They're HERE! The TESTS Have Arrived!!

By

Lynn K. McMullin

In the midst of all our snow closings and delays and sub-freezing temperatures, the CMT and CAPT tests have arrived in Central Office – all 68 boxes of them.  We’ve gotten them color-coded and ready for delivery to the schools.  In fact, by the time you are reading this, they may have already arrived at the offices of our four school test coordinators: Chris Woods at CBPS, Lynn Kaufman at CIS, Bill Donovan at CMS, and Irene Urko at CHS.

What every farmer knows is that you can’t get the little pig fatter by weighing him.  I often use this statement as an analogy to standardized testing, such as the CMT and CAPT.  We certainly won’t make our children more skilled or academically successful by testing them.  And while, this blog is an inside look at the time and effort that goes into the “weighing,” we all know the real work is what our teachers do every day in their classrooms  to help our students achieve. 

On the other hand, I’d like you to also know it is no simple task making these tests happen… Imagine, our efforts are replicated in every school district across Connecticut, and for the most part, on a much larger scale.   Each year when I check-in our boxes, (which everyone in our office noted inevitably arrive wet and dirty), I remind myself that some districts (Hartford, for example) must be receiving literally 100’s and 100's of boxes and need a whole storage facility to store them.

Here are some facts to ponder!

Based on last year’s data, we can expect our students to spend a total of 58.5 total hours across the grades in the actual testing.  Our third graders have the least amount of testing -- 7.5 hours.  Our 10^th graders have the most – 13 hours!  Three of our schools were assigned to take supplemental tests this year, which adds to their testing window, as these students will be trying out questions and tasks for future CMT’s and CAPT’s.  Tenth graders will be taking an extra Interdisciplinary Writing Test, for example. 

We will likely administer about 340 different make-up tests for students who were sick or away from school during the test administration.  We will work with about 106 official accommodations, such as students who need a reader or scribe, or large print materials, or extended time and an alternate setting, per their Special Education individualized plan (IEP).  We will need 117 teachers, working as trained proctors, to follow a specific set of protocols and administer the tests. 

The four school coordinators and I will spend about 250 hours on the various administrative tasks, including 50 hours in unpacking and inventorying tests and supplies, 15 hours training proctors and readers, 15 hours in phone or email correspondence with Measurement Incorporated over interesting testing ‘issues’ (such as what to do with a booklet a child was sick on), and 30 hours repacking the test booklets for scoring.   I have 184 emails in last year’s ‘testing folder.’   Lest you think that even the inventory is simple, at the Middle School, for example, Bill Donovan will count '290 small blue paper rulers' and '170 formula sheets'.  There are individualized bar code labels to check for each student’s testing booklets.

In addition, your school administrators, and sometimes even their PTO’s and parent volunteers, will spend many hours planning whole school assemblies and pep talks, re-doing the bell schedule, finding appropriate space for small group accommodations, scheduling proctors and substitutes, writing letters home, and even arranging breakfast or wholesome snacks for our test-takers.

At the end of March, we’ll re-inventory and box it all up again – the completed tests and the materials -- and each box will be taped shut and affixed with its two security seals and two address labels. 

No one is complaining!!  (Well, maybe just a little!)  But, in Canton, we do take this time very seriously, intending that every detail is well planned and every eventuality, controlled.  It’s important to us that this community continue to enjoy its excellent test scores.  

But, more importantly, it’s crucial to us that your children continue to master the math, reading, writing, science, and analytical problem-solving skills that the Connecticut tests measure.  It wouldn’t be fair of us to send them into a testing situation feeling overwhelmed and underprepared.  Over the summer, we'll study our overall test results and make changes in the curriculum and instruction that will help more of our children reach the goal.  We'll also study the individual results and set personalized goals so that each child reaches the next benchmark.

In a few weeks, I’ll blog about what you can do as parents to help us ensure your student’s best performance.

The Latest on Study Habits

by Lynn K. McMullin

Two recent research pieces, one in the New York Times and one in msnbc.com on-line, bear a little consideration and might prompt comments from those of us who can share our own practical experiences, either as students ourselves or as parents raising contemporary students.


The first is the NY Times article, "Forget What You Know About Good Study Habits" by Benedict Carey, published September 6, 2010, just in time for the start of school.  Carey claims that recent research turns our old-fashioned, common knowledge about studying on its head.  For example, how many of us believe that our students perform better when they have one established place in their homes or rooms for quiet study.  In my mind, the ideal spot should have a desk, a light, and a dictionary.  OK, I admit that's very old fashioned, so replace the dictionary with a laptop!


Carey says research, however, proves we're wrong, and "simply alternating the room where a person studies improves retention... In one classic 1978 experiment, psychologists found that college students who studied a list of 40 vocabulary words in two different rooms — one windowless and cluttered, the other modern, with a view on a courtyard — did far better on a test than students who studied the words twice, in the same room." 

For years, as a teacher, I told my students and their parents that they shouldn't study in the car on the way to karate lessons.. and that they should study one subject at a time, the hardest one first.  Yet, Carey claims research proves kids should change-up what they do as they study, moving from memorizing vocabulary, to reading and taking notes, to writing an essay or reciting aloud.  This studying technique, which Carey calls "mixed practice," enables retention for a longer period of time.  He explains that when a student does the same repetitive process over and over, the brain anticipates the correct response pattern, rather than internalize the content.  Variety, therefore, causes less automation and lasting knowledge.


