High Stakes Testing
Value vs Costs of State Testing
A 2012 study stated that almost 2 billion… that is with b.. is the cost of state testing, which was mandated for Federal Funding. That was over ten years ago.
Standardized-testing regimens cost states some $1.7 billion a year overall, or a quarter of 1 percent of total K-12 spending in the United States, according to a new report on assessment finances.
As a tutor for over ten years, one of my most important tools is using a student’s state test to assess that student against their specific state standards.
Most states test an inventory of skills in English and math from 3rd grade to some point in high school. Writing, science, and history tests are sprinkled in at different times.
If students have reading or math skills issues, it shows up much sooner than 3rd grade. Teachers and parents know this is happening. Intervention programs are in place but don’t follow a different path than the general learning path.
Reading advocates can talk about intervention, but the at-risk students don’t get the time or attention to overcome these hurdles.
The most important way a parent can dramatically change their students’ learning curve is to read fun books with them and get the addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division skills down solid. This is something almost all parents can do by themselves. If they can’t, there are a plethora of apps to assist them.
The most at-risk students are ESL or English Second Language because they don’t have the English speaking neural networks with known English words.
There are high-value YouTube videos that will be read to your students. You may need to search for them, but they are there.
Most schools will recommend the Scholastic book system because it’s easy to administer, and they do book-buying fairs at school. The students who need to read will generally buy easy jokes or picture books.
Parents and students will find much reading material if they look for online classical school programs. These are great resources to look at to encourage reading before third grade. You can do these programs very economically by using a public library.
Charlotte Mason - amblesideonline.org
Five In A Row - fiveinarow.com
It will take time to learn and investigate the materials and books. You can visit your library once you know the books you are interested in. Most parents will not take these steps. They will wait until their child’s school professionals give them direction. This isn’t a great strategy.
Given the amount of money that is invested into testing each year, it seems that it would be really valuable to assist parents with learning at their student’s level. It seems reasonable, yet it will not happen.
In a previous article I wrote, there will be AI and data-driven assessments more frequently because it will be easier to compare the data.
We need better systems of learning that are easy for parents to access and use after a long day of work. These systems should directly help the parent know how this will impact their child’s future. So many homework assignments are busy work.
For students to score higher on high-stakes testing, they must learn more in a calm, non-stressful environment. An environment that they are excited to be a part of because they can tell it’s helping them.
This is the type of Next Generation work to increase the test scores.
We need more reading and math problems, not more apps.
Learning Tip Handouts - Learning Tips for Families and Parents
