Fourth Grade and Terra Nova Testing
Soon, you will be receiving the score report from the Terra Nova test that your child took in February. As you look at the results, please keep the following in mind:
There are few students in Thunder and Lightning who say, "I LOVE the Terra Nova tests!" The ones who do, love not the tests, but what happens around the tests--lots of quiet time, lots of independent reading time, lots of sitting in a desk-like atmosphere. It's an introvert's dream. Most fourth graders though are verbal processors. According to Chip Wood the writer of Yardsticks, children age 9 think it, and share it! He also states that 9 year olds are anxious beings and this affects their test taking ability. He adds, "The best test takers are the risk takers in the world; nines are anything but good risk takers."
I wish all parents of fourth grade students could be flies on the wall while we go through the process of filling out the student information portion of the Terra Nova testing. If you were here you'd feel the anxiety level in the room raise exponentially. Also, you'd get a good laugh.
Many cannot correctly write their names in the boxes given. Then they have to fill out bubbles below the letters of their name. Many fill out the incorrect bubble. Some fill out all the bubbles under the first column. Next comes the question about what year they were born, many do not know. It is a comedy of errors but it is also enlightening to the possible thought process that goes one while they take the tests. And we ask ourselves, if they cannot fill out the bubbles of something they know like their name, how are they doing matching the correct bubble to the test question? Then there is the part of their nature that Chip Wood describes:
"Teachers at this level see children finish their tests early simply because they put down any answer, rather than thinking through what they know. Others get half way through because they get stuck trying to figure out one right answer, refusing to be wrong."
This last situation reminds me of my teaching mentor who stated that throughout her education career she would write notes explaining her answers on bubble tests. They often had to be hand scored because of this. She was a brilliant woman, but didn't like to be hemmed in by standardized anything!
Even with all of this, Mustard Seed School students typically score above the national average, and each year students score better than the year before. By eighth grade students are well above the national average. So, do we need to spend more time prepping students for tests? No. This experience is preparing them now and their future scores will show that.
While it's important that fourth grade students take the test even if it's merely for the foundational growth that comes from the process of taking the test, parents and teachers should realize the limits of the test. This is one day in one week in the life of children. Perhaps some had stomach aches or something went wrong in the park. Perhaps, others have a way with multiple choice questions. Neither a high score or a low score should be given too much weight.
We know your child. We know how your child learns, and how they are progressing. Whatever the Terra Nova results for your child, remember:
“Sometimes, the most brilliant and intelligent minds do not shine in standardized tests because they do not have standardized minds.”
― Diane Ravitch
There are few students in Thunder and Lightning who say, "I LOVE the Terra Nova tests!" The ones who do, love not the tests, but what happens around the tests--lots of quiet time, lots of independent reading time, lots of sitting in a desk-like atmosphere. It's an introvert's dream. Most fourth graders though are verbal processors. According to Chip Wood the writer of Yardsticks, children age 9 think it, and share it! He also states that 9 year olds are anxious beings and this affects their test taking ability. He adds, "The best test takers are the risk takers in the world; nines are anything but good risk takers."
I wish all parents of fourth grade students could be flies on the wall while we go through the process of filling out the student information portion of the Terra Nova testing. If you were here you'd feel the anxiety level in the room raise exponentially. Also, you'd get a good laugh.
Many cannot correctly write their names in the boxes given. Then they have to fill out bubbles below the letters of their name. Many fill out the incorrect bubble. Some fill out all the bubbles under the first column. Next comes the question about what year they were born, many do not know. It is a comedy of errors but it is also enlightening to the possible thought process that goes one while they take the tests. And we ask ourselves, if they cannot fill out the bubbles of something they know like their name, how are they doing matching the correct bubble to the test question? Then there is the part of their nature that Chip Wood describes:
"Teachers at this level see children finish their tests early simply because they put down any answer, rather than thinking through what they know. Others get half way through because they get stuck trying to figure out one right answer, refusing to be wrong."
This last situation reminds me of my teaching mentor who stated that throughout her education career she would write notes explaining her answers on bubble tests. They often had to be hand scored because of this. She was a brilliant woman, but didn't like to be hemmed in by standardized anything!
Even with all of this, Mustard Seed School students typically score above the national average, and each year students score better than the year before. By eighth grade students are well above the national average. So, do we need to spend more time prepping students for tests? No. This experience is preparing them now and their future scores will show that.
While it's important that fourth grade students take the test even if it's merely for the foundational growth that comes from the process of taking the test, parents and teachers should realize the limits of the test. This is one day in one week in the life of children. Perhaps some had stomach aches or something went wrong in the park. Perhaps, others have a way with multiple choice questions. Neither a high score or a low score should be given too much weight.
We know your child. We know how your child learns, and how they are progressing. Whatever the Terra Nova results for your child, remember:
“Sometimes, the most brilliant and intelligent minds do not shine in standardized tests because they do not have standardized minds.”
― Diane Ravitch
