City School Stories

Teacher Stories

Submitted by Joy of Teaching, on November 10, 2011

As a reading specialist, one of my duties is to identify students who are in need of reading intervention during the school year.  In the primary grades (K-2) this is done through teacher observation, review of student work, the student’s ability to work independently and a DIBELS benchmark assessment. However, in the upper grades (3-8) identification relies solely on the results of ONE standardized test.  The test was administered in March of the prior school year.

If a child scores below the 50^th percentile, the child is determined to be eligible for intervention.  The students who score in the bottom half are then ranked from lowest score to highest score.  Those with the lowest scores are chosen to receive services by a reading specialist, math interventionist or attend an extended day program.

What I have found in reading, and important to note, is that the primary grade students who have had a thorough review of their ability are those who are in need of services.  These students have skill gaps that need filling and are easily distracted in large groups.  When they work with me, they are where they need to be to make improvement.

When they work in a small group, they have the opportunity to learn skills and strategies practice their new learning and receive immediate feedback from the reading teacher.  On the other hand, the students in grades 3-8 who have had only one snapshot of their academic ability, a test given almost seven months ago, are most often not the neediest of the students at their grade level.  They tend to be at varying levels of ability.  Some are reading at grade level some are well below grade level.  Some have a bag of strategies that they use to decode, comprehend and extend.  Some are still working on phonetic skills.  As the reading specialist I can’t help but see the obvious in their faces, one test does not a student make.

Take for example Brittany*.  Brittany is the lowest scoring third grader based on the previous year’s standardized testing.  She is assigned to receive services in my third grade group.  Upon meeting Brittany I see a shy, quiet child.  She is not comfortable participating, even in the small group.  After a few weeks, Brittany begins to warm up to our program.  I begin to see a very bright, verbal child who exhibits grade level abilities in reading comprehension.  She is definitely not the child on the standardized test reporting sheet that I have been given.

Since it is only October I speak with Brittany’s teacher from the previous school year.  I learn that Brittany had suffered from school anxiety since first grade.  I learn that she is receiving counseling and support for this problem.  Her teacher agrees that Brittany is a grade level student.  She shares that during the testing window last year, Brittany was suffering from severe anxiety.  Her parents had trouble getting her to come to school.  Brittany told me later that she felt scared to do “bad” on the test.  Even though the test had no relevance to her academic performance in class, she was stressed out and was unable to focus.

I have more “Brittany’s” across the upper grades, where they were not sufficiently assessed.  It has me thinking about how often we as teachers debate the appropriateness of using one test to determine our student’s abilities.  We see so many students capable of so much more in the classroom. I found that Brittany’s parents also believe that she is a struggling student, though they understand her stresses, they still think the test is an accurate picture of her as a student.  We are doing a disservice to those students who are able to reach expectations but for whatever reason, like Brittany, are held back because of ONE test.

I administered a comprehensive battery of authentic assessments to Brittany; all of which placed her at grade level or above.  I observed her for four weeks.  I reviewed her work with colleagues, spoke with her counselor and her parents.  I am happy to report that Brittany is back in her regular classroom and doing well.

I know this is not news for those of us who work with students every day.  We know what harm can come from a one-test accountability system.  I think this story illustrates that there is more at stake here than just merit pay systems and teacher performance ratings.  What the reformers want to do to public education effects everyone.  Children see themselves as failures.  Parents see their children as failures and schools are seen as failures.  So if all the stakeholders feel that we are failures, then the reform rhetoric begins to become believable; a self-fulfilling prophecy.  And that will be a very dangerous place for us all to live.