Education
chief plans a revamp of testing
Davy must include grades 5-7 in
exams
Thursday, November 17, 2005 • BY JOHN MOONEY •
Star-Ledger Staff
New Jersey's student testing has gone
through a number of incarnations and now it's soon to see
another that will be an even better measure of what students
know, state officials say.
State Education Commissioner Lucille Davy
yesterday announced that New Jersey would embark on a
year-long review to revamp its assessment system, looking at
ways to use both broader measures and more detailed
results.
At the same time, the state is under
mandate of the No Child Left Behind act to extend its
current standardized testing in language arts and math to
grades 5 to 7 this spring. The law demands annual testing in
grades 3 to 8, as well as one year of high school, by the
end of this year. The state now tests only grades 3, 4, 8
and 11.
But calling this year's plans just an
"interim" step, Davy said she hopes in future years to move
well beyond the state's paper-and-pencil exams and provide
what she called more useful tests and results for parents
and teachers.
"It's obviously a very challenging
agenda, but it will make better use of the resources we have
while providing educators across the board much more
valuable information," Davy said at a Trenton press
conference.
That likely will include at least some
so-called "performance assessments" that ask students to
complete broader tasks over extended periods of time. For
instance, a child might work a single problem for more than
an hour, incorporating math, writing and other
skills.
The announcement ended several months of
uncertainty about what would happen with the state's tests,
both this year and beyond. The current tests have long faced
mixed reviews, with critics calling them too onerous for
children and of little use to schools and
teachers.
Just two months on the job, Davy
inherited the task of putting new tests in place for grades
5 to 7 by the spring. But she balked at approving a
multi-year contract, and said she saw an opportunity to
rethink how the state and its schools assess their
children.
The state spends nearly $23 million a
year for the current four grades of testing, about $10
million paid by the federal government under the No Child
Left Behind law.
In the meantime, the law is explicit that
the annual testing for grades 3 to 8 be in place this year,
and Davy said her department will have to quickly come up
with a test that qualifies.
She said yesterday the state would use an
"off-the-shelf" commercial test in grades 5 to 7 that
matches the state's curriculum standards. Its scores will be
reported to parents and the public, just as with current
tests. But because the test is new, the scores likely will
not count this year in determining whether schools meet
achievement levels required in the No Child Left Behind
act.
The press conference yesterday focused
more on future years and what Davy called her "new vision"
of testing.
An obvious wild card is the fact that a
new governor will take office in two months, presumably with
his own education agenda. But saying that her plans were in
keeping with concerns raised by incoming Gov. Jon Corzine,
Davy yesterday acted very much as if she was proceeding
until told otherwise.
Corzine's spokeswoman did not comment on
the announcement yesterday, only saying his transition team
will be "looking at everything, and obviously education is
part of that."
Standing with Davy at the press
conference were leaders of many of the state's top education
groups, including the state Board of Education, the teachers
union, the principals association and a business
coalition.
"This is what assessment should be all
about," said Joyce Powell, president of the New Jersey
Education Association. "We know schools will improve because
of this."
Added Jo Ann Bartoletti, director of the
principals association: "This is a bold move, long awaited
and greatly appreciated."
But exactly what form these new tests
will take is unclear. As high as the stakes in school
testing are these days, there are several ways of measuring
student performance, be it traditional tests, broader
strategies that can include a child's work over weeks or
even months, and even online testing. The tests results,
too, can vary in how they are presented and used.
Davy said she hoped to at least push back
some testing to the end of each year so it measures a full
year of learning. She also vowed more detailed analysis of
individual students' results.
"Everything is on the table," Davy said
yesterday.
John Mooney covers education. He may be reached at
jmooney@starledger.com or (973) 392-1548.
© 2005 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with
permission.
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