School test results yield no surprises

Spring test results for the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District have been released, and there weren't many surprises.

District executive director of curriculum and assessment Constance Lutz said results for the Benchmark Exam, the Terra Nova and the High School Graduation Qualifying Exam are what she expected.

"There was nothing that surprised me," said Lutz.

Forty high school seniors did not pass the HSGQE, but still walked with their classes during graduation, receiving a certificate of achievement instead of a diploma.

"There will be no distinction (between the handout of the diploma and the certificate) at the ceremonies," Lutz said.

Seniors that did not pass the exam, which is required by the state in order to receive a diploma, can retake the test as adults as many times as needed in order to receive a 2004 diploma. High school students are required to take the test in the spring of their sophomore year, and then have twice a year each subsequent year to pass the exam.

The scores from this and the other two exams, the Benchmark and the Terra Nova, will be used as part of the criteria that will determine the district's Adequate Yearly Progress report this July. The federal No Child Left Behind Act requires that each school and each school district must meet 100 percent of AYP criteria by the 2013 - 2014 school year.

Two different types of progress exams have been used to test students in the district: Norm-Referenced Tests (NRT) and Criterion-Referenced Tests (CRT). NRT's are achievement tests that measure basic concepts and skills, and the data can be used to compare students' achievements with other areas in the nation and to track students' academic growth over time. The TerraNova is an NRT. CRT's are designed to compare each student's performance to a predefined set of objectives and demonstrates the student's knowledge of a specific subject. These types of tests, such as the Benchmark Exam and the HSGQE, do not compare students to their peers as the NRTs do.

All district third, sixth and eighth graders take the Benchmark exam, and all fourth, fifth, seventh and ninth graders take the TerraNova.

While students' individual tests are only a small part of student assessment, the school district uses the school and district exam scores to help with instruction direction decisions.

"We don't teach to the test, but we are finding that some students are being assessed in content areas they hadn't been exposed to yet," Lutz said. "This is a pretty good indication that we need district-wide curriculum."

While the scores from this year's testing are being looked at for different patterns and ideas to improve education for Valley students, Lutz is preparing for a number of changes in testing for the 2004-2005 school year.

The district will use a new company, the Data Recognition Corporation or DRC, for one of the criterion-reference exams next year. While the name of the test is still not determined, the test will replace the Benchmark exam and will test to grade level expectations instead of state standards, which the Benchmark does now. The HSGQE will still be used at the high school level.

Another change the district faces is the testing dates for the CRTs.

This year testing was conducted Feb. 17-19; in 2005 the tests will be administered April 5-7. Students also face the possibility of up to four more testing dates: a field test of the DRC's test will take place Oct. 26-28, the HSGQE makeup dates are Oct. 5-7, and there is a possibility of a National Assessment of Education Progress test in January or February, which is given out to fourth and eighth graders selected by the national government to test math and English skills. There also may be a new NRT exam scheduled sometime next year.

While these state tests take a lot of planning - Lutz has a color-coded calendar for next school year that is already full of blocked days - she said its important to remember that the most important assessment isn't handed down through the government.

"The strongest assessment is the day to day assessments made by the teachers," Lutz said. "Standardized assessments always need to be used in concert with something else."