So, what do you do when students’ test scores are flat?
Dump the test, of course.
When the Colorado Department of Education released a new batch of CSAP test results last week showing — again — stagnant scores, the chorus of voices that had been calling for a new system during this legislative session grew only louder.
The chorus culminated in Friday’s 60-4 House approval of Senate Bill 212, which would create the Colorado Achievement Plan for Kids, also known as CAP4K. It’s designed to revise assessment standards and testing.
“This bill will end CSAP as we know it and replace it with something much better,” said Rep. Rob Witwer, R-Jefferson County, one of the bill’s sponsors.
OK. But what?
Rather than change the measurement system, why don’t we change the education system?
Supporters of the bill will say they’re doing exactly that by aligning standards from kindergarten through college. It’s an important and laudable goal, but it’s not the monumental overhaul that’s needed.
Unfortunately, any plan that invovles more than bureaucratic nibbling around the edges is doomed for failure because it gouges too many sacred cows. Instead of considering ideas like year-round schooling, longer days, vouchers for low-income students and more school-level flexibility and autonomy, lawmakers and education officials merely tinker.
Let’s be clear — the Colorado Student Assessment Program and Colorado’s existing accountability standards are not without their problems. But lawmakers shouldn’t dismantle the entire program without having something better or more viable in the wings.
Under the CAP4K proposal, the State Board of Education would determine the skills students need and create a seamlessly integrated set of standards between preschool and the first year of college, according to a statement from Witwer.
That’s fine. But exactly what tests will measure whether students are meeting those standards? And will the tests be as rigorous as CSAP?
There’s been talk throughout the legislative session about shifting away from tests on writing. One bill moving forward would dump the CSAP writing exams altogether and pay for more teacher training and after-school programs, according to a story in the Rocky Mountain News.
If Colorado moves forward with an accountability system that does not measure writing — and we don’t care how much cheaper that new system may be — it would be a huge step backward.
New technology and better tracking of students through the years have made CSAP scores more relevant than ever. After years of testing, forward-thinking educators now have a pool of data that’s deep enough to gauge student progress and begin to determine why some succeed and others fail.
It would be a shame to lose all of that.
Whatever comes next, we hope it’s at least as rigorous as what we have now, and not a step backward.
