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Indianapolis Buys Into Computerized Testing Hype
Ohanian Comment: The headline reads "Online Test Will Help IPS Chart Progress." Maybe it should read What Have You Got When You've Got a 4th Grader Who Puts the Apostrophe in the Right Place on a Computerized Test? For anyone who thinks such computer-delivered information is significant, there's a bridge for sale in Brooklyn
The worth of a test depends, not on the computer but on what's getting tested. A sign in Einstein's office read "Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." No Standardisto in the land believe this. All Standardistos think they know what should be counted.
Read on.
Indianapolis Star
Online test will help IPS chart progress
For the first time, most IPS students will leave the paper and pencil in their desks when they take new standardized tests this spring.
And because they will be taking the tests on a computer, teachers will be able to track individual student achievement year-to-year based on ability, not grade level.
Starting in April, students in Grades 2-9 will be tested on the Northwest Evaluation Association Measures of Academic Progress, assessments aligned with Indiana's academic standards in math, reading and language arts.
IPS joins 34 other public districts and private schools in central Indiana in offering the online tests, where students' scores can be downloaded immediately after they complete the exam.
The technology replaces the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills administered each spring to Indianapolis Public Schools students, testing that required booklets, pencils and paper -- and a lengthy wait for scores.
"We think it's more useful instructionally, and we believe it will offer cost-savings," said Jennifer McCreadie, who oversees testing and research for the state's largest school district.
Parents, whom IPS officials plan to notify next month about the test change, aren't so sure.
"I don't think it's going to work," said Greta Maxey, whose twin sons are eighth-graders at Shortridge Middle School. "Look at how many problems we have with computers. They go down.
IPS administered trial tests in several schools last year before it installed the hardware in computer labs districtwide. Officials will spend about $210,000 to test most of the district's 40,749 students this year. The district has spent $260,000 to $285,000 for the pencil-and-paper spring test.
These electronic tests don't replace the mandatory Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress-Plus exam, which students take in Grades 3, 6, 8 and 10, plus a new fifth-grade science test coming this fall.
Because ISTEP tests a limited number of students, many school districts use other standardized assessments in other grades. The most widely used are the California Achievement Test, Terra Nova, Iowa Test of Basic Skills and Stanford Nine.
One drawback of national standardized tests is that they don't measure individual student growth in core subject areas. They gauge how well students perform compared with their peers in other states.
And these so-called "shelf tests" sold by educational publishing houses aren't aligned to state academic standards, but to the textbooks or curriculums the companies sell.
Increased student testing in Indiana is mandated by state statute and a school accountability law. The federal No Child Left Behind Act also requires annual testing -- and improvement -- in Grades 3-8. Schools that don't comply could face sanctions.
"Our tests in Indiana are not to be used for high-stakes purposes," said Allan Olson, executive director of the nonprofit Northwest Evaluation Association in Portland, Ore.
Measurements "are designed to be accurate for every child. Once you have the accuracy, we can point to the learning needs of each child," Olson said.
[And then we can go buy that bridge in Brooklyn.]
The association's achievement tests aren't tied to a specific published curriculum but are designed for each district using them. Each 20-minute test incorporates several levels of proficiency called Measures of Academic Progress.
The test is "adaptive," meaning it individually adjusts up or down electronically as students correctly or incorrectly answer questions. Test difficulty is based on student ability rather than grade level.
Charting students' strengths and weaknesses allows educators to adapt lessons to better meet the needs of high- and low-performing children, said Max Oldham, Perry Township Schools associate superintendent in charge of instruction.
The Far-Southside district implemented the electronic tests during the 2001-02 school year, with early fall and late spring testing. One student's math score might indicate more attention is needed on fractions, while decimal placement might be a problem for another.
Distinguishing problems early allows teachers to more effectively group students based on skill level, Oldham said.
About 2 million students take the electronic assessments nationwide.
— Kim L. Hooper
Online test will help IPS chart progress
Indianapolis Star
Feb. 17, 2003
http://www.indystar.com/print/articles/2/023151-8832-009.html
INDEX OF OUTRAGES
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