This is the first in a series of posts analyzing the Obama education plan as laid out on the official Web site. While this analysis (and choice of selections) is done with an eye towards mathematics, it applies to the entire span of education. 

Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe we should not be forced to spend the academic year preparing students to fill in bubbles on standardized tests. They will improve the assessments used to track student progress.

There has been some impassioned rhetoric (in GOOD Magazine, for instance) which boils down to a desire to get rid of testing altogether, opining that doing so treats students as numbers rather than people.

It’s clear the Obama position is not to do away with the tests altogether, but “improve” them.

They will work to create assessment models that provide educators and students with timely feedback about how to improve student learning,

This refers to the (sometimes enormous) lag time it takes before receiving the results from a high-stakes test.

that measure readiness for college

An exact interpretation is foggy, but I’m guessing this phrase has to do with alignment. What college professors desire their students to know is not necessarily what is tested.

and success in an information-age workplace;

The education plan as a whole has a large emphasis on technology preparedness, but here I believe they are encouraging a technology component to high-stakes testing. It is also possible they are suggesting a separate technology test like Massachusetts has.

and that indicate whether individual students are making progress toward reaching high standards.

I read this as simply “we need better data so teachers know just what caused students to fail,” which some states are handling through programs like Galileo.

This will include funds for states to implement a broader range of assessments that can evaluate higher-order skills, including students’ abilities to use technology, conduct research, engage in scientific investigation, solve problems, present and defend their ideas.

A later portion of the agenda about science assessments names Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont as having “an assessment that calls for students to design and conduct investigations, analyze and present data, write up and defend results.”

Here’s an example from the Maine Educational Assessment:

Rather than multiple choice, this is an open-ended writing prompt. (The Maine test has writing prompts for all disciplines, not just science.) This question addresses something that cannot be adequately expressed in multiple choice, and “breaks out” of the type of problem that often gets tackled through drill.

Here's a math example from the same test:

In a survey, students were asked if they preferred apples or oranges. 60% of the students preferred apples.

a. What percent of the students preferred oranges?

b. What is the ratio of students who preferred apples to those who preferred oranges?

c. If 90 students preferred apples, how many students responded to the survey? Show your work or explain how you found your answer.

The writing here is less extensive and equal to “showing work” in a math class; no words are necessary. While there are advantages to seeing work, this isn't a large break from what what is possible with multiple choice. However, the open response format does also encourage multi-part questions which refer to the same situation. While it's possible to do so with multiple choice it's fairly rare, and there's additionally no chance for partial credit when a wrong piece of information in part a is the only thing that causes part c to go wrong.

Rather more elaborate (and perhaps even closer to what the Obama plan has in mind) are the new “inquiry tests” on the NECAP (New England Common Assessment Program). These are experiments with actual materials so the students will “make a prediction, set up and conduct the investigation, and collect and record [their] data with [a] partner.”

Using a paper model and sand, investigate the question: What might happen to the sand in the model when the Eurasian and Indian Plates move toward each other?

(Read about the entire experiment at this link.)

Presuming the logistics are handled correctly, the students perform an actual experiment so the assessment goes far beyond multiple choice tests. Note that a less elaborate version of this is possible (see the grade 11 science test) where the data is already given, but the student still forms hypotheses and tests them with the data.

A mathematics equivalent to the science inquiry test is possible. Here's an example (used often by math teachers so inappropriate for a real standardized test, but a good model of what it might be like):

Suppose you take a piece of paper and tear it half, making a stack of two papers. Then you take those two papers and tear them in half again (all as one stack) getting a stack of four papers. If you keep tearing and adding to the stack, how many tears will it take to reach 6 feet? How many tears will it take to reach outer space (100 km)?

Unless the height of a sheet of paper is given, answering the questions would require supplies. Another example (not using supplies) might be:

How many triangles will be in the 10th step? How many in the 30th step? Form a table and then graph. Find a formula to express the number of triangles. Explain why the formula works.

At the very least, the addition of such a section to a mathematics assessment would force teachers who “teach to the test” to include lessons that invoke higher-order skills. Even with strong teacher training it is possible weaker teachers will resort to such tactics. If students are made to fit into a mold at least it should be one with some breathing space.

These assessments will provide immediate feedback so that teachers can begin improving student learning right away.

This is a repeat of the “timely feedback” sentence. Immediate feedback on a test appears mutually contradictory with the goal of a more nuanced assessment. Writing takes a long time to assess, and grading an inquiry test would be just as difficult.

Splitting reports might provide both outcomes. The results of a multiple choice portion could be delivered when it is finished; if done on computer as the GRE is it would allow for immediate feedback. The other (harder to grade) portions could be recorded directly into a networked system as they come in, so teachers can access the information as quickly as possible.

Jason Dyer holds degrees in Fine Arts Studies and Math and teaches at Pueblo High School in Arizona. His school mascot is the Warriors and his other blog of residence is The Number Warrior.

 POSTED ON HOTCHALK.COM

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