Fwd: MN: Concerns voiced about testing

[Victor Steinbok <Victor.Steinbok@VERIZON.NET>]

> X-Sender: jbecker@saluki-mail.siu.edu
> Date: Thu, 8 Nov 2001 15:50:54 -0800
> To: jbecker@siu.edu
> From: Jerry Becker <jbecker@siu.edu>
> Subject: MN: Concerns voiced about testing
>
> ********************************
> From the (Minneapolis) Star Tribune, Wednesday, October 24, 2001.
> See http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/779364.html . An abstract
> for this article appeared on the NASSMC Briefing Service (NBS) list
> that is supported by the National Security Agency (NSA) and
> ExxonMobil Foundation - October 25, 2001.
> ********************************
> State educators voice concerns about testing process
>
> By Norman Draper
>
> State testing of Minnesota students has gone too far and
> accomplished too little, representatives of teachers' and school
> administrators' groups charged Tuesday.
>
> In what could be the beginning of a move to change the way students
> are tested, officials from three Minnesota school administrators'
> organizations and the president of Education Minnesota, the state
> teachers union, said at a news conference that test data take too
> long to get to schools.
>
> They also said that when the information arrives, it's insufficient
> for teachers and principals to help students and improve instruction.
>
> School and teacher advocates also voiced concerns about how much
> time testing takes.
>
> But a top official at the state Department of Children, Families and
> Learning said test results often are used to change what's taught in
> the schools. Plus, school officials often point to teaching and
> curriculum changes when asked by reporters to explain test-score
> improvements and declines.
>
> Tuesday's event came as schools brace for yet another wave of testing.
>
> President Bush's educational agenda calls for annual testing of
> students in every grade. The national parent organizations of the
> teachers union and school administrators' groups released a report
> Tuesday citing concerns about state testing and recommending ways to
> improve the tests.
>
> Minnesota teachers and principals have long complained about state
> tests' shortcomings.
>
> "Part of it is the time element," said Judy Schaubach, Education
> Minnesota's president. "And part is, 'Are we really being effective
> in doing what we're doing? Are we improving student achievement?'"
>
> Days of testing
>
> Minnesota students now take basic-skills tests in the eighth grade
> in math and reading, and in the 10th grade in writing. Other tests,
> called Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCAs), are given in the
> third and fifth grades for reading and math, and in the fifth and
> 10th grades for writing. Additional MCAs are planned in 2002 for
> 10th-grader in reading and 11th-graders in math. Test results are
> published in Twin Cities newspapers.
>
> Schaubach and others at the news conference complained that it takes
> months between the time the tests are administered and the release
> of scoring data. For instance, the 2001 MCAs were given in March,
> but results weren't available until late July.
>
> "The result is that students are moving to other grade levels and
> perhaps to other schools," said Charles Kyte, executive director of
> the Minnesota Association of School Administrators.
>
> Then there's the school time lost to testing and makeup testing. "I
> think the general sense among educators is there's an awful lot of
> testing, and it takes an awful lot of time," Kyte said.
>
> Robert Rygh, principal of Roseville High School and president of the
> Minnesota Association of Secondary School Principals, said seven to
> nine school days are lost annually to some form of state testing at
> the secondary school level. At the elementary level, it's closer to
> 12 days, said Elmer Koch, executive director of the Minnesota
> Elementary Principals' Association.
>
> Schaubach and the other news conference participants stressed that
> they are just beginning to study the testing issue, and want to talk
> to others, including officials with Children, Families and Learning,
> before devising a plan for change.
>
> Jessie Montaño, assistant education commissioner, said many schools
> make modifications based on state test results. As for the delay,
> she said, it's tough to get results back to schools quickly because
> of several factors.
>
> "The reality is it takes the school two weeks to even get the tests
> back to us," she said. Then there's the test grading, and
> double-checking with schools to make sure that all students are
> accounted for. Finally, there are the checks and double-checks to
> ensure that the tests and grading are error free. That took on a
> heightened importance in the summer of 2000 when it was announced
> that basic-skills math tests were incorrectly scored for tens of
> thousands of Minnesota students.
>
> Montaño said state officials are looking at test models that would
> make it easier for educators to follow the testing progress of
> students from one grade level to the next.
> ---------------------
> Norman Draper is at  ndraper@startribune.com .
> **************************************************
> --
> Jerry P. Becker
> Curriculum & Instruction
> Southern Illinois University
> Carbondale, IL  62901-4610
> Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
>             (618) 457-8903  [H]
> Fax:      (618) 453-4244
> E-mail:   jbecker@siu.edu

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