Assessing the state assessment

Schools just finished their yearly standardized testing. Alaskan students complete the Standards Based Assessment every year in April. This test is meant to show the growth a student has made through the course of the school year. High school sophomores take the HSGQE, high school graduation qualifying exam. If only it were that straightforward.

For example, right now in Juneau, legislators are debating whether or not to require students pass an exit exam in order to receive a diploma. The test is first administered to sophomores. If students pass the test, great; they graduate with a diploma. If they don’t, they get a few more tries, and if they still don’t pass, they get a certificate of completion. This test trumps credits and grades. Essentially, a student could have a 4.0- perfect grade point average, perfect attendance, not pass the exit exam and not receive a diploma.

With any assessment, we should be asking ourselves three very important questions: What do we want kids to know? Why do we want them to know this? How will this knowledge help them prosper?

What is the purpose of any test? I sometimes wonder if these very expensive tests really test what we value for a strong, productive society. I love teaching language arts and my curriculum. I value discussing conflict in a story and how characters, really just words on a page, become three-dimensional. But I do ask, why do we want kids to know this? How will this knowledge help them prosper?

I do believe there is information worth learning because it’s part of our common knowledge base. Take Shakespeare. I don’t think anyone is more successful or productive because they’ve read “Romeo and Juliet.” At the same time, I’ve had doors open because I made a reference to a Shakespearean play. I also think I can better examine human motive and human folly because of his plays. Is this a testable skill?

So where does this leave us? I think most would agree being a good reader, writer and communicator is important for all professions. Recently, my principal showed me a witness statement written by a student. Not only was it illegible, it was very poorly written. This student had a real concern, but didn’t understand that the way you convey a message matters almost as much as the message. Is this concept tested?

When I taught high school English, I repeatedly heard from college writing programs that the kids we sent them weren’t prepared for academic writing. I taught the curriculum and they passed the HSGQE. How do we meet the workplace demands for incoming adults and the requirements of higher education for students? Does our test assess if students have these skills?

I’m not opposed to tests. In fact, I give lots of tests so I can measure my students’ understanding of the concepts being taught. Before I plan a unit, I ask myself, “What do I want my students to know?” and “How will I know if they know it?” These questions force me to look at each assignment and critique its usefulness and value. I’ve had to put aside really cool lessons because they were just really cool. I think about the why and how before I begin.

Maybe we need to step back and decide what we really want kids to know and, more importantly, why do we want them to know this. Then we can look at what we teach and how we assess this knowledge to make sure we are preparing kids to be successful in college and the workplace. I don’t think the debate should center on to test or not to test (“Hamlet” reference), but what to test and why we give the test. Ultimately, education should serve the people, and in this case, that’s our children.

Brandy J. Bishop teaches seventh-grade Language Arts at Houston Middle School.