Out with the old, in with the — well, who knows.
The school district recently got word that it can ditch the long-administered CAPT and CMT tests in favor of a pilot of the new Common Core tests for elementary and high school students. Officials aren’t sure what to expect.
The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, which is part of the state’s Department of Education, will administer the computer-based math and English tests between March 31 and June 6 for students in third through eighth grade and high school juniors.
Fifth, eighth and 10th grade students will still take the CMT science test, a Feb. 7 letter sent to parents said.
Trial run
This year’s test, being called a “field test,” will serve as a trial run of the spring 2015 test, which will be the state’s first official standardized test based on Common Core.
“The field test is an opportunity to ‘test the test,’” according to the letter to the parents. “Information will be used to evaluate the testing software, ensure the quality of test questions, and evaluate the effectiveness of the test administration and training materials.”
The district will also be working on the logistics of testing students on computers, ironing out challenges of “device compatibility, bandwidth capacity and scheduling.”
Assistant Superintendent Kimberly Beck said, “They’re deploying it this year to see how well it works. The purpose is strictly to see how the kids take the test and correct whatever problems kids may have with the online format.”
What to expect?
The Board of Education had plenty of concerns about the transition away from the familiar CMT and CAPT Monday, Feb. 10.
“What are we actually going to learn about our kids from taking it this year?” asked board member Karen Sulzinsky.
School board Vice Chairwoman Irene Burgess asked, “How will we get the scores, and do we know what they’ll even mean when we get them?”
Ms. Beck said, “We will get aggregate test results back at the end of the year or the early part of next year.”
Why are juniors taking the test if they already took the CAPT last year as sophomores?
“The current 11th grade class has to take some form of this new state standardized testing before they graduate, and the field test will serve as that,” Ms. Beck said. “They took the CAPT last year, but the CAPT is going to be an outdated testing system by the time they’re ready to graduate next spring.”
Can parents have their kids opt out from taking the test?
“There is an opt-out program in place, and there have been four parents that have contacted me about it so far,” Ms. Beck said. “A student can’t opt out of taking a state standardized test though. We’ve asked the state that question. Eventually they’re going to need to take this test, whether it’s this year or next.”
No strings
Superintendent Deborah Low spoke in favor of the switch, focusing on the switch to online test taking.
“In the long term, this is really a no-brainer,” she said. “Kids should try it now because online testing is the way of the future at any level — it’s not going away.”
“If I were a parent, I’d want my kid to try it out,” Ms. Beck added. “Every kid in the district will have to take a similar, online test in 2014-15 regardless if they opt out now.”
Ms. Low said the district wasn’t going to attach any “real meaning” to the aggregate test results they get back from the state.
“We’re not going to tie ourselves to the first-year results — that’s not the goal of this,” she said. “We don’t want any undue stress to kids and teachers.”
Some board members addressed possible parental apprehension about having a new standardized test.
“I’m sure the CMTs were a disaster when they were first rolled out,” Ms. Burgess said. “What I always tell my kids is that they’re testing the school, not you — how a student does on this field test won’t affect where they can go to college.”
Ms. Beck agreed and reaffirmed that the SBAC’s field test won’t affect course placement or individual student assessment next year.
She addressed several questions about the test’s accommodations for special education students.
“They’re going to offer different times for students to complete certain test items, which is a real benefit of the field test,” she said. “SBAC is taking care of all the accommodations — they’re built into the test, so anything an individuals needs will get taken care of.”
Work in progress
The district has been looking to switch to the field test since August, when Ms. Low first recommended the change in assessment. Despite any growing pains, they say the new direction is inevitable.
Ms. Beck stated her recommendation to the board at a Jan. 22 meeting.
“The state legislation is clear: We have to test our kids every year,” she said. “Even though the testing data may not be broken down specifically kid by kid, or grade by grade, we will be able to see it broken down school by school, which is something positive.
“We can’t afford to suspend the value we will get from this type of assessment and how it will benefit us in the long term,” she added. “Most districts are going ahead with the field test even though it’s a work in progress.”
Ms. Low also spoke at that meeting about the state’s plans for the 2014-15 school year.
“They’ve been very up front with us — this is not a high-stakes year with the first official test coming in spring 2015, so we’re not going to lose sleep over the field test and the data we get back from it,” she said. “It’s only for this year, and we’ll have better knowledge about the test this time next year if we go ahead with the field test; there’s no sense in taking the CMT or the CAPT in math or English.”
Questions remain
Some board members still had reservations Monday about all of the uncertainty surrounding the new test and scores.
“We won’t know if these tests are working or not until next year,” said board member Chris Murray. “I agree with the logic of not taking the CMT and the CAPT, but I’m worried about the kids because it seems like a suspension in the learning process and kids don’t get a suspension in their development.”
Board of Education chairman Austin Drukker said, “We don’t know what will happen next and I don’t think they have the answers to some of our questions either.”
Ms. Sulzinsky said, “We have to keep asking questions though. If the answer we get back is, ‘I don’t know,’ then that’s the answer and we’ll have to keep asking until they do know.”