overwhelmingly NOT STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT.
Using a standard p-value of 0.05, any improvement in scores must show at least a gain of five percentage points in order to be considered as statistically significant. So, for example, even the slight decline in 4th grade ISAT scores in Idaho (2024 67.1%, 2025 64.6) is not significant. Similarly, the following assertion made by the author of the article is incorrect and misleading.
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