USD 250 Looking at New Test |
By KEVIN FLAHERTY Pittsburg USD 250 may add a new reference test July 10, but in a year, it could knock several other tests off the curriculum. Matthew Wendt, USD 250 assistant superintendent, said the district had been looking for a new nationally normed reference test since it changed from the MAT-7 to the MAT-8 and eventually to the SAT-10 test it currently uses, but had been unhappy with the result. All of that could change with the addition of the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) test given by the Northwest Evaluation Association. USD 250 board of education members will vote on the test at the July 10 meeting. "We're told this assessment is aligned to state standards," Wendt said. "There are currently about 80 or 85 districts that are using this assessment either in their first or second year. It's relatively a new assessment in the state. It's my understanding that about 50 more districts are going to be added. That's encouraging to know ... 130 or so districts are not going to use an assessment test that doesn't align to state standards." The non-timed exam offers the ability to test K-10 students in math, reading, language arts, science, and do so in either English or Spanish, an important addition, Wendt said, with the district's growing ESL population. But Wendt said the main strength was the exam's online nature. Students will take the test through a district server, ensuring quicker results. "The results are given back to the school the next day," Wendt said. "One of our concerns had been when we would give a nationally normed reference test in the spring and often, it would be late summer before we would get the results back. Here's an assessment that a student can take, and the results are back to the teacher, and quickly." The test would cost the district about $30,000 annually, which Wendt said was comparable to what the district now spends on the SAT-10. But in addition to quicker results, Wendt said the test promised better ones, including sheets that tell how a student has progressed from one point to the next. The test would be given at least twice per year, once at the start of the year in late August or early September, and once in late April or early May. Wendt said the district would also likely add a third testing at the end of the first semester in December. But instead of increasing workload, Wendt said it could decrease the load on teachers. He said the district had a list of six to eight assessment tests that the MAP might be able to replace over the next year and a half. "That encouraged our staff," Wendt said. "There is an outcry over how many assessments we give. If there's an assessment that we can give to take the place of two or three or four, let alone six to eight, I think it will be well received. "Right now, we have a buffet of assessments," Wendt said. "Now are we going to replace those tests in September? No, we're not. But we believe it can happen over time. I can't sit here and tell you today that the MAP assessment is the best assessment for the reading program. I don't know that answer. But are we going to try to find out if it could be? Absolutely." The Morning Sun, (www.morningsun.net) July 4, 2006 |
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