By the time students graduate from the Solanco School District in June, 2017, they will have taken 18 standardized tests. Those exams range from the Otis-Lennon School Ability Test (OLSAT) given in second grade to the Keystone Exams that will determine if a student graduates. Most of the tests are required by the state, which uses them to meet federal standards set by the 2001 No Child Left Behind law. That law saw the growth of standardized testing, and the increased importance of test results, said Dr. Robert Dangler, assistant superintendent of the Solanco School District. Pennsylvania imposed more standardized testing in the years following the passage of the No Child Left Behind law.
"Standardized testing had been in the state prior to No Child Left Behind," Dr. Dangler said. "The PSSA [Pennsylvania State System Assessment] had been given at intervals in the 1990s. While the state collected the information, the tests didn't have much credence at that point." That's no longer the case. Now a district's progress, and even its existence, can be determined by standardized testing. "There are no separate federal mandates, but the federal government has ordered the states to measure a district's achievements and use those results," Dr. Dangler said. The tests also help the district work with students, Dr. Dangler said. "While the state uses the results to make comparisons on how well schools are doing, we use them to help instruct the individual child," he said. State results do not show individual student scores, he added. Parents also get the test results for their children. A student's first standardized test comes in the second grade. Every February, second graders are given the OLSAT test to determine which students may qualify for the district's gifted programs. That is the only standardized test the district controls and the only one the district pays for directly. The other exams students face are state-mandated. The first, which begin in third grade, are the Pennsylvania State System Assessment, or PSSA, tests. Given to every student in grades three, four, five, six, seven, and eight, they are supposed to measure how well students have learned math and English language skills. There are also two PSSA science tests, given in grade four and grade eight. Grade eight is also when students begin taking the Keystone exams. All Solanco pupils take a Keystone Exam in algebra in grade eight, a Keystone in literature in grade nine, and a Keystone in biology in grade 10. The tests are course-dependent, meaning they are given in the year most students take that subject. Beginning with the class of 2017, students must pass all three exams before they can graduate. Each PSSA or Keystone Exam takes time to complete. The PSSA science tests are the shortest, taking two half-day sessions. The PSSA math and English tests take four half-day sessions each. The Keystone Exams also take two half-days to complete. While the district does not teach specifically for the tests, it does use the exams to guide its curriculum. "We want to be sure that students can master the skills that they need," Dr. Dangler said. "We are teaching the kids to think critically about what they have learned, and the tests are based on what they have learned in the curriculum." While the state pays for these tests and pays to have them scored, the district does have expenses when it comes to administering the exams. "At the basic level, we have to catalogue them when they come in, make sure they're secure before and after they're taken, and send them back," Dr. Dangler said. "We also have to train our staff to give the tests and to assess the results. There definitely are costs and we have to find the time for them. That means some other things get put to the side." The district also has to adjust its curriculum as the tests change. "They change pretty often," Dr. Dangler said. "For instance, this is the first year there wasn't a separate writing test on the PSSA. Now it's all in the English test. … It takes time to integrate the changes into the curriculum." Some of the curriculum changes take three to five years to implement. In the meantime, the standards can change again. The increase in standardized testing over the past decade has created some backlash, although it is minimal at Solanco. A few parents have been pushing back, asking to have their children exempted from the tests. "We have seen an increase in that," Dr. Dangler said. "There are people who disagree with the graduation requirements and the new CORE standards. That's getting the most media attention." Last year, Solanco had six students opt out of PSSA testing. This year, 10 have opted out. "They have all done so for religious reasons, which is the only way parents and students can opt out of the tests," Dr. Dangler said. "That's not a great number when you consider the number of tests taken." Students can also opt out of the Keystone Exams, but those who do will have to complete a project in that subject. Comments are closed.
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