How Parents Can Help
Discussion Guide
Table of contents:
Receiving a quality education is a basic American expectation which should bring back happy memories of learning experiences that prepared one for a good future.
We can all smile at the thought of a kindergarten child, new school supplies in hand, skipping off to start the adventure of learning.
The picture isn’t quite as cheerful when we talk about making progress in school. There are many ways to describe it. Making the grade. Acing the course. Meeting high expectations. Achieving.
Add words like testing, assessment, and grading to the discussion, and some anxiety starts to set in.
Education
throughout Wisconsin is changing, and it is important for parents to be aware
of what is occurring, why it is happening, and what they can do to ensure their
children successfully navigate the educational waters.
(top of page)
What Are The Changes And Why Are They Here?
Schools across the state are working to meet the challenge of the Wisconsin Model Academic Standards. These standards indicate what students must know and how well they must know it in grades four, eight and twelve. They form the backbone for what will be taught and tested in the years to come.
Even though Wisconsin always does well compared to other states, that's not enough if our students are to succeed in our world community. We can no longer focus on being better than the national average. There's widespread agreement that we must help our children achieve at higher levels.
- Business leaders know we need all of our workers, not just upper management, to be thinkers, effective communicators, team workers, and problem solvers.
- Communities expect school systems to produce productive, informed citizens who are responsible, contributing members of society.
- Parents rely on schools to prepare their children for success in a rapidly changing world.
Laws passed by the Wisconsin legislature and currently in effect require accountability for learning. Four specific requirements should be of interest to all parents.
- Children in the third grade must take the "Wisconsin Reading Comprehension Test: An Assessment of Primary Level Reading At Grade Three." This assessment indicates if a child is understanding what he/she reads and is developing the vocabulary necessary to be successful with the greater demands of the upper grades.
- Students in grades four, eight, and ten are required to take a "Knowledge and Concepts Examination" and results are reported statewide. These tests link the standards with assessment of their attainment. This law has been in force for a number of years but its application has recently been updated to include some federal requirements.
- Students in grades four and eight who do not score at the basic proficiency rating or above will not pass to the next grade beginning in 2002-2003. This is referred to as the "no social promotion" law.
- Students will need to pass a high school graduation exam beginning in 2002-2003. This is referred to as the High School Graduation Test.
Let’s
consider these areas one at a time.
(top of page)
Assessment of the Standards
Quality assessment is an important part of the educational process. It can
- provide evidence that students have learned the knowledge, skills, and processes identified in the standards and benchmarks as necessary to learn.
- help students and teachers set goals.
- keep the focus on continuous improvement.
- help teachers and administrators review the effectiveness of curriculum, instruction, and resources.
The core subjects of reading, language arts, writing, mathematics, science, and social studies are tested with through the Wisconsin Student Assessment System (WSAS) Knowledge and Concepts Examinations. There are four
proficiency levels used to show achievement: minimal, basic, proficient, and advanced.
This means instead of being compared to how other students did, each child is scored by demonstrating that he/she has learned the content which has been identified as necessary. Each child will receive an advanced, proficient, basic or minimal performance ranking in each area tested.
The long
term goal is that all students in Wisconsin's schools achieve at the proficient
or advanced level on WSAS tests. The proficient category is a high standard which
expects a student to be competent in an academic area and to master the skills
and knowledge important for progress in school and success in life.
(top of page)
The No Social Promotion Law
By the
2002-2003 school year, students in grades four and eight must demonstrate they
have met the grade level standards in order to be promoted to grades five and
nine. Children will be expected to attain at least a basic proficiency rating
in reading, math, language arts, science, and social studies on the WSAS Knowledge
and Concepts Examination in order to move up a grade. Missing the mark in just
one of the areas will be cause for retention. Students will have an opportunity
to retake the test one time to try to improve their scores.
(top of page)
The High School Graduation Test
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction is working on the details of the High School Graduation Test. They will need to develop the test, determine what the pass/fail dividing line will be, and decide many specifics about its administration.
The current eighth grade class will be the first group which must pass the comprehensive examination on the state standards in language arts, math, science, and social studies in order to graduate.
