Well, next week all the students in our school, except for the seniors, will be taking either the Stanford test or the Dakota Step test. These tests help teachers determine what students have retained and what areas need to be taught in more depth because the students are not remembering those skills.
The tests are also what the government uses to determine if each school has met the AYP (annual yearly progress) level set. If we meet the levels, the the school is safe for one more year, but if we fail to pass the level, then the trouble starts. First we put on alert and must make changes to ensure that we will make it next year. If we continue to fail to meet the levels expected, the consequences get more severe and may result in the removal of the current staff and administration and a take over by others to ensure that the levels will be met. That is very scary.
So how seriously do you take the test and how much effort do you put into doing well on it? Should the government weigh school effectiveness on one test? What are some better ways to measure a school effectiveness?
