ELLEN
BERG
Diary #32
My Test Scores Tell Two Stories
Last week we finally got our students' spring Scholastic Reading Inventory scores back, an amazingly quick turnaround considering they had only taken the test in early March. I hunted down our testing coordinator and begged her for a copy of my students' scores from last school year (5th grade) so I could make a comparison. I thought I pushed my kids harder this year than in any other, and I was sure I would see a significant increase.
And I did. Mostly. Overwhelmingly, students who scored at the basic or at-risk levels in 5th grade improved. Students in the lowest categories last year leaped full categories and jumped anywhere from 200 to 540 points—in one year. As I looked at the names connected with the scores, I relived battles and struggles I'd had with these students as they initially resisted my pushing, and it all seemed worth it. Kids who struggled with reading were moving towards proficiency. But wait, what about those kids who were proficient or advanced last year? What did I see happening to their scores? I was not impressed. Not at all. Scores jumped 50 to 100 points in the best cases, and stayed the same or even dropped in the rest. I knew I should revel a while in the gains of our neediest (and the majority) of students, but being the faultfinder I am, I could not do that. It bothered me that my best students made few gains. What happened? What is the reason for this result? Why are my lowest kids growing and my highest kids staying the same or regressing? I can only guess that I have failed to differentiate for my higher levels. When teachers talk about differentiation, I think most of us have the below-level kids in mind. When we differentiate our instruction, we focus on the steps from the basement rather than the steps to the third floor. When I think about this school year, I see the evidence to support the above supposition. The kids I have ridden, conferenced with, called home on, and pushed have been my lowest students. When they did not understand, I made them understand. If the work was not turned in, I gave them extra time and made them turn it in. I found materials to engage, challenge, and enlighten them, and the results were tremendous. The kids in my classroom who did not need me were pretty much left to their own devices. Sure, I spent some time talking with them individually about their work, but as long as they understood, I did not spend a lot of time working individually with them. The needy were so, well, needy, that I neglected the needs of my more capable students. I feel so bad. With the focus on test scores and reading levels these days it is too easy to focus only on those kids who do not get it, but what happens to the kids who do? Don't they have the right to expect to be challenged and pushed to their potential as well? It is easy to push them to the side knowing they will be okay on their own, but it just is not right. My goal next year is to make my classroom challenging for everyone, to find that Zone of Development for all students.