What about cramming?  We've all done it with positive results!  Carey makes this analogy: "Hurriedly jam-packing a brain is akin to speed-packing a cheap suitcase... it holds its new load for awhile, then most everything falls out."  This is a old piece of common sense that seems to hold true -- study a little today, tomorrow, and then again next week for greater retention.


So, would you have gotten these three factors of success correct?  1.  Changing study locations?  2. Switching the kinds of content being studied? and 3. Spacing the study sessions over time?  The fourth key factor of success, of course, is motivation!


So, what does research say about studying success and Facebook, texting, emailing, or tweeting?  Suzanne Choney, in an article titled, "Facebook Use Can Lower Grades by 20 Percent, Study Says" (msnbc, September 7, 2010) writes that, "...college students who are on Facebook while studying or doing homework wind up getting 20 percent lower grades than students who don't have the social networking site in visual range, or even running in the background on their computers or mobile phones." 

The study was done by two researchers, one in the Netherlands and one from Ohio State University.  The purpose of the study was not to label Facebook as either good or bad, but rather it looked at whether there was any truth behind the belief, common among social networkers, that they are good at multi-tasking.  The study concludes, "the reality is it [social networking] extends the amount of time needed to carry out tasks and leads to more mistakes." 

So, what are your thoughts?

A Parent’s Guide to the CMT and CAPT

by Lynn K. McMullin

        For teachers and administrators, it seems like the standardized tests are no sooner over than they are upon us again. Here we are preparing for March’s CMT and CAPT tests in grades 3 – 11, and every school in the district is involved.
        The CMT and CAPT will take place in Grades 3 – 8 and Grade 10 from March 2nd – 12th. Make-ups will occur over the following two weeks.

What are “High-Stakes, Standardized” Tests?

        Many people cite President Bush’s 2002 NCLB Act (No Child Left Behind) as the beginning of standardized testing. That’s simply not true! Granted the NCLB Act stated that by the 2005-06 school year, all states needed to test students yearly in Math and Reading, grades 3 – 8 and one grade in high school, and by the 2007-08 school year, in science, as well; but, the truth is Connecticut has conducted the CMT (Connecticut Mastery Test), now in its 4th generation, since 1985 and the CAPT (Connecticut Academic Achievement Test), now in its 3rd generation, since 1994. The CMT was originally administered every other year, in grades 4, 6, and 8, and given in October versus March. It’s gone through three revisions since then.
        “High-stakes standardized testing” sounds ominous; but, in Canton, from your student’s and family’s point of view, you should not be worried about the kind of fallout and horror stories you read on the Internet. Your kids are not sitting through hours of kill-and-drill workshops and our teachers and administrators are not changing answer booklets to save their jobs. The term “high-stakes” means there is the intention of a tighter accountability for each state’s and district’s educational system -- although, interestingly enough, each state developed its own tests. Regardless, “high-stakes” means the results of the tests can be used as determinates of funding, licensing, sanctions, interventions, and so on.
        In Canton, we have not lost funding and no educators have lost their jobs due to the CMT or CAPT.  Neither are your students’ test results ever used for grade promotion … nor as the sole data point for placing them in programs or courses. The term “standardized” means all students take the same test and are measured against the same grade-level learning expectations as all other students across the state. It was taken for granted in the NCLB Act that the states would set challenging, but reasonable, expectations for student learning. Connecticut has done so.

What are the CMT and CAPT?

        Both the CMT (grades 3 – 8) and CAPT (grade 10) are multi-day tests in Reading, Math, Writing, and Science that take approximately 500 – 625 total minutes to administer and complete. The tests are designed to accomplish several goals:
1. Establish high expectations for all students at each grade level
2. Identify students who need extra help
3. Help schools and teachers identify weaknesses in the curriculum and improve daily instruction
4. Help families monitor their children’s achievement from grades 3 through 8, and high school.

For a parent brochure about CMT, click here.

For a parent brochure about CAPT, click here:

So, What Can You Do to Help Your Child?
        A lot of the following suggestions are simply common sense. Most kids want to succeed and will naturally strive to do their best. You simply need to nudge that natural tendency along.
        First and foremost, engender confidence in your child’s ability to do well. Help them to see the tests as their chance to shine rather than as tasks they must suffer through. Tell your child that they're not expected to know all the answers. They should work hard on what they know and not worry if they find some things hard to do.  Encourage your child to take their time, to listen carefully to test-taking directions, and to ask questions if any of the directions are not clear.  In other words, when you talk to your child, find the happy medium between taking the tests seriously and being overly anxious about the test and its results.
        Secondly, make sure your child is well-rested during the testing window and eats a well-rounded diet. Hunger detracts from performance; and, at the risk of sounding corny, the more protein and less sugar your child consumes in the morning the better. Make it fun!  To boost morale or alleviate stress, surprise your child with something they love.  For lunch, include a positive message or something along the lines of a "test survival reward."
        Finally, it’s very important to make sure that your child attends school on time during the testing sessions. Do not plan doctor or dental appointments on test dates.  Research shows that students perform much better when they begin comfortably and calmly and when they take the test in a familiar setting along with their peers. Remind your child that there’s no prize for finishing first, and when they do finish, they should review their answers and check their answer sheets for errors.
        Your child’s teacher or school might have additional suggestions for at-home support. Watch for information in the school newsletter, on the website, or in the backpack notices. And please, feel free to call the school if you have any questions.

2010-2011 BUDGET information coming NEXT FRIDAY