Among the many joys of working in public education today is the ubiquity of the standardized test. In the last decade, the emphasis on "one-moment-in-time" assessments increased sharply, though they've been prevalent in education for some time. And it's not a partisan affair -- a change in direction in the White House seems only to have further buttressed the national appetite for what have been termed high stakes tests.
You may have guessed by now that it is time for our students to participate in the Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (OAKS). I'd like to share a bit about our philosophy toward the state testing, and the way we use the data gleaned from it. My hope is that, in reading this, you will both better understand the nature of the tests themselves, and what you can do to help your student prepare for the tests.
The answer to the latter is simple: nothing, short of a good night's rest and a healthy breakfast. We are fortunate that the vast majority of our students come to school with both of these firmly in hand every waking day.
For the most part, standardized testing deserves the rap it gets in conventional wisdom. You may be surprised, though, to know that Oregon's tests are actually quite progressive in a number of ways.
- The tests are available online and the results are available almost immediately. (In the past you have not received timely notice of your child's scores; last year we corrected this by sharing test scores as soon as the first round was completed. We plan on continuing this trend toward more transparency.)
- The reporting of results is broken down into "strand" data. For instance, within mathematics, sub-results are available for categories like "algebraic reasoning" and "geometry." This is helpful for parents as well as teachers in determining a student's strengths and areas for growth.
- The tests respond to the test taker. That is to say if a student begins answering each question correctly, the questions become more difficult. (The opposite is also true). Each item is weighted for difficulty -- the end result of this is a much more accurate score.
- There is an increased emphasis on the potential of test-takers interacting with the material in real and context-based ways. Technologies are in the works which will allow students to manipulate materials for, say, a virtual science experiment.
- Students have up to three attempts at any test,reghardless if they previously met the standard, or even exceeded.
- They don't take very long. My estimate is that a typical Riverdale students spends less than six total hours taking an OAKS assessment during the course of a year -- and this if they retake them multiple times.
None of this is to suggest that the tests are valuable beyond practical limits, however. One element of Riverdale Grade School of which I am especially proud is that I have never seen a faculty member teaching to the test, something that is all-too-common across the country. We understand that our core curriculum utilizes State standards (upon which the tests are built) as a base rather than a ceiling. We don't give up time in art, music, or pe to take the tests. We neither celebrate too wildly nor bemoan the results of an individual student's scores. We understand that a child is so much more than a standardized score.
But, to be clear, we do use the data.
It would be irresponsible not to take advantage of the opportunity provided by a set of data to analyze our relative strengths and weaknesses as an institution designed to foster learning. So we use the data to tell us, at a macro level, what is going swimmingly and what needs tweaking. As well, we use scores on the math test to help us make informed decisions about where a child is appropriately placed for math instruction during the subsequent year. as much as possible, this is only one piece of data, including teacher observation, and alternative assessments, which help us make these decisions, but they do play a role. For this reason, particularly with regards to math, we encourage families and students to consider retaking the tests in the Spring to see if they can improve upon already strong scores.
The schedule for our first round of testing is briefly outlined below. The reason for a Thursday night posting is that 7th and 8th graders will begin tomorrow.
Week of:
- 2/14/10 -- grades 7-8 (begins Friday, 2/12/10)
- 2/22/10 -- grade 4
- 3/01/10 -- grade 3
- 3/07/10 -- grades 5-6
- *all results will be shared at Spring conferences
I hope this has been informative, and not too exhaustive. If you're still reading, thanks for sticking it out with me, and have a lovely weekend.
Coming Soon:
Monday
No School -- Presidents Day
Tuesday
4:00 PM 7/8 Boys' BB game (away) vs West Hills Christian
Wednesday
4:00 PM 6/7/8 Girls' BB game (away) vs West Hills Christian
Thursday
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM Community Meeting with Superintendent Search Consultant, HS Library
Friday
8:45 AM - 2:45 PM GS - Kinder & 5th Gr. FT - OMSI
3:30 PM 6/7/8 Girls' BB game (away w/boys) vs SW Christian
4:45 PM 7/8 Boys' BB game (away w/girls) vs SW Christian
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