New R.I. Tests Aid Classroom Teaching

Kay Scheidler:

New R.I. tests aid classroom teaching

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providencejournal.com

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Posted Feb. 26, 2015 at 2:01 AM

By Kay Scheidler

I’m sorry to see that, in his Feb. 17 Commentary piece ("High-stakes tests decimate classroom teaching"), teacher Kevin Dubois presents a negative view of Common Core Standards in math and English language arts and of Rhode Island's move from the New England Common Assessment Program test to the national PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) test.

Mr. Dubois argues that it is too soon for students to be tested, after having the Common Core information for “merely” four years.

What I draw primarily from the writer’s argument is that we haven’t informed those in schools well about the value of having national math and literacy standards with new assessments.

When I taught at Hope High School in Providence years ago, English teachers taught different skills and were free to choose what they wanted to teach. So when a student moved from one neighborhood to another, changing schools, this student was taught different areas -- confusing for any student.

Common Core Standards bring consistency to Rhode Island schools; Providence students have the same expectations that wealthier communities and other states have.

We now have excellent math programs aligned with Common Core, and Internet-posted ideas that help teachers adapt their class texts to the Common Core.

While Mr. Dubois complains of lost time for classroom teaching, testing means we receive data that tells us if our students are learning. How often we hear Einstein’s aphorism, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” Using objective data to look at where students are not doing well, and then working on that, helps students. We can address problem areas. Teachers do have freedom to teach in the way they choose, as stated in Common Core documents.

Mr. Dubois bemoans placing students in computer labs to work on practice test questions. This may not be the ideal learning situation, but it is hardly a bad thing when students learn to select the central idea of a reading passage and supply text evidence for this, a PARCC test question at every grade level. Students must select the correct vocabulary definition from a passage, learning to build vocabulary from reading clues, learning reading skills.

The PARCC concept is to assess competency. When we see that this is a good thing, we understand that this “disruption” – or change -- in classroom teaching brings equity to student learning.

I understand well that making changes to our school work to better help students can be a blow to teachers. I went through about a dozen of these types of major changes during my 28 years teaching at Hope High School. However, teaching and assessing math and literacy standards each year can be a fine thing. The tests may be annoying (though, looking at them online, where they can be easily accessed, they’re clearly strong), and the mindset of some teachers may have to change, but the results can be excellence in learning.

Page 2 of 2 - Mr. Dubois calls PARCC tests “unfair.” Is it unfair that struggling students are expected to move toward the same achievement level of other students? Having seen almost miraculous learning results I had not expected from a student, I believe the opposite is true.

This teacher also argues the test shouldn’t be a graduation requirement, which he calls a “punitive action.” Massachusetts tests have been a graduation requirement for over a decade, and PARCC replaces this. Why can schools just a few miles away succeed at test proficiency in math and literacy as a graduation requirement, but not Rhode Island schools?

Mr. Dubois urges parents to have their children opt out of the test. What parent wouldn’t want to know from testing how well one’s child is doing in comparison to others elsewhere?

As a teacher, I too often felt blown away when the next round of school change hit us. Rarely did I learn why these changes were made. We need to better explain the value of common national learning for all students, and why assessments can help us better prepare students to develop skills needed in their lives after school. In many cases, our students’ lives depend on this.

Kay Scheidler, of Providence, is author of the book "Standards Matter."

providencejournal.com

Writer

Posted Feb. 26, 2015 at 2:01 AM