Lopatcong
parents discuss testing issues
State and local officials hear
concerns. Some residents question timing of standardized
exams.
Friday, February 10, 206 • By SARAH CASSI •
The Express-Times
LOPATCONG TWP. | It's a situation every
student must face: taking a standardized test.
For some parents, the world of No. 2
pencils and bubble sheets is a scary unknown, and the
answers aren't as simple as choosing between A or
B.
State and regional education officials
held a forum for parents to raise questions and concerns
about standardized tests Thursday night at the township
middle school.
The meeting was part of Education Testing
Service's "Log On, Let's Talk" program. The company
administers several national standardized tests, including
the SATs, as well as state tests such as the New Jersey
Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (ASK) for third- through
seventh-graders.
About 50 parents and students gathered in
the school's cafeteria to discuss the impending
tests.
One parent said she was worried about
test performance because Lopatcong Middle School students
will be tested the day they return from spring vacation the
first week in April.
Rosemary Kowalchuk, Lopatcong's district
testing coordinator, said the school district determined the
2005-06 calendar last April, but the state decided the
testing dates weeks ago.
Valarie Smith, a U.S. Department of
Education regional representative, said New Jersey
repeatedly missed its federal results deadlines. She said
parents and teachers were receiving spring test scores as
late as September.
"Under the state's accountability plan,
they moved the (testing) dates up," Smith said.
Other parents asked how the school
district can use the tests if the results aren't reviewed
until the following school year.
"We do use the results to determine
placement, make basic skills decisions the true benefit of
the assessment is it's ongoing," said Michael Rossi,
Lopatcong's superintendent.
Besides testing, Rossi said parents
should also consider the school's grading system to assess
their children's standing.
"The ongoing daily, weekly marking
periods are, in my belief, far more critical than one test,"
Rossi said.
Smith said tomorrow's standardized tests
will look nothing like the exams students take today. Smith
said future tests will be paperless, and computers will
teach teachers where students are failing.
"We'll be able to tell exactly where our
students stand Right now, we're in the beginning. It's going
to get better. We have some growing pains," Smith
said.
For more information about the ETS
program, visit www.ets.org/letstalk
online.
Reporter Sarah Cassi can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by
e-mail at scassi@express-times.com.
© 2006 The Express-Times. Used with
permission.
|