Use of Standardized Test Results

Standardized test results are used for a number of purposes at my school:

By the English and Math departments:

• to help guide instruction, students spend time in class doing HSPA-style writing prompts and math problems to improve their scores
• scores do not predict which level class a student is in, their success in the year's previous class does

By Guidance:

• in scheduling,does a student who previously failed need a remediation course to help them pass the HSPA next time?

By Special Services:

• they use 8th grade test scores to determine if a student should be exempt from having to pass the HSPA in order to graduate

By the principal and superintendent:

• they use scores to look at the bigger picture, in terms of how well we are teaching our students, and to plan future programs to increase scores

By me:

• As a history teacher, I do not use the data from standardized scores at all
• I do assist the English department by writing my essay questions in the HSPA-style, thus making the students more familiar by the time they take the actual test. This is mandated by my supervisor, and is something I have no problem doing.

Time Spent Test-Taking

In response to the amount of time I spend giving tests in my classroom, I would say the following:

Tests have a number of purposes in my classroom... I use them to make sure the students are learning the material in my objectives; I use the data to assess where I need to spend more time; and I use them to teach responsibility (students must study and be prepared otherwise there are severe consequences as evidenced by their grades). My class is a junior/senior elective, and I do not give grades for most of the activities we do in class. In an effort to make the class more like a college-level class (they do receive dual credit through the community college), I only give grades for papers and tests. It behooves the students to have more tests than less in case they receive a poor grade on one.

I do not have much of a response for the latter part of the question. There are no state tests given for sociology, nor history. If I did, I would spend plenty of time practicing tests similar to the state tests because practice makes perfect. Again, it is beneficial to the students to be prepared, and not have to "wing it."

RAFT: Supervisor vs. Parent

Parent: Good afternoon, Mrs. Steinen. I’m calling to talk about my son, Clyde. He received his schedule today and we noticed he has Honors History next year. He’s currently in CP History, and we’d both like for him to stay there.
Supervisor: May I ask why that is?
Parent: Well, it’s so easy for him, he’s bound to get an A grade.
Supervisor: I hope you don’t mind, but I’d like to have a conversation with his current teacher and get back to you about this.
****After discussion with teacher****
Supervisor: Hi, Mrs. Stale. This is Mrs. Steinen; I wanted to follow-up with you on our previous conversation about Clyde. I talked to Mrs. Lucas, and she told me that Clyde is head and shoulders about his class, and that he would really benefit from being in the Honors class.
Parent: If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather have him in CP. The high A will look much better on his transcripts than a B in Honors. Also, he has fencing meets, Boy Scouts, horseback riding lessons, and working at the soup kitchen, so the extra homework would just be a burden to him.
Supervisor: Actually, a B in Honors is better than an A in CP, as far as colleges are concerned. Clyde will be more challenged in Honors; he will be able to use his critical thinking skills more often; he will also write more often, which will surely help him when he goes to college. Don’t you want him to learn more and be more challenged? Also, if Clyde has all of those extracurricular activities to his name, plus his stellar gpa, he will have no problem at all getting into a college of his choosing.
Parent: Really? I didn’t think about that. Alright then, let’s do the Honors class. But, if his grades start slipping, I’m calling you back and we’re going to switch him out.
Supervisor: Mrs. Stale, let’s deal with that when, and if, it happens. Let’s be positive, and you should enjoy the fact that you have a really smart kid. Good-bye.

Using data in the classroom

To be honest, I do not use one iota of formal data in my classroom. Until I read Morrison’s article, I thought I was isolated from the issue. Two of my three classes are a senior elective in Contemporary Social Issues, and the other is a "traditional" level of US History 2. I have no standardized tests from which I can receive feedback on what I’ve been teaching. After a unit has come and gone, there is such a time crunch that if a number of my students did not fully understand a concept as evidenced by a low test score average, I still must move on, and there are no consequences. There is no concrete prerequisite to learning about different events in history (though it makes more sense if one understands what happened before) or different ideas is sociology, as there is in the various steps in learning math or science or writing.

I’ve come to realize, though, that my ideas on what exactly data is, have been misconceived. Apparently, I am well on my way to making major changes in my own teaching in regard to data, as I do use data on a daily basis, albeit informally. My classes start with a do now refresher question from the previous day’s lesson or with an anticipatory question about a theme from the current day’s lesson. Judging from the class’ responses, I can vary my lesson based on what they remember, or on what they already know. Unfortunately, my pop quizzes are usually punitive in nature, though I do take the results from them and expand on concepts that need more clarification.

I emphasize writing in my sociology classes, and I tell my students they will become better writers by the time I’m done with them. The way I can prove this is by using a rubric to grade their essays, and looking at the gradual increase in their scores over the course of the term. If I ignore the outlier scores from the lazy students, I can show them that their grades do in fact increase from, let’s say 86 to 89 to 91 to 94. What do I do with this information? I can’t think of anything, except continue to require the highest standards from my students when it comes to writing reaction papers, knowing that it pays off in the end.

Morrison wrote that we need to realize there is more to data than standardized tests, and we will be on our way to making changes in our teaching that will benefit the students. By realizing this, I can actually see the importance of data, and can try to think of new ways to use it, even informally.