Are the Results Good or Bad?
The Oregonian article and statements from ODE staff and Early Learning Council members claim that many of Oregon's incoming kindergarteners are not ready or prepared for kindergarten.. according to the test results. However, when asked about the basis for this judgement, we are told that there are no benchmarks and there will not be any in the future. So we don't really know if our children are doing well or not, which is one of the stated purposes of the test.
If the literacy tests and math test have not been changed from the versions on the easyCBM, then our kids are actually are doing okay. The easyCBM has norms, so we can compare our kids scores to the scores of children in the normed sample . Our children are meeting expectations on letter naming (19 correct answers, which is the norm) and exceeding expectations on letter sounds (7 correct answers, which is above the norm of 4). They are performing slightly below expectations on Math (8 correct answers, which is just below the norm of 9).
These norms were calculated by the easyCBM test developers themselves from assessments that were administered to a large national sample of children in the Fall of their Kindergarten year. As the assessments given to the sample children were likely administered later in the school year than they were to Oregon's children, these results underestimate our children's abilities..
Are the Results Meant to Establish a Baseline?
We have heard from some people that it is a baseline measure. This would mean that the results have no purpose or meaning until they are compared to subsequent test results. They could be the results of the KA of students who will enter Kindergarten next year or the results of these same children on the same (or similar) measures at the end of kindergarten or in future years. But the results are being used as if they are meaningful and informative, with implications being drawn for practice and policy.
A Snapshot of What?
We also hear the results as being "just a snapshot." What does this mean? The implication, we guess, is that the results shouldn't be taken it too seriously and the they will not be used to judge children, teachers or schools. But that train has already left the station. It happened on January 31st with the Governor's press release and headlines in the Oregonian. Every local newspaper around the State reported how the children in their district(s) fared as compared to the State average. Even if it really was "just a snapshot," because of the narrow range of skills it tests, the snapshot is out-of-focus and half the child is not in the picture.
Disparities Among Groups
We have known for a very long time that on just about every test there is, poor students, students of color, and students whose first language is not English do worse than their wealthier and whiter peers. who do worse than their Asian peers. That this inequality is manifested long before children start school has also been well-established. Unfortunately, in the U.S., test results have never led to changes in policies significant enough to change test results. For preschoolers, it would entail providing the same high quality early childhood services to poor children that children in Lake Oswego are privileged to. and ensuring that their families can keep them well-fed and adequately housed.. Most Nordic countries actually do this. It's hard to see how the KA results can shed new light on these disparities or have much impact on policy.
Vermont's report of their readiness assessment results is an example of the clear and appropriate use of results
The Oregonian article and statements from ODE staff and Early Learning Council members claim that many of Oregon's incoming kindergarteners are not ready or prepared for kindergarten.. according to the test results. However, when asked about the basis for this judgement, we are told that there are no benchmarks and there will not be any in the future. So we don't really know if our children are doing well or not, which is one of the stated purposes of the test.
If the literacy tests and math test have not been changed from the versions on the easyCBM, then our kids are actually are doing okay. The easyCBM has norms, so we can compare our kids scores to the scores of children in the normed sample . Our children are meeting expectations on letter naming (19 correct answers, which is the norm) and exceeding expectations on letter sounds (7 correct answers, which is above the norm of 4). They are performing slightly below expectations on Math (8 correct answers, which is just below the norm of 9).
These norms were calculated by the easyCBM test developers themselves from assessments that were administered to a large national sample of children in the Fall of their Kindergarten year. As the assessments given to the sample children were likely administered later in the school year than they were to Oregon's children, these results underestimate our children's abilities..
Are the Results Meant to Establish a Baseline?
We have heard from some people that it is a baseline measure. This would mean that the results have no purpose or meaning until they are compared to subsequent test results. They could be the results of the KA of students who will enter Kindergarten next year or the results of these same children on the same (or similar) measures at the end of kindergarten or in future years. But the results are being used as if they are meaningful and informative, with implications being drawn for practice and policy.
A Snapshot of What?
We also hear the results as being "just a snapshot." What does this mean? The implication, we guess, is that the results shouldn't be taken it too seriously and the they will not be used to judge children, teachers or schools. But that train has already left the station. It happened on January 31st with the Governor's press release and headlines in the Oregonian. Every local newspaper around the State reported how the children in their district(s) fared as compared to the State average. Even if it really was "just a snapshot," because of the narrow range of skills it tests, the snapshot is out-of-focus and half the child is not in the picture.
Disparities Among Groups
We have known for a very long time that on just about every test there is, poor students, students of color, and students whose first language is not English do worse than their wealthier and whiter peers. who do worse than their Asian peers. That this inequality is manifested long before children start school has also been well-established. Unfortunately, in the U.S., test results have never led to changes in policies significant enough to change test results. For preschoolers, it would entail providing the same high quality early childhood services to poor children that children in Lake Oswego are privileged to. and ensuring that their families can keep them well-fed and adequately housed.. Most Nordic countries actually do this. It's hard to see how the KA results can shed new light on these disparities or have much impact on policy.
Vermont's report of their readiness assessment results is an example of the clear and appropriate use of results