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Engaging Students in the Assessment Process

Engaging Students in the Assessment Process. Misty Beair Special Education Director Wayne Community Schools. What are we worried about?. ALL KIDS LOVE SCHOOL….AND CAN’T WAIT TO BE TESTED!!. What we are really seeing…. Our job is to find the answer. Something to think about.

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Engaging Students in the Assessment Process

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  1. Engaging Students in the Assessment Process Misty Beair Special Education Director Wayne Community Schools

  2. What are we worried about?

  3. ALL KIDS LOVE SCHOOL….AND CAN’T WAIT TO BE TESTED!!

  4. What we are really seeing…

  5. Our job is to find the answer

  6. Something to think about • “Don’t constantly stress about test scores. We have to stop sending the message to our students that the purpose of learning is to take a test.” • Ron Clark in “The End of Molasses Classes • Kids need to know that a test does not equal an education. It is simply a way to measure growth!!

  7. Where we started • NeSA • MAP • AIMSweb • Finding our purpose • Communicating that purpose to our #1 clients and getting their support

  8. Our first year • All kids (3-8 and 11) complete MAP testing – scores shared with parents when report cards were sent • All kids (K-8) complete AIMSweb testing – scores shared with parents when concerns were noted • All kids (3-8 and 11) complete NeSA-R – scores shared with parents in the fall

  9. Problems we found • Most kids didn’t care about testing because… • Tests were done to them – not for them • We tested kids to know how the teachers were doing • Results were not shared in a timely manner • Parents were confused on the purpose of each of the tests their children were involved in so it wasn’t being talked about at home

  10. Our Second Year • We added grade 9 to MAP testing • We quit testing grades 7 and 8 with AIMSweb • We added NeSA-M • Teachers understood the importance of NeSA testing. We tried many things to get kids motivated. • WEB purchased snacks for each student in grades 5-8 • Teachers and Administrators spent time educating parents and students on the importance of NeSA testing

  11. Try – try Again….. • Students still were not buying in. • Teachers understood the purpose for NeSA, but not MAP or AIMSweb. • Time to go back to the drawing board • What was our purpose? • How do we make kids “WANT” to test

  12. Year Three… • We reduced our requirements for AIMSweb and moved it from SPED to general ed. Plans are underway to add more testing each year • MAP – We added grade 10 to MAP testing (now testing grades 3-11). • Required full testing in the fall (Math, Reading, and Science) and short form testing of Math and Reading in the winter. • Teachers have the option to test more than district requirements, including spring testing to prepare for 2012-13 school year

  13. Year Three continued… • NeSA testing • Math, Reading and Science • Use MAP data to help prepare for NeSA • Use MAP testing observations to prepare for NeSA

  14. Year Three (we are still learning)  • We spent a significant amount of time defining our purpose for each test. That information was relayed to teachers, parents, community members AND our students!! • Our best investment of time has been educating our students!!!

  15. How did we get our students on board? • All students in grades 3-11 were taught about MAP tests and how to interpret their results • Kids in grades 3-8 participate in student led conferences. They were each in charge of explaining their testing results to their parents. THEY DID GREAT!!! • DATA CARDS 

  16. What we taught • RIT score (or any test score) is a way to measure growth. • A test score is a picture of how you “measured up” that day. • An accurate test score can only be measured if you “stand tall” (aka….try your best) • A test score CAN NOT determine what you will become or how far you will go in life. • A test score CAN tell you if you are growing

  17. What we taught • Educational growth should be thought of just like your actual growth! • Your height today does not tell us how tall you will be! • We used the junior high kids as an example. 

  18. What does An Educational GROWTH Chart Look like?

  19. Parent Teacher Conferences • Kids were able to explain what “educational growth” was • Teachers were present to answer questions that students might not be able to answer • Teachers, students, and parents had genuine conversations about testing that put GROWTH as the priority – not grades!!!

  20. The Data Card • Immediate feedback • Intrinsic Motivation • Kids want to beat their “high score” • First time in my life I’ve been thankful for video games  • Teachers have a quick and easy reference card • We are planning on incorporating AIMSweb and NeSA scores onto data cards

  21. The Data Card

  22. Making it FIT

  23. Making it FIT • Kids should not view a test score as “good” or “bad” • “Show what you know” • Kids will develop their perception of testing based on how you present it • Testing should not be a “One Size Fits All” mentality • Do what it takes to make it “Fit” for your district!

  24. Questions? Testing a child will never increase their knowledge, just like measuring them won’t make them taller. What testing does do is measure progress over time. Monitoring a child’s progress is the most effective way to know if we are giving them what they need to grow.

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