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Know the Score on State Proficiency Tests
If you are an elementary or middle school principal, you’ve seen proficiency tests with rubric-scored answers across the board.
If you are a high school principal, get ready for a change from the old ninth-grade test. And I mean big.
New Test Format
The ninth-grade graduation test, with its multiple-choice format, is gone. Taking its place will be a test that looks like the current fourth- and sixth-grade versions.
Academically rigorous, all three tests will require higher-order thinking and problem solving.
Many test items will require a short answer or extended response, scored respectively on a 2- or 4-point rubric.
The Grade Disparity
Most school record books will show student grades based mainly on machine-scored quizzes and tests, note taking on lectures, fill-in worksheets, and compliance with classroom procedures.
All too often, the result is low correlation between grades and Proficiency performance. At sixth grade, for example, it’s not unusual to see fewer than 5% of students receiving a quarterly grade of "F" in mathematics and science.
It’s also not unusual to see Proficiency results indicating 60% of the same students failed to meet the minimum passing standard.
Risk Factors
Public confidence: Low correlation between grades and Proficiency performance erodes confidence in our schools at a time when public education is already at the center of controversy over funding and voucher issues.
Student learning: Even those of us who oppose high-stakes testing can see merit in the competencies addressed by these tests.
In fact, the new rubric-scored items address what Grant Wiggins calls the “essential tasks, achievements, habits of mind, or other valued ‘masteries’ falling through the cracks of conventional tests.”
Solutions
Integrate rubric-based assessment into daily instruction across the curriculum.
Become a team of adult learners, with rubric-based assessment your school’s professional development theme.
