Mission Statement
The Problem: Ridge High School is divided up into four marking periods. The current testing schedule consists of four cummulative tests, called quaterlies, which are administered at the end of each marking period on content learned in that period of time. The quarterlies are given two per day over the span of five days. Students are to follow the regular class schedule and on the day of that particular classes assessment the class period will be extended to an hour long resulting in the shortening of the other classes. The goal was to try and reduce stress on the student’s when it in fact created more by having four major assessments a year and continued instruction on new challenging concepts in other classes during exams.
What Needs to Change: Create a testing schedule that gives students more preparation for assessments. Also create an effective assessment that decreases stress on the students and makes the purpose of the assessment to learn, not to study for the sake of receiving a good grade.
Public Opinion: In 2011 a survey was given electronically to all Ridge students. The results displayed large amounts of stress produced by Midterms and Finals. In hopes of reducing stress a special committee created by the school board that focused on creating new assessment idea proposed Quarterlies. Once administered the scores of bother Quarterlies and Midterms & Finals were compared showing on average Quarterlies having a 4 point higher grade. The board had believed they had taken a step in the right direction as far as solving the problem. Then, after continued complaints of stress and the proposal of PARCC assessments, Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, the need to change the Quarterly assessment became more evident. In a recent Board Meeting on March 10, Dr. Heineman discussed a current proposal change to assessment at Ridge High School. The proposal included the elimination of Quarterlies and the implementation of EOYSA, End of Year Summative Assessment.
Why: Through surveys administered to the student body and teaching staff we found that there was strong dislike of the current testing system. 48/50 teachers said they disliked it and 60% of students surveyed said that Quarterlies were severely stressful while 40% said they were moderately stressful leaving less than 1% saying it wasn’t stressful at all (displayed in the graph above). This displays the obvious dislike of Quarterlies, encouraging change. If we do not address this problem and implement a change now, students will continue to be overwhelmed with stress and the continued learning. All these things will add up and impede the students overall.
Solutions: An end of the year summative assessment is the best solution. It will require less testing time and will not detract from teaching time. The goal of this end of the year test is to bring all the concepts learned together for one final assessment analyzing your overall understanding of the courses content, trying to move away from memorization. This new schedule will also coincide with the new PARCC testing. End of year summative assessment will decrease great amounts of stress on students because instead of studying for four assessments, students must study for one summative assessment. Students who have an average grade in CP classes of A+, Honors A, and AP A- do not have to take the end of year assessments.
1 Shepard, Lorrie A. "The Role of Assessment in a Learning Culture." Educational Researcher 29.7 (2000): 4-14. JSTOR. Web. 12 Dec. 2013.
Mission Statement
The Problem: Ridge High School is divided up into four marking periods. The current testing schedule consists of four cummulative tests, called quaterlies, which are administered at the end of each marking period on content learned in that period of time. The quarterlies are given two per day over the span of five days. Students are to follow the regular class schedule and on the day of that particular classes assessment the class period will be extended to an hour long resulting in the shortening of the other classes. The goal was to try and reduce stress on the student’s when it in fact created more by having four major assessments a year and continued instruction on new challenging concepts in other classes during exams.
What Needs to Change: Create a testing schedule that gives students more preparation for assessments. Also create an effective assessment that decreases stress on the students and makes the purpose of the assessment to learn, not to study for the sake of receiving a good grade.
Public Opinion: In 2011 a survey was given electronically to all Ridge students. The results displayed large amounts of stress produced by Midterms and Finals. In hopes of reducing stress a special committee created by the school board that focused on creating new assessment idea proposed Quarterlies. Once administered the scores of bother Quarterlies and Midterms & Finals were compared showing on average Quarterlies having a 4 point higher grade. The board had believed they had taken a step in the right direction as far as solving the problem. Then, after continued complaints of stress and the proposal of PARCC assessments, Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, the need to change the Quarterly assessment became more evident. In a recent Board Meeting on March 10, Dr. Heineman discussed a current proposal change to assessment at Ridge High School. The proposal included the elimination of Quarterlies and the implementation of EOYSA, End of Year Summative Assessment.
Why: Through surveys administered to the student body and teaching staff we found that there was strong dislike of the current testing system. 48/50 teachers said they disliked it and 60% of students surveyed said that Quarterlies were severely stressful while 40% said they were moderately stressful leaving less than 1% saying it wasn’t stressful at all (displayed in the graph above). This displays the obvious dislike of Quarterlies, encouraging change. If we do not address this problem and implement a change now, students will continue to be overwhelmed with stress and the continued learning. All these things will add up and impede the students overall.
Solutions: An end of the year summative assessment is the best solution. It will require less testing time and will not detract from teaching time. The goal of this end of the year test is to bring all the concepts learned together for one final assessment analyzing your overall understanding of the courses content, trying to move away from memorization. This new schedule will also coincide with the new PARCC testing. End of year summative assessment will decrease great amounts of stress on students because instead of studying for four assessments, students must study for one summative assessment. Students who have an average grade in CP classes of A+, Honors A, and AP A- do not have to take the end of year assessments.
1 Shepard, Lorrie A. "The Role of Assessment in a Learning Culture." Educational Researcher 29.7 (2000): 4-14. JSTOR. Web. 12 Dec. 2013.