{"id":1500,"date":"2016-01-05T19:16:30","date_gmt":"2016-01-05T19:16:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/?p=1500"},"modified":"2025-02-13T10:53:42","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T15:53:42","slug":"to-test-or-not-to-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/2016\/01\/05\/to-test-or-not-to-test\/","title":{"rendered":"To Test or Not to Test"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.kadence-column1500_8339b3-32 > .kt-inside-inner-col{padding-right:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);padding-bottom:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);padding-left:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);}.kadence-column1500_8339b3-32 > .kt-inside-inner-col,.kadence-column1500_8339b3-32 > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-left-radius:0px;}.kadence-column1500_8339b3-32 > .kt-inside-inner-col{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-sm, 1rem);}.kadence-column1500_8339b3-32 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;}.kadence-column1500_8339b3-32 > .kt-inside-inner-col > .aligncenter{width:100%;}.kadence-column1500_8339b3-32 > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{opacity:0.3;}.kadence-column1500_8339b3-32{position:relative;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column1500_8339b3-32 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}@media all and (max-width: 991px){.kadence-column1500_8339b3-32 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column1500_8339b3-32 dynamic-main-col\"><div class=\"kt-inside-inner-col\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Has overtesting in Delaware\u2019s public schools reached its tipping point?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A growing number of Delaware\u2019s public school parents are choosing to opt their children out of the SBAC achievement tests, a series of computer-based tests in mathematics and English language arts developed by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. This suite of tests is designed to measure an individual student\u2019s mastery of the Common Core State Standards, and to provide a means of comparing the overall performance of groups of students, schools, districts and states. (Several states, but not a majority, are members of the Smarter Balanced Consortium and have adopted the tests.&nbsp; However, Delaware is the only state in the Mid-Atlantic region that is using the SBAC.) The results will also be used to assess teacher performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>House Bill 50 was created last year to codify parents\u2019 opt-out option for any state or district assessment. It was approved by large majorities in both the Delaware House and Senate but vetoed in July by Gov. Jack Markell. That set off one of the most heated education debates in recent Delaware history. Next month, when the General Assembly is back in session, the veto could be overturned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The SBAC is merely the straw that broke the aging camel\u2019s back. While Markell vetoed HB 50, he also signed Senate Joint Resolution 2, which aims to eliminate unnecessary, ineffective or redundant tests required by the state, districts and individual schools. And therein lies the problem: <em>unnecessary, ineffective or redundant tests required by the state, districts and individual schools<\/em> \u2014 otherwise known as overtesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most would agree that overtesting has over-burdened students and exhausted teachers. But those who support the governor believe that the SBAC will provide quantitative evidence of where Delaware\u2019s public school students stand among their national counterparts. (Private school students don\u2019t have to take state tests.) HB 50 supporters are not anti-assessment, but they\u2019re not sold on the SBAC either. They simply believe in parents\u2019 right to choose which tests their kids should take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The real questions are how much is too much, and who decides which tests render meaningful data. Wilmington University\u2019s College of Education professors share the pros and cons of the SBAC and other assessments as they relate to academic success \u2014 and the overtesting that could undermine it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Pros<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIn general, as College of Education professors, we support the idea and substance behind and process of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), with the understanding that the CCSS have no testing or assessment requirements whatsoever,\u201d says Dr. John Gray, dean of WilmU\u2019s College of Education. \u201cThe standards address in some detail critical thinking and decision making that\u2019s related to mathematics and English language arts. For the first time in this nation\u2019s history, there\u2019s a common set of standards against which every school in every district in every state can measure themselves. We think that\u2019s a positive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In order for states to measure themselves against other states, a common assessment tool is needed and could result in real improvement in educational opportunities across the board. Those data can be worthwhile, says Al DiEmedio, director of teacher preparation programs. \u201cIt will inform instruction, or at least <em>should<\/em> inform instruction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Historically, standardized tests have imparted valuable information. When No Child Left Behind (NCLB) went into effect in 2002, there was a focus on testing every student, even those who were falling through the cracks. Professor Donna Mitchell says, \u201cIt changed the curriculum that all groups of students were being exposed to and allowed to participate in and it changed behaviors with regard to teaching practices and program structures they were afforded.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That mattered to groups that had been underserved or misunderstood. According to Phi Delta Kappan magazine\u2019s 47th annual PDK\/Gallup Poll, African-American parents advocate standardized testing more than other groups. \u201cThey support the schools,\u201d says Dr. Olivia Roane, assistant professor and assistant chair. \u201cThey tend to trust the people who lead them and believe those people care about their children.