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This will fix things.
The huge number of underperforming Boston Public Schools will turn it around now.
Next step is to increase funding, because we all know more money means better schools.
That is not the stated goal
of reducing the tests (I think you know that). But more time learning and less time testing will probably help students do better on tests.
However, I think the point of the memo was to review testing practices. Why are we testing so much? What is the point? Are these tests helpful? Let's stop, take a pause and review. Sounds pretty smart.
4/5 th grade end of year testing
How are the guidelines for children with learning disabilities quantified? Testing any time after March
won't create great scores because of the scheduled timing. It is toasty temperatures in May/June, and their focus is centered more in March.
Still messing with the school
Still messing with the school system...............
This doesn't sound right??
In a BPS memo, there abandoning this test which decides which students can go into
AWC Advanced Work Class. Now instead of using these tests, they will use what the students did on a 3rd grade test???? Also memo states that AWC enrolls Asian and White students at 5 times greater level than Black students. I would think more testing would benefit ALL students.
https://schoolyardnews.com/memo-to-bps-school-leaders-no-more-district-m...
It's Complicated
First, they said that the scores in 3rd are basically the same in 4th and 5th so there isn't much use in giving it again.
Second, this should help students of color get in because for 4th and 5th it will also be based on grades, school work, and teacher recommendations. Students who don't score well could still be a great fit for AWC and their teachers know them better than anyone else, certainly better than a test score. Also, the new system won't put as much weight on the scores. More testing doesn't benefit students, more learning is what benefits them. Assessments are good and there are great ones out there, but we should eliminate as many as we can so students can spend more time learning.
What is the goal
In the memo it reads that the tests are 2 hours long and these 2 hours would be better spent on learning. I mean this cannot be right I assume the teachers spend time prepping them for the test. Also, I don't agree with 3rd grade scores will be the same as 4th and 5th. Taking away testing is not a good raod to go down. I read a lot about the New York Schools fudging grades etc And you are saying grades and teachers assessment is a better way to see if a student is ready for AWC. I really think you need the exams. Some schools give good grades to students who are not really achieving them. You have to test. Same with SAT's, colleges are dong away with them.
Just the facts
1. Teachers don't prep the students for the Terra Nova. Teachers teach the standards and the kids take the Terra Nova in October some time.
2. You don't have to agree, but the data from the scores suggests that if you test average on the Terra Nova in 3rd grade you are highly likely to test average in 4th and average in 5th. They noticed that they keep repeating the tests, but the scores stay the same.
3. There are still plenty of tests, don't worry kids get tested a lot. Teachers don't usually fudge grades and the majority are very often honest individuals who care about kids deeply. They are still using the third grade scores as a balance. For example if a teacher recommends a child and that child failed the grade 3 terra nova horribly, that would send up a red flag and a longer discussion would be needed. Also, teachers aren't going to recommend kids who aren't ready. That would be cruel as AWC is rigorous and a student who isn't ready would be miserable in that class.
Everybody remain calm, less testing and more learning is really the best thing for our students. They will love school more, read more and hopefully become lifelong learners.
It sounds like you're viewing
It sounds like you're viewing this more through a high school lens, where kids are putting in work to "achieve" certain grades. It's not like that in elementary.
And elementary grades don't have the same external value. In high school an A vs a D can change where you go to college. So there's an actual incentive for a grade to get "fudged" (hypothetically speaking). In elementary it's more about communicating to the school and family where the child is at in their learning. I'm sure there's random exceptions but there's typically no motivation for an elementary teacher to give an inaccurate grade.
Many kids ready for advanced work don't test well
There are many kids who are ready for and would flourish in advanced work classes but don't test well for a variety of reasons - learning disabilities, test anxiety, physical disabilities that affect their ability to produce work quickly (dysgraphia, etc.) These twice-exceptional (2E) kids are wrongly barred from the AW classes when a test score is the only criterion. Teachers who work with them on a daily basis know their abilities that may be hidden by their scores on standardized tests.
These students receive
These students receive accommodations or alternate assessment techniques in accordance with ADA.
Those accommodations are not
Those accommodations are not magical. They are an attempt to try and make a test as equal an assessment as possible. That doesn't mean they actually will be.
Yes the teachers of these
Yes the teachers of these kids could tell you what level they are at well before they take one of these tests.
Who is kidding who?
They are cutting the tests because results are generally embarrassing.
This is all pretty normal.
This is all pretty normal. Education is constantly evolving, so you will always see practices become outdated and then refreshed.
And this is what is usually looks like. Something becomes less and less effective so people more and more stop using it until it becomes clear that something needs to change.