Because of severe weather and associated school closings so far this winter across the entire state, the Illinois State Board of Education is offering elementary and middle schools the option to test students during a modified testing window for the Illinois Standards Achievement Tests in third through eighth grades.
- Regular testing window: March 3–14
- Modified testing window: March 10–21
Testing during the modified window is entirely optional and does not require any special request as it is still considered to be a part of the regular testing window, State Superintendent Christopher A Koch wrote today in his regular newsletter.
All materials for both the regular and modified regular schedule must be ready for pickup by Tuesday, March 25. Early pickup of material may be scheduled.
More guidance related to the modified testing window and pickup options will be available on the Assessment home page.
Additionally, ISBE has also extended the current ACCESS administration window for one week.
Testing and return shipping deadlines have been pushed back seven calendar days later. Use of this extra time is optional, not required. ACCESS and Alternate ACCESS materials should be returned for scoring as soon as possible to minimize any delay in processing by MetriTech.
For questions about testing or the time extension, contact ISBE at (866) 317-6034. Questions about materials and shipping should be directed to MetriTech at (800) 747-4868.
Boycott action proposed in Chicago
Parent groups in Chicago, including Raise Your Hand, Parents United for Responsible Education, and Parents 4 Teachers, are calling on students to boycott the ISATs this year, since the test scores will not be used to measure school progress, the Chicago Tribune reports.
“If enough kids say ‘No,’ then that will mean two weeks of learning rather than testing,” the paper quoted Cassie Creswell, a member of the More Than a Score coalition, as saying.
However, if fewer than 95 percent of students at any given school take the ISATs, the school would run afoul of accountability standards imposed by the No Child Left Behind law. Being out of compliance with federal law could jeopardize federal funds, although many states have waivers from certain federal requirements. Illinois doesn’t have waivers, though, so the rules are much stricter.
I am not a fan of the opt-out movement, although the More Than a Score coalition in Chicago claims that more than 500 Chicago Public School students have already committed to opting out of the ISATs when the window opens next week. My main reason for not supporting parents or students who opt out of state testing is that I want parent groups to support the public schools, which implies supporting every mandatory program in the public schools, not picking and choosing the mandatory programs you agree with.
Look, we test kids way too much in the public schools. The state could get just as accurate a picture of school progress if kids were tested every few years, say in third, fifth, and eighth grades. And just once ought to do it as far as state-mandated testing, provided the test is valid, reliable, and fair.
But school officials have to follow the law, and the law isn’t what they want it to be. Congress should have changed the law a long time ago, but the political will to change No Child Left Behind and set testing at a greatly reduced but still informative level does not exist. Politicians aren’t going to touch No Child Left Behind with a 10-foot pole, after we all pounced on them last time they touched the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
They all thought they were heroes, providing transparency and accountability for public schools. But educators, parents, principals, superintendents, and everybody loathed No Child Left Behind. Lawmakers and the president became villains after thinking they were heroes, and the change of public opinion blindsided them. NCLB won’t be touched again, would be my guess.
So, unless you get this law changed, this is the way of the world: test, test, test. Now, if you can get this law changed, trust me, nobody will be happier than the professionals who work in the public schools. But until you convince your representatives in Congress to change this law, I think the situation calls for supporting what teachers and schools have to do. They have to live with not being able to teach as a result of over-testing. Try to be more empathetic to their plight, rather than shoving a boycott their way. It’s not helping.