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Indeed, Gov. Markell has garnered support from several leaders of minority organizations, including Deborah Wilson of the Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League; Maria Matos of Latin American Community Center; Raye Jones Avery of the Christina Cultural Arts Center; and New Castle County Councilman Jea P. Street. In their collective letter supporting Markell\u2019s veto, they wrote: \u201cIf too many children opt out, we\u2019ll lose perspective on how our children are doing with achieving the proficiency most important to succeeding in today\u2019s world. We\u2019d risk being unable to make meaningful demographic comparisons and track progress in relationship to other schools, districts, states and countries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The SBAC is considered to be an example of \u201cnext generation\u201d tests. It forces students to make decisions and solve problems, proving a mastery of the Common Core Standards that Delaware adopted in 2010. According to its website, the Common Core is a set of academic standards in mathematics and English language arts\/literacy created to ensure that all students graduate from high school with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in college, career and life, regardless of where they live. Forty-two states, the District of Columbia, four territories, and the Department of Defense Education Activity have voluntarily adopted and are moving forward with Common Core.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>More than 10 million students nationwide were given the SBAC last spring. Results were mixed. Half of Delaware\u2019s public school students were proficient in English and fewer than four in 10 were proficient in math. Yet many expected it would be worse. \u201cThe Smarter Assessment is harder and different from any of our past state assessments,\u201d Markell told a News Journal reporter. \u201cAlthough we raised the bar considerably, our students performed better than anticipated.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Smart teachers cater to students\u2019 needs, says Michael Curry, assistant chair of teacher preparation. \u201cSo at the classroom level, test results very much inform how they teach. That was the purpose behind the SBAC. It was designed to help teachers be better, and that, at its core, is the nature of assessment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The results of the first SBAC arrived in September, after school had started. But good teachers are adaptive and flexible. They can change lesson plans mid-stream. Dr. Stephanie LoBiondo, chair of WilmU\u2019s school counseling program, says that school counselors and special-education coordinators also interpret data to better serve children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Cons<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The problem with the SBAC, the professors say, is that it pits school against school and state against state. \u201cIt should be used to determine where individual students are and where instruction is necessary for them to improve,\u201d says Gray. \u201cBut to say that test results alone show that this state is better than that state; this teacher is better than that teacher; or this student is better than that student: that\u2019s something we completely reject.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Those comparisons may prove challenging anyway since no other Mid-Atlantic state is using the SBAC. \u201cA majority of the SBAC states are in the West, where populations of students might be a bit different than those in this area,\u201d says Gray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s also a flipside to receiving too much data. New teachers tend to be better at doing data analysis than veteran teachers, simply because newer teacher preparedness programs include data training to combat the data tsunami that teachers will likely face as standardized tests become more technologically sophisticated. All of WilmU\u2019s educator preparation programs include statistics and assessment course work, and 36 percent of all early career public school teachers in Delaware hold degrees from WilmU. The university produces more teachers for Delaware public school classrooms than the University of Delaware, Delaware State University and Wesley College combined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another concern is the stress that students are exhibiting. When she was a school counselor, LoBiondo ran numerous test-anxiety groups to help kids deal with overtesting. (School nurses do the same.) Other students can\u2019t handle the SBAC\u2019s technical requirements. \u201cThey have to scroll not just up and down when reading, but left and right,\u201d DiEmedio says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some say that there is no real incentive for students to take the SBAC seriously. \u201cI know of middle school principals who are given instructions to tell students prior to taking it that the result will not have any consequences or affect their grades, nor will it have any effect on graduation,\u201d says Curry. \u201cSo what does a typical eighth-grader do? Not much.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the aforementioned Gallup Poll, 64 percent of parents nationwide think there\u2019s too much emphasis on standardized testing. \u201cThe issue that I have is that so much energy is consumed with preparing for testing that the things that I think are really the spirit and heart of schooling have been sacrificed: extracurricular activities, the arts, athletics, clubs,\u201d says Gray. \u201cWe find a greater sacrifice of these things in poorer communities than in wealthier communities. At private or wealthier schools, students spend about three times as much time enjoying special activities, yet have very little standardized testing. Those kids seem to do OK in college.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gray calls it a class war. \u201cI think it\u2019s discriminatory,\u201d he says. \u201cThe poorer you are, the less opportunity you have to engage in challenging academic and extracurricular activities. And that\u2019s what school is all about.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Roane explains that minority parents support standardized tests because \u201cthey want to be in agreement with what\u2019s happening in the schools,\u201d she says. \u201cThey want the data from the SBAC because it tells them where their children are in relation to other children.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most parents want to know how their children are doing. But with every test a child takes, it\u2019s that much more time away from electives that once enriched educational experiences. Gray, who was a principal for 25 years, remembers when one of his schools offered an outdoor experience program. \u201cYou take kids from a poor neighborhood who\u2019ve never been on a mountain before and teach them how to ski,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen they master that mountain, they think they can master anything. It empowers them. And that carries over to everything they do. But if all you do is give them a test, and tell them they\u2019re a number four and somebody else is a number two, how does that build their confidence? How does that develop their sense of value and importance?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Overtesting can have a devastating impact on the art of teaching. People embark on the profession to inspire class discussions and share their knowledge of the world. But the SBAC takes up much of their time, forcing them to read scripts from manuals instead of conducting stimulating and engaging learning activities. One-fifth of a Delaware teacher\u2019s evaluation is based on standardized test scores. \u201cThat means it\u2019s one of five components, but it\u2019s also a gatekeeper,\u201d says Tyler Wells, chair of clinical studies at WilmU. \u201cYou can\u2019t earn an effective or highly effective teacher rating if those growth component scores don\u2019t increase.