MONROE - Third- through eighth-graders in the Monroe school district are preparing to take a new state assessment for the first time this year, but its results may have limited use: This may be the only year students have to take it.
"We're being asked to do all of this, jump through these hoops, on something that may or may not be used in the future," school board member Les Bieneman said at a recent board meeting. "And I think it's a waste of our time until there is some stability that comes of this."
But with the Badger Exam being a state mandate, the district has no other choice, said District Administrator Cory Hirsbrunner.
"It's unfortunate but it's a mandate and we're required to do it, and as far as I'm concerned, we will move forward and just do the best job we can," she said.
The Badger Exam used to be known as the Smarter Balanced Assessment, which Wisconsin adopted when it joined the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium in 2010, according to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction's website.
After pilots and field tests, the exam may enjoy a state-mandated implementation for just one year, said Monroe Director of Curriculum and Instruction Terri Montgomery.
"My understanding is at this point, we probably won't have the Badger Exam next year, but that's not definite," she said. "They're (the Wisconsin DPI) talking about making their own exam, so we'll just have to wait and see."
The reason? A high cost to use the exam and because it's aligned with the Common Core State Standards, which Gov. Scott Walker has indicated he doesn't want to be mandatory, Montgomery said.
About the Badger Exam
The exam measures skills in English language arts (ELA) and math. The Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examination (WKCE) is still used for social studies and science.
Both subject areas of the Badger Exam consist of three parts: a scored computer test, an unscored classroom activity and discussion and a scored performance task. Except for the classroom activity, the entire test is done on computer.
There are six types of questions on the test, including multiple choice, longer responses that require written explanations, performance tasks and questions that use technology either as a simple aid or for manipulation of the problem.
It was originally supposed to be an "adaptive exam," meaning if a student answered a question incorrectly, the test would take the question "down to a lower level" in order to evaluate the child's skill level and reduce frustration, Montgomery said. But the state recently informed the district that it won't be adaptive this year.
"So we're going to have some students who are going to be a little frustrated because questions are going to be at a level that they're going to struggle at," she said.
Student Preparation
Beth Ableman-Bernet, a teacher and the district's elementary instructional technology integrator, has been rotating between elementary schools since the beginning of January to help students learn the test during their LMC time.
Ableman-Bernet has been teaching students how to use the tools available during the test, Montgomery said, "so they can be successful and not frightened when they see those for the first time, because it is different than any other online test they've taken before.
"We don't want to teach to the test, but we want them to be comfortable with the test," she said.
The amount of typing the exam requires can be draining for students, according to Ableman-Bernet.
"They know it's not going to be easy," she said.
"It (the difficulty) is not the technology piece, it's more "how do I take the information from here,'" she said, pointing to her head, "and put it in and type it in to get that constructed response or extended response.'
"That's the most challenging at this point that I see with third-, fourth- and fifth-graders."
The test isn't timed, but is estimated to take seven hours overall for elementary students and seven and a half hours for middle school students.
Implementation of the test will be slightly different at each of the three elementary schools and the middle school. For example, the Badger Exam will be scheduled into school days over a four-week period at Abraham Lincoln Accelerated Learning Academy, with about an hour spent on the test in mornings and another hour or so in the afternoons. Parkside Elementary School, on the other hand, scheduled the test for two weeks per grade level.
All schools have to schedule the exam between March 30 and May 22.
Beyond the practice sample tests students have been exposed to during LMC time, they are taking an official practice test this month.
Test data
If Wisconsin continues to use the exam in further years, this year's results will act as the baseline. On their own, the results from this year can't offer much insight for teachers and administrators since there's nothing to compare them to.
But Hirsbrunner said the district will still get some use from the data, even if it's as a single data point.
"We've spent a lot of time and energy, the teachers have, aligning our curriculum to new standards, and this data will help us to show where we have aligned and where we might need some more work, so I think in that regard, it will definitely benefit students and it will definitely benefit teachers to see if we're on track," she said.
Results won't be released until this summer, because the test takes a while to grade with its constructed and extended responses, Hirsbrunner said.
School board member Brian Keith also suggested students might benefit from learning a new kind of test.
"I think anything we're teaching the kids about technology, they're looking at the data in a different way," Keith said. "Even though it's taking time, at some point in their life that's going to be a positive."
Bieneman wasn't convinced.
