Beginning tomorrow we will do 6 or so evaluations in 3 weeks. We start with what my school district calls the math benchmark test. The next day is the reading quarterly assessment known as the 4Sight test. Then the quantitative spelling inventory which we used to call the “bed, ship, bump”. We will take another SRI (Scholastic Reading Inventory), and then it will be time to take the reading benchmark test. The real fun is between the 2nd and third quarters when we do all of these AND the Reading, Math and Science CRT’s (we’re lucky because fourth grade does all that AND the Terra Nova (2 reading tests, 2 math, spelling, language, and more). Remember this is besides any quizzing, testing or evaluative pieces the teacher does. Nevada just cut schools 14% and is about to ask for more. But none of this expensive in money and time testing gets cut.
BTW, a few of us listed what we think is the total number of evaluations that are mandated. We counted 27 per year (but add the Terra Nova testing that takes 5 days to that for the fourth grade total). And who knows, we might get picked to take the NAEP test again too!
Learning is a mess?
Tags: Testing
I must have missed part one. But this part is out of control. I know from experience that these different tests tend to give contradictory results. And where does all the data go? We know where the money and time goes.
As crazy as news from Alaska may sound lately, nothing like this is happening around here. We still just have the direct, garden variety types of corruption.
Doug … yes my title may be a bit misleading … it refers to the fact that this is the 2nd round of testing this year. We already did much of this the first few weeks of school. We’ve barely had time to use that data and here we go again!
Brian
It’s absolutely insane. Especially because we’re talking about such small people taking all these tests. I did the math last year and figured out that my fifth graders were taking standardized tests on 5% of our school days.That’s one of the pluses to teaching first grade this year, very few standardized tests.
One of the best and funniest analogies I’ve heard about too much standardized testing is:
You don’t make a pig fatter by weighing it!
Sigh…
Jeff – You’d like this then – http://www.edutopia.org/dont-weigh-elephant-feed-elephant
Brian