Blog 12 - Technology
This week students in both of my schools are taking their state tests, which for us means the ISASPs. Things look a lot different from "back in the day", when I took Basic Skills tests. Now our testing happens all on the Chromebooks, which can be both a positive and negative. No more filling in little ovals on a testing sheet! But one drawback is that students who rush through their tests can click "submit" without a teacher knowing, and there is no way to make them go back and reread, or check over their answers.
I assisted in a fourth grade classroom this morning, and that is what happened with two of the students. The classroom teacher and I were answering questions, delivering needed supplies, and trying to monitor everyone, but without us noticing, two students (who should have needed a much longer time to complete the test) were suddenly all the way finished and had submitted their tests. How frustrating! Most of the students were working so hard, giving each problem their very best effort. I get it, the tests are definitely not fun, and for many students (and even teachers), it is difficult to grasp the point of why these tests are so important. I believe Horn and Staker would say that the days of standardized testing may be changing soon. What do you think?
Hi Kristen,
ReplyDeleteBoy oh boy, I sure relate to this post. Our students are also taking their skills testing soon as well and this is one aspect that I feel like I have no power over. So many students find it easy to just click through the answers, skip the passages they need to read and quickly click submit. I also teach 4th graders and I have had this happen a lot. When I talk to the students about the consequences of doing this they often don't care. They see the online test as out of sight, out of mind and also don't see the bigger picture of what doing their best really means. The only thing that I try to do for my students is have conversations about doing their best and being persistent. My opinion on standardized testing is a very negative one and I can only hope that with the changes we are seeing in education that these types of test will be a thing of the past.
Laura D.