State school board takes step toward new tests
The state school board hasn't made any commitments yet, but it took another step today toward giving a sampling of students in Maryland an international test next fall to judge how well-prepared our students are compared with those around the world.
Nancy Grasmick told the board she is having a conversation with representatives of The Programme for International Student Assessment, known as PISA, to see if it's feasible to give the test to a large enough sample of students in the state to get results that could be compared with a country overseas.
PISA was last given in 2006 in 57 countries. The board told Grasmick to continue looking into the possibility.
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Comments
What about the NWEA Test? It is growing in popularity and is more effective than what MD uses now. TFA and the Baltimore Curriculum Project are using it.
Posted by: Steve | April 27, 2009 9:40 PM
The NWEA is horrendous. TFA teachers were told to administer it and most did not. It is very confusing for the teachers and students. TFA is being used as a pilot program for NWEA. I believe NWEA is paying TFA to have their teachers administer the test.
Posted by: City Teacher | April 28, 2009 12:47 PM
We've been using NWEA where I work for about two years and have seen strong results. The test does require the extended use of a computer lab and training for staff to administer and interpret the results, but in exchange, the students get an individualized test and teachers get objectives to teach rather than just grade equivalencies. It is too early to tell whether there is a direct correlation between NWEA scores and the MSA, but in terms of charting student progress and identifying areas of need, I find NWEA to be a more useful tool.
Posted by: Warren | April 29, 2009 7:34 AM