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Teachers tend to be comfortable with the other four components \u2014 planning, instruction, management and professional growth \u2014 but the angst comes when they\u2019re held responsible for things they can\u2019t control. Variables like poverty, homelessness and hunger have plenty to do with student learning, and can have a powerful effect on achievement test scores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The SBAC is given yearly to students in grades three to eight, then again in junior year. If it were the only test, it would likely be less controversial. \u201cBut districts have adopted myriad other tests and assessments in addition to the SBAC, which contributes to the overtesting issue,\u201d says Mitchell. High school kids also have to worry about midterms, finals, PSATs, SATs \u2014 not to mention getting into college.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are better ways to measure what a child learns, says Gray. \u201cI believe that teacher judgment is probably the best form of assessment there is. I trust the judgment of professional educators much more than an assessment instrument that tries to reduce learning to a number. So the SBAC is a way, but it\u2019s not the only way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Federal funding is also tied into the SBAC, and a certain percentage of Delaware public school students have to take it or funding can be withdrawn. So far, that hasn\u2019t happened in Delaware. \u201cInitially almost all states signed on to the Common Core State Standards and almost all the states signed on to choosing one of the two tests, the PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) or the SBAC,\u201d says Gray. \u201cHowever, in the past year, many of those states have withdrawn. They are not going to participate. So it\u2019s no longer possible to get an accurate, complete and comprehensive comparison of scores state to state.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some states are giving their own assessments and some are not. Combined with the opt-out movement, that could make it difficult to measure student performance on the national scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The General Assembly<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Next month, the General Assembly could overturn Markel\u2019s veto of HB 50. Gray predicts it will, since the Legislature will try to reflect public opinion. Other COE professors think the veto will stick, largely because it\u2019s tied to federal funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Regardless, legislation won\u2019t motivate high school juniors to perform well on the SBAC. And what they don\u2019tknow can hurt them. According to the SBAC website, \u201cHigh school students who take the Smarter Balanced exam in California, Delaware, Hawaii, Oregon, South Dakota and Washington could enter postsecondary institutions and directly enroll in credit bearing courses.\u201d Some colleges will accept SBAC scores in lieu of placement exams for incoming freshmen. And, says Gray, if a junior gets a high score on the SBAC, his or her admission into a Delaware college is practically <em>guaranteed<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Delaware students will still take the SAT. But a good SBAC score could be a game changer. <strong>WU<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Delaware PTA Speaks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>WilmU alumna, Dr. Terri Hodges is president of the Delaware PTA.&nbsp; Her support of HB 50 has been widely publicized. She shares the PTA view with her alma mater:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2022 Standardized assessments can be a valuable tool in assessing student growth, providing that they provide useful instructional feedback, are developmentally appropriate and given in moderation. What we see happening in public education is an increase in using assessment data to label and punish our schools and teachers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2022 The increased emphasis on high stakes testing has definitely changed the classroom environment from one of enrichment and learning to one that resembles an assembly line, with a drill and kill environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2022 The overemphasis on high stakes testing has attacked student morale at its core. They are no longer encouraged to be free thinkers. They are taught strategies to pass a test to the exclusion of everything else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2022 Using test scores as the primary accountability metric for teacher evaluations falsely assumes that teachers have direct control over the assessment outcomes and ignores other critical factors such as a student\u2019s socio-economic status, disability status and home environment, among other things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>(Dr. Hodges\u2019s views do not necessarily reflect those of the COE professors or Wilmington University.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-16018d1d wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-text-align-center wp-element-button\" href=\"http:\/\/Click to view full issue&quot; link=&quot;https:\/\/www.wilmu.edu\/magazine-issues\/2016-winter\/#p=1\">Read the full magazine article<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Has overtesting in Delaware\u2019s public schools reached its tipping point? A growing number of Delaware\u2019s public school parents are choosing to opt their children out&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":1501,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[135],"tags":[663],"class_list":["post-1500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-magazine","tag-magazine-winter-2016"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":135,"label":"MAGAZINE"}],"post_tag":[{"value":663,"label":"Magazine Winter 2016"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/totestornot-750x422.png",750,422,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Natalie Ridgeway","author_link":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/author\/natalie\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":135,"name":"MAGAZINE","slug":"magazine","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":692,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":431,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":135,"category_count":431,"category_description":"","cat_name":"MAGAZINE","category_nicename":"magazine","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":663,"name":"Magazine Winter 2016","slug":"magazine-winter-2016","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1220,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1500"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1500\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16302,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1500\/revisions\/16302"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}