Digital Directions - Summer 2013 - (Page 14)

desktop computers to take the tests. “We never did figure out why this happened,” Loughrey says. Rose-Ann McKernan, the executive director of instructional accountability for the Albuquerque schools, says the technology director for the district is worried about server and network capacity at the schools. Making all the necessary upgrades could cost millions of dollars, she says. The district could use money from the state allocated to schools for technology to buy new computers and to make other technology improvements, McKernan says. The district may also appeal to the state legislature for more funds for technology improvements. But with all the talk of money and how it should be spent, it’s important to keep the big picture in mind, McKernan points out. “People are stepping back and saying we are not just talking about network and devices for testing, but about making upgrades in technology for our whole educational system for students as well as for testing,” she says. “So how do we upgrade for that across the board?” ‘Pleasantly Surprised’ When it comes to children’s ability to take a test on a computer rather than with paper and pencil, many district officials around the country say their students had no problems adapting to the new format. “I was pleasantly surprised that these third graders were able to maneuver from problem to problem much better than I had anticipated,” says Kent Henson, the assistant superintendent for instructional services for the West Ottawa public schools in Holland, Mich. About 240 students in the 7,200-student district took tests in the Smarter Balanced pilot this spring. Henson says: “They had to drag and drop, to highlight, and they had to compare and contrast. They had to write a letter. They had to watch a video, which meant putting on headphones. They had to fill in boxes on a table. There were a lot of different mousemanipulation tasks.” The pilot test questions were a mix of multiple-choice questions, problem solving, short-answer responses, and other tasks. 14 >> www.digitaldirections.org Students had to drag and drop answers into different boxes. Some districts in Michigan experienced technical difficulties with the pilot testing, he says. “I heard about schools that had issues with servers that weren’t working. Some kids were kicked out [of the system] or it wouldn’t accept their login,” says Henson. “I heard that in one-to-one [computing] schools where kids were taking these tests on laptops of various kinds, they had [technical] problems.” McKernan of the Albuquerque district says joining in the PARCC pilot was eye-opening for teachers because they could see how the common standards will be assessed. “It makes things more concrete. It leaves less room for each of us to interpret the standards in our own way,” she says. “It isn’t about assessment driving instruction. It’s about assessment articulating the expectations in a more concrete fashion. That was very helpful for our teachers.” Matthews of California’s Larkspur-Corte Madera schools also says the pilot was helpful for teachers to know in what ways students will be asked to show what they know. “Common-core standards are more rigorous, with more of an emphasis on critical thinking and problem-solving,” he says. “So this pilot helped to inform their instruction because teachers saw how learning is going to be measured in the future.” Some students who were comfortable with the technology itself struggled with the actual content of the test, according to some district officials. “They loved doing math on the computer, and they are very quick with the mouse,” Loughrey, the assessment manager in Albuquerque, says. But after observing a 6th grade class taking the test, he asked the teacher about how she felt her students handled the material. “She said that while they may say that they did fine, her sense was that a lot of them struggled with the material,” he says. “The problems were rigorous. They pushed the kids.” ‘Assessing With Intent’ Albuquerque and other districts are doing a lot of work to make sure both teachers and students are familiar with the new standards. “There is a lot of curricular work necessary to make sure things are mapped out properly and that content is in sync with the standards,” says Pat Cummings, the director of research and evaluation for the 30,000-student Tacoma, Wash., public schools. About 800 students participated in a Smarter Balanced pilot in April, using mostly laptops, and some PCs, to take the tests. “You want a kid to take a test that relates to what is going on in the classroom,” Cummings says. “The only way to make the Smarter Balanced assessments meaningful is if common core is effectively integrated into the coursework.” Not only do teachers need to adjust their curricula to meet the new standards, they also will need to adjust how they are framing questions to test students throughout the year, educators say. “We need to be writing rigorous and challenging assessments,” Henson says. “If all we are doing is giving multiplechoice questions, then we are doing our kids a disservice.” The biggest idea that the pilots underscored for many educators was that the key for getting ready for the tests is not just getting the technology ready, but also having students and teachers know the standards. “I think we have to make sure we are teaching and assessing with intent on the common core,” Henson says. “It is really skills-based. Reading, writing, and listening skills are a huge part of being able to take that test.” n See our coverage of online testing problems in several states. www.digitaldirections.org/go/test-concerns  http://www.digitaldirections.org/go/test-concerns http://www.digitaldirections.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Directions - Summer 2013

Digital Directions - Summer 2013
Contents
Editor’s Note
DD Site Visit
Bits & Bytes
Test-Driving the Common Core
Flipped PD: Building Blocks to Success
Virtual Learning in the Early Years
Kindergarten the Virtual Way
7 Steps to Picking Your LMS
Cracking the Code
Powering the Crowd

Digital Directions - Summer 2013

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