Embracing Standardized Tests for Student Growth

When I began my work at the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, my first responsibility was to develop greater consistency across our curriculum and improve student achievement in reading and writing. Many schools wrestle with how best to deliver a rigorous general education within the time constraints of a Jewish day school schedule. Data must be at the heart of the decisions we make as educators to ensure that our classroom work aligns with our desired outcomes.

In the current state of education, standardized tests have become a highly controversial means of analyzing student achievement. This attitude is not unfounded. Nationally, standardized tests that are currently being implemented, created by PARCC or Smarter Balanced, could arguably be seen as imperfect tools to measure teacher efficacy as opposed to student growth. However, Jewish day schools have the opportunity and the flexibility to use standardized assessments for their truest purpose: to  improve student outcomes. Using assessment data can help to ensure that the intended curriculum, the taught curriculum and the learned curriculum are in alignment.

Over the last several years, part of my work at CESJDS has been analyzing data to make informed decisions about our curriculum, our teaching and our priorities. Although we do use formative and summative assessments during the school year to inform instruction, our students also take the ERBs in 3^rd and 5^th grade. Each year when the ERB scores come in, we look not only at individual student data, but also at gradewide trends to see where the gaps in our students’ learning lie. When I first began this work, it was clear from our test scores that there was not enough focus on writing mechanics and writing concepts and skills.

Using the data, I returned to the grade-level teams to discuss units of study and the timing of each unit to ensure that

1. We were covering all necessary concepts

2. We had the time to cover each skill fully

3. The skills we were expecting built on the previous years’ work

4. We had the resources and teacher training to improve our student outcomes.

Difficult decisions had to be made. Integration of content and skills across disciplines was necessary to provide enough time in our truncated day for students to practice and hone their skills. Together, the teachers and I documented the skills that were necessary in each grade and ensured consistency of skill work across classrooms through collaborative teams and examination of student work. This work was not easy; many teachers had to give up units that they had been teaching for years or change their methods or instructional practice. However, when looking at the data, it was clear these changes were necessary.

In the end, the hard work of data analysis and reflection on our practice based on these tests have produced excellent results, as our students have made significant gains. Standardized tests are certainly not the only way to measure student achievement. However, they provide a window on a school’s performance, enabling adjustments to be made that ensure the highest levels of achievement.