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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW No place to call home ... Highway 140 crash sends four to hospital ... Fire destroys Ashland mobile home ... No place to call home ... Highway 140 crash sends four to hospital ... Fire destroys Ashland mobile home ... GUEST OPINION Guest Opinion: Computerized testing may affect student scores Comment By Betty R. Kazmin MailTribune.com By Betty R. Kazmin Posted Mar. 9, 2016 at 12:01 AM By Betty R. Kazmin Posted Mar. 9, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Social News America’s schools are supposed to give standardized tests in math and English language arts to all students in grades three, eight and 11. Tests are created by either the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) or the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC). Both offer exams aligned with the Common Core. Oregon, which uses Smarter Balanced assessments, now gives families the right to opt out of taking these tests each spring. Many families are opting out, creating challenges for our schools. Your recent article (Schools wrestle with Smarter Balanced opt-outs," Feb 21) reports: “The new legislation, which was backed by the Oregon Education Association, contradicts the federal government’s Every Student Succeeds Act, which requires that 95 percent of all students participate in state tests.” The consequences for states failing to meet this requirement because of opt-outs have not yet been determined. While the two assessments are similar, there are differences. The PARCC permits students to take both portions using paper and pencil or on a computer. The Smarter Balanced tests are given primarily in the computer adaptive mode. That means the computer program adjusts questions according to how well previous questions are answered. I spoke to school personnel knowledgeable about the SBAC state tests in the Ashland, Eugene and Medford school districts and a district in Southern California. All these schools use the computer adaptive mode for third- to eighth-grade students. On Feb. 10, Education Week reported, “Students who took the 2014-15 PARCC exams via computer tended to score lower than those who took the exams with pencil and paper — a revelation that prompts questions about the validity of the test results and poses potentially big problems for state and district leaders.” The story also reported: “The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium is still investigating possible test mode effects in the results from its 2014-15 tests, taken by roughly 6 million students in 18 states." I wonder whether Oregon students' test results might be different if they had the paper-and-pencil option. As I spoke to school personnel, I asked how the schools helped students prepare for the computer component of these high-stakes tests. Answers varied. Some educators reminded me that today's children are tech-savvy, comfortable with iPads and desktop computers. Some agreed that the testing software can be an issue, and that SBAC provides practice tests to familiarize students with the process. But that consumes valuable class time. So teachers must choose how much time to spend teaching content versus practicing with the testing software. One administrator told me the teachers' goal was "not losing instructional time wrapped around testing, yet insuring students have a positive testing experience." That reminds me of a young friend who excelled in her high school calculus class. She expected to do well in her college course in calculus. But her professor relied on computerized assignments and tests. My friend understood the calculus material but had difficulty with the computer programs. She finally sought tutoring in those high-tech methods. The tutor admitted the software was not user-friendly. Last year in Medford, 98 percent of third- through eighth-graders took the Smarter Balanced assessments using the computer-adaptive mode. How do 8- to 13-year-old students cope with high-tech testing? Might they achieve better scores using paper and pencil, as the PARCC data suggests? One of my sources said his students would feel far more comfortable using pencil and paper. If the purpose of these state tests is to measure student achievement, but the method used for testing affects the results, then how valid are the results? How do we justify all the time and resources devoted to testing? And how reasonable is it to store the resulting data permanently in vast databases? No wonder parents want their children to opt out. During my teaching career I taught math to honors-level students, remedial students and those achieving at grade level. Course content varied based on their readiness for algebra. Had they all been given the same eighth-grade SBAC math test, their scores would have differed widely. Had some used paper and pencil and others used computers, there would have been further differences in results. How could my district have accurately evaluated all my eighth-grade students’ math proficiency or my effectiveness as a teacher? These issues are relevant to today’s school testing policies. This retired teacher and grandmother wonders how fair and reasonable our testing mania really is. Betty R. Kazmin of Medford taught algebra for 20 years in Los Angeles public and private secondary schools, and served on the board of education in Willard, Ohio. By Betty R. Kazmin MailTribune.com By Betty R. Kazmin Posted Mar. 9, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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