Starr Eliminates One of "Seven Keys"
...Many parents are relieved by the assessment's elimination after witnessing their children's stress. However, there are several possible consequences that could result from the removal of the TerraNova. "Eliminating the test means that parents will no longer have results from a nationally-benchmarked test to assess their children's progress, especially those with high achieving students" Michelle Gluck, chairwoman of the county Parent Teacher Association (PTA) Gifted Child subcommittee, said in an interview with The Gazette. MCPS stated in its annual report last year that students who score at or above the 70th percentile in the TerraNova reading section are considered to be on the path to college and career readiness...
This is key 1: The first key will give students the strong foundation they will need for all learning that follows. In the early grades, students read and comprehend levels of text that vary in difficulty. In kindergarten students who can read Level 6 books by the end of the year are reading at advanced levels. By the end of 1st grade, students should be reading Level 16 books. In 2nd grade, students who score in the 70th percentile or higher on the reading section of a national test called the TerraNova 2 are reading at advanced levels. Scoring at the 70th percentile means that they perform better than 70% of students nationwide.
ReplyDeleteThe "Level 6" to "Level 16" books...where can I find out more what reading program that is, how the "levels" are assigned, etc.
I was troubled by the Tera Nova test removal and I thought I was the only one. The WaPo and others seemed to applaud the removal of the test as if it was not controversial. I like informational tests that can tell me the percentile my kid scores against a relevent population. I like tests that are independent with less opportunity to influence the results. These kinds of tests can help me manage my kids education. It can be used as a stick for GT interventions or a stick for IEP and other interventions needed for struggling learners. It also helps parents direct their own outside resources to help their child. The MSAs don't start until 3rd grade and they are not national in scope. GT testing is done in 2nd grade, but there is little information about these tests and I suspect they are not ideal to measure average or struggling kids. The fact that MCPS did not cite the fact that Tera Nova is just a duplication of GT testing supports my belief that GT testing is not going to be enough for most kids. Further, over the last few years, I have discovered that my child was given standardized reading tests without my knowledge. These test results don't make it home unless I know about them and demand them. Further, when I do get them, the results don't provide perpective. Words like 'on-grade', 'advanced', 'level 6' really mean nothing. You need percentile information against a relevant population to understand how your kid is doing. To me, this is part of an ongoing struggle I have with MCPS for transparency. By removing this test, the system is asking parents to trust them. While, MCPS may do fine for a groups of kids, many parents have kids that will fall through the cracks. Parents need this kind of information, in my humble opinion. Otherwise, they have very little amunition to raise education issues about their kids. My recollection is that when MCPS removed Tera Nova, they just said that they had other mechanisms to get this information. I don't recall them ever saying "we will make sure to replace the Tera Nova information with other information so parents can understand how their child is performing". I guess we will be foreever stuck trying to interpret the 'O', 'S', and 'I's on elementary school report cards.
ReplyDeleteJohn M
I 100% agree with you.Don't understand why this is not being made tranparent.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteCorrected: The Terra Nova is being eliminated because Pearson Education Inc. will now be writing the assessments for all elementary grades. Students will be tested 3 times each year by Pearson to see their comprehension of the Pearson/MCPS curriculum.
DeletePearson has secured a no-bid testing contract with MCPS for the foreseeable future. Students will be tested by the same company that is writing the curriculum. The tests will not be national and students can no longer be compared with other public school systems in the USA.