Misty Beair Special Education Director Wayne Community Schools

 “Don’t constantly stress about test scores. We have to stop sending the message to our students that the purpose of learning is to take a test.” Ron Clark in “The End of Molasses Classes  Kids need to know that a test does not equal an education. It is simply a way to measure growth!!

 Most kids didn’t care about testing because…  Tests were done to them – not for them  We tested kids to know how the teachers were doing  Results were not shared in a timely manner  Parents were confused on the purpose of each of the tests their children were involved in so it wasn’t being talked about at home.

 Despite my excitement for MAP testing – kids still were not buying in.  Time to go back to the drawing board  What was our purpose?  How do we make kids “WANT” to test

 We spent a significant amount of time defining our purpose for every assessment that we give. That information was relayed to teachers, parents, community members AND our students!!  Our best investment of time has been educating our students!!!

 All students in grades 3-11 were taught about MAP tests and how to interpret their results  Kids in grades 3-8 participate in student led conferences. They were each in charge of explaining their testing results to their parents. THEY DID GREAT!!!  DATA CARDS

 RIT score (or any test score) is a way to measure growth.  A test score is a picture of how you “measured up” that day.  An accurate test score can only be measured if you “stand tall” (aka….try your best)  A test score CAN NOT determine what you will become or how far you will go in life.  A test score CAN tell you if you are growing

 Educational growth should be thought of just like your actual growth!  Your height today does not tell us how tall you will be! We used the junior high kids as an example.

 Kids were able to explain what “educational growth” was  Teachers were present to answer questions that students might not be able to answer  Teachers, students, and parents had genuine conversations about testing that put GROWTH as the priority – not grades!!!

 Immediate feedback  Intrinsic Motivation  Kids want to beat their “high score”  Teachers have a quick and easy reference card

 Kids should not view a test score as “good” or “bad”  “Show what you know”  Kids will develop their perception of testing based on how you present it  Testing should not be a “One Size Fits All” mentality  Do what it takes to make it “Fit” for your district!

Testing a child will never increase their knowledge, just like measuring them won’t make them taller. What testing does do is measure progress over time. Monitoring a child’s progress is the most effective way to know if we are giving them what they need to grow.