Why Are There No SBAC Scores Available?
Remember when you got the message from SPS that said:
The timing of the state assessment score reports has changed from June to September.
SPS went on to say:
Due to unanticipated delays at the state level, the district will now send score reports home in September.
September is the typical timing for state assessment score reports, but the district this year had initially anticipated they would be ready earlier.
That "earlier" was never June so why they said that I don't know. How do I know it was never June?
I asked OPSI.
A student’s score report contains a lot of information, including results comparing the student to others in his/her school, district and the state. Those comparisons can’t be made until all students have tested and the results have been processed.
Second, the score report includes all tests. That includes new math EOCs. Standard setting for the updated EOCs won’t be done until later this summer, which is why the score reports won’t be out until then. (Please note that the standard setting won’t happen next year, so we anticipate that the score reports will be available earlier in the future.)
OSPI has held a number of webinars on the assessments; they can be found at http://www.k12.wa.us/SMARTER/Webinars.aspx. On April 7, we said that the reports would be given to districts in late summer (see Slide 9). On May 12, we narrowed the timeline to September 7-9 (see Slide 6).
You can see the problem. Everyone has a "reason."
SPS took "late summer" to mean June.
OSPI didn't really answer my question which was about SBAC, not the "score report." (But it seems the real culprit is the EOCs.)
Of course, what about next year? Will these expensive, computer-based tests allow scores to come to teachers and parents faster next year?
Why are we paying all this money for tests and technology if the results aren't available any faster? (And just wait for those scores - that'll be fun.)
Oh right, good things come to those who wait. Except we are told - repeatedly - that kids can't wait.
The timing of the state assessment score reports has changed from June to September.
SPS went on to say:
Due to unanticipated delays at the state level, the district will now send score reports home in September.
September is the typical timing for state assessment score reports, but the district this year had initially anticipated they would be ready earlier.
That "earlier" was never June so why they said that I don't know. How do I know it was never June?
I asked OPSI.
A student’s score report contains a lot of information, including results comparing the student to others in his/her school, district and the state. Those comparisons can’t be made until all students have tested and the results have been processed.
Second, the score report includes all tests. That includes new math EOCs. Standard setting for the updated EOCs won’t be done until later this summer, which is why the score reports won’t be out until then. (Please note that the standard setting won’t happen next year, so we anticipate that the score reports will be available earlier in the future.)
OSPI has held a number of webinars on the assessments; they can be found at http://www.k12.wa.us/SMARTER/Webinars.aspx. On April 7, we said that the reports would be given to districts in late summer (see Slide 9). On May 12, we narrowed the timeline to September 7-9 (see Slide 6).
You can see the problem. Everyone has a "reason."
SPS took "late summer" to mean June.
OSPI didn't really answer my question which was about SBAC, not the "score report." (But it seems the real culprit is the EOCs.)
Of course, what about next year? Will these expensive, computer-based tests allow scores to come to teachers and parents faster next year?
Why are we paying all this money for tests and technology if the results aren't available any faster? (And just wait for those scores - that'll be fun.)
Oh right, good things come to those who wait. Except we are told - repeatedly - that kids can't wait.
Comments
Marmauset
Weird.
- Ridiculous
I was also under the impression that this would happen in June, and families would be notified if their school failed to meet AYP before the beginning of the school year.
North End mom
My guess is that no individual school or student scores can be released until the whole state has scores in hand. If OSPI was smart, which it isn't, it would have pushed the scores out now and let the news topic simmer down over the next 3 months. At this point, this benefits we test non-believers. The ridiculousness will be front and center in the new academic year instead of an afterthought during the beginning of summer.
DistrictWatcher
I'm still trying to get my kids Amplify results for the 3 rounds they wrote this year. I'm told I'll get it ...hopefully. I did request in writing. I was told everyone in my kid's class passed SBACs. So, the teachers seem to have these results too.
2E mom
Common Core and PARCC was pushed through the lens of "growth" on the east coast. The east coast began testing two years before the w. coast. Growth didn't happen. PARCC and Common Core are being used to dismantle public education
I know of at least one child in her class who did opt out.
In contrast, one of my children took a MAP test Monday, and the results are already on the Source. I think the MAP was an overly blunt instrument, mostly because of its lack of alignment, but for my more regular, non-outlying kids it has always been an accurate reflection of academic progress over the year. Good year with a skilled teacher- scores go up. Bad year with a bad fit teacher- scores go down (unfortunately the case for this kid this year, but you win some, you lose some, and now I have a little more solid motivation to supplement this summer). Hard to say how valuable it is to just have what I already know confirmed, but at least it's not too time consuming and quick to report.
-sleeper
Late to the conversation
Opt Out
When I was in elementary school (70s) we could take our report cards to McDonald's and get a free happy meal or something for good grades. As a kid, I thought it was pretty cool. We hardly ever ate there, so it was actually a treat to me. I have a different opinion of their food now, but a getting a McDonald's gift certificate is not the worst thing in the world. I find it more disturbing that a "reward" is only going to those that took the SBAC. Do good grades mean nothing?
-opted out
Huummmm... competency based???
Apparently politics trumps a meaningful performance of skills and knowledge as
"The Performance Standard" is set after the testing results are in.
=== It is not "what does Billy really need to know" but rather how does Billy stack up with the rest of the kids.
So much for the End of Course assessment.
-- Dan Dempsey