Imagine that the superintendent of your school district has asked the Assessment Task Force to respond to the following letter to the editor published in your local newspaper: As a taxpaying citizen of Hohum County, I question the extensive amount of time our schools spend on testing. I don’t see the reason for these mandated state tests. What good are they, anyway?
Does anyone even look at the test results and do anything about the scores? I doubt it. What a waste of time and money! I think that teachers should teach more and not waste time testing. I think students would learn a lot more if they had more instruction and less testing. None of these tests show up on my kid’s report card, anyway, so how do I even know if they match up with what he’s supposed to be learning every day in school?
– A Concerned Taxpayer As chairman of the task force, you must spearhead the response. After some discussion with fellow members of the task force, you make the decision to address the issue of district and state assessments during the next board meeting with an invitation extended to the public to attend this meeting.
Create a 1- to 2-page outline of the material you plan to present at the board meeting.
Include the following components in your presentation:
• The benefits of assessments regarding the following stakeholders: o Students o Teachers o Schools o School districts o Taxpayers o Any others who may help highlight this issue
• A description of how assessments may be used to drive school improvement, including: o Examples of other assessments used in the school district to assess students and monitor their progress in mastering the state standards o An explanation of how these assessments are used to provide a balanced assessment program in the district
• An explanation of how federal and state legislation has impacted the manner in which state tests are created, administered, and used Note: You may want to refer to specific federal legislation, such as the No Child Left Behind Act, as well as current educational legislation from your own state.
• A clarification of the manner in which students in your district prepare for state tests, along with a description of test-preparation practices that the district avoids
