Questioning Testing

Students Monitor Own Progress in One District's Total Quality Application

Why give a test? Studying and implementing a total quality philosophy has forced us to question much of the "common sense" of current practices in education.

Common sense tells us that we give tests to challenge students and find out what they have learned. However, as W. Edwards Deming once said, "The meaning from any statement is what comes from the action that takes place."

Unfortunately, all too often the action that results from our common sense approach to testing is merely rating and ranking of students--sorting them into categories. There is nothing inherently evil about testing or grading. The damage to learners comes from how we use them.

Like most other states, Texas has a mandated testing program, known as the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills. TAAS tests students in grades three through eight and as they exit. Students must pass the exit-level exam to receive a state diploma. Originally TAAS was intended to be a criterion-referenced test to improve instruction. So why did our school district decide it was important to develop yet another assessment?

We found the benefits of TAAS to be limited for several reasons. As the test scores became newspaper headlines and the basis for rating and ranking schools throughout the state, fear escalated. Performance on this one paper-and-pencil test began to drive all instruction, even though businesses were begging for a workforce equipped with sophisticated problem-solving and communication skills.

For many schools, the focus became "How can we raise TAAS scores?" rather than "How can we improve student learning?"

In addition to its inappropriate use for ratings and rankings, TAAS is also after-the-fact testing. Results of the test, which is administered in late spring, usually arrive during the summer long after students are gone. It is used to judge the past, rather than to improve the future. Also, when schools receive information about student performance, it is reported only by broad categories, not by specific skills. This makes it unusable to help guide instruction for individual students.

State testing also has changed dramatically every five years. Even from year to year, the objectives that are tested change. Frustrated by the lack of any consistent, effective process to assess performance of students and/or programs, district staff in Leander developed our own student profile system.

Multiple Objectives

We set out to develop a process for monitoring student progress that would address several key quality principles:

* place the focus on learning (not testing);

* provide data to improve the system;

* prevent poor quality work by building improvement into instructional processes;

* enable students to participate in the management of their own learning process;

* shift a teacher's role from knowledge keeper to knowledge facilitator; and

* celebrate learning, including learning from mistakes.

The profile system consists of comprehensive assessments in language arts and mathematics, which are completed by students at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year. The assessments measure all student competencies for that grade level, so the needs of students at varying stages of achievement can be identified. Abacus Software supports the profiles to provide rapid turnaround in reporting and in-depth analysis.

Administrators and teachers spent two years in grade-level and vertical teams, developing a well-articulated and aligned curriculum for language arts and mathematics. They spent another year developing assessment items and working with software developers to meet our specific expectations. Obviously, it is not a quick-fix solution.

Shift in Thinking

We know that just developing another test is not the answer. If we are going to significantly shift the assessment process to enable students to participate in the management of their own learning, we need to change the roles of students and teachers and, above all, eliminate the fear that results from the judgments placed on test results. How do we do this?

* First, we never report or use profile information to compare teachers or students. Scoring is completed at the campus, and teachers are the first people to receive their profile results. Results come to students in terms of number of competencies mastered--not in the form of a grade.

* Teachers learn to interpret sophisticated reports as they analyze data themselves. In the past, any test analysis was completed for the teachers by central-office staff or principals.

* Students must be trained to use data. Formats are developed to make it easier for young students to analyze and understand.

* Everyone has to be patient while the kinks are worked out of the process and staff and students learn new skills, including working together to improve learning.

Our Benefits

Have we been successful in addressing the key points of our purpose?

The most important benefit of the profile system is that it places information about student performance in the hands of those people who can do something about it, namely students and teachers. Beginning in kindergarten, students are involved in the process.

Chad Bailey, a 5th grader, has been able to identify the benefits for his own learning. "It's a way to help you do things better, to know more about yourself, your strengths, and what you need to learn. By using the charts, I know where to focus," he says.

The profile system also provides students with information to lead annual conferences with their parents and teacher. Chad observes, "There was this guy and his mom was going to a conference with his teacher. He was all scared and packing his clothes, like he was going to leave. He was scared of what the teacher might say. Now, we'releading the conference. And I really do believe that we know our strengths better than anyone else. People might guess, but we know what we're good at and what we're not."

His teacher Maureen Chase explains, "The students are reporting to their parents about their progress. They analyze the data, identify strengths and areas for improvement, and set goals for themselves. Over and over, parents tell me how impressed they are at their children's ability to analyze the data."

Chad's mother Kathy Bailey notes, "I like seeing Chad setting his goals for himself instead of me telling him. When Chad sets them, he sets them higher."

The profiles also provide information needed to improve the system. For example, kindergarten teacher Tern White went to first grade teachers to determine how her former kindergarten students performed on their profiles at the beginning of the year. The results surprised her.

According to her end of year profile, all students could identify their letters, but when they took the profile at the start of 1st grade, half failed to identify the letter "Q." Perplexed, Tern explored the causes for this discrepancy. She found that a different form of handwriting was being used by first grade and kindergarten teachers--a style that was particularly different for the letter "Q." To prevent further problems, the teachers agreed to use the same style.

As a result of such self-initiated action research, flaws in our system are being discovered and corrected.

Shifting Roles

Is there a shift in the learning process itself? Definitely. A second grade teacher, Bonnie Crow, says, "I think I have limited children in the past because I didn't realize they could make wise decisions about their learning. And students didn't realize they could come up with their own plans of action for their learning because I had never given them the opportunity before. It works a lot better now because I'm not forcing it down their throat. They want to learn."

Another second grade teacher, Sharon Hejl, says she asks her students after an activity, "What did you think about that? Did it help you learn?" She adds, "We used to just do it and go on. For example, today after language arts, one of my students said, "This activity was good, but I think there's room for improvement. Let's analyze the situation."

Diana Kennedy, a seventh grade language arts teacher, observed, "The payoff is so much greater. It is so much better to see the kids actually learning, to see them taking pride in their work. It's so much better to be working with them, instead of talking at them."

So why give a test? It has taken us three years to determine our response to that simple question. The best reason to give a test is to decide what to do next. Today students and teachers actually look forward to receiving the feedback from the profiles. Students throughout the district use data to chart their progress, to plan learning, and to discuss those plans with their parents. Now, students and teachers are working together as a community of learners.

Tom Glenn is superintendent of the Leander, Texas, Independent School District. Monta Akin is assistant superintendent for instruction.

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