Changes in Grade 3-8 Testing

Important Information from the Superintendent

Understanding the Changes made to the Grades 3-8 Testing Program

 Dear Dobbs Ferry Parents/Guardians:

Over the last few years, the New York State Education Department (NYSED) has been making a series of changes to the grades 3-8 testing program in English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics.  In July 2010, for example, cut scores (the divider between achievement levels) were raised in an effort to increase the rigor of the assessments and to reconcile them with scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a measure that looks at performance across the nation in core subject areas.  Last year, our state testing program began the transition to assessments aligned with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).  Tests were made longer, requiring high levels of stamina to complete.  Embedded among the items were CCSS field test questions in formats that our children did not have experience with and had never seen before.  The assessments became very controversial when errors in them were discovered, and when a difficult and confusing passage, “The Hare and the Pineapple,” was made public.

This year, the grades 3-8 tests in ELA and mathematics will be, for the first time, fully aligned with the CCSS.  The State has issued only minimal guidance on what these assessments will look like, making it difficult for teachers to adequately prepare their students for them.  We do know that they will be very rigorous, as the CCSS demands significant shifts in the content and the methodology of instruction.  And, in a recent memo issued to districts from Ken Slentz, Deputy Commissioner, Office of P-12 Education, it is noted that, “New York State, for the first time, will be reporting student grade-level expectations against a trajectory of college and career readiness as measured by tests fully reflective of the Common Core and, as a result, the number of students who score at or above grade level expectations will likely decrease.”

It is important to emphasize, as the memo from the Deputy Commissioner does, that a decrease in “the number of students meeting or exceeding Common Core grade level expectations should not necessarily be interpreted as a decline in student learning or as a decline in educator performance.”  Our teachers have worked exceedingly hard to align our curriculum to the demands of the CCSS.  When managing a change of this magnitude, they engage in a continuous cycle of review and revision.  As our understandings of the CCSS evolves, and as resources and assessments become increasingly available we reevaluate and refine our alignment efforts.  You will see evidence of this as we move forward.

State testing represents just a small snapshot of student achievement and if, used as intended, provides data that allows us to evaluate our programs.  As the Slentz memo states, “Students learn best when motivated by great teachers delivering engaging instruction guided by rigorous curriculum.  Effective teachers determine what students know and can do on an ongoing basis and use this information to adjust instruction accordingly.”  And while scores may look different this year, know, as the State maintains, that they do not fully represent the hard work being done by teachers and children every day in our District.   It is important that during the testing period we help our students to remain calm, to be well rested and to be well fed.  We want them to believe, as we do, that whatever the challenge may be they will meet it with confidence and will do the very best that they can.

The Department of Education has developed a Common Core Toolkit for Parents and Families which is a collection of materials and resources http://engageny.org/parent-and-family-resources  designed to help parents and families understand the Common Core itself and New York State Common Core implementation.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns.