The Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) test results have been with us for more than a decade. We have gotten familiar with the annual scores and made many judgments about which schools and school districts have excelled and which have not.
Predictably, interest in the scores seemed higher in the early years and waned in later years as people started saying the test had outlived its usefulness.
This year we take a last look at the CSAP results. As usual, the results are often checkered, showing how students in most districts show improvement in a subject in some grade levels and decline in others. But we urge you to take a look at your district and consider the scores for what they are worth.
We long ago agreed with former Gov. Bill Owens, who backed CSAP and said districts must measure the performance of their students and teachers in order to know how to move forward and improve. And we think the initial CSAP years were worthwhile in many regards, individually and tied into the now-defunct report cards for each school.
Next year the test will be replaced by the Transitional Colorado Assessment Program (TCAP) tests, which will combine relevant standards of CSAP with new state standards. Then the TCAP will be replaced by a new test the following year that aligns with the new Colorado standards, so for a few years comparisons may be more difficult to come by.
Fair enough, but as we move forward, we are concerned that there be the smartest use of class time for testing because ever since state CSAP tests were combined with testing required for No Child Left Behind it meant a lot of testing. Now as we look at new standards, we urge thrifty test planning, and in this effort, it would seem to be necessary to align more with testing for national standards to reduce the total amount of testing.
Don’t get us wrong, we are all for local control, but we see this as a way to streamline testing in the lives of K-12 students.
We have long heard the call from parents and students that there is too much testing, too much CSAP, and we think there is something to it. We have heard that the districts do a nice job making sure the students are rested and have healthful snacks. Good work for sure. But we have also heard a refrain that goes like this: “Gee, thanks for the snacks, but do I really have to take another test?”
For now we support all high schoolers taking the ACT, with the notion that students who weren’t thinking about taking the test or going to college might see that they are college material. But as for all the numerous tests that cover math, writing, science and reading at numerous grade levels, we urge finding a smart balance that offers a lighter but reasonable amount of testing and reduces the amount of class time that goes to testing and interrupting the flow of the school weeks.