By the end of this school year, these students will receive a document showing the eligible content for the High School Graduation Test. This document will identify those parts of the state standards which can be assessed on a paper and pencil exam and are eligible to be included on the test.
Students will have at least four chances to pass the assessment, which means they will be able to start taking the test during their junior year. Each subject area test is expected to be three hours long and will be tested on a separate day.
If
a parent elects to have a child not take the test, the local school district must
have alternative criteria which demonstrate that the child has met the state expectations.
The Department of Public Instruction will determine what this criteria must include.
Information about this is expected to be finalized in February of 1999. Decisions
are also being made about the assessment of students with limited English language
proficiency and special education needs.
(top of page)
What Will The Schools Be Doing To Help?
Parents
can expect schools to draw attention to the standards and link instruction to
them. Students and parents will be made more aware of the state expectations.
Districts will be conducting staff development to be sure teachers are adequately
prepared to teach to higher expectations. Many districts will be adding extended
learning opportunities for children who need more support to learn skills. Technology
will likely be used to supplement classroom learning. Districts may provide feedback
to the parents more frequently, and every effort will be made to identify difficulties
as soon as possible.
(top of page)
How Can A Parent Help With Test Taking?
- Help your child understand that assessments are important, but that with good preparation, tests do not have to be feared.
- Help your child space studying over a period of time. Real learning comes from learning and reviewing information so it gets into one’s long term memory.
- Help your child link learning to what he/she already knows and to real life examples. Learning is a process of creating personal meaning from new information and prior knowledge.
- Encourage your child to always read directions carefully and to listen as directions are given.
- Encourage your child to read the complete question and all of the answer choices before marking anything. Sometimes parts of an answer will be correct but only one answer will be all correct.
- Encourage your child to skip a question and go on if he/she doesn’t know the answer on a test. He/she should not waste time worrying about it. If there is time at the end of the exam, he/she can return to the unanswered question.
- Encourage your child to use any time left at the end of the test session to reread the questions and answers and to double check math calculations.
- Don’t judge your child on the basis of a single test score. Tests are only a snapshot, one measure of what a child can do.
- Make sure your child is well rested on school days and especially the day of a test.
- Give
your child a well rounded diet. A healthy body leads to a healthy, active mind.
(top of page)
How Can A Parent Support Learning?
Parents play an important role in their children’s interests and attitudes. Here are some key areas for parents.
- Make sure your child attends school regularly. Even the best students need to learn from class discussion and teacher explanations. Textbooks don’t tell the whole story. Remember, tests do reflect a child’s overall achievement. The more effort and energy a child puts into learning regularly, the more likely he/she will do well on assessments.
- Stay in contact with your child's teachers. Ask about the expectations of each course. Ask the teacher to suggest activities for you and your child to do at home to help prepare for tests and improve your child’s understanding of schoolwork.
- Provide a place for studying at home.
- Expect children to work on some type of homework each day. If none was assigned by teachers that day, review math facts, geographic locations, spelling, etc. Review homework by having your child explain how he/she got the answers.
- Motivation, effort, and self-esteem affect learning and performance. Learning doesn’t just happen. Help children understand that learning is their job throughout their school years.
- Speak highly of the importance of education. Even if you have a disagreement with the school or a teacher, do not vent in front of the child.
- Read to and with your child. Discuss books, magazines, or newspaper articles you are each reading. This will help build awareness of information from all subject areas and expands vocabulary.
- Encourage outside reading; visit the public library year-round. Provide books and magazines to support special interests; they make good gifts for holidays and special occasions.
- Encourage decision-making and problem solving in everyday life. Talk to your children about how you use reading, language, and math skills in your daily life.
- Utilize the learning opportunities in your community. Zoos, universities, schools, libraries, and museums often have special programs or performances on many interesting topics, and many of them are free or very low in cost.
- Limit the amount of time spent on television and video games.
Holding children accountable for their learning as the new laws are implemented is going to raise many questions among parents and schools personnel.
- It is important that parents be involved with their local schools to help children succeed.
- It is important for parents to talk with legislators about questions or concerns.
- It
is important that we all remember that helping students become well educated,
capable adults is our main focus.
(top of page)
