By Rob Van Herk
The California Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) results
are available now. The STAR test consists of several tests and is
the basis for the calculation of the Academic Performance Index
(API). The results are available at many different Web sites for
parents and teachers to compare between schools and grades
throughout California. For links to these check out
www.vanherk.com
By Rob Van Herk
The California Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) results are available now. The STAR test consists of several tests and is the basis for the calculation of the Academic Performance Index (API). The results are available at many different Web sites for parents and teachers to compare between schools and grades throughout California. For links to these check out www.vanherk.com
Articles in the newspapers discussing the results of the tests focus mainly on the comparison between schools and the growth (or lack of) during the past three years.
Some schools go up, others stayed flat and some may have gone down. Schools may have very good results with the students who have been in their district for three years. Some schools have great results in one grade while another grade shows a significant loss compared to previous years.
Questions are going to be raised on whether a school is successful or failing. Will another of our schools get sanctions imposed by the state? Or does one of the schools jump out and can it become an example for others to follow?
A few weeks I read an opinion by Matt Johanson, a Castro Valley High School teacher, who argued for more incentives for the students to do well during the STAR test. His suggestion was that second graders may do their best during the STAR test, but many students at the high schools just don’t care and make the results of the STAR test meaningless.
He argued further to either combine the STAR test with the High School Exit Exam or find another way to link the STAR test to grades or graduation to make it more meaningful. I doubt this will become reality any time soon. And that’s unfortunate, because I think that it would put the focus of the STAR test where it belongs: at the student level.
We should focus a lot more of everyone’s energy on what the data is telling us about Johnny in the fourth grade. Is he doing better than last year? Or is he one of the students who two years ago was doing great but now is getting lower results? How do his grades relate to the STAR score? If he tested at basic level in the STAR Language test, how can it be that he had an “A” on all his quarterly report cards for English? Do his results tell us something about whether or not he should have been in an accelerated language class or not?
To help answer some of these questions the district office is planning a very detailed handout for the teachers with all the test results for each of their students for the past three years. Analyzing the school results is fine and schools as an organization should be held accountable, but there is only one place where Johnny can prepare for next year’s STAR test and that is in the classroom with his teacher.
Last week I watched the concert “Yanni Live at the Acropolis” on television. By far the most interesting song is “Within Attraction” which features Karen Briggs and Shardad Rohani on violin. Karen, with a mysterious smile, and Shardad enjoy the song and performed in a way as if they were constantly challenging each other. A wild ride with intermittently input from the drummer and only accompanied by Yanni’s small band, this song highlights the power of individual skills if they are combined with a great but small team of professionals.
Striving for excellence, collaborating, and constantly improving their teaching skills is what I see our good teachers do. Compare the skills and passion of Karen Briggs with the skills and passion of our teachers. And compare the rigor that Karen Briggs put in her daily practice with the rigor of the teacher who managed to advance almost all of her children last year from basic to proficient or from proficient to advanced.
Let’s ask this teacher what she did and maybe other teachers can use some of the same strategies. Let’s celebrate and highlight success!
These teachers enjoy their work and take responsibility for the test results of their students. They work not just as an individual, but are supported by a “team” of parents and fellow teachers.
Whatever we think of the outcome of the STAR test, we should not just focus on the school as an institution, but keep the focus on the individual.
Rob van Herk, his wife Karin and their three children have been living in Gilroy for three years. He is the technology manager for Gilroy Unified. You can reach him at ro*@*****rk.com.
