Oxford students are preparing to take the first ever Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress?(M-STEP), in the next few weeks.
The M-STEP replaces former Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) and Michigan Merit Exam (MME) test.
‘We’re gearing up for it as you know,? said Chief Academic Officer Ken Weaver to this reporter. ‘It’s been quite an involved process. Changing everything over, getting set up, making sure your technology can handle everything because it’s a whole new process for administration.
According to the state website, English language arts and mathematics will be assessed in grades 3?8, science in grades 4 and 7, and social studies in grades 5 and 8. The Michigan Merit Exam will consist of the ACT Plus Writing, WorkKeys, and M-STEP summative in English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies.
‘It’s (also) testing our new Michigan curriculum standards which were adopted in 2010, which look very familiar to the Common Core,? Weaver noted.
A big difference in the test is that for the first time, it’s being administered online.
‘It’s not mandatory that it be given online but I think (that) 83 percent of the schools (in the state) have chosen to give it online,? he explained. ‘Oxford is one of them.?
Administering the test online creates ‘quite a challenge,? according to Weaver.
‘The test items are different because now they have technology enhanced items,? he said. We have classroom activities and performance assessments as well, too, which are different and new to the testing process.?
Part of the struggle, explained Weaver, has been trying to set up the schedules that allow for both testing to happen and the continuation of classroom learning.
‘The difficulty is you’re trying to run a school day but now you’re shutting down all your computers and your labs, which are a valuable teaching tool for your teachers to have during that time, he added. ‘Before the whole building was shut down for basically five or six days during those two hour blocks we set up for testing. Now we’ve got testing for seven weeks and it’s a grade level at a time.?
Because the testing will take longer due to there not being enough devices, Weaver is afraid that parents are going to get upset over the amount of time the test takes. However, he said the test is a requirement by the state. They don’t have an option.
‘If a child does not take the test it only harms your local school. It does not do anything with the state or anything, but it harms your local school because we’re held accountable for testing all the kids and it actually goes in our scorecard, if we don’t meet a certain percentage,? he said. ‘They allow us a few kids (to miss) but not very many.?
Weaver said he does believe standardized tests are important because they do show parents where their child is currently at in their education.
‘It’s not the ‘end all and be all? but it does give you at least one little piece of information about your child and it’s important to see that,? he noted.
ACT to SAT
The state is not only changing standardized testing for the elementary, middle and high levels, but it’s also switching it at the college entrance level as well. For the first time in seven years the ACT college entrance exam given to high school juniors is being switched to the SAT, which is set to begin in spring of 2016.
‘They changed this year, primarily due to I think the price,? Weaver said. ‘The state saved like $17 million or something like that, so they made the decision to switch over (to the SAT) starting next year.?
But like other actions of the state, Weaver explained that it once again puts schools ‘in a bind? because it’s a ‘gear shift? from everything they’ve been prepping kids for the past several years.
‘It seems to be an ever-changing ball game with (the state) and that’s really the concern I think for a lot of educators is once again, the target is changing,? he added. ‘But we’ll make the changes and we’ll figure out what it is and where we need to go because not all tests are the same.?
Typically the ACT has been more curriculum and criterion based, while the SAT is more aptitude, but even though they’re switching to the SAT, that test is getting rewritten as well.
‘Quite honestly we don’t know what we’re getting with SAT completely,? Weaver said. ‘They’ve released some descriptions of it, but they’re changing the SAT quite dramatically.?
From the descriptions, Weaver said it sounds like the test will look more like the ACT.
One of the other differences between the two tests, Weaver said, was that the ACT included a science section in it.
(On the SAT) they’re going to embed science items within the reading sections and stuff like that,? he said. ‘It will be interesting to see, but it does really change the ballgame for a lot of high school principals and administrators and so forth because they need to figure out what it is and how the SAT is going to assess them and what are the changes between the two.?
High schools aren’t the only ones upset by the switch, but apparently many Michigan universities and colleges are as well, according to Weaver.
‘They’ve been used to the ACT and that’s been the main test for Michigan students to Michigan Schools, so they’re going to have to make the switch because they’re going to need Michigan students to fill their classrooms,? he added.
Lastly, Weaver said it’s frustrating when it comes to determining data.
‘Now it will be two years before you have got decent data that you’re able to use (in comparison), he said. ‘It’s hard to perfect what you’re doing when it’s always changing.?