Don Roach: NECAP and Gist

It’s been a while since I’ve been in high school, but I remember taking a number of tests. I recall taking standardized tests just about every year during elementary school. These tests were all just part and parcel of being a kid in school – you took tests. Some people passed, some people excelled, and unfortunately some people failed. Again, we all probably have similar memories of our formative years.

By 2014, you better pass the NECAP

Well in Rhode Island, the Department of Education made some changes which will now require students (starting with the class of 2014) to pass the NECAP (New England Common Assessment Program) in order to receive a diploma. And by pass, they must receive a score of 2 (partially proficient) in both reading and math. NECAP defines partially proficient as “Students performing at this level demonstrate gaps in knowledge and skills as described in the content standards for this grade span. Additional instructional support may be necessary for these students to achieve proficiency on the content
Standards.”

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As with any change, there has been backlash most recently stirred by the Providence Student Union (PSU) which challenged adults to take the exam to see if they could pass it. Over the weekend a few dozen community members took up the challenge and the PSU reported yesterday that 60 percent of those that took the exam did not meet the minimum requirement of partially proficient.

There is a need for standardized assessments

See the problem I have is that those who oppose utilizing this test decry the test but do not acknowledge the need to assess students in a manner that is consistent. The NECAP is not the only evaluation tool that RIDE has come up with as a requirement for a diploma, it’s simply the only one groups like PSU have an issue with. 

What’s more, I took a look at some of the data that RIDE has distributed regarding the test. Whereas PSU reported 60 percent of the folks who took the exam did not meet the requirement needed to pass, the most recent RIDE report shows that statewide, as of 2012, 73 percent of students are reading proficient. This doesn’t even include the partially proficient students. 

That number has also increased across racial, ethnic, and income lines since 2008. Don’t take my word for it, click on the link. That’s not to suggest the job is done nor to assess the test itself. But groups like PSU are putting up a strawman and not presenting the full scope of the argument. They’re against standardized test simply because it’s a uniform way to measure success. 

Period. 

High expectations lead to greater success

Maybe I’m alone on this, but I think all students – as much as possible – should be held to the same standards and rigors as possible. I also think that when we expect much from a group we actually get that much more. The converse is also true – when we expect less, less is what we get. 

Thus, instead of trying to figure out how not to use the test as a measure of educational proficiency, focus on becoming educationally proficient. I’m not buying the PSU’s anecdotal data collection, but I have more faith in the students who have been taking these tests for years. What that real data suggests is that students are becoming more proficient and those results are starting to exhibit themselves in NECAP reporting. 

I think it’s naïve to believe we must create individual evaluations for all students and not at least attempt to standardized assessments. Yes, there are some students who – through no fault of their own – are not capable of taking these types of tests, but for the typically developing child I seen no downfall in them taking tests of this nature and being evaluated on them accordingly. 

Don Roach is and old young Republican. Don can be reached at [email protected].

 

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