Volume 6 Issue 3
February 2002

Testing and Assessment: Is there a difference?
By Jill Hassenfelt, Student Intern 

I will never forget the day that I gave my first math test.  It wasn’t my math test (it was my students’ math test) but I had never been so nervous during a test session in my life.  AP tests, the ACT, the PPST, my Chemistry 101 final, and my History of the Middle East final were all walks in the park compared to this one.  Why was I nervous?  I covered all of the content a number of times in a number of different ways.  I looked at the test and it looked easy compared to the things that we did in class.  I knew the kids knew this stuff but I was still nervous. 

The kids came into class and were as cool as cucumbers.  (They don’t get nervous for math tests since they have them every other week.)  I shouldn’t have been nervous either! I handed out the test and situated myself in the back of the room.  Good thing kids had questions because I don’t know if I would have been able to stand in one place for long. 

Once everybody was dismissed, I picked up the tests and headed to my desk.  I was still so nervous that I graded and recorded the last two days of their homework first.  When there was nothing else for me to do, I started on the tests.

Teachers have told me that they don’t look at names as they grade tests and maybe that’s a skill that I will one day acquire, but it certainly wasn’t the case today.  I knew what concepts some of the kids were having problems with so, if they got those right, I was thrilled.  I also had to be a little disappointed when a student got something wrong that I knew they knew.  With each test I picked up, I thought about where the wrong answers could possibly be, and started grading.  Good thing this was an objective test!      

One of the last tests I graded was Jack’s.  Jack is a super kid.  He’s extremely bright and his hand is always the first one up.  Yesterday he was giving me attitude for not calling on him enough.  But even Jack’s “attitude” is very lighthearted and he ends up laughing after he tries really hard to pout!  Unfortunately, as bright as Jack is, he doesn’t do well on tests.  I know that if he had a second chance to look at the ones he got wrong he would have gotten them all right.  I crossed my fingers and started grading his test.  The whole first page: perfect.  The second page: one wrong.  One wrong!  That’s it!  That’s a 95%!  I lifted my arms and let out a “yes!”  Good thing my cooperating teacher had stepped out of the room.  

After all the tests were graded, I was very pleased.  The lowest score was an 80%.  Five students earned a 100%.  I was extremely proud of my students and myself. 

One of the issues that I am most passionate about is the use of standardized tests in our schools.  I have talked about this issue with people so many times that I have stopped keeping track.  I spent an hour and a half discussing testing and merit pay with my cousin.  One night during the last campaign season, I prevented my family from going out to dinner until my father understood my thoughts on how former Governor Bush’s plan to test students every year had nothing to do with “leaving no child behind.”

I have talked to teachers who tell me how they put their curriculum on hold the two weeks before testing so they can teach the kids how to fill in bubbles and understand the questions on the test. 

I disagree with high stakes testing because of all of the factors that are completely outside of the teachers’ control.  A teacher can’t control if a student ate breakfast that day or got enough sleep.  A teacher can’t help if a student’s family doesn’t support learning.  A teacher can’t tell the bubble machine if Billy wasn’t feeling well or if Ashley was just having an off day. 

I have read the research.  There is a study out of Colorado where half of the teachers were told that at the end of the year their class would have to take a test and that their number one goal should be to make sure that the students pass the test.  The other half was also told about the test, but was not put under the pressure of the other group.  The second group did far better than the first.  What’s the lesson here?  Could it be that in “raising the bar” and having higher expectations we are actually limiting the true learning that can go on in a classroom? 

Standardized testing supports surface learning.  Students can’t discuss in depth what they have learned on a standardized test.  When teachers are forced to teach the test, they are not teaching more reading and math.  They are teaching information that can be answered in multiple-choice format.  If this were a multiple-choice world, maybe that would be ok.  I want my students to be ready for the real world and to become lifelong learners.

I hate how teachers, who work with students everyday, are being told by politicians who have never even stepped into a classroom unless it was for a campaign stop or a press conference, that we need to raise the bar. Yes, public education is a political issue.  Public money pays for public education, and public education is essential to the continuation of democracy.  However, public education should not be a political poker chip.  Our kids should not become a sound bite for a candidate or an agenda for an incumbent unless that candidate is truly concerned about what is best for the future of our kids.

Thinking about all of this made me question both why I was so nervous, and why I was so pleased when my students did well.  The activities we did in class were much harder and much more applicable to the real world than this test.  My class was challenged with these activities and they did well because they knew the content.  Why did the outcome of this test matter so much?  Sure, this wasn’t a standardized test, but wouldn’t all of those outside factors still apply? 

What was the goal of my math test?  I wanted to see if my students mastered the material.  The objectives were clear to the students and me.  The test matched the objectives.  The objectives matched the curriculum.  The school provided me with the necessary resources to teach this part of the curriculum.  If only every test followed this path.

What would be the outcome of this test?  I would use these scores to see if further teaching of this material was necessary or if I could go on.  If the majority of the class needed remediation, it would be done with the whole class.  If just a few students needed extra help, those kids would be the focus of the reteaching.  These kids could then retake the test until they earned a better score.  If only this was the outcome of every test.

Who would see these outcomes?  The teacher, the student, and the families.  The score would go in the grade book with the all of the other scores to determine a quarter grade.  A quarter grade based on 45 days of work and that a student can work to improve in the next 45 days.  They wouldn’t be published in a newspaper, like the score of the Packer game, or compared to other students, where despite how well they did, half of the kids “need” to be below average according to the bell curve idea.  These outcomes wouldn’t be used to determine teacher pay or be used to call a school a failing school. 

