Two Sides to Testing

Actual Graph from the WA State Report Card

It’s testing time. That one time each year that should not be a big deal. I mean, really, it’s just a test. Well, that’s the way it should be. It should just be a test. One more, little bit of data added to the data we collect all year to determine how our students are learning. There are those of us who are against using this test to gauge if students are learning our content to the point where we don’t even want our students to take this test. Then there are those who can make use of the data collected from these tests. I think we’re all on board when it comes to whether these tests should be high stakes. They should not. To use the scores from these tests to determine how many students can answer the test questions is fine, but to decide if a kid can graduate or if a teacher is effective based on a standardized test score is something that I oppose very strongly.

I did have a good conversation on Twitter with a fellow Washington Teacher, Todd Hausman on just this topic. It started with @Maren_Johnson and me retweeting something about parents opting their kids out of standardized tests. I copied the tweets because I don’t really know know to archive a specific conversation on Twitter, I’ve never used any Twitter archiving tools. I asked Todd if he would be okay if I shared our conversation on this blog and he was so here it is (sorry for the plain copying and pasting):

RT @maren_johnson Disgusted with standardized tests, group of #WAedu parents shunning them. http://bit.ly/HIVDjc Seattle Times.

@educatoral @maren_johnson The problem with shunning tests is that schools are punished when participation is < 95%. bit.ly/HIVDjc

@educatoral @maren_johnson There are ways to influence policy that don’t punish schools and put kids in the middle. bit.ly/HIVDjc

@thausman @educatoral We need assessments which promote learning,not narrow curriculum.Tchrs, parents, schools should work together for this

@maren_johnson @educatoral Agreed, but refusal to participate only punishes schools. It certainly does not promote collaboration.

@thausman @maren_johnson It might just work. When writing letters & testifying before leg doesn’t work a stronger message needs to be sent.

@educatoral @maren_johnson Reminds me of Mothers Against WASL. How’d that turn out? We just changed the name of the test!

@educatoral @maren_johnson I find it ironic that these parents are complaining about the expense. Quality tests cost more to produce.

@thausman @maren_johnson Portfolios are cheaper.

@educatoral @maren_johnson Portfolios are great, but extremely hard to standardize. Isn’t there value in having a common state assessment?

@educatoral @maren_johnson I find the MSP to be a valuable indicator of my performance. It’s not the only gauge, but a reliable measure.

@thausman @maren_johnson Standards can be useful. But in 21 years of teaching I have found little value in standardized testing.

@thausman @maren_johnson What performance of yours does a one day a year mostly multiple choice test measure?

@educatoral @maren_johnson Seriously? I have to answer that? You don’t think there is any validity in standardized tests?

@thausman I wasn’t kidding when I said that I find little value in MSP scores. And I seriously wonder how the MSP measures my teaching.

@thausman I see students taking the MSP. If they’re in a bad mood, hungry, disinterested, confused they won’t score well. No make-ups …

@thausman No asking their peers for help, no Googling, no class discussion, no debates, no testing hypotheses. How is that a measure of my

@thausman class? And multiple confusion questions? How do you know what they understand from multiple choice answers? It NOT authentic.

@thausman The Sci MSP tells me if they scored low on inquiry, applications, or systems but I find out when they’re gone. By 8th grade all I

@thausman have is their 5th grade Sci MSP scores. They are of little help to me. Sixth graders, maybe I can use the info but I learn more

@thausman from working with my kids. And if their reading and writing skills are low, forget their Sci scores! Yet they still understand.

@thausman I agree w/ formative assessment. As 4 reliable & valid, well yes, at determining how well kids take tests. Not something I value.

@educatoral The MSP is a summative assessment, it wasn’t really designed to inform instruction. bit.ly/IhNoth

@educatoral Teachers should be constantly assessing their students. The MSP is just a snapshot in time, but a valid and reliable one.

@educatoral On that point we disagree. I think there is value in both formative and summative tests. Different purposes, different data.

@educatoral I won’t pretend to be an expert on EOC tests. I was speaking mainly about the role of MSP in K-8.

@thausman I’m not familiar with the reading or the math MSP’s. I do know that math is benchmark testing our kids to death. They hate it.

@thausman Yes, we’ll just have to disagree on the summative one.

@educatoral I will say the science MSP is my least favorite of all the tests. The reading and math assessments are pretty good.

@educatoral I think the math MSP is a really good indicator of performance. The test is not the reason #WA students struggle.

@educatoral That’s fair. We’re not going to agree on everything. I appreciate knowing if my students have mastered skills and concepts.