vision2020
RE: Level Testing
Hi again-- I know it is a bit confusing, but try to imagine a continuum of
skills -- much like a yardstick of increasingly difficult skills. There is
literally a notebook of specific skills, sequentially arranged in each of
the areas: reading, math, and language usage. These skills are tied to the
differently leveled tests. When a student takes the Locator tests (there
are just two - about twenty minutes each, and they are only given once), it
directs the teacher to give a specific achievement level test that is
hopefully at a level where we can get the most valid information. All
students in a room will not take the same test. In Reading and Math, there
are eight different test levels; in Language Usage there are seven.
For example, with the ITBS, which is no longer being administered, I had
some of my very frustrated sixth graders sit down and not be able to read
the sixth grade test. They would score very low, and I would gain very
little new information as a teacher about their true instructional needs.
On the other hand, some of my brightest scored at the 99th percentile, and I
still didn't gain any new information -- just a confirmation that they were
doing great. If a student is reading well below grade level, teachers will
now be able to get meaningful information because we will give that child a
test that he/she can understand. Depending on the scores, we can then use
the continuum to help us direct instruction more effectively to all
students, including the brightest, and those who struggle. This information
provides teachers with another important point of reference about a
student's performance along with teacher observations, grades, etc.
The scores are called RIT scores and they range from 160 up to 230 or 260
depending on the subject. I have tons of information on this, and again, I
welcome you to call or come by, and I can show you samples of the tests and
how the process works. I truly appreciate your questions -- I have been
quite a critic of standardized tests myself ( I have been teaching
Educational measurement to graduate students at WSU for quite some time),
and I am truly excited about the leveled tests. Please remember that the
Locator tests do serve a useful purpose, and they are only administered one
time -- they give us a reasonable starting place.
Cindy
-----Original Message-----
From: hayfields@moscow.com [mailto:hayfields@moscow.com]
Sent: Wednesday, March 27, 2002 2:01 PM
To: vision2020@moscow.com
Subject: Re: Level Testing
I guess I am still not getting it. Why are the kids taking Locator tests
before
the level tests? If the level tests are based on the state curriculum and
the
purpose is to provide an idea of where each student is, why do they need to
be "located" prior to the test? Are they not all taking the same test? If
no,
how does this help? How will the different test levels be reflected on a
school
wide basis? How will this locating(not the level tests) be reported to the
state? If you have already identified that a student is not at an
appropriate
level, why give them another test to show the same thing? Can't the district
use grades or teacher input to decide where a student is? And surely it
can't
be news - especially since the kids have already taken the Iowa tests, that
some students are still not working at the "grade level"? I am not trying to
be
difficult, just trying to figure out why all these leveling and locator
tests
are being taken. Does the district have any plans to change course offerings
based on the locator or level tests? IE if 20% of the students "locate" at
say
a 5th grade math level will the district begin offering remedial math
courses?
Or is this one more example of providing the state with numbers that mean
essentially nothing, in terms of providing students with what they need,
rather
than where by age they "ought to be".
Heather
Jordan
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