RE: Questions for today's discussion

California has spent the last 6 years developing a statewide system of standards, testing and accountability. It has been a sincere but imperfect process. Where are we now? The system is coming closer to being a system that is aligned,but while state administered achievement tests measure performance, they have little value for instruction. This minimizes their usefulness in an accountability system that assumes information from tests will result in appropriate changes in instruction. CA.'s test is given in April or May. The results come to the school in August. Clearly this is not a great tool for teachers who will have a whole new group of students in Sept. unless they teach in year -round schools.

So how do we making high stakes testing relevant to instruction so we can improve the quality of instruction?

I think we need to assess the assessment system first. Creating multiple measures for the Academic Performance Index is a starting point. School-wide proficiency assessments would be more meaningful for students and teachers and parents because they would be based on actual instructional content. Removing the high stakes nature of the statewide test  until we can come up with a more effective and useable assessment for schools would also be helpful. 

 Finally, the Masterplan has suggested streamlining the many tests that are now given (in particular to our secondary school students) in order to avoid testing burnout and encroachment on instruction time in the Spring. A Humboldt County Superintendent sent me the high school's May calendar and there wasn't one day that did not include a test whether it be AP exams, SAT's, Golden State Exams or STAR testing. Astounding!

Let me end by saying I think it is critically important that classroom assessments have a legitimate role in accountability systems. I'd like to see these assessments reported alongside the STAR exams to provide a more complete and comprehensive picture of student achievement on all the state's content a
standards.