tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6213282834400100976.post1112288621554916324..comments2024-03-21T03:26:45.703-04:00Comments on Confessions of a Jesuit School CIO: On stopwatches, Fairness & Testscores: We Trained Them WellAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07049717135527113973noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6213282834400100976.post-55656498901314251662012-11-17T04:13:34.128-05:002012-11-17T04:13:34.128-05:00I just want to say thanks for your useful info abo...I just want to say thanks for your useful info about <a href="http://www.stopwatchesworld.com" rel="nofollow">stopwatches</a>..Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17626736769286703517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6213282834400100976.post-11074961810220768762012-10-29T22:03:48.488-04:002012-10-29T22:03:48.488-04:00I'm reading this on the day that I just realiz...I'm reading this on the day that I just realized that this year's freshmen will be the first to take the 'new and improved' high stakes test in their junior year, spring of 2015. And they're the least inquiry-driven, knowledge-seeking class I've known. One friday min day I gave them a wordsearch. It was like a sedative. I think it was the first day they didn't really have to 'think' in class. Paper pacifier. I'm getting really, really scared. <br /><br />I've flipped my Alg 2 class. The majority of them are off the hook. Only a handful of freshmen. But my all freshmen Geometry Honors (which, we need to revisit how some of them ended up there) and half freshmen regular Geometry class. Yikes! <br /><br />On the one hand, I'm glad I didn't flip Geometry as the regular class in particular, would have been a struggle, I'm pretty sure. However, they need the time to do the rich activities that flipping would afford. And time to pick up some remediation on arithmetic, algebra, etc. <br /><br />When I had a conversation this morning with dept chair re: my epiphany about this year's freshmen and 'the test', and it led to the talk of integrated math vs. traditional alg-geom-alg2 paths. She said 'How can we do integrated without a book?' <br /><br />I really think the book is doing me in, particularly in Geom. I'm starting to have some VERY radical thoughts. I'd already started having them. But now...again, what do I have to lose? Hmmm. MathDifferentlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05585414577687256349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6213282834400100976.post-9352934178329504232012-10-10T11:57:06.751-04:002012-10-10T11:57:06.751-04:00I think you might be my favorite test-designer of ...I think you might be my favorite test-designer of all time. :)<br /><br />Your comments made me think back to this summer when we were listening to a BBW12 presentation on Analytics and I came to the realization that we were putting a lot of eggs into a basket that was still being woven (http://geekreflection.blogspot.com/2012/07/educational-analytics-idea-that-might.html)<br /><br />I agree that the AACU guidelines are not testable as listed (nor should they be, they are desirable employee traits). And I will certainly work for you when you become Queen-for-a-day if you can figure out how to give usable data on-the-fly to teachers...I might even want to do some traditional professional development if that model becomes a reality.<br /><br />That said, I think we are approaching the crisis point. The ends-based measures of our current test-prep culture are now having real impact on the development of skills of students. Far from being a benign measure, they are now influencing the observed object in some kind of twisted educational uncertainty principal.<br /><br />To add to your to do list:<br />1. Stop putting high stakes on low hanging bloom's flavored fruit<br />2. Make assessment a direct line of communication between the student and the instructor with feedback to students that improves their skill development<br />3. Create alternative forms of assessments of instructors that does not include using numbers that were never designed to assess instructors (when you type it out like that it is just so silly)<br />4. As testing instruments and analytics matures, implement it as appropriate to improve education as we (as a society) want it to be -- stop using it as a weapon to push a party line. stop using it as a wedge to force open a new market<br /><br />Everyone, feel free to join in the discussion...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07049717135527113973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6213282834400100976.post-15365825665573890302012-10-10T10:45:24.139-04:002012-10-10T10:45:24.139-04:00Hi JD- I really enjoyed this post. I agree with e...Hi JD- I really enjoyed this post. I agree with everything you say here. I'd like to add my perspective and see what your thoughts are.<br /><br />I agree that our current method of using multiple-choice, high-stakes testing is, at best, very crude and does not measure meaningful student performance. I think this is because, in part, the items are written for the lower levels of Bloom's (typically) and that we are not actually measuring the performances of true interest (your point about how a math problem is solved, for example, versus just getting the correct final answer).<br /><br />One of the things that frustrates me about the AACU standards is that they are so vague. "The ability to understand" is not an objective, in my opinion, because there is no description of the performance learners must demonstrate in order for us to know that they understand. I am happy for there to be a whole range of possible ways for learners to demonstrate understanding; the breadth and/or depth of the range that is appropriate would depend on the objective, of course. But the performance would have to be observable...an indicator of understanding, if you will.<br /><br />One of the things that frustrates me, often, is that teachers and other education professionals tell me that the stuff they think is 'really' important can't be measured. And I certainly agree that the important stuff is NOT being measured by the current multiple-choice assessments. But for me, as an instructional designer, measuring the hard stuff is an exciting challenge. What are the observable indicators of complex thinking? Of problem solving? Of creativity? Of imagination? They may well be different in every context, but I need to figure them out (or again, what the range of acceptable possibilities are) so that I have a way of evaluating the effectiveness of my instruction.<br /><br />If I were Queen for a Day I would eliminate the multiple-choice, high-stakes testing and I would implement ongoing (as in daily) formative assessment. As an instructor, I would have continuous data about what kids can do so that I could adjust my approach on the fly. And if I did give summative evals (as they would likely be required) they would be performance-based and criterion-referenced. But, theoretically, I wouldn't need the summatives because I have the data from the ongoing formatives, so I know what individual kids can do.<br /><br />So for me, the evals are not about "judging" kids....they are about providing ongoing feedback for every individual kid to the teacher. I have found, over the years, that teachers are not able to report accurately on what kids can do without data. It's just too much to keep track of in their heads and their intuition has not been demonstrated to be reliable. I look at evaluation data as helpful tools for teachers. Again, I'm talking formative assessment, so teacher still have a chance to modify what they're doing.<br /><br />I think you and I would agree that the current method of testing isn't good because 1) it doesn't measure meaningful student performance; and 2) when the data are collected it's too late for the teacher to do anything about it. I would agree that we should bag it. That said, I'm not prepared to dispense with assessment altogether because I think it's too valuable, if done properly.<br /><br />Thoughts? And thanks!<br />Karen<br />www.karenmahon.com<br /><br />Karen L. Mahon, Ed.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/18140894546037644179noreply@blogger.com