In the last two days there have been two major stories of problems with high stakes testing.
The national story is regarding the SATs where as many as 4000 tests may have been graded incorrectly by as much as 100 points. The testing administrators are blaming moisture from humidity, that caused the paper to swell which in turn caused the computers to misread the sheets.
In the other story, in Illinois the ISAT tests that are given throughout the State at various grades for purposes of NCLB and for planning purposes have been delayed. Harcourt Corporation, who is responsible for the testing on contract with the State, had promised three weeks ago that the "tests are in the mail". Apparently that was not entirely true and now testing will be postponed at least one day to March 14, 2004. Will they do better in scoring the tests remains to be seen.
I have posted previously about widespread errors in testing and recent discoveries that testing of nonverbal abilities for children with autism can yield scores signficantly higher than on typical evaluations based on verbal abilities. Parents and schools need to view scores with a healthy dose of skepticism. Parents need to request the test protocols, raw data and answer sheets to verify that the testing was done correctly and scored correctly. These recent stories in addition to the previous stories reinforce the reality that errors can be introduced into high stakes testing on mutiple levels.
I have spent the last 10 years putting my heart and soul into helping Special Education students in Chicago. While I think it is necessary to have high standards for all students and help them reach their highest potential, I am extremely frustrated with my students having to take their state achievement test on grade level. The only modification these students receive is more time. However, if they can't read the test, more time does not really help. I would love to hear from other special education teachers who have had success dealing with testing issues.
Ellen
Posted by: Ellen Williamson | April 06, 2006 at 07:46 PM
I am a parent of an LD child in the State of MD. Maryland this year will use high stakes testing to determine graduation elegibility. Even though this years class of 2009, takes the Maryland HSA, and could be refused graduation if they do not pass, Maryland has yet to come up with testing accomodations for its LD students. They are working on a proto-type. How can MD. give a high stakes test to LD students, but not have measures in place for its LD. Students yet. Some schools are denying standard accomodations to 504 and IEP children on the HSA. Maryland needs help!
Posted by: Julia Roberts | March 16, 2007 at 09:50 AM