State Superintendent Says Oklahoma Schools' Test Scores Down

Oklahoma's state superintendent is bracing schools for bad test scores.

Janet Barresi said scores are down on 5th and 8th grade writing tests, and on high school Biology 1 tests.

She said that's not surprising, though, because the state made those tests tougher last year. Barresi said this mirrors the dip other states saw when raising the bar on student performance.

"In each of those cases, their students rose to the challenge, and I'm absolutely confident that Oklahoma kids will rise to that challenge, as well," Barresi said.

Districts saw these scores for the first time Wednesday. They have 30 days to review them, before the state uses the scores to calculate schools' A-F grades.

10/26/2012 Related Story: Tulsa Schools React To A-F Grade Reports