White Paper on Online Testing and Common Core Standards

T.H.E. Journal and VMware offer a White Paper targeting pending state mandates for online assessment in Kindergarten though Grade 12 schools by the 2014-2015 school year. Information will be available on how the Tyler Independent School District in Texas virtualized desktops in order to create a secure testing environment. According to the White Paper, using virtual desktops, the district was able to save money, better utilize resources, have increased security and reliability, and focus on teacher core competency. Download the report to learn more.

Common Core Pushback

What’s all the fuss over Common Core Standards? Marc Tucker, in his Education Week blog piece “Testing, the Common Core, and Consumer Resistance”, says that American teachers are used to tests that don’t match the curriculum, are cheap, don’t really assess complex skills or creativity, are too dependent on multiple choice questions, are far too frequent, and aren’t like those used in countries with top-performing students. Therefore, the rebellion against Common Core is understandable, especially if schools don’t have curricula and tests that align with the standards. Perhaps, we are not ready for Common Core? Do other parts of our educational systems need to be revamped before we can put such standards into place? Do we need to change testing by grade level and test, like some other countries, just a few times in a student’s education? Do teacher evaluations need to be linked to test results? Anti-Common Core groups such as Hoosiers against Common Core and Arizonans Against Common Core are springing up throughout the country. Indiana, for example, has decided to “pause” entrance into Common Core. We know that we need to improve our schools, but many parents and teachers are telling us that Common Core and frequent testing is not the way.

Confused About Common Core?

Tech & Learning is offering a series of three webinars that target common core and technology.  The “Demystifying Common Core and Technology” series includes: Common Core and IT on Tuesday, April 23^rd at 4:00 p.m. (eastern); Common Core and Curriculum, Tuesday April 30^th at 4:00 p.m. (eastern); and Higher Education, Tuesday, May 7^th at 4:00 p.m. (eastern). Schools and districts interested in discussing curricular and technology needs of the future as they relate to common core and common core assessment will appreciate this series of webinars. If these dates and times aren’t convenient, keep in mind that the sessions will be ready for you in Tech & Learning’s Archives.

Mastering Language Arts Anywhere

Benesse America has launched StraightAce English: Grammar and Vocabulary, a language arts program for middle school students. According to Shigeki Matsuo, president of Benesse America, “Just 15 minutes a day studying with StraightAce is enough to show positive improvements in test scores, and encourages struggling students to succeed.” StraightAce, aligned with Common-Core standards, features 1500 questions complete with explanations that can be integrated into classroom courses.  This mobile tutor is also available for math.

Too Much Questionable Testing?

At this time of year, I hear teachers complaining about the time it takes for testing. “Thank heavens we are finished with the testing. Now, I can get back to teaching.” “We were testing last week, so I had time to cut out puzzle pieces.”

In June, parents in New York called for more teaching, less testing. Some say that some test questions are of poor quality and some tests contain major errors. Bedford Central District in Westchester County, New York voted in a resolution against the overuse and misuse of standardized testing.  Are we becoming dependent upon assessing our students with products developed by outside agencies and are the demands of preparing for and taking tests subtracting too much time from teaching hours? Are we sending teachers the message that they do not know how to evaluate their students? Don’t we hear often that test results are not used or, at least, not used effectively? We learned that Common_Core tests will take up to ten hours; districts giving them will have twenty days to administer them.

Follow Edutopia Pins

Looking for ideas related to geography, ePals, life in China, using Skype in the classroom, or understanding cultures? Try Edutopia’s Pinterest pinboard Around The World. Or how about information on edible schoolyards, project-based learning, design, art integration, technology, and loads of other topics?  There are 82 pins so far on the Students Like Tech board, some of which include information about using games for learning, tech tools with feedback for students, ultra cool educational sites, teaching with tablets, back-to-school apps, and where we are in digital learning. Other Pinboards target Common Core, school supplies, mobile classrooms, careers, Halloween, reading lists,  . . .

Word Raider: Vocabulary Builder for Grades 2-5

Ballard & Tighe has announced its new educational Game, Word Raider: Escape. The game is designed to engage students in Grades 2-5 in rigorous vocabulary instruction. Students are introduced to words through animations that convey the meaning of the words and then practice using the words to solve puzzles. Throughout the word games, students listen, speak, read, and write in order to gain long-term memory of the words covered. Word Raider: Escape ($24 per student per year) helps students meet Common Core State Standards and is said to be excellent for students with learning difficulties, ESL, and ELL students. If you are interested in trying Word Raider: Escape, you can sign up for a trial game to pilot it with up to 20 students.

Zeos™: For Mastery of Standards

Research tells us that good educational games work very well in the class and at home.  So, why not use “gamification” to prepare students for assessment testing?  Using this approach, Pearson’s Zeos™  helps students with high-stakes assessment testing. Called “one-of-a-kind standards practice”, Zeos engages students, Grades 3 to 10, through the use of educational games, avatars, rewards, and peer interaction, and while doing so, analyzes patterns of each student’s responses in order to give them the skill practice that they need.

Education Week: Ed Tech Strategies

Education Week provides links to articles that target Ed-Tech Strategies for K-12 Leaders. This excellent Ed Week Spotlight can be downloaded free, or you can link to the resources online. Information is included on reimaging learning, flipped classrooms, common core online assessments, social media efforts, and balancing innovation with academic accountability. In the pdf, all the articles in the Spotlight are included.

Common Core Assessment

According to a piece by Catherine Gewertz in Education Week (08/14/12), tests for common core skills and knowledge won’t be ready until 2012-2015. Sample test questions have been developed by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for Colleges and Careers. The groups are working on a “different approach to test items”, which will require an in-depth understanding of what is being tested. Two problems are bothering educators, so far. One is whether those who create the tests will be able to create questions like the samples. The other is whether students will understand how to answer these types of questions, or in other words, how to prepare them for testing.

It seems that we shouldn’t be so worried about preparing students for testing, but instead we should be making sure that students gain an in-depth knowledge of the content they are studying and how to put their critical and creative thinking skills to work to solve problems related to the content. If so, they should do well on the tests.