3rd Grade Retention-Alternate Tests
I have been struggling with this for a while, and I am sure several others have been as well. In a little over a month, 3rd grade students all across the state will take the Oklahoma Core Curriculum Test in Reading. This single test will consume a minimum of three hours and for some students can take up to six hours just for this single section of the state mandated testing.
This is the test that will determine if the 3rd grader will be allowed to move on to the 4th grade or not. Despite countless studies that indicate otherwise, our legislature had determined that retaining students is the best solution for students that are struggling to read. I could go on for hours about how frustrating and asinine this is, but what I want to focus on is the test itself and the value it holds as a reading diagnostic.
As has been stated before, the OCCT Reading is not a test designed to determine the reading level of a student. It is a test designed to see if students have mastered a list of skills that have been determined by the state. This is a test that is administered to an entire class at once. A true diagnostic of reading level is better given individually with the test administrator scoring results immediately. Some of the topics contained in a more accurate diagnostic of reading level are:
Print Awareness
Phonological Awareness
Letters and Sounds
Word Recognition
Word Analysis
Oral Reading
Silent Reading Comprehension
Spelling
Word Meaning
The 3rd Grade OCCT has these topics:
Words in Context
Affixes, Roots, and Stems
Synonyms, Antonyms, and Homonyms
Using Resource Materials
Literal Understanding
Inferences and Interpretation
Summary and Generalization
Analysis and Evaluation
Literary Elements
Figurative Language/Sound Devices
Accessing Information
When you look at these lists, you might spot some similarities, but there are very few. Bottom line is many of the skills on the "Reading" test are not elements of reading, but instead are language arts standards.
The great thing about the ReadingSufficiency Retention Act is that it does provide for some "Good Cause" exemptions. One of those exemptions is an arbitrary score on an alternate test. I am glad that there are some other ways for students to keep from being held back unnecessarily. Here are the alternate tests and the score a student must reach before they are exempt from being retained:
Again, to truly diagnose a student's reading level, the test is better administered individually and graded immediately. The student needs to read certain portions of the test aloud to the administrator, which does not happen with our current test, nor any of the alternate tests. It is frustrating to say the least that this test and the alternate tests could and will be responsible for multiple students remaining in the third grade another year.
What is more troubling is when our state superintendent of public instruction goes on a local television station and demeans parents, teachers and school administrators by saying they are responsible for the test anxiety that many students feel. This is a flat denial that test anxiety is real. Many of our strongest students suffer from test anxiety and it is not because of any parent, teacher or administrator. These students often come from parents that are usually successful test takers and are positive and encouraging to their children.
I have extended this invitation before, and continue to offer it to our public officials across the state, come take one of the practice tests we give. See what our third graders go through. I would be glad to make arrangements for you to take the test. We will even grade it while you wait instead of sending it out of state to be graded and returned months later.
This is the test that will determine if the 3rd grader will be allowed to move on to the 4th grade or not. Despite countless studies that indicate otherwise, our legislature had determined that retaining students is the best solution for students that are struggling to read. I could go on for hours about how frustrating and asinine this is, but what I want to focus on is the test itself and the value it holds as a reading diagnostic.
As has been stated before, the OCCT Reading is not a test designed to determine the reading level of a student. It is a test designed to see if students have mastered a list of skills that have been determined by the state. This is a test that is administered to an entire class at once. A true diagnostic of reading level is better given individually with the test administrator scoring results immediately. Some of the topics contained in a more accurate diagnostic of reading level are:
Print Awareness
Phonological Awareness
Letters and Sounds
Word Recognition
Word Analysis
Oral Reading
Silent Reading Comprehension
Spelling
Word Meaning
The 3rd Grade OCCT has these topics:
Words in Context
Affixes, Roots, and Stems
Synonyms, Antonyms, and Homonyms
Using Resource Materials
Literal Understanding
Inferences and Interpretation
Summary and Generalization
Analysis and Evaluation
Literary Elements
Figurative Language/Sound Devices
Accessing Information
When you look at these lists, you might spot some similarities, but there are very few. Bottom line is many of the skills on the "Reading" test are not elements of reading, but instead are language arts standards.
The great thing about the Reading
- Stanford Achievement Test, Tenth Edition, (SAT 10)-45th Percentile
- Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) Complete Battery Form A, C or E, Level 9, Reading Comprehension -45th Percentile
- Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) Core Battery, Form A, C, or E, Level 9, Reading Comprehension – 45th Percentile
- TerraNova, Third Edition Complete Battery Level 13, Reading– 45th Percentile
Again, to truly diagnose a student's reading level, the test is better administered individually and graded immediately. The student needs to read certain portions of the test aloud to the administrator, which does not happen with our current test, nor any of the alternate tests. It is frustrating to say the least that this test and the alternate tests could and will be responsible for multiple students remaining in the third grade another year.
What is more troubling is when our state superintendent of public instruction goes on a local television station and demeans parents, teachers and school administrators by saying they are responsible for the test anxiety that many students feel. This is a flat denial that test anxiety is real. Many of our strongest students suffer from test anxiety and it is not because of any parent, teacher or administrator. These students often come from parents that are usually successful test takers and are positive and encouraging to their children.
I have extended this invitation before, and continue to offer it to our public officials across the state, come take one of the practice tests we give. See what our third graders go through. I would be glad to make arrangements for you to take the test. We will even grade it while you wait instead of sending it out of state to be graded and returned months later.
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