Waitsburg to Field-Test “Smarter Balanced” Assessments

WAITSBURG - The Waitsburg School District will face a new challenge this spring as middle and high school students and teachers prepare to field-test the new Smarter Balanced assessment tests recently adopted by the State. After working through a sample test, teachers and adminis­trators are convinced that pa­rental involvement and sup­port will be cru­cial to student suc­cess. A Student Assess­ment Infor­mation M e e t ­ing for all middle and high school students and parents has been scheduled for Feb. 25 at 6:30 in the WHS au­ditorium.

Field testing is an oppor­tunity for the school district to practice with the tests that will be implemented in the 2014-15 school year. Students and staff will gain experience with the test- taking process, but receive no results.

"Why would we want our students to take such a high stakes assessment for the first time, never having seen it before?" said Su­perintendent Carol Clarke when asked why the district is participating in the non- mandatory field test. "The more experience they have with it, the more likely they will be to succeed."

Beginning with the 2014- 15 school year, 11th graders will be tested in English Language Arts (ELA) and Math using the Smarter Balanced system. Meeting standards on the Smarter Balanced tests is not re­quired for graduation, how­ever, until the Class of 2019 -- students who are currently in 7th grade.

Previously, elementary students have tested with the Measurement of Stu­dent Progress (MSP) exam and high school students tested with either the High School Proficiency (HSPE) exam, or exit exams - all paper-and-pencil tests. The new Smarter Balanced as­sessments are administered solely on computer. Portions of the test incorporate com­puter adaptive testing (CAT) in which the computer pro­gram adjusts the difficulty of questions based on the student's correct or incorrect responses.

"We're clearly making a cultural shift from a more traditional pen-and-paper form of assessment to a rather complex, high stakes assessment system," said Clarke. The District tried the computer-based MSP test in 2000 and opted not to use it again due to the prob­lems they encountered in administering the test. This time there is no option but to adapt.

The teaching staff worked through a sample version of the test last week, which brought some immediate concerns to the surface. The sample third grade ELA test required a great deal of reading, critical thinking and typed essay responses. Students must be able to type proficiently, scroll with a mouse and otherwise ma­nipulate the computer to perform tasks such as rear­ranging sentences into the correct order in a paragraph. The third-grade math test required ordering symbols and numerals to create a problem and placing points and connecting lines - again manipulating the computer in ways that may be new to students.

Clarke said the staff real­ized that they were going to need to be more intentional in what was taught as early as Kindergarten - intro­ducing students in a more focused manner to comput­ers, keyboards and the tools available on a computer. "It brings up the question; Are kids developmentally able to even do keyboarding at that age?" said Clarke.

Teachers are attempting to better understand how the test works so they can best help students when administrating it. Accord­ing to the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, ten web-based training modules have been made available, but teachers will need to use their own time - without compensation -- to take the trainings. Clarke expressed concern that the amount of time teachers should spend to help the student is just not there. She is hoping parents will make it a priority to attend a parent night, learn about the test and find out what they can do to help prepare their children.

"We want to make par­ents aware of the new assess­ment challenges," Clarke said. "It's going to take fami­lies working with the school to enable students with the knowledge and skills to not only answer the test ques­tions, but to manipulate the computer to show those an­swers. We need parents to be aware of what their kids are doing so they can provide the tools for them to practice at home."

The school is also looking at the possibility of opening a computer lab for families that may not have access to computer or the internet.

The field test is a fixed rather than adaptive test and will be administered to Preston Hall and high school students between March 18 and April 4. The entire test - including both mathemat­ics and ELA - is expected to take between seven and eight-and-a-half hours. Par­ents wishing to learn more about the assessment and how to better assist their children in preparing for the test are strongly encouraged to attend the Student ASsess­ment Information Meeting on Feb. 25.