State assessments are rapidly approaching. In previous years, staff and students have either been overly stressed or have lacked sufficient preparation for testing. What suggestions do you have to build the right balance of preparation and anticipation for state testing without staff and students becoming so anxious that it contributes to poor performance? |
By Dr. Kathleen Weigel and Dr. Richard Jones The entire focus of our work lately seems to revolve around state assessments. Trying to achieve a balance between preparing for state assessments and avoiding stressed-out students and staff is an excellent and achievable goal. Today’s state assessments are high stakes because the results can alter a student’s education path, influence resources available in a school, and affect decision making about administrators’ and teachers’ jobs. It’s understandable why people get anxious, but we all know that too much stress leads to poor performance. The adults must learn to cope with some pressure but avoid passing it on to students. Students should feel the same sense of responsibility toward state tests as they do any other school requirements. If students do not take their work seriously, it may indicate weaknesses in instruction. You need to help students get ready, but don’t spend several weeks on test preparation or students will peak too soon and become bored and discouraged about the test.
Know What Your Goals Are
In this era of state testing, it’s easy to confuse testing with learning. Although we may feel very preoccupied with state tests, student learning is our overall purpose. State tests only measure a small segment of student learning. You may be concerned about the overall performance of all students, but in reality the focus for many schools is to meet prescribed minimums for school performance, or Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). Do not confuse student learning with test preparation for all students or with meeting AYP.
Meeting AYP and removing a school from a list or avoiding being placed on the list actually hinges on the performance of a very few students who are on the boundary of individual student test scores. If your school is near a critical accountability score level, identify the students who will influence your ability to meet that threshold. Working intensively with them to improve their performance will increase your likelihood of meeting AYP.
To increase overall student performance, focus on students understanding the state assessments, including the types of questions, level of rigor and relevance, and standards that need to be covered. The ongoing preparation for state assessments includes creating an environment of benchmark and formative assessments similar to state assessments, developing a common academic vocabulary, and ensuring standards are met. Short-term test preparation strategies include guidelines to reduce test anxiety, allowing students to rehearse similar test questions, and acquiring tips for analyzing typical questions. Many of these test preparation strategies are included in the recent publication from the International Center, "More Instructional Strategies for Rigor and Relevance", which may be a helpful resource for your teachers.
Avoid Long-Term Drill and Practice
Although some teachers attempt to take large volumes of content and require students to do mind-numbing repetitious drill and practice, research indicates that these teaching methods do not enable students to retain information beyond a few weeks. Some last-minute rehearsal of content may be helpful, but it should not be part of a long-term strategy. Even though most test questions are Quadrant A, low rigor/low relevance, students are better able to recall information if they have had opportunities to apply their knowledge over a course of instruction. When students have not had a chance to apply this knowledge, they fall into a “teach it, test it, lose it” mentality. A better long-term instructional strategy is to give students opportunities to apply learning and thus retain it longer.
Life After the Test
We do not necessarily endorse using incentives or prizes to encourage student performance, however recognition and celebrations after completing the test are very valuable. After finishing intensive test preparation and test administration, express your appreciation to staff and students for their efforts. Also, take time to celebrate when results of state tests are made available. Always try to focus on the positive in public activities.
Once you have completed the state assessment, there is opportunity for much learning to occur. Make sure teachers focus on continued instruction. We often hear from students that they enjoy the period after testing in which they engage in very exciting and interesting lessons. They often remark, “The real learning occurs after the test is over.”
Keep Testing in Perspective
As a leader you need to take a long and broad perspective on testing. There is no question that we are in an era of increased school accountability. Tests are changing, however, and we hope they will continue to improve. The strategy of intensively practicing for low-level tests is not a strategy for long-term success. And in many ways this preoccupation with low-level assessments has reduced the level of student learning. Education leaders such as Diane Ravitch have recognized that challenging assessments are counterproductive in increasing student learning. Listening to a recent presentation from Dr. Ravitch confirmed our perspective that current high-stake tests have not been positive for education and student learning. The current work under development by the national testing consortia to develop new assessments related to the Common Core Standards ideally will mark a significant change in student testing. These tests are likely to be very challenging and require more intensive application of learning over long periods of time in order for students to achieve. You cannot ignore the current state assessments, but keep the proper perspective that these will change as education and accountability requirements continue to evolve. The International Center has another new publication you may find useful: “Transitioning to the Common Core Standards and Next Generation Assessments.”
Remember that the most important goal is student learning. Consider this analogy: We must pay attention to many aspects of our school buildings that do not significantly affect student learning but cannot be ignored or they cause problems (e.g., maintaining flushing toilets, school bus safety, and air conditioning and heating systems). Student testing falls into this category as a necessary element for effective schools but not the most critical factor that contributes to student learning.
Each month the Learning Leaders column answers questions posed by a member school around leadership issues. We invite every member to participate in the discussion by sharing any of their thoughts, ideas, and practices related to next month’s question. Please e-mail any responses to 2learningleaders@spnet.us.
Given the recent article “Pathways to Prosperity: Meeting the Challenge of Preparing Young Americans for the 21st Century” by the Harvard Graduate School of Education and American Youth Policy Forum, how do you see your school or district using career and technical education to help students prepare for college and careers?
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