Students voice reservations about state tests
Jefferson-Morgan Junior/Senior High School senior Chris Shaffer could have been a shoo-in for a special certificate on graduation day. He recently got his scores on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) that he took last spring in 11th grade. He excelled on the math and reading tests. Then came the writing test, and he did not meet the proficient or advanced performance level he needed to score on all three tests to get that certificate.
Shaffer is one of 37,885 students in Pennsylvania who were eligible this year to retake the writing test to improve their scores.
The state Department of Education estimated that 63,000 seniors were eligible to retake the math test, while 51,200 students could retake the reading test
“I didn’t think that it was difficult. I did really good (on math and reading) but did not do so well on writing,” he said.
He decided to retake the writing test, although he said he disagrees with the three tests equaling a diploma certificate or seal.
“They said it would help you in the future, or not,” he said. “If somebody saw your diploma from out of state, how will they know what that is?”
Shaffer, who is senior class president, wondered about the scoring of those tests. He said he understands the rubric method of scoring, which is divided into five levels with certain elements of an answer required to reach the top level.
“They grade it on a rubric, but does some five-person committee check all the answers? They can’t do that. Even though it’s based on a rubric, how is it fair for one person to check my test and someone else to check another? There’s no way they can say it’s flawless. People have prejudices about types of writing” Shaffer said.
Jeff-Morgan juniors Josh Stockdale, Jessica Johnston and Hayley Cratty will take the PSSA in April.
They are familiar with the PSSA, having taken it in eighth grade. They said they know the tests are necessary and have value. However, they have reservations about the amount of emphasis given the PSSA.
“The state has to make sure they are graduating people with certain knowledge to get a good job. It’s a way to make sure they are doing their job,” said Stockdale, the junior class vice president.
However, Johnston, the student council secretary, said she has learned more since kindergarten than can be measured on one test.
“I don’t think they should be able to say it about a little test. I just don’t think that a test should say all of that,” she said. “If they say it is testing knowledge, I don’t think a simple 100-question test will test my knowledge.”
They do not like that the annual PSSA scores reflect poorly on their school.
The district’s scores overall have failed to meet the statewide averages, although they improved at all levels in 2002 over the 2001 results.
The 2001 mean scaled score for the 11th-grade math and reading tests from the 2000-2001 school year were both at 1170, compared to the state average of 1300 for reading and 1310 for math. The scores for 2001-2002, released for public review this week by the education department, did go up. Last year’s 11th-graders’ mean scaled score in reading was 1220 and in math was 1260.
When translated into performance levels in math, 14.4 percent of the class was advanced, 15.6 percent was proficient, 18.9 percent was basic and 51.1 percent was below basic. The reading results were a little better, with 13.3 percent of the class advanced, 33.3 percent proficient, 24.4 percent basic and 28.9 percent below basic.
Johnston said she tries to do well for the sake of the school, but the student leaders said some of their classmates simply do not take the tests seriously.
“For every one person who cares about it, one doesn’t care and makes Christmas trees on their tests, and that lowers the score,” said Stockdale.
“That doesn’t mean there aren’t smart kids in Jeff-Morgan, because the ones who do not care divide us,” said Cratty, the student council president.
“Most of them can achieve proficient but they don’t try,” Shaffer added.
The students reasoned that about only one-third of the student body is serious about doing well on the PSSA, and that percentage hurts a small class like this year’s 11th grade of about 60 students. Shaffer said there may be more competition in a larger school to do better.
For one thing, Johnston said, the student does not earn a grade on the PSSA and does not need the certificate to graduate.
The students suggested the PSSA could be a requirement to graduate. Saying many variables go into a student’s performance on a test, they advocated that an average or below average score be set as the benchmark.
They also supported allowing students a chance to retake the test, much like those taking the SAT college entrance exam are allowed to do.
“If you don’t like your score, you can take it again and pick the best score,” Cratty said.
“Some people just don’t test well. They study and their head goes blank,” Johnston added.
For example, Cratty said she sometimes gets flustered when she is reading under pressure and is afraid she may not have time to finish the passage. She said reading material of interest to teen-agers could help.
They said the PSSA also may be unfairly difficult for special education students, and the test-makers also need to consider the different skills of vocational-technical school students.
They suggested better communication about the purpose of the PSSA between the administration and students, more preparation for the PSSA and familiarity with the format of the tests and types of questions.
Stockdale recommended that the administration sit the class down in the auditorium to explain the ins and outs of PSSA.
“Just try to prepare us and maybe that would help the 75 out of 100. Maybe they just don’t know how to answer the questions. They aren’t just regular questions,” Johnston said.
She also endorsed the use of the “culminating projects” as a better gauge of student knowledge and achievement. Johnston and her colleagues have worked on their projects since ninth grade, and all students must complete them in order to graduate.
While the students have their own opinions about the test and their own approaches to improving it, they admitted they do not have an ultimate solution.
They said all of their knowledge and their differences should be taken into consideration on a test as important as the PSSA. They disagreed with one class of students being compared to the next year’s class.
“The best way is to do it on an individual basis,” Stockdale said.
“We are individuals,” Johnston said.