Standardized tests in Wisconsin are based on standards so numerous that one teacher cannot be responsible for them all and so broad that creating a test to cover every standard is impossible.  The goal of these tests is not kid-centered.  Teachers don’t receive a detailed report of exactly which areas in math and reading children need help with.  They get a number that compares that student to thousands of students, and a label of minimal or proficient.  And the day that every student scores in the advanced range or passes the graduation test, teachers and students won’t be congratulated for doing great work.  The tests will be declared too easy and the politicians will call to raise the bar.

During our career, we need to get off this road where the goal of learning is a sheet full of bubbles.  It’s going to be up to us to think outside of the bubble and to create the change that is best for our students.

Oh Mitten Tree, Oh Mitten Tree
By Kristi Kramer,  UW-Marshfield/Wood County

This past December, the Student WEA Marshfield/Wood County chapter held their annual Mitten Tree drive to raise mittens, gloves, and hats which were donated to the local Big Brothers/Big Sisters program. However, this year's chapter decided to try a new approach to the mitten drive and set up an actual tree for the student body to decorate with hats, mittens and gloves. The idea was to motivate students to get involved by helping decorate the yearly holiday tree, that the campus sets up, with their donations. This year's drive was a huge success with far more student body participation than in the past. Through the donations made by the students, along with the hand knitted mittens donated by a faculty member, the Marshfield chapter was happy to donate an overflowing box to Big Brothers/Big Sisters, who then distributed them to needy families for the winter season.

Leadership Conference is Another Member Benefit
By Tonya Schuld, UW Stout St WEA President

On January 18-20, 2002, local Student WEA leaders had the opportunity to attend a national conference held in Milwaukee.

The Midwest Leadership Conference is sponsored by the National Education Association (NEA).  It is an annual conference in which leaders in associations from Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, Missouri, Indiana, Iowa, North Dakota, and South Dakota come together.

A big thanks goes to WEAC and Student WEA for funding a number of students to participate in the Conference.  We were able to attend a number of sessions including IDEA, Bridging the Achievement Gap, Reacting to Differences, Education Licensure, and more!

Between the sessions, spotlight speakers such as NEA Vice President Reg Weaver, psychologist Dr. Belinda Williams, and UCLA professor Dr. W. James Popham, shared heart-felt stories around public education with the participants.

Members representing Student WEA at this Conference included Jill Hassenfelt, Seth Breidel, Heather Mielke, and Cheryl Biefeld of the Student WEA state executive committee, Tara Ihm, president-elect at UW-LaCrosse; Tonya Schuld, president at UW-Stout; Cara Dillman, president-elect at UW-Stevens Point; Leana Witkowski, president at UW-Milwaukee; Sondra Tabor, president at UW-Oshkosh; and Terri Williams, former president at UW-Parkside. Each of these participants had a different experience at this national Conference.  Feel free to ask any one of them for more details about this awesome opportunity!

If ever there was a time to get involved with Student WEA, it’s now!  I don’t mean just paying for the membership, I mean immersing yourself in the opportunities that Student WEA has to offer.  Each of us has already taken a step in becoming the best educator that we can…we joined a professional organization.  Taking that step says a lot about you as a person and definitely as an educator!

Keep in mind the great opportunities that are rapidly approaching…Spring Conference, Read Across America, Outreach to Teach…the list goes on within each of the local chapters.  Try something you’ve never done before!  Bring a friend!  Take advantage of these great opportunities for professional development, experiences with children, and becoming an advocate for public schools.

If I learned only one thing at the Midwest Leadership Conference it was this…I am not JUST a student, and neither are you.  We are future educators, and together we can make things happen!

Get involved and find out how you can make a difference!

“A ROLLING STONE GATHERS NO MOSS”

Putting Together a Portfolio
By Jenny Doran, Marian College St WEA President

Many colleges require students to put together a portfolio that may or may not reflect the Wisconsin Teacher Standards. At Marian (MSEA) we have to put together portfolios consisting of eleven categories. 

Many students seem to struggle with actually putting the portfolio together.  MSEA decided to sponsor a night for students to come together and share their portfolios with each other. We called it our Portfolio Workshop!  We sent special invitations to past members of MSEA that had recently graduated.  We wanted to have people there who had already been through the actual grading process of the portfolio.  Inviting these past members was very valuable; they knew exactly what needed to go into our portfolios and what not to put into them. We invited all members of MSEA and even got a few non- members to attend.  They ended up joining our club! 

We had students work in groups of three and go through their portfolios by category.  We also wrote rationales for the evidences that we put into our portfolios.  This aspect seemed to stump students the most.  One of our members came up with a really good method to follow when writing rationales:

1.  Rationale should not be a summary of your evidence.

2.  How does the evidence influence you as a teacher?

3. How does the evidence demonstrate your learning about students?

4.  Each category states something specific about education; make sure that your rationale includes some words directly from each category.

Our portfolio workshop was a huge success.  I encourage all campuses to do this.  As educators, we need to learn how to collaborate with our peers. This is one of the first steps in learning how to share your work with one another.  Portfolios can be tons of work, but when shared with others, ideas fly and the work seems less!