WINNEMUCCA - The Nevada State Legislature has considered jettisoning the Nevada Proficiency Examination. They reason that since it is created by individuals who have little or no knowledge of Nevada academic standards (not true) and that many seniors cannot score high enough to pass the exam and thus graduate (true), something must be inherently wrong.
Having worked on the English/Language Arts examination for 3rd grade through high school, I assure you that test construction teams are well versed in the contents and expectations of each standard and that each question is carefully written, re-written, reviewed, piloted, adjusted, and reviewed again before it is ever "live."
Participants in exam writing want every child in Nevada to succeed. They also want to know that schools and teachers are teaching to the highest level of performance, producing students who are wise, capable and proficient.
Note the word proficient - defined as capable, skillful, adept, and competent. Isn't this what you would expect of any student, especially a high school graduate?
Proficiency exams are a check-up, a stopgap that ensures that teachers provide quality lessons based on what students need to know and be able to do to succeed in the world beyond education.
I never worked with a colleague who tried to design trick questions to fool students into failure. All wanted our children to achieve now and in the future.
The exams for Common Core Standards (CCS) will be different. While I feel confident that they will be aligned with the standards, the formulation of these takes control from Nevadans and places it in the hands of test writers.
I am certain that these folks are carefully trained; however, interpretation of CCS intent by a company is not personal like that of individuals who live and work in our state with our students. "Predict the next action of the main character" means beyond the conclusion of the passage, incorporating information from the content to devise a response; prediction to many means read/predict/verify or refute prediction/ and read on.
This requires different skills than thinking of and determining an answer outside of the text using critical analysis of information.
After an initial response of "throw the exam out," legislators decided that a meticulous review is far more valuable. Why are students struggling with reading and writing and how can instruction be adjusted to better support learning? Why do students fail the mathematics section? What can teachers do, parents reinforce, and students practice to receive a suitable score? It takes the dedicated cooperation of all three groups to help those students who are currently unable to hit academic targets.
Have you visited the Nevada Department of Education website to print, read, study, and interpret the CCS at your child's grade level? Did you analyze and evaluate a grade level or two prior to your child's current level to verify what s/he should know and be able to do? Have you perused what will be taught next year to prepare yourself to strengthen your child's knowledge?
This is what teachers do; this is what parents must do as well. This is time-consuming, headache-generating, mind-boggling work, but essential for students, particularly those who cannot pass grade level exams. There are practice tests too, plus your child's teacher will have additional material for review.
I'd like to say that kids can learn everything within the confines of the school/school day, but true understanding goes beyond that. It includes questions and inquiry from items read, problems decoded, conversations interpreted, places visited, such as museums, libraries, and videos viewed like those from National Geographic.
- See SCHOOLS, Page 19 -
Real travel and adventure are best, but expense, balancing schedules, and organization may prohibit this.
Camping, fishing, campfires, and cookouts are simpler and less costly. They are of enormous value as families talk, share, and examine the wonders that abound. Five days at South Fork last week found us surrounded by kids and parents. One child had a cellphone. The rest had fishing poles, ring toss games, books, and such. It was wonderful for me to see; wonderful for children to experience. Granted these were not pitched tents with two sticks to rub together to light a fire, but every RV there included people who appeared to like each other and to enjoy spending time in recreation. If those same children helped plan menus, purchase groceries, tally costs for sleeping bags and fishing lures, and assist with cooking and clean up, just imagine the number of educational experiences that ensued!
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