Monday, February 23, 2015
PARCC Discussion
This week we're going to talk about the PARCC, since we're focusing so much on it in class. First off, what do you think of the new state test? What is your opinion of it? After reading the two articles Professor Jackson gave us on the PARCC, what do you think are good aspects of it, and what are some bad aspects? What do you think works, or doesn't work, if anything. Do you think that it's a reliable test in terms of determining whether a student is at "grade level"? If not, why do you believe that it is not reliable? Finally, if you had a child or children, would you tell them to take the PARCC, or would you opt out like some other parents are doing?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1. Opinion: All state tests have problems. The major problems with this one are
ReplyDeletea. the required computers, that many districts do not have and cannot afford. Even if there are grants for new computers, schools will have to upgrade their infrastructure to allow so many students online without the entire system crashing.
b. Confusing directions. My understanding is that the instructions for the test can be more confusing than the test itself. That's not very reliable.
c. I still don't understand how two different tests in the same year (March and May) can be considered useful? (Unless to check external reliability over time? But that's just sloppy.)
2. Good aspects: I like the idea that everything on the test can be read to students with IEPs. The test is about comprehension, not decoding, so allowing for everything (instructions, passages, questions, and answers) to be read aloud (without infringing on other test-takers--Headphones!) sounds like a great modification.
3. Bad aspects: Many children, especially in grades 3-8, will not know how to operate a computer or type well enough to take the test with any reliability.
4. Reliability: this is why this year is a trial run. However, I think you mean VALIDITY for determining grade level performance. Reliability tests that the test measures what it is supposed to measure. Validity tests that it is an accurate and usable measurement.
Are any standardized tests valid tools for measuring whether students are on grade level?
5. It depends on the child. If I had a child that could not sit still and focus for the established amount of time, I would have them exempt. However, if I had a child who I knew was capable of taking the test, I would probably send them in to take it. Reliability and validity tests will not be, well, valid without a certain "sample size." Sorry, kids.
I think that the PARCC test has a huge problem just starting of with the delivery of the test. The test is administrated on the computer, a technology that some students may not have access to on a regular basis. Also, the schools might not have the resources available to administer the test. For example, when i went to observe at the Lowell Elementary school over the winter break, the teachers were in an outrage because there werent enough mouses for every laptop that the school had used to administer the practice test. The teachers were outraged that some students were at a disadvantage due to this. Underprivileged students will also be at a disadvantage as opposed to those whom have access to technology on a regular basis.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the test can be very confusing when it comes to direction. The questions ask for multiple ways of finding an answer and how the students come up with the answer. This can be difficult for students that are low leveled. Even i found some of the practice problems to be difficult when it came to the test. This concept is a double edge sword as it does test comprehension, but a number of the students might not have the ability to comprehend. I believe the testing scores for this, which has already begun to be seen, will be drastic curved in both parallels.