Tinkerings

Today we begin TCAP testing at our school and around our district.  We will have kids sequestered in home rooms across our campus for the entire morning over the next four days as we ask them to tell us what they know by making dark, little, colored-in ovals on scan sheets.

Don’t get me wrong. I think testing kids to see what they know is a good thing.  I believe there is a lot of data schools can use to improve teaching and learning as a result of state testing.  I wish there was a better way to see what kids can do, but that is for another post on another day.

We have used DE Assessment in our school this year to create benchmark data points along the way.  Looking at that data tends to make me sleep better at night knowing that, on practice tests at least, our kids have demonstrated that the number of students below proficiency falls within the acceptable range to keep us off “the list.”  It is close, mind you, but acceptable.

State testing has its problems of course.  For me, the biggest lies with math.  We really have no idea if kids can do math or not.  The majority of the math test is based on their reading skills.  If they can’t read or comprehend well, they aren’t going to do well on the math test.  And, lest we forget, students are able to use calculators on these tests, too.  As a result, our math tests seem to be more of a Reading/Calculator Skills test.

Overall, however, we can get a small glimpse of how well these kids can use information presented and manipulate it into something that helps them arrive at the correct answer.

What I don’t understand is why it is so hard to get the data into a manipulative form for analysis at the school level.  For a few years I was fortunate enough to receive an Excel file with student scores from the previous year’s TCAP.  We used these scores to help place students in remedial and advanced classes, exempt them from certain required activities, and more.

Now, it appears that our state has changed the software used to calculate and report scores.  No one seems to know how to get that data to us in a fashion that we can sort, filter, and manipulate for our own needs.

So, if I had one wish from the Assessment Fairy, it would be this: Model your assessment results after DE Assessment.  If we had this capability, schools would be better able to make curricular changes. Teachers would be better able to make instructional changes.  Even students would benefit by seeing which questions they missed and have someone explain to them why.  Parents would better understand the usefulness of these tests and perhaps even help prepare their kids to take them.

That’s my take.  What is yours?