Test Conversions Bring New Standards to the District

The looming change faced by school districts for assessing student progress via standardized testing means that educators are spending a lot of time implementing processes that will help get students through the news exams, and help students learn more efficiently.

The Common Core Standards–a process which is being implemented in Michigan and 40 other states to replace the Michigan Educational Assessment Program–is under way at Dearborn Public Schools. The program is heavily focused on improving reading and math levels by changing how questions are posed to students, and ensuring they understand how to solve problems.

“Students will need to learn how to evaluate and assess problems that are more complex in nature,” said Mary Pizzimenti, a secondary education coordinator for math for the district. “This is not only true for the test, but in life as well."

Common Core creates a platform for greater understanding of math and reading comprehension by relating questions to real-life scenarios; in other words, instead of asking a student to add, multiply or subtract a simple equation, the test will provide background data in story form. This means students will not only have to do the math, they’ll have to decide on what formulas will be used, and understand the vocabulary used in the scenario.

Change Is Coming

The long-standing MEAP test will be replaced by a new, ACT-like exam in the 2013-14 school year. Currently, students in the third through eighth grade are examined for math and literacy proficiency; and science and social studies are evaluated in certain grades.

The timeline gives teachers and educators only a short amount of time to implement more complex questions into their studies, so students can learn to evaluate, solve and use critical thinking skills that are not currently stressed, said Pizzamenti.

“The students will be required to use other skills–such as language skills–to solve problems,” she said.

Students in upper grades will also expected to weed through more possibilities in each questions because five–instead of four–multiple choice answers will be provided.

The secondary education coordinators presented the details of the plan at the recent Dearborn School Board study session, just days before the district’s 2010 MEAP results were made public. Schools spokesman David Mustonen said the district is analyzing those results for presentation at its regular board meeting April 11.

Preliminary data, however, looks good for the schools, with the district maintaining its performance with a few exceptions in reading, and increasing math scores.

Superintendent Brian Whiston said the coordinators at each building have taken on a daunting task during trying times, both before and after work.

“I want to thank the staff and administrator for taking on these things during difficult and frustrating times,” he said.