Testing in CPS

1. Testing in CPS

2. Just to put things in perspective… From August 21, 2005, Chicago Tribune: Elementary pupils in the city will have one less high-stakes test to worry about this coming school year, as the Chicago Public Schools system scraps the venerable Iowa Test of Basic Skills… With the state requiring Illinois Standards Achievement Tests at all grades this year, Chicago officials decided they were spending too much time on standardized tests. The change means the district will rely exclusively on ISAT results to determine whether schools are on probation and whether pupils are promoted in grades 3, 6 and 8.

3. Now we have this!!! To Find an Assessment Calendar you can read, Google CPS Assessment Calendar or go here: http://cps.edu/SchoolData/Documents/AssessmentCalendar_District.pdf

4. Testing and the CTU Contract: Article 44.32 of our 2015-19 Contract In this PowerPoint, we will delineate which tests can be mandated and which tests cannot, according to 43.32.1. • 43.32.1 Required Assessments. “…the Board shall publish an assessment calendar…which shall consist of assessments mandated by the district for REACH, required to meet the mandates of state of federal laws and regulations, and mandated by a program…”

5. The contract also says this: • 43.32.2 Additional Assessments. “Schools shall determine assessments to be administered in conjunction with the development of the…CIWP. Each year in the spring, Teachers and the Principal will collaborate to develop a recommended plan for additional assessments, if any…Teachers and the Principal will then vote on the adoption of the plan which shall be adopted by majority vote….” The actual procedures for this voting is still being worked out, however it is the recommendation of the CTU Testing Committee that members do not add any more tests to their already assessment-heavy plates.

6. This PowerPoint will cover: • 1. What kinds of tests exist in CPS • 2. Which ones can be mandated • 3. How much the tests cost • 4. How teachers feel about these tests • 5. What we need to think about moving forward

7. What kinds of (non-teacher created) tests exist in CPS? State Tests Reach Tests Special Program and National Tests Early Childhood Tests Tests not on the Assessment Calendar

8. State Tests PARCC Grades 3-8 Takes 8-9 hours to administer Used for state accountability ISBE Contract with PARCC up in 2018 Paid for by the state Hard to find anything good to say about it May be Mandated under the contract

9. State Tests SAT Grade 11 Takes 4 hours Used for state accountability Part of college application process for some students June, 2017, CPS BoE authorized $8,350,000 to be paid to College Board, over three years, for SAT & AP tests. May be mandated under the contract --------------- PSAT Grades 8-9-10 Takes 3 hours Supposedly used to help students prepare for SAT State reimbursement for one year and one grade level this year May not be mandated under the contract

10. Other State Tests KIDS New Kindergarten Observation Assessment May be useful—don’t know yet as this is the first year Illinois Science Assessment (ISA) Grades 5, 8, and Biology New in 2016: Feds mandated that states test science ACCESS All grades of English Learners Used to determine services needed for ELs and which other tests they have to take Dynamic Learning Maps Grades 3-8 and 11 State alternate to PARCC, SAT for some students with IEPs All of these tests may be Mandated.

11. REACH Tests NWEA Grades 3-8 (and spring of 2nd grade) 3 hours For Teacher Evaluation and SQRP (School Quality Rating Policy) Cost is $2,200,000, authorized by BoE April, 2017 Immediate feedback is appreciated by many teachers, but unnecessary to give three times a year. May be Mandated once a year (spring). ----------------------- Performance Tasks All grades About an hour, at the beginning and end of the year Some teachers find them useful. They are graded by teachers and somewhat teacher created. Some PTs are more aligned to curriculum than other tests. For Teacher evaluation May be Mandated

12. Special Program and National Tests Algebra Exit Exam: 8th graders who want H.S. Algebra credit IB Exams: Students in IB program AP Exams: Students taking AP classes NAEP: National exam which takes samples of students for research purposes. All May be Mandated

13. Early Childhood Tests TRC/Dibels, mCLASS Math, NWEA MPG K-2, 3 times a year administered individually and take away many hours of class time from teachers Joe has agreed they are not mandatory, but refused to remove them from the assessment calendar! May not be mandated under the contract ---------------- Various Assessments required by Head Start Early Screening Inventory Revised (ESIR) Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Social Emotional (ASQSE) Teaching Strategies GOLD assessment It is not clear whether or not these can be mandated

14. Tests Not on the Assessment Calendar ANET (Achievement Network) Benchmark testing Compass Fountes& Pinnell School-created interim and end of unit mandated assessments Progress monitoring Sight word tests May not be mandated under the contract

15. Costs of Testing $12 million in one year for testing contracts. Millions more in staff time and lost academic time. NWEA gets $2,200,000 NCS Pearson, Inc. gets $525,000 for software maintenance and support, data services, and interim assessment support for tests including NWEA, STAR, PARCC, and others College Board, over three years, gets $8,350,000 for SAT & AP tests Paul H. Brookes Publishing, over two years, gets $142,122 for the social emotional screening tool, ASQ. The Department of Student Assessment has a budget of $6,520,538

16. School Quality Review Process (SQRP) Drives test-mania among principals Highly dependent on test scores High schools are rated on 14 factors--6 depend on test scores Elementary schools are rated on eight factors--five are test-based Ratings are on the CPS website as part of every school’s description SQRP also factors into ratings of school principals Detailed information about SQRP is here: http://cps.edu/Performance/Pages/PerformancePolicy.aspx

17. Teacher attitudes Of the 900 Chicago teachers who answered the survey: 7% agree/strongly agree: The results of standardized testing are used effectively to improve teacher practice. 13% agree/strongly agree: In my belief, standardized testing enables schools to better meet the academic needs of students and to improve student learning. 8.5% agree/strongly agree: In my belief, standardized tests offer an accurate reflection of students’ academic ability.

18. Teacher attitudes Everything we do is geared to drilling into them how to think—not critically, but in ways necessary to ace the standardized tests… They're only using a fraction of their brain capacity, they're certainly not being allowed to learn by exploration and questioning, and they are definitely not being allowed to relax and cultivate their own curiosity—and therefore build knowledge—about the world around them. I feel very sorry for them. My special education students only feel disheartened because there is so much on the test that they do not know how to do. My students do well on standardized tests because they are generally from affluent homes. That is the only indicator that consistently matters with most standardized tests. Therefore, I am in a lucky situation. I can ignore a lot of teaching to the test and test prep stuff, and can focus on real teaching and learning issues. When I taught on the South Side we had to live and breathe the test.

19. Moving Forward The contract has a process by which teachers can vote non-mandated tests up or down. CPS/CTU have agreed to the general outlines of this process—details need to be discussed. Members will have different views on the value of particular tests—how to come to agreement will need to be discussed. Do you agree with the CTU Testing Committee that our school should vote down any additional tests? What do we need to do to make that happen? What else do we need to discuss?