...how would I react if I got a letter from the school about the new benchmark tests that were given recently here at OCS and then my child got a score that said they might be far below proficiency and/or partially proficient?
Who would I call? What would I ask? How could this happen?
I probably would call the teacher and it might sound something like this...
"Hi, Mrs. X. This is little Matthew Magnuson's father and I just got a copy of the OCS Study island Benchmark tests that you gave in February and, whew!, was I surprised! I am concerned that his score says he is far below proficiency."
"Good morning, Mr. Magnuson and thanks for calling me with your concerns. First, let me try to set up the scenario for the benchmark testing. The test is an "end-of-the-year" proficiency. In other words, the test is a reflection of which skills a child is supposed to demonstrate mastery of by the end of this school year and this grade. The Common Core standards that we are using here at OCS in Language Arts and Math are rigorous and we have been working hard to modify our curriculum and teaching activities to prepare our students for the new standards."
"I understand that, I think, Mrs. X, but what will you do to help him?"
"Mr. Magnuson, each teacher can access a score report for every student that provide a breakdown on the individual Language Arts and math skills that are tested as part of the benchmark and that we believe they should demonstrate proficiency in by the end of the school year. I have been looking at these score reports, and I have seen that Matthew will need additional support in the area of reading and analyzing text and that his math computation scores could be a little higher. We have been going to the computer lab weekly to work with Study Island and when I look at Matthew's weekly reports, he does well in these areas, but did not on the benchmarks. This tells me that he may have been anxious about the activity, however, I will continue to work on these skills with him. I am working to tailor his HW in both these curriculum areas so that he can log on to Study Island at home and get further practice to boost the skills in which he may show weakness."
"Oh, so I have to work with him at home?! What about his accommodations? Was he given extra time?"
"Yes! However, I will be doing the same things here at school and by cooperating and giving Matthew greater exposure to the skills, he should see improvements. I will give you a list of activities on Study island that will address these benchmark results. As for the accommodations, they were not given to many of the students this first try, so we could see what we would need to do for accommodations on the NJASK and the future benchmarks."
"Oh, OK, Mrs. X! Thank you for your time and I will have him look at Study Island at home. Will I be getting a list of skills to help him with?"
"Yes, Mr. Magnuson, they should have been in his backpack last Friday!"
"Oh! Thank you Mrs. X... I guess, Mrs. Magnuson handled that! Have a good day!"
That's how I think it should go.
Till next time...
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