New testing standard to affect Mineral County

MINERAL COUNTY – Mineral County schools will soon begin using a new testing standard after the state received a waiver from the U.S. Department of Education.

The waiver allows Montana students to take the new Smarter Balance tests instead of taking them along with the old standardized tests. States not granted the waiver would administer both tests until the Smarter Balance tests are fully transitioned in by 2015.

Scott Kinney, superintendent of the Superior school district, explained how the new test will ensure schools in all 50 states are evaluated the same. He said the new tests were better aligned with the Common Core curriculum and would ensure all students were held to the same criteria regardless of location. As Kinney explained it, a second grader in Connecticut would be held to the same core expectations as a second grader in Montana.

“It’s not a curriculum, and that’s the common [assumption],” said Kinney. “[It is] a way to ensure the kids…are all expected to know the same set of core knowledge.”

Kinney stressed the new standards were not a new curriculum, as many people believe. It would be more accurate to describe the tests as a goal for schools to reach. The new standards have no impact on the contents of the curriculum.

“[The state] is just saying ‘your kids need to be instructed in these things at these levels at these grades,’” said Kinney.

The schools had very little say in what the standards were or how the system worked. The governors from all 50 states worked with educators of different levels and legislators on both sides of the aisle to determine what the Common Core should be. The core focuses mainly on skills in English language arts and mathematics. The Department of Education felt these were necessary skills for all students to master at an even progress throughout the grades.

The new standards will challenge students in these subjects and have been described as more aggressive. Kinney felt schools would need to work harder to ensure kids pass the tests. He felt the elimination of double-testing was a good thing and would allow schools and students to focus on learning the Common Core.

However, Kinney said he did have some concerns. The schools will not be given any money to bolster the curriculum to help with preparation of students for the new tests. The state government has left it up to the individual schools to figure out ways to reach the new standards.

“[The Superior schools] have been using the same reading curriculum for over five years and the math curriculum is just five years old this year,” said Kinney. “We are very heavily invested in the match curriculum that we continue to use, so we’re not going to change curriculum at all.”

Kinney feels it will likely take a year or two for schools to work out the best ways to administer the new test. He said the new tests are taken online, so there will also be some trial and error as students and teachers figure out the technology. Kinney was unsure if the new system would test students on the subject matter or if students would be tested on the ability to use the technology to administer the test.

While much about the new tests still needs to be figured out and worked through, educators expect the new testing standards to help improve the nation’s education and give kids the skills and knowledge needed in the future.