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| Written by Maryellen Rogusky |
| Thursday, 26 January 2006 03:35 |
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Teachers reported that they changed their instruction due to their engagement with this pilot year process. Teachers also reported acquisition of knowledge about standards, test construction, student performance, and the need to better prepare students to achieve on state standards. For example, one teacher wrote to us: I am in the midst of teaching summer school therefore unable to visit you but I would like to keep you abreast of the new activities at our site. Since my work began with you, the Pulliam Group has been invited to our campus to assist in designing our long term plans to align the Exit Exam with the standards and our curriculum. Graphs, charts and units are being compiled for reference and design. I am also part of the district wide GATE teacher component that is aligning the units of study, standards, and curriculum with the exit exam. It isn't often that the answer to a call produces such positive results. In this case, the work that I did with you and Brenda Bilstad led me down a path that I would have missed. Thank you (Gompers High School teacher, June 25, 2002). Teachers gained a way of thinking about instructional change that is based in a diagnostic assessment and is linked to state standards. Their practice began to change immediately as they graded each other’s student essays. After some initial surprise over struggling reader student performance, plans were made for instructional change. By the end of the year, teachers were much more savvy about literacy reform and how it should be implemented in their classrooms. Purpose of the evaluation The HSME is part of an ongoing effort in San Diego to design a comprehensive district-wide assessment system that is aligned to state standards and academic frameworks. The alignment of state and city tests in English/language Arts to state content standards provides a common base of understanding as to what students should know and be able to do in these subject areas in each grade level being assessed. The purpose of this evaluation is to understand to what extent the pilot year of the English End of Course Exam development process has helped the district to support teachers and students in understanding and attaining state standards:
INTRODUCTION Theoretical Framework The EEOC is part of an ongoing effort in San Diego to design a comprehensive district-wide assessment system that is aligned to state standards and academic frameworks. The alignment of state and city tests to state content standards provides a common base of understanding as to what students should know and be able to do in these subject areas at each grade level being assessed. The national fall-out over accountability testing seems to indicate a backlash against more tests for students at any level. Despite a federal effort to coordinate and test every student in grades 3-8, many states and cities already have tests in one form or another at all levels. Parent voices are leading the call for less testing because preparation for and administration of testing takes valuable instructional time away from students. Experts agree that tests that survey general student knowledge, that are unconnected to curriculum, and that compare students to other students in other states are proving to be diagnostically weak and result in narrow curriculum focus (Wiggins 1989a). The national trend of frustration is accompanied by a local trend in California showing that gains on state tests are slowing (Helfand and Pierson, Jan. 17, 2002). Additionally, some state test data is being used against states to show unequal educational access to opportunity (see for example, “New Jersey student test scores show staggering gaps between races” (Burney, Ginsburg et al., Jan. 13, 2002). One trend that is counter to falling test score frustration in California is found in schools that analyze test data and directly link that to instructional improvement. Corvallis Middle School in Norwalk saw their school’s accountability score drop 2.5% in 2000 and rebound 11% in 2001. “Assistant Principal Jon Lamb attributed the rebound to a sustained effort to analyze the results of their own regular tests and adapt teaching techniques accordingly” (Helfand and Pierson Jan. 17, 2002). End-of-course Exams The use of “end-of-course” exams represents a trend in accountability where states or districts develop evaluations that are directly linked to course content and state standards. Perhaps a dozen states have some form of end-of-course exams in place or under development. The exams are a notch above minimum competency testing, a wave of accountability testing in the late 1980s, early 1990s, which fell out of favor due to their low level of rigor and their inability to motivate students to work hard in school. “End-of-course testing, in my mind, has as much promise as any set of assessments that we’re using in education,” said Jim Watts, vice-president of the southern Regional Education Board (Olson June 6, 2001). Previous efforts that may be better known are the Advanced Placement and the International Baccalaureate exams (Olson June 6, 2001). These are end-of-course exams tied to a nationally constructed curriculum. Also well known are teacher-constructed end-of-course exams that may be valid for the class but are usually less reliable across classrooms and between different teachers teaching the same subject material. The state or district created end-of-course exam holds out the promise of being more consistently rigorous while still being closely linked to curriculum that all students have recently encountered. Alignment with the High School Exit Exam The California Policy on Preparation for State Tests (California Board of Education, 2000), adopted by the State Board of Education in September 2000, lists a number of appropriate preparation activities that apply to the HSEE, including formative assessment activities. Building instructional strategies that more closely relate to standards and preparing students to take new assessments that more closely measure student achievement of standards will take time. The issue of standards alignment, especially between state and local educational authorities, is technically difficult even in states that have lots of experience in test construction. For example, Dr. Richard Jaeger, Professor of Educational research Methodology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, testified that the New York State Regents’ statewide exams are aligned with their new Learning Standards. On the other hand, Dr. Jaeger stated that certain citywide tests, which are sometimes compared to the national normed samples, are not a good indicator of whether New York City schoolchildren are receiving an adequate education. According to Dr. Jaeger, in testimony given on February 22 & 23, 2000 in the Center for Fiscal equity lawsuit against New York State to determine if the state was providing a sound and basic education to NYC children, the citywide tests are not content-valid in relation to the State standards. The court ruled against the state (Campaign for Fiscal Equity 2000). Currently, in California, legislation stipulates that beginning in 2000-2001, students in grade 9 may, but will not be required to, take the HSEE. In 2001-2002 all students in grade 10 will take the exam, and by 2004 all 10th grade students must pass the exam in order to receive a high school diploma. The high stakes nature of this further propels San Diego to align its assessments and curriculum with state standards. In parallel with the state’s development of the HSEE, the English End-of-course Exam will begin piloting in 2001-2002, will be field-tested in 2002-2003, and will be fully administered to approximately 10,000 9th graders in 2003-2004. The primary goal of the English End-of-course Exam is to prepare students for the High School Exit Exam by diagnostically surveying their skills on state standards. It will also serve to provide instant feedback to teachers, about student progress toward literacy mastery, so that instruction can be improved. Evaluation report written by Robert A. Southworth, Jr., Ed.D. Adjunct Assistant Professor Teachers College Columbia University New York, NY Item analysis and future recommendations written by Mario Martinez, M.Ed. Assistant Principal Calexico High School Calexico, California Outside evaluation consultant Jose Luis Alvarado, Ph.D. Assistant Professor San Diego State University San Diego, California June 30, 2002 Prepared for the Literacy Department San Diego Unified Schools |