Testing Every Six Weeks
Ohanian Comment: Don't you wonder what kind of glasses people are wearing that they think tests show them "exactly which students need help in which areas"? Proceed reading at your own risk.
Every six weeks, 85,000 Philadelphia public-school students take math and reading tests that measure whether they have mastered concepts taught in class.
Instead of waiting weeks for their scores, most students now know the results within days. For the 13,000 students taking the tests online, the results are available instantly. And the speedy scoring means that teachers can quickly restructure lesson plans to help students who are struggling or offer enrichment to those who are excelling.
"I can see exactly which students need help in which areas," said Anna Walker, an eighth-grade teacher at George C. Thomas Middle School in South Philadelphia. Her school is one of 25 campuses piloting the online tests.
The innovative, benchmark program is a key component of the new curriculum that the Philadelphia School District introduced last fall. Tied directly to the state's academic standards, the curriculum is organized into six-week units.
The benchmark tests, which are given in the fifth week to third through ninth graders, gauge what the students have learned in that cycle. Teachers spend the sixth week reviewing material the students missed or offering enrichment.
The scores, which are recorded by computers, don't affect grades, but the tests help students spot their own weaknesses.
"You get to see what you got wrong so you can go back and see what you need to work on," said Briana Dawkins, 13, an eighth grader at Thomas.
It's all part of a multimillion-dollar effort begun this school year that combines an expanding use of technology with data to improve student achievement.
The district hopes the approach will dramatically improve math and reading scores on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) test next month because both tests measure student mastery of state standards.
Despite some initial minor glitches, schools are reporting that the benchmark program shows promise.
Melodie Hayes Gardner, principal of Thomas, said her eighth graders showed dramatic improvement in both reading and math, especially from October to November. For example, the percentage of students scoring below 40 percent in math dropped from 41.4 percent in October to 7.2 percent in November.
"We were just blown away by this," she said.
"It gives us a barometer of how the kids are doing," said Ed Koch, principal of Fairhill Elementary School in West Kensington. "I think it is one of the best things in the school district we have ever done."
Patricia Renzulli, the district's chief information officer, said the district expects that all students will be taking the tests on computers within three years.
"We have just gotten marvelous feedback," she said.
Catherine C. Shifter, an associate professor of education at Temple University, who is studying the online program for the district, is encouraged by the preliminary results.
"The real success so far seems to be that the students get their scores immediately," she said.
Teachers, Shifter said, are thrilled to have the results in time to change lesson plans. She said the online program is so popular, other principals are clamoring to be included in the next round.
Although other districts, including Council Rock, Bristol Township and Barnegat Township, use benchmark testing, Philadelphia's approach is unusual.
Joseph Jacovino, the district's chief accountability officer, said including time for remedial help in the six-week curriculum cycle was "somewhat unique."
"The design of the curriculum that allows you to assess where you are and take some time to remediate is different from most any other curriculum I have been associated with," he said. "Generally, you do a forced march from beginning to end, and remediation is pushed outside" regular class time.
Edison Schools Inc., which manages 20 schools in Philadelphia, has a similar benchmark program.
Jacovino said the district had planned from the outset to include testing with the new curriculum to monitor its effectiveness.
"We believe we are the largest urban district in the country doing this," Jacovino said. "This is not cheap, but we think it is an important investment to make to have a significant impact on student achievement."
The school district has a $1.3 million contract with Vantage Learning, a Newtown educational-technology company, to develop and score the tests. In addition, the district is paying SchoolNet, a New York company, $6 million over five years for an instructional-management system that will deliver curriculum material to classrooms and provide student data on the district's computer network.
Schools using paper tests can access SchoolNet on the network to see benchmark-scoring information for their students.
Eventually, parents will be able to access the information online, Renzulli said.
"Parent communication," she said, "is a critical part of the district's technology strategy, whether it's report cards or benchmark testing."
Parents of all students tested already receive written benchmark reports about their children after each six-week cycle. Georgiana Branch studies the reports that her seventh graders, Leandra and Antoinette, bring home from Thomas.
"I think it is good because, as parents, it gives us a chance to see how our children are doing," Branch said. "We are able to help them or find someone to help them."
Jacovino said the district hopes the testing program will help produce higher scores when third, fifth and eighth graders take the PSSA tests next month.
"The best test preparation that can be done in a classroom is to have a well-aligned, well-integrated curriculum," he said. "I would never say to anyone that you should stop teaching and do test preparation. Literally, what you need to do is focus on what the Pennsylvania standards are and deliver that. And, by the way, it prepares you to take the PSSA. It's just common sense."
— Martha Woodall
Phila. testing program gets positive marks
Philadelphia Inquirer
2004-02-08
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/living/education/7899987.htm
INDEX OF OUTRAGES
