Like many other highly rated educational institutions, the WW-P School District rarely has much to say about reports of its students scoring high marks on standardized tests or the district ranking in the upper echelon of public schools.
But what happens when the scores do not reflect well, and suggest that the district students are declining rather than advancing in their achievement levels? That was the case this past year in language arts, specifically the writing abilities of fifth to eighth graders as measured by the annual writing assessment administered by the Educational Records Bureau (ERB) in the fall. What did the district do? It basically had the students take a make-up test.
At a recent Board of Education meeting, Curriculum Committee chair Richard Kaye provided the overview:
“When the fall administration scores were received it was noted that there was a significant drop (around 100 points lower than last year and lower than any previous administration of the ERB assessment), particularly in grades 5-8. In discussions with the company, they explained that the prompt had shifted from narrative to expository and they felt the change had resulted in the drop in scores. This was noted in numerous school systems, not just in WW-P. ERB offered to re-administer the assessment at no charge to the district.”
The district then reviewed the results of the February re-administration of the ERB writing assessment. According to Kaye, “a summary of the scores for the re-administration when compared to last year’s scores shows that grade 5 had a decline of 45 points on the scale score, grade 6 had a decline of 57 points, grade 7 had an increase of 64 points, and grade 8 an increase of 3 points.”
Said Kaye: “WW-P began using the ERB when Victoria Kniewel became assistant superintendent. It is used to keep track of how our students are doing in writing. Over time, every year, the scores have increased. There have been some blips along the way, but the scores have gradually been increasing.”
In a later interview, Martin Smith, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, agreed with Kaye’s assessment that, in the six to seven years that the ERB assessment has been administered in WW-P, there has generally been gradual but steady improvement every year. “This year was an interesting year. In the fall, when our students took the ERB writing assessment, we had a precipitous drop in scores, for the first time ever. I contacted the company, which explained that they had changed the style of their prompt. As standardized tests are changing, the company is changing aspects of the test, and will be trying out different prompts over the next couple of years. Of course they didn’t tell us ahead of time, but they did agree to let our students re-take the test, free of charge.”
“So grades 5 to 8 retook the test this spring. Grade 9 did not because their original decline in the fall had been very slight. We then saw that, after the re-test, while grades 5 and 6 did decline slightly, grades 7 and 8 increased. Parents need to realize that the same level of test is given to both 5th and 6th graders, which is why 5th graders may not do as well their first year taking the test.”
“The reason we decided to use the ERB, along with the NJASK, is because we felt it was important to have multiple measures of how well we are doing as a district. The norm groups for the NJASK and the ERB are very different. The NJASK compares all schools across the state, and of course WW-P always does extremely well in comparison to other districts. The ERB only measures high-performing suburban districts and private schools, so it is a stronger comparison. As a district, we rank well in comparison to other districts’ ERB scores.”
“The ERB also allows us to see improvements from one class to the next, as well as the improvement of individual students,” continued Smith. “However, the ERB is not used for student placement, nor will it be used for teacher assessments. It is a diagnostic tool to see how the district’s writing program is doing, and also to help teachers decide how to work with the students in their classrooms.”
“The positive results of the ERB from year to year are a strong indication that our language arts program, and our use of the workshop model, is benefiting our students. As we have increased the use of the model, and it is being used with more fidelity and consistency we are seeing more and more improvement,” said Smith.
The district recently underwent a review of the language arts curriculum (WW-P News, January 18). While external consultant Bethany Rice found that the commitment to the workshop model was strong in grades K-3, it progressively dwindled in upper grades, until becoming almost nonexistent in high school.
“The district has decided to have multiple assessments — both internal and external — so that we can have the widest picture possible and the most informed decision-making about our curriculum,” said Smith.
“The workshop model is an excellent way to teach language arts. I love going into classrooms and seeing the workshop model in action. It provides the students with opportunities to work at their own level; to allow small group and individualized instruction. It is not just about the teacher standing in the front of the room and giving information to the students; it is about the teachers interacting with the students and allowing them to develop their own knowledge and skills,” Smith added.
