As administrators and teachers make final preparations for M-STEP testing after spring break, Superintendent Dr. Rod Rock asked the School Board to back a resolution protesting the new state test.
The superintendent’s resolution calls on the state to stop the test and work with local districts on something better.
“Why are we doing this ? it doesn’t seem like the best thing to do for our kids,” Rock said at the March 23 meeting.
None of the board members support how the M-STEP, Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress, has been rolled out, but the board fell short of signing off on the resolution.
Board Vice President Susan Boatman said the test has been a lot of trouble, but thought the resolution was too hard on standardized teaching in general.
“I think we should do standardized testing,” she added.
Trustee Cheryl McGinnis supported the resolution, and said the test process has been a disgrace.
“Shame on the legislature,” McGinnis said. “It’s a debacle, what our legislature has done.”
Board Treasurer Joan Patterson said the resolution was too negative.
“I’m more in favor of, after taking the test, listing items we had issues with then presenting it to the legislature,” Patterson said. “That seems like a better way go. A lot of time and effort went into this test. I’d like us to try to get something out of it.”
Michigan Department of Education was called on by the state legislature to create the new test in June 2014, and was still releasing software for it in March, Rock said.
M-STEP includes English language arts and mathematics for grades 3?8; science in grades 4 and 7; social studies in grades 5 and 8; and Michigan Merit Examination for 11th grade, which consists of a college entrance exam, work skills assessment, and M-STEP summative assessments in English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies.
The test is online and digital, while the MEAP, which it replaces, was pencil and paper. Concerns with the test include a broken promise to make it “computer-adaptive,” which would have altered questions for individual students based on their response. The state also said results would be available this school year, but later said it would take several months to release data.
Rock said the test will disrupt classes for the rest of the school year, and will be used to determine At-Risk funding, school funding, teacher and administrator evaluations, which is inappropriate.
‘We’re working to do the best we can with the information we’ve been given to balance the curriculum with test preparation,? said Staci Puzio, supervisor for testing and research.
‘It’s like changing all 18 wheels at the same time.?
Elementary students also had to learn “digital literacy,” such as scrolling through all available text, how to use a mouse, and typing skills.
“Imagine a third grader having to think through and type a response down in a timely manner,” Puzio said.
At the high school, 670 juniors are slated to take the test from April 13 through the end of May. Each student needs about two days to test, said Principal Gary Kaul.
“We decided at the high school to start the three week window after spring break,” Kaul said. “That gave us greatest amount of time.”
Challenges included Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate testing at the same time, accommodating students who take classes at Oakland Tech Center, student fatigue after two-and-a-half weeks of testing, and class interruptions.
“We’ll take 25 percent of kids out of a class, then the next 25 percent the next day ? it disrupts continuity,” the principal said. “We don’t want students to hurry through the test, it’s a high stakes test.?
The state has provided updates and changes continuously, he said.
“The rules are changing, every time we open an email. We don’t know what’s going to happen with bandwidth, we don’t know if computers are going to crash. They haven’t experienced that load yet,” he said.
Mary Herzenstiel said she and other parents wonder about the point of the test.
“I have told my children to do their best and not to worry about the score,” Herzenstiel said on a Facebook discussion. “What other test would a parent ever say not to worry about the score??
The district spent $338,270 for M-STEP technology this year, including 548 Chromebook computers, switches, access points, and other equipment.