Case Book One

Ms. Leus is meeting with her colleagues. It is seven months into the school year, and all of the teachers are getting ready for standardized testing, which is coming soon.

MS. LEUS: I know all of you are struggling with various aspects of the upcoming testing. Overall, our students have to do much better than they did last year. We also have discussed all of the ways that we should focus on big concepts and problem solving, and not get the students too anxious about the testing, just raising their anxiety a little bit! I don't have the testing now, but a couple of years from now, my students will be tested. I was thinking of giving a group aptitude test during the testing week. I know that we can't give intelligence tests, but I really think that if we have the aptitude test information, we may be able to get achievement scores up. To me, it makes sense that if you have an aptitude to read you will do better in reading. So, for students like that we could concentrate our efforts instead on a place where an aptitude needs to be developed.

MS. DUNNER: While I think it is important for students to get some practice with the test formats and structures, so when they need to do the testing it is familiar, I don't think that kids should be tested until at least third grade. I don't think that any test scores would be valid or reliable before then. I wouldn't want to teach anyone based on a test they did in first grade.

MS. LEUS: I understand, but don't you think there are tests out there that are valid and reliable for first graders?

MS. DUNNER: I don't know. I just know that I would not be comfortable basing instruction on a test score from a child that young. That is why I like the portfolios that we have. I can get a lot of information from those. They are a much better fit for us. They show us the strengths and weaknesses of each student. They let us make curricular modifications based on what we know they can and can not do.

MR. FRANGUE: When I used to teach kindergarten, I used to give my students some interest inventories verbally, and used a checklist to note the various aptitudes that I saw. I didn't test them, I interviewed them. This was really effective.

MS. DUNNER: Were we using portfolios at that time?

MR. FRANGUE: No, we were just starting them at the upper grades and didn't have them at the lower grades. I did pass along the info that I had to their next teachers, if they stayed here for first grade. That was a time of lower mobility rates than we have now, but there still were students who moved over the school year.

MS. VALDEZ: I am not going to get into a discussion on all of the problems with all of these standardized tests. I think we all feel the same way. The reality is that the scores are really important. I am trying to figure out exactly what I can say to the students to inspire them to do their best. I think that the beliefs they have about their abilities to perform are developed in the lower grades, probably in the context of kindergarten. So, I want them to be thinking good thoughts about tests and their abilities to do well on them. Of course, also to do well in life. I wonder if the students would do better if we told them all that they are bright and capable. Maybe that is the key, if they believe it, they may do better!

MS. LEUS: You all have such good points and things for me to think about. Dr. Neke, what do you think?

DR. NEKE: I am wondering what behaviors all of you see as the students come up on test time. What do the behaviors seem to indicate about the seriousness that the students have in approaching the test? What behaviors indicate that the students are handling, or not handling the stress associated with the testing? In what ways do the students show you if they buy-in to the idea of showing everyone how well they can do?

MS. DUNNER: Are you saying that if we list the student behaviors we can increase their achievement scores?

DR. NEKE: No, I am saying that if we list the student behaviors we can better understand what kinds of questions we might ask to get at their thinking about the testing. When we are testing so young, it may be that the students don't yet have the metacognitive awareness to really discuss what and how they are thinking about the testing. What behaviors do you typically see when you are getting students ready for testing? Let's list those behaviors that you see everyday, regardless of the testing, and those behaviors that are not ordinarily seen except at testing time.

Teacher Notes:

• High-stakes achievement testing is found in many schools. It is important for you to know the extent to which this testing is done, what preparation you are expected to do with your students, and how much anxiety your students experience around this testing. If you know these things, you can then make informed decisions about the best way to prepare them for the testing, and when to start that preparation.