A case for balanced assessment

I believe that we are missing the point with regard to standardized testing. I understand that everyone has an opinion about testing and I know that there are ramifications to eliminating testing BUT we have to do better for our students.

I believe that our current system of accountability is muddled. It is muddled with too many standardized tests, for-profit standardized testing companies, over-reaching labor unions and a whole lot of people who don’t understand effective assessment who are making the decisions. We can all agree that we need measures of accountability that are consistent in the state of Minnesota. I want accountability as a parent and as an educator. But this whole conversation needs to change. It is not about this test or that test. Ask any public educator what is the biggest barrier to learning in the last three months of school? 10 out of 10 will say testing. I have read many editorials lately about why not to opt out and why to opt out. Again, this is missing the point. Our system is broken. It does not make sense for young children and adolescents to be taking 8-12 standardized tests every year. Our current system does not allow for clear understanding of who the rockstar teachers are who are making huge growth with students who are multiple grades behind, it does not account for students who don’t speak English, and it is not useful information for the people who need it most- the teachers and principals. It also does not prepare them well for college and careers. Why do we force students who don’t speak English and who are learning in non-English immersion schools take these tests? Actually, English Language learning students at my school are required to take double the standardized tests as their peers who were born and raised here. This is wrong. We can all agree that we want accountability, but we must create a balanced system of assessment that makes sense for learning. Learning is the heartbeat of education. We need an AED device for accountability and assessment. We can no longer allow our public schools to be hijacked by standardized assessments for 1/3 of the school year. It is not acceptable and it is not right. Here is one idea for change from the field:

A new balanced system of accountability could be created that would support teachers practicing effective assessment throughout the school year. Teachers SHOULD be held accountable for how they respond to the formative assessments in their own classroom. Teachers should be accountable for clear learning targets aligned to our state standards, that align to formative assessments(based on the state standards) that prepare students for the summative assessments(that are based on state standards) all throughout the school year. I can see how this could work within our current Qcomp system very easily, without additional cost and with great benefit to learning. I agree there should be accountability via standardized tests but only with a few standardized tests, such as the MAP reading and math test, and it should factor into the whole picture of assessment. If we had an improved standardized system for reporting out these standardized grades, clear communication and accountability would happen all throughout the school year between parents and teachers.

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-Naida Grussing-Neitzel, Ed.S.