Testing in the dark - What parents should know about the SOLs

“I could never go back to teaching without the use of data.  Teaching without data would be like getting dressed in the dark”
—-Myesha Taylor, first grade teacher 2008

From the anthology Teaching in the Dark…L. Jessie, 2008

It’s that time again!  Your child is taking or getting ready for those Standards of Learning (SOL) tests.  Many of you may be a part of the crowd participating in the “Too many tests” mantra.  By now most of you know that the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) has reduced the number of tests required and also increased the level of rigor on tests. 

This article is written with a different mantra.  That mantra is “From the Institute of C.S. aka common sense.” 

My father who did not complete elementary school left this legacy of insight. During one of my trips home from college while watching skiing television I pointed out what a phenomenon flying off a ski slope was.
 
His exact response was ” Child do you believe that people can fly through the air?”  By his tone I knew my answer had to be “No daddy.”  He then said,  “Good because I thought you done gone off to college and lost your common sense.” 

I still smile and lament when I think that his horizons were so limited that he honestly did not believe it possible, however, I never forgot his warning of never losing your common sense. I am known for reminding teachers that you can have a B.S. or M.S. but never lose your C.S.”, or saying “common sense dictates…” That type of thinking combined with using research practices has never let me down.

This article outlines some “Common sense” strategies for students and parents involved in the testing cycle.  Entering a test situation without students and teachers knowing how the test work does not make sense to me.  Yet it happens all of the time.  It really is equivalent to “Testing in the Dark”!

This article is not meant to interfere with the wonderful work that teachers do in preparing students for the SOLs; however, it always amazes me that students and sometimes teachers take or administer tests without knowing what the criteria for passing is or how the test works. Myesha is right. It really is similar to getting dressed in the dark, not knowing what the outcome is going to be but “hoping” you will like what you see in the mirror.
 
Lets run a quick test.  If you are the parent of a student taking the SOLs ask him or her “what is a passing score for the test?”  Follow up with the next question which is “How many answers do you need to get right in order to obtain that score?”  The next and final question, “Is it timed?”

For the most part, we know more about what is required to pass a driver’s license test than we do about an exam that has far more important implications.

If you were driving to New York for the first time you would look at a map to determine your exact final destination and the quickest and safest route.

Yet for some students their only strategy is what I call the “Hoping strategy.”  They hope to pass but are not sure most of the time.

As educators, especially in middle and high schools, we sometimes blame the students, saying, “They have to be more responsible for their learning.”  Part of what we need to teach our students is how to be more strategic when taking any test, and how to accurately summarize text in a test. These are life skills because they enhance problem-solving abilities.

Yes, we want students to be life-long learners because they will be tested in some format or forum for the rest of their lives.

National educators Amy Green, Melton Glennon and Lucy Calkins reminded us that standardized reading tests are a genre (category) unto themselves and cannot be read the same way you read a mystery. 

In other words students cannot approach it expecting it to be attention getting or fun.  Instead the purpose is to analyze a student’s ability to extract meaning from text.

Tests have their own vocabulary. In all tests, students must know what the central idea is.  They must ask themselves the question “what is this mainly about?” 

They must be able to navigate the text and determine what is most important and eliminate what is not.  In other words, they must be able to “Think” while reading.  They must be laser-focused on meaning.

Now the answer to the three simple questions:

1. What is a passing score?  Most of this information is available to parents on VDOE website.  Students whose goal is passing must score at least 400 on each of the tests.  Students having a goal of “Pass Advanced” must score at the 500 level.  A score of 600 is a perfect score.

2. How many correct answers are needed in order to obtain the above scores? This is the most important question. 

Go to VDOE, Virginia Standards of Learning, and do a search for “Cut Scores.” Information for every subject and grade level is available for public use.

This should be a part of a student’s roadmap. For example, in the third grade reading category at least 25 of the 40 items have to be answered correctly to achieve a passing score of 400.  If the goal is 500 or Pass/Advanced 35 of the 40 items must be correct. Some tests will have an additional ten “Field items” that will not count (Search, “Test Blueprints”). Since we do not know which ones are field items, those ten must be added.

A useful strategy for parents after sharing the number correct answers needed to achieve his goal is to ask the child how many he/she thinks he answered correctly.

Those who have strategically counted their correct answers should be able to tell you.  My elementary students were held responsible for knowing and sharing that information with me.

This is a very simple C.S. strategy.  I call it the “Counting strategy.”  Children cannot be expected to be “responsible for their own learning” when they do not know what a passing score is. We would not think of allowing kids to enter a sport without knowing what a winning score looks like or the number wins required for championship competition.  Yet we allow this vacuum of information to exist in the biggest game of a child’s life.

3. Is the test timed?  The SOLs are not.  I have seen students take a full day when they learned the importance of taking their time. You may be surprised to learn that the students most frequently to be scanners because they think, “This is easy…I want to be the first to finish”, are the honor and/or gifted kids.

We had to tell them that “Really smart kids” re-read their answers. Teaching students this skill is as important as teaching content.  It was always frustrating when I knew students had the ability to perform at a higher level but were in the “I want to be first to finish mode.”

Thinking while reading is the most important strategy we can teach students. Navigating a timed vs. an untimed test are also two different genres.
 
Timed tests require students to do the easiest questions first, and to use the process of elimination next. Tests where wrong answers are penalized versus those where there is no penalty require two different mindsets. 

On the first “wild guessing” is not advised.  On the latter, students need to know that “leaving blanks” is not in their best interest. I reminded my parents to do the following:  Before your child goes to school on test day remind him to “not to leave blanks on SOLs.” Follow up when he returns from schools by simply asking, “Did you leave blanks?” My personal children’s high five was…“I didn’t leave blanks mom!” My daughter used some of the above strategies to pass the bar.

When we allow students to test in the dark, lacking the information (light) needed to establish a strategic performance target, it actually is comparable to dressing in the dark.

They often end up with performance levels that do not match their ability. Some are shocked at their end results, much like wearing mismatched clothing when dressing in the dark. Unfortunately the very adults who could have could have provided light blame the child for the way his or her poor performance looks at the end.