Education Connection

TESTS: WHAT THEY CAN TELL YOU

Tests and report cards conjure up a mixed bag of feelings... fear, confusion, and even joy.

Your feelings are carried over in your responses to your children's report cards and tests. School districts differ in their grading systems and the kinds of tests they administer. Tests and grades are important in that they determine opportunities for your child in the school system. However, the most important thing is that your child is learning. When tests and report cards come home, try taking the emphasis off the grades and focusing on what your child has learned.

Find out from the teacher:

• What kinds of tests are given to students by the district?
• What is the purpose of these tests?
• What do the test scores mean?
• What does the school do with the results of these tests?
• What can you do to prepare your child for successful test taking?
• What kind of report card system does the district use?

Notes about tests:

• Tests are only one way to look at a child's achievement or potential. Children change from month to month, year to year.
• Children can be tired, ill, confused, distracted, or nervous, which can be reflected in a test score.
• If you do not receive results of test scores, request information from the teacher and ask to have results explained to you.

Basic test knowledge

If you have children in grades kindergarten through 12, they are probably required to take several tests at intervals over their 12 years in school including:

• Stanford Achievement Test

• Utah Core Assessment Tests

• America College Testing Program (ACT)

• Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test (PSAT)

• Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT)

• Overall knowledge in reading, math, and writing.
• Achievement in a specific subject.

These tests are in addition to tests created by teachers.

Teachers and test makers agree that schools should use tests as just one measure among many — including the judgment of teachers and report cards — to determine how children are doing in school and how they will perform in the future.

What do the scores mean?

Raw score:
Total number of questions a child got right on the test. This doesn't tell you the percentage of correct answers, unless you know how many questions were on the exam.

Percentile score or rank:
Tells how well your child's test score compared to test norms. A percentile rank of 50 means the child's score was better than 50 percent of the students in the sample group.

Stanine score:
Stanines divide results into nine groups — 1 the lowest and 9 the highest — with 4, 5, and 6 as average. What about college entrance exams?

Pre-college test scores and high school records can predict, to some extent, how a student will fare in college. There is a fee to take these tests. If your student is not satisfied with the first exam score, the test may be taken again to try for a higher score. There are many study guides and courses on the market designed to help students prepare for these exams. Sample practice questions and explanations of the answers can be helpful, but will not make up for serious lack of preparation in school during the high school years.

The most important preparation for college entrance testing is taking a strong high school curriculum. Your child should take at least three years of Math, Science, Social Science, and four years of English.

American College Testing (ACT):

The ACT is required or strongly recommended by all of Utah's four year colleges. It is taken by about 70% of all Utah junior and senior high students. The ACT measures rather specifically what students have learned in Mathematics, English, Social Studies and Science classes.

Achievement Tests:

Exams in specific academic fields used to place freshmen in particular courses that match their abilities.

Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT):

Given during the junior year of high school (the 11th grade), this test is a warm-up practice for the SAT. Encourage your student to take it!

Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT):

The SAT is taken by less than 5% of Utah students. The SAT incorporates three sections: verbal tests in reading, word knowledge and vocabulary; a math section, (math taught in grades one through 10 with emphasis on problem solving, algebra, and geometry); and standard written English (recognizing correctly written sentences and word usage). A sample of a student's writing is not required. This test can be repeated to improve scores.

Beyond report cards: new ways to look at student progress

Many schools rely on more than standardized, multiple-choice tests to tell how a student is progressing. You'll get a better picture of your child's abilities when teachers use a variety of strategies. Schools are also using:

• Teacher observations and notes: Observations of your child's behavior and activities in a file folder.
• Student portfolios: Samples of a student's work. Writing samples might include research papers, articles, or short stories.

Finally, as a parent you should sit down and look at your child's portfolio profile. This evaluationcan help you and your child add additional studies to your child's regular curriculum should they be needed.

What if my child is failing a grade?

Teachers should notify parents early in the school year if there's a problem, so that failing a grade can be avoided. If a teacher contacts you and says there's a possibility of holding your child back, ask how the recommendation was reached. Is this based on test scores alone? Observations from school professionals? Is this based on your child's developmental level? Work together with the teacher to create an education plan that includes the services of school district personnel as well as tutoring help.

Many decisions to keep a child back can be put off until fall. Your child can make significant gains over the summer from a reading program or from tutoring — or the natural maturity that can occur during three months.

Research on holding students back to repeat a grade shows that there is a negative effect on most children. Although children will continue to make progress during the repeated year, they don't progress as well as similar children who move on to the next grade level.