Skim through school how to#

It’s likely that remote learners account for many missed tests and it became increasingly apparent during the pandemic that low-income, Black, and Latino students were far likelier to be learning remotely than other students. That would skew test results artificially high, and stalled progress might appear less severe than it actually is. Imagine that an analysis shows that the students who skipped the test were disproportionately those who scored low in previous years. They urge educators to dig deeper than the overall state or district participation rate and find out who took the test and who didn’t. How many of our students-and which ones-took the test? This “participation rate,” experts say, is very important in understanding what state tests say-or can’t say-about student learning.Did we use the same test as in 2019? If you switched tests, or changed the length or frequency of your test, a detailed expert analysis could be needed to confirm the validity of the 2021 results-were there enough questions in each strand of the academic standards, for instance, to generate a valid score?-and to establish that those results can be compared with 2019 results.That “mode effect” is a key tenet of assessment: Whether a student takes a test online or with paper and pencil can influence the results. Did any of our students take the test remotely? If so, those scores shouldn’t be viewed as comparable to the scores of students who took it in person.

Skim through school how to#

“There are still ways states could look at general patterns, do a higher-level examination, to help them think about how best to use federal funding for recovery, but they need to proceed with caution.” Ask key questions before deciding how to use the dataĮxperts say it’s important to ask three crucial questions about your state test data. “There was a wide variety in the ways testing played out,” said Terra Wallin, who advised the Education Department on assessment and accountability from 2014 to 2017 and now oversees those issues for Education Trust, a civil rights advocacy group.

And schools likely felt less pressure to insist that students show up for testing, since the Education Department waived its accountability rules that normally penalize schools for testing fewer than 95 percent of their students. Participation also varied markedly within states: Colorado reported regional participation rates ranging from 51 percent to 88 percent.Ī number of factors fueled low participation rates, including many parents who chose not to send their children into school buildings simply to take a test. Some states reported participation rates as low as 10 percent (New Mexico) and 30 percent (Oregon). According to the Center for Reinventing Public Education, which has been monitoring states’ responses to COVID-19, of the 30 states that have released test results so far, only 14 reported test-participation rates of 90 percent or more. Many states saw fewer students take the test than usual, though, and that is the factor poised to exert the most widespread influence on the validity and comparability of state test data. In California, some districts gave the Smarter Balanced test, and others used assessments of their choosing. Colorado gave its English/language arts test only in grades 3, 5, and 7 and its math test only in grades 4, 6, and 8. A few gave shortened versions of their tests. Some states made other changes to their testing regimens. Massachusetts, for instance, allowed students in grades 3-8 to take remote tests if their schools were in remote learning mode, and more than 15 percent of those students did so. In a handful of states, some students took tests remotely, while others took them in person. But that doesn’t mean it was business as usual. In 2021, however, states had to administer those tests. Department of Education allowed states to skip federally required assessments.

A lot happened with state tests in 2021 that could affect the results Here are some key considerations-and important cautions-for state, district, and school leaders, and teachers, to bear in mind as they review state test scores.