State
must devise tests to comply with No Child Left
Behind
Monday, December 06, 2004 • BY JOHN MOONEY
• Star-Ledger Staff
New Jersey in the next 18 months must nearly double the
number of students it tests to keep in step with the federal
No Child Left Behind Act.
That has officials hashing out what those tests will
look like, how long they will take and what they will
ultimately provide teachers and schools.
"This will be a pivotal time for us," said Richard Ten
Eyck, the state's assistant education commissioner. "What we
do with this will have more impact on what the testing looks
like than probably any other time."
By rule, the state must have standards in place and test
students in grades three through eight by 2006. That means
adding tests in fifth, six and seventh grade for New
Jersey's nearly 2,000 elementary and middle schools.
One possible feature of the new tests would be broader
tasks or so-called "performance assessments" that take
longer and go well beyond the short answers, multiple
choices or even the essay-writing on current exams.
For example, middle-school science students would be
asked to devise a museum exhibit that depicts how an animal
evolves with changing natural conditions. Or sixth-graders
would create a fictional friend who matches the qualities of
three literary characters, showing their writing and reading
skills.
Started in nine districts last year, a pilot program
using such assessments will extend to another 40 districts
this fall and winter, a big step in whether the complex --
and costly -- way of evaluating children can go
statewide.
West Orange will have two elementary schools and its
high school participate in the pilot, and with the boom in
testing overall, Superintendent Jerry Tarnoff agreed schools
need to explore new ways to gauge both what students learn
and how they apply it.
"It's having people change their way of thinking, a
whole culture change," he said. "We definitely want to be
part of pursuing this, but the pace and how we do it is
still something we need to see."
One certainty is the new testing -- performance and NCLB
-- will cost the state a lot more money.
New Jersey already spends about $23 million a year in
contracts with testing companies to develop and score tests
currently given in the third, fourth, eighth and 11th grade,
according to officials. They say each additional grade of
standardized testing alone will cost an estimated $4 million
more, putting the total well over $30 million.
The federal government this year will pay about $9
million of the cost, but the rest will have to come from a
department that has already been asked by acting Gov.
Richard Codey to trim spending.
"There has been a net loss (in federal funding) in each
year under NCLB," said Ten Eyck, the assistant commissioner.
"The funding is going to pose a real policy dilemma for the
state."
Even without the funding problems, though, Ten Eyck also
said there are questions whether the full battery of new
tests will be ready in time.
New Jersey is one of 28 states without tests for grades
three to eight in place, according a report to be released
today by Education Week, the national trade magazine. Moving
briskly, state officials said they hope to have a request
for testing companies' proposals early in the new year and a
vendor chosen in the spring.
That should be enough time to have the needed tests in
place in the spring of 2006, said Ten Eyck, but he did not
rule out a year of field or practice testing.
State officials also face several other decisions about
the new tests, he said, including the mix of questions and
the length of time required. Ten Eyck said one plan being
considered is staggering exams across the school year,
rather than all in one week, as is done now.
The new performance assessments would not be part of the
formal statewide tests for at least several more years. But
supporters said they are still hoping the assessments
eventually will be given to all students.
The five-year pilot is led by a coalition of business
and school leaders and was launched by former Gov. James E.
McGreevey in 2002. After its first full year, supporters
said they are encouraged and cautious. A small group of
Middlesex County teachers last week described how the
process has improved instruction and learning.
For example, a math teacher at Thomas Jefferson Middle
School in Edison, one of the pilot districts, developed a
task asking students to plan a party of a certain size. The
hour-long task had students apply computation and other
skills they had learned, she said.
"You give students 92 decimal questions, and they could
care less," said teacher Danielle Stasik. "But have them
plan for a party at the end of the year, certainly it makes
it a lot more interesting."
In developing the tasks and guides for how to grade
them, Stasik said it also has made her more thoughtful. But
she conceded it's time-consuming and runs against the
culture in many schools that demands teachers fill up their
grade books and march through their assigned
curriculum.
"With our math curriculum of 14 chapters, if I had to do
a performance assessment for every chapter, I would probably
make it to Chapter Four," she said. "But then again, two
years ago, I wasn't using any of them."
John Mooney covers education. He may be reached at
jmooney@starledger.com, or (973) 392-1548.
© 2004 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with
permission.
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