New Standardized Testing Approaches

Several new standardized tests will challenge students during the month of May. These tests replace the old STAR tests, according to testing coordinator Mary Kenny-Broda, who is in charge of implementing the new assessments.

According to Kenny-Broda and Assistant Principal Karen Findlay, 11th graders will be taking the Smarter Balanced test in ELA (English Language Arts) and Math on computers. 10th graders will be taking the traditional STAR Life Science test, and the 9th and 10th graders will be taking a Common Core test in ELA and Math, all on paper and pencil.

The district will be creating and grading the Common Core tests, and the state will be administering the Smarter Balanced and Life Science tests.

The tests will be administered from May 18 to May 21. Room assignments for testing will be posted on the counselor’s office windows the week before testing. A special schedule will be used; testing will happen in the morning and will end at brunch. Seniors and students not taking testing on certain days will arrive at school during brunch. Students will go to periods 4-7 on Monday and Wednesday with no late start, and periods 0-3 on Tuesday and Thursday. A regular schedule will return Friday.

Changes were necessary to prepare for the new computer testing. “We have to make sure we have enough functioning computers, keyboards, and headphones. The new technician, Mr. [Andrew] Luk, is in charge of making sure all computers can access the Internet, since it’s an Internet-based test,” Kenny-Broda said.

“We [also] have practice sessions to familiarize with new tools [students] have to use,” Findlay said. “For practice tests in ELA, students are going with their English classes, and later on they’ll be going with math classes to practice using the onscreen calculators.”

She said that the practice tests may help students “have a better chance to do the best, so they’re not stuck trying to enlarge something, or figuring a tool out.” She said that students should probably bring their own headphones for the test, but if not, they’ll still be provided headphones.

Findlay thinks the biggest change is the new computer interface for the testing. “It is supposed to give us more accurate information about student learning than previous testing did,” said Findlay. “And because they’re computer adaptive, it should give us better information about individual students. Like, if you and I took the same test and it was scored with a Scantron, we could see basically what you did. But if you did it through a computer adaptive test, you could actually break down the data much easier, and I could say, “You and I got the same score, but you totally understood themes better than I did.”

Findlay added that the questions in the test require “more critical thinking, more analyzing,” and that all the new testing is aligned with the new Common Core state standards. “They want to see if students are learning what they’re teaching them,” said Kenny-Broda. A full list of the standards can be found at Common Core’s website.

Junior Yuki Shafer said, “I think it’s better [on the computer] because pencil’s a pain. It’s faster because you don’t have to worry about coloring in the circles or smudging the paper.”

“I like spitting out facts better. Last year, I took the pilot Smarter Balanced test. It was math, and they wanted us to explain how it works with words. It may have made sense to other students, but it didn’t make sense to me,” said Shafer.

Sophomore Natalie Van Ardenne said that she would like it if the testing was kept more consistent. “Say that they start [the new testing] with this year’s kindergarden, and next year they take the same test,” she said. “And the year above them would take the old test, and continue taking it. It’d be helpful if they followed one grade.”