National School Reform Faculty

Looking at Standardized Tests
Date: March 27-31, 2003
Listserv: Coaches

Thursday, March 27, 2003 1:26 PM
I am doing a whole day session next week for a group of teachers in an elementary school where I do on-going work (they have a CSRD grant to do NSRF work, and about 1/2 of their staff are in three cfgs right now). I will be working with the other half.

The principal has two goals in mind for the day: engage people in reflective practice, and build ownership among the whole faculty for ALL of the kids. Right now, the big MCAS state test year is fourth grade, but clearly the whole faculty needs to be involved in making sure the kids are learning according to the state standards, and it can't be a 4th grade teachers only "problem." 90% of the kids are eligible for free lunch and breakfast 9100 % of the kids get a free breakfast), 60 % of the kids live in homes where English is not the first language, and last year, the school was one of 20 state-wide honored with a $10,000 check for the amount of progress they made on their MCAS scores.

My draft agenda is below.

Two questions: (1) have you ever done a session where participants actually took parts of the standardized state test, and moved from there to "what should our students know and be able to do?" What should I look out for? Make sure I do? And (2): have you ever done the Slice in this way? Again, what should I look out for? Make sure I do?
Thanks, Gene

Crocker Elementary
March 31 Professional Development Day
8:00-8:15 Gather, Coffee
8:15-8:30 Welcome, Review agenda, Set Norms for the Day
8:30-9:00 Micro Lab in triads
MicroLab Questions:
- Why did you decide to become a teacher/educator? What drew you into this profession? Why elementary school?
- What keeps you in this job? What do you love? What keeps you coming back each year?
- When you think about your work/teaching - what do you do best? Where do you shine?
9:00-9:45 Save the Last Word for Me
Text: An Indian Father's Plea
9:45-10:00 Break
10:00-11:30 Examining the MCAS 4th Grade Math Test
What do our students need to know and be able to do?
I have a protocol that is a cross between the CAC and the Standards In Practice I plan to use; part way through we stop and actually do the test.
11;30-12:30 Lunch
12:30-1:45 Examining our MCAS 4th Grade Long Composition Writing Responses
What are the implications for the teaching of writing at Crocker?
I plan to use a version of the Slice protocol.
1:45-2:00 Debrief the day: How did it go? Write reflections.
Gene, MA

Thursday, March 27, 2003 3:11 PM
I eagerly await the responses you get because I’m doing something similar with a couple of small schools project directors and district office people in a week—and thought we’d do the exams, too. How much of the exams is enough? Can’t do it all, but want to get a true sense of the overlaps, etc. And, have the same question—in this case about what graduates should know, etc. so, thanks for being so timely.
Nancy, NY

Thursday, March 27, 2003 4:37 PM
Gene----I've had groups of teachers take portions of the WASL, Washington's version of state competency testing, and then tease out exactly what their students need to know and be able to do in order to be successful on that assessment. It has been enlightening for teachers in that:

1. it may be the first time they've ever actually read and analyzed the test items.
2. it heightens their awareness about what content and skills they've actually taught by the time their students are assessed
3. it makes them aware of the performance tasks (beyond simple computation or multiple choice responses) their students are being asked to do
4. MOST IMPORTANTLY-----it makes obvious the connection between the assessment and the state standards and the attendant implications for standards-based classroom instruction.

What to watch out for: Conversation about the validity of the test, the validity of the scoring process, etc----diversionary tactics to try and discredit the assessment. There needs to be some sort of agreement up front that the test is valid-----or at the very least, that we owe it to our students to help them become proficient at the tasks they're being held accountable for!
I'd like to see the protocol you're planning to use!

In response to Nancy-----Washington releases items from the assessment each year-----I use a large enough sample that they get a broad feel for all the different kinds of tasks kids have to tackle---20 items or so. I don't usually include having them do an extended response item----but we look at how that item is scored and what strategies we can teach kids in order to respond to it successfully.
Patty, WA

Friday, March 28, 2003 9:31 AM
Gene -
You probably know this already, but the problem we run into trying to work meaningfully from the results of standardized tests is that unless you have an itemized breakdown by student it's hard to make a really effective plan of attack. This is particularly true w/math tests as it isn't very helpful for teachers simply to see low scores and be told that they have to do better. Where do we have to do better?, on what kinds of math operations?, with which kids?, did they all do poorly on these specific questions?, were these questions something that we hadn't covered yet when the test was administered?, or were these questions that dealt w/an operation that we taught early in the year and may not have continued to use/review such that it was really cold when the kids took the test?, and then they have to extrapolate these findings to an understanding of next year's students in order to plan for what will be a new and different group of students.

And the same kinds of things w/the writing - what kinds of questions gave which kids the most difficulty?, when did we teach that?, did we continue to have them use those skills?, what was the context/conditions under which this specific test was administered?, did that have a particular impact on any of the kids and any of the results?, etc. In order for teachers to get anything meaningful out of looking at standardized test scores my experience is they have to get inside these kinds of details, otherwise their responses are too generalized to really be very helpful, and wind up producing more stress than anything useful.

Lastly, I really liked the recent article by James Lee in the February Phi Delta Kappan - "Implementing High Standards in Urban Schools: Problems and Solutions" - because it really speaks to not just "teaching to the test" and selling particularly urban kids way short, but using a constructivist approach to the whole issue.
- Be in Peace,
Dave Lehman, NY

Monday, March 31, 2003 12:18 PM
When I've seen people do this between parents or teachers, usually the list involves a number of skills that people don't believe standardized tests, including the purportedly "high standards" and "criterion referenced" MCAS measure or report. You'll likely find that other assessments, curriculum and approach will be absolutely necessary - as should be the case. I would think that highlighting the disparity between good use of the mind and good scores on a test would be an extremely important conversation, but I'm not sure that's where you were headed........
Karen, PA