"To me, it's just another situation of where politicians come up with things which impact school districts in negative ways," he said.
"We're being asked to do all of this, jump through these hoops, on something that may or may not be used in the future," school board member Les Bieneman said at a recent board meeting. "And I think it's a waste of our time until there is some stability that comes of this."
But with the Badger Exam being a state mandate, the district has no other choice, said District Administrator Cory Hirsbrunner.
"It's unfortunate but it's a mandate and we're required to do it, and as far as I'm concerned, we will move forward and just do the best job we can," she said.
The Badger Exam used to be known as the Smarter Balanced Assessment, which Wisconsin adopted when it joined the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium in 2010, according to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction's website.
After pilots and field tests, the exam may enjoy a state-mandated implementation for just one year, said Monroe Director of Curriculum and Instruction Terri Montgomery.
"My understanding is at this point, we probably won't have the Badger Exam next year, but that's not definite," she said. "They're (the Wisconsin DPI) talking about making their own exam, so we'll just have to wait and see."
The reason? A high cost to use the exam and because it's aligned with the Common Core State Standards, which Gov. Scott Walker has indicated he doesn't want to be mandatory, Montgomery said.
About the Badger Exam
The exam measures skills in English language arts (ELA) and math. The Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examination (WKCE) is still used for social studies and science.
Both subject areas of the Badger Exam consist of three parts: a scored computer test, an unscored classroom activity and discussion and a scored performance task. Except for the classroom activity, the entire test is done on computer.
There are six types of questions on the test, including multiple choice, longer responses that require written explanations, performance tasks and questions that use technology either as a simple aid or for manipulation of the problem.
It was originally supposed to be an "adaptive exam," meaning if a student answered a question incorrectly, the test would take the question "down to a lower level" in order to evaluate the child's skill level and reduce frustration, Montgomery said. But the state recently informed the district that it won't be adaptive this year.
"So we're going to have some students who are going to be a little frustrated because questions are going to be at a level that they're going to struggle at," she said.
Student Preparation
Beth Ableman-Bernet, a teacher and the district's elementary instructional technology integrator, has been rotating between elementary schools since the beginning of January to help students learn the test during their LMC time.
Ableman-Bernet has been teaching students how to use the tools available during the test, Montgomery said, "so they can be successful and not frightened when they see those for the first time, because it is different than any other online test they've taken before.
"We don't want to teach to the test, but we want them to be comfortable with the test," she said.
The amount of typing the exam requires can be draining for students, according to Ableman-Bernet.
"They know it's not going to be easy," she said.
"It (the difficulty) is not the technology piece, it's more "how do I take the information from here,'" she said, pointing to her head, "and put it in and type it in to get that constructed response or extended response.'
"That's the most challenging at this point that I see with third-, fourth- and fifth-graders."
The test isn't timed, but is estimated to take seven hours overall for elementary students and seven and a half hours for middle school students.
Implementation of the test will be slightly different at each of the three elementary schools and the middle school. For example, the Badger Exam will be scheduled into school days over a four-week period at Abraham Lincoln Accelerated Learning Academy, with about an hour spent on the test in mornings and another hour or so in the afternoons. Parkside Elementary School, on the other hand, scheduled the test for two weeks per grade level.
All schools have to schedule the exam between March 30 and May 22.
Beyond the practice sample tests students have been exposed to during LMC time, they are taking an official practice test this month.
Test data
If Wisconsin continues to use the exam in further years, this year's results will act as the baseline. On their own, the results from this year can't offer much insight for teachers and administrators since there's nothing to compare them to.
But Hirsbrunner said the district will still get some use from the data, even if it's as a single data point.
"We've spent a lot of time and energy, the teachers have, aligning our curriculum to new standards, and this data will help us to show where we have aligned and where we might need some more work, so I think in that regard, it will definitely benefit students and it will definitely benefit teachers to see if we're on track," she said.
Results won't be released until this summer, because the test takes a while to grade with its constructed and extended responses, Hirsbrunner said.
School board member Brian Keith also suggested students might benefit from learning a new kind of test.
"I think anything we're teaching the kids about technology, they're looking at the data in a different way," Keith said. "Even though it's taking time, at some point in their life that's going to be a positive."
Bieneman wasn't convinced.
"To me, it's just another situation of where politicians come up with things which impact school districts in negative ways," he said.