Sunday, August 9, 2015

To test, or not to test?


          “To test, or not to test?” 
                                 That is a relevant question.

It’s the beginning of another school year, and I am sure you parents have many conflicting emotions.

Some of you may be thinking, “I am so glad my children have something to do without planning every minute of their day.”

Others may be thinking, “We need another week to get ourselves ready for another school year.”

For some of you, this year will have milestones for your children like the first day of kindergarten, the beginning of middle school, or even graduation from high school.

Regardless of the grade in which your child is entering, there is one constant that we have all come to expect with schooling: testing.

For some of you, testing was just another part of life. For others, you recall the anxiety you felt and worry about how it will affect your child.

One of the biggest reasons for test anxiety in students, which may transfer to parents and entire households, is that the reasons for testing are not understood.

In this week's blog, I will explain the types of tests that elementary students will encounter this year, I will give you the names of specific tests that your child can expect to take this year, and I will tell you how the test results are used to improve your child’s education.

The first type of assessment your child will encounter is formative assessment. Formative assessments are given to collect information so that teachers can create an instructional plan for your child. 

Formative assessments are not graded. The information collected can be used to develop curriculum, indicate appropriate instructional methods, and to create assessments to show student growth (Brisson and Slater, “Assessment Primer”).

The majority of your child’s literacy assessments will be formative.

·      Kindergarten
o   For the first time this year, students will take the Developmental Reading Assessment, 2nd Edition (DRA2+).  

This assessment will be given at the beginning of the year to collect information about reading readiness and at the end of the year to know how much progress students have made. 

The results of the second test will help first grade teachers plan for students at the beginning of the next year.

o   Teachers will administer Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System (F&P) readiness assessment at the start of the school year. 

Students will take the Literacy Readiness assessment at the beginning of the year so that teachers can know if children know their letters, letter sounds, simple sight words and other early literacy skills. 

o   In November, teachers will assess students with what is called a running record

For this assessment, students are given a book to read and the teachers follows along making note of any errors students make and documenting reasons they believe that students may have made those errors. 

This gives teachers the best information for how well a student reads, and they can then give students reading materials and specialized instruction that will help them grow in their reading abilities.

·      Grades 1 - 5
o   Students will take NWEA Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) two to three times a year. MAP assesses student skills in math, language and reading.

This test adapts or adjusts to a student’s ability as they take the test. Students who are strong in certain areas, get questions that are increasingly more difficult.

Conversely, students who are weaker in an area would e given less challenging questions.

The results of MAP give specific and detailed information about students’ knowledge of certain skills and how they apply them. 

MAP is given two to three times a year: at the beginning of the year, in the winter, and at the end of the school year if deemed appropriate by the principal.

o   As in kindergarten, classroom teachers will assess students with a Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System (F&P) running record

For this assessment, students are given a book to read and the teachers follows along making note of any errors students make and documenting reasons they believe that students may have made those errors. 

This gives teachers the best information for how well a student reads, and they can then give students reading materials and specialized instruction that will help them grow in their reading abilities. 

Students in grades 1-5 will take this assessment three times a year. The first time will be at the beginning of the year, the second in December or January and the final one will be at the end of the school year.

A summative assessment is the second type of assessment that your child will have during a school year.

Summative assessments are used to figure out how much someone learned after instruction as compared to a benchmark or standard.

The most common summative assessments are the graded quizzes and tests given by classroom teachers.

Summative assessments are a “one shot deal” and the results of these tests are used to determine if a student has made acceptable knowledge gains.

Because summative assessments make an evaluative statement about what a student has or has not learned, they are the assessments associated with test anxiety. (Click here for tips on helping your child deal with test anxiety.)

·      Grade 2
This is the first time your child will encounter a summative assessment given by the district. All second graders take a Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT)

This is generally the test people are referring to when they talk about an IQ test. 

We know now that IQ is not static and can change over a person’s life for many reasons, so this score is not intended to determine a child’s long term educational abilities. 

This test is given at the beginning of second grade to help determine if a student qualifies for Gifted and Talented instruction. There is nothing that your child needs to do to prepare for this test.

·      Grades 3 – 5
o   All students in grades 3-5 will take the ACT Aspire

This state assessment in reading, writing and math is given at the end of the academic year to determine if a student is proficient in the standards taught during the school year.

o   Students will also take the Palmetto Assessment of State Standards (PASS) at the end of the year. Currently, this test is given to determine proficiency in science and social studies for the school year.

Navigating the world of assessments can be tough for students and parents, alike. 

The majority of the literacy assessments given to students in elementary school are for instructional purposes. They are designed to help teachers create instructional plans for your child.

Sometimes, it is difficult to understand why your child is being tested on something, or it can be hard to understand what tests results mean.

You should always contact your child’s teacher if you do not understand something about a test your child has to take.









Use the link at the bottom of the screen for a complete list of assessments for all the grade levels. Click on the highlighted links in the narrative  for more information about the topics.





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