Test, but Test Wisely

The Los Angeles Times; Los Angeles, Calif.; Jun 18, 2001;

Abstract:

Every state will claim bragging rights based on how their students do on their test, no matter how low the bar may be set. Those results should be substantiated, as the Senate bill requires, by a student sampling on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) exam, which tests students in the fourth and eighth grades. All states should be required to participate in the NAEP test to allow a state-by-state comparison.

Full Text:

(Copyright, The Times Mirror Company; Los Angeles Times 2001 allRights reserved)

Life is a series of tests, from a grade school spelling bee to a job interview, from a first date with the DMV to the bar exam, which is why the Senate-House conference committee now grappling with the education bill must ace the issue of mandatory testing.

The White House and the Senate and House agree on annual testing in reading and math for all students in grades three through eight, with one more test in high school. That's quite an achievement, given the political animus on this issue, but it's not good enough.

Yearly tests will be a waste of time and money if states are allowed to give one test to students who live in an affluent school district and another to students who live in a poor district. That wouldn't happen in California, Texas and other states that mandate a single test. The bill should make all students take a statewide test to allow comparisons by grade, school and district.

States should also not be allowed to switch from test to test each year, which the pending legislation would allow. Changing exams each year would deprive parents of year-to-year comparisons needed to determine whether students and schools are really getting better.

Another thing: The No. 2 pencils and answer sheets will be empty symbols if states depend too heavily on multiple choice exams. These tests should include open-ended questions that require students to construct an answer and demonstrate critical thinking.

Every state will claim bragging rights based on how their students do on their test, no matter how low the bar may be set. Those results should be substantiated, as the Senate bill requires, by a student sampling on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) exam, which tests students in the fourth and eighth grades. All states should be required to participate in the NAEP test to allow a state-by-state comparison.

Annual tests, like the Stanford 9 test already required in California, will become another burden for some teachers who criticize instruction that is driven by "teaching to the test." Nothing is wrong with linking instruction to a statewide test as long as that test fairly measures what a student is required to know in that grade. The real point of all this new testing is to figure out what is wrong with public schools, especially those that serve poor children, and to quickly fix the flaws. That will be Washington's ultimate test.

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Sub Title: [Home Edition]

Edition: Record edition

Start Page: B.10

ISSN: 04583035

Subject Terms: Education reform

Achievement tests

Education policy

Federal legislation

Editorials -- Education reform

Geographic Names: United States

US

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