The Measure of a Test

This past week we conducted test talks.  We adopted test talks when we became an 8-Step Process school.  The idea is that stakeholders come to the high school and spend about 5-10 minutes with each student to talk about their ISTEP scores or previous ECA scores.  The goal is to help students understand what they need to work on, what they are strong in, and to give the students a pep talk. I have to admit that when I first heard about test talks, I was a bit skeptical.  Yet, seeing it in action is pretty special.  Many of my students were eager to share their results with me, and it was clear that this was the first time that many had even looked at their scores before. 

It was interesting for me because while I do not think standardized tests deserve as much worth as they are given, they do provide a meaningful snapshot of a student's strengths and weaknesses.  Some of my students had scored Pass+ in English, yet they were failing my class because they don't find school entertaining or necessary.  Then there were the students who were sitting at 490-503 ( A LOT) who work their butts off in my class, but missed the passing score of 508.  Those are the kids I have to pay close attention to.  I want them to be able to pass the test because they deserve to pass it.  They are not failures, and I hate that high stakes testing has tried to label them as such.  One of my students missed passing by 3 points. He also has a learning disability...in writing. He is an avid reader and has an A in my class. I'm pretty certain that anyone who sat down with this kid would be amazed at how smart he is. He's the kind of student who is deserving of the waver that Dr. Bennett is so eager to dismantle.  I wonder how he would feel if he had to sit face to face with these students and have that conversation. Actually, I might pay to see that conversation.

In other testing news, grades were released this week. You know, the grades that are assigned to schools. We are a D. If the state would have used data from the 2012 school year-like they were supposed to-we would have been a C.  We also made incredible gains in math and English, yet none of that matters unless we get to 70% passing. It's shameful what high stakes testing, accountability, and asinine measures have done to education.  It's also painfully clear how punitive the grading policy is for high poverty schools.

So much for equity.