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Poland schools prepare for new state testing requirements
POLAND
School officials will decide in the next few days whether students will use pencil and paper, computers or some combination of the two to take state tests in the spring.
“My gut feeling is that we’re going to do more paper and pencil than computers for the first year,” said Ed Kempers, principal of McKinley Elementary School. “If we do it like that, we’ll lose a lot less instructional time.”
Although Poland School District got a near-perfect assessment of its technological devices that can be used for the tests that Ohio students will be taking for the first time this year, Superintendent David Janofa says the district has to adapt to meet the technology and time line requirements of the tests.
“This is a daunting task,” he said.
Though some parents have raised concerns about the district not having enough computers on which students can take the tests, Janofa said the biggest challenge is how the test is set up.
“It’s not a computer issue; it’s a time issue,” he said.
The state test, PARCC — Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers — includes three units of English language arts and two units of mathematics to be taken in late February or early March, and then one to two units of English language arts and two units of math to be taken at the end of the year for elementary, middle school, and ninth- and tenth-grade students.
Students also must take science and social studies tests.
Each testing round has to be completed within 20 days.
“You’re looking at a lot of different tests you have to fit in,” Janofa said.
This is in contrast to the Ohio Achievement Assessments, the state tests students previously were required to take. The OAAs required one block of time for each subject, rather than two or three blocks of time.
Another change with PARCC is that, as of the 2015-16 school year, testing must be completed online.
Technically, Poland has plenty of computers for testing, according to a state assessment based on practice testing the district did last year.
McKinley, for instance, has about 60 computers in two labs for more than 300 students, as well as many devices in classrooms.
“We could easily put [in] more [computer] labs,” Kempers said.
Kempers said the issue is that using computers for testing slows down the process and cuts down on classroom time.
“With paper and pencil, you can test every kid” at the same time, he said.
McKinley’s 13 classes can all test at the same time with paper and pencil. If testing is done online, McKinley is equipped for four classes at most to test at the same time, Kempers said.
“Because of that, it takes many, many more days,” he said. “You would definitely lose some instructional time.”
Janofa said the district will be purchasing more devices, but not until officials figure out how the devices can be integrated into classrooms.
“We’re not going to buy devices just to have them sitting on a wall, ready for the tests,” he said.
Janofa said additional time will be lost because teachers will have to teach strategies and techniques for online test-taking.
Eva Sullivan, a language- arts teacher at McKinley, said her classes have been working on the skills students need for the tests.
“One thing we’re working on is typing skills,” she said. “We’re getting them comfortable with going back and forth between screens.”
Sullivan said students are also being asked to do “close reading for deeper understanding” on the PARCC tests.
“I think in the big picture the Common Core is good, but I think right now the way we’re implementing it is putting too much stress on all the stakeholders,” she said.
Janofa said most school districts in the area are facing the same challenges.
Jackson-Milton School District, for instance, has opted to stick with paper and pencil for this year’s tests, despite being a very tech-oriented district, said Ryan Rotuna, technology director for the district.
“I think online testing is definitely an inevitability, but it seems to be rushed,” Rotuna said.
“I don’t think we’re setting up a formula that’s conducive for success.”