 | Dr.Glenn Fortmayer is Superintendent of USD 247 Southeast. He has been a superintendent for four years and administrator for 15 of 23 years in education. He is working with Southeast on initiatives including: expanding student learning opportunities, technology integration, and increasing instruction that authentically engages students every class period of every day with an emphasis on project based learning. For more information call 620-457-8350.
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Education Issues
2013-03-01 14:35:01
New state tests
Q-Why are we testing if the old tests do not count?
A-February means more than President’s Day and Valentine’s, it’s the beginning of state testing. Kansas recently adopted the new Common Core Standards for each curriculum area. The tests this spring and possibly next year too, cover the old standards. Parents have asked, why we are making students test on standards we are not using. Teachers are fearful that by teaching the new standards and testing on the old, students may not do as well and make them look bad. Both are reasonable concerns.
In regards to the first concern, why the old tests? The initial reason is we have to test under the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and that is the test developed to date. The second reason is that the tests will still give us information on how kids are doing and what we need to do to address their strengths and weaknesses. Schools use several forms of information to make educational decisions, so old tests will contribute additional information.
According to Brad Neuenswander, Deputy Commissioner Kansas Department of Education, every district is moving forward focusing instruction on the new standards and not worrying about the old tests. He believes that most districts will see improved scores resulting from better instruction required by the new standards. He said if scores do fall, it does not matter as that can happen, but it’s better for kids to move to the new higher standards than lose a year trying to look good on the old tests. The NCLB scoring system that allowed people to compare a district, building, or teacher with others will not exist. Comparisons of that sort will not be possible. Each building will be looked at in terms of its unique situation and students.
Parents will get valuable information on a new test report card, but the NCLB levels of Exemplary to Academic Warning will not be present. Parents will instead see how their child is doing in the skill areas and in comparison to like students. Teachers will not be judged on getting a larger percentage of their class to pass the tests as compared to the year before. The new tests coming will show the teacher’s effect on each student’s academic growth.
USD 247 Southeast has instructed all of its teachers to not worry about teaching the old test to look good on paper on an outdated test. Our teachers are focusing on the new standards requiring teachers to refine the way they teach by increasing the rigor and requiring students to use critical thinking skills, defend their answers versus multiple choice, and use real life project based learning to demonstrate mastery of the content. Our K-12 STEM, Lego Education, Robotics, Pitsco Computer Assisted Math Academies, Pitsco Science Mission labs, and USAF CAP Aerospace Education combined with a wide range of teacher generated project based electives and district paid dual credit college classes are all examples of this transition to a new emphasis on how we teach and how kids learn in Kansas.
Interested students, parents, and patrons should contact their local districts for more information.
