A New Test from the College Board- for Eighth Graders

From the "Do we really need this/how far do we want to take testing?" files- the College Board brings parents and schools a new test, ReadiStep. As told to the New York Times by College Board President Gaston Caperton, the test provides a "tool that would help them determine before high school what measures should be taken to ensure that students are on the path to being college ready."

I'm not sure what the College Board wants out of its latest test offering for eighth graders, but the notion of an additional test- beyond school, district, state and No Child Left Behind measures is puzzling. The College Board argues that districts need a multiple choice test layered upon grades, comments, classroom behavior, writing, and teacher/counselor evaluations in order to give clarity to a student's achievement and standing.

You have to ask yourself, how much validity can this test hold when administered to 13 year old students whose brains are in the midst of, or have yet to go through, the brain rewiring of puberty? Sure a test can give you a quick-hit as to where a student and his/her test taking ability stands at the moment of the test. But, exactly how far for forward can a test administered to 13 year old project into the future?

Lee Jones, a College Board vice president asserted at a news conference, "This is not at all a pre-pre-pre SAT. It's a diagnostic tool to provide information about students' strengths and weaknesses." (New York Times article)

The test is described as low stakes and voluntary. But, if a school or district adopts the test and makes decisions based on test results, then how low stakes can the test actually be? If the test isn't of use, then why adopt it?

Again, from the New York Times Article, Gaston Caperton, the president of the College Board, said the new test had been developed in response to the demand from schools and districts, which he said had requested a "tool that would help them determine before high school what measures should be taken to ensure that students are on the path to being college ready."

Most eighth graders haven't taken Algebra I and have yet to grow into abstract reasoning and thinking. Again, why this test? Is it better than assessments already in use? Does it augment current assessments?

Susan Rusk, the coordinator of counseling for the Washoe County School District in Reno, Nev and one of the test's developers tells the New York Times, that the test informs parents "kids are on track with the particular skills they would need as they go forward into taking the PSAT and SAT and being ready for college."

I know that I should stay away from sports analogies, but, here goes:

ReadiStep reminds me of the traveling sports teams for junior high and high school students- the travel soccer, baseball, swimming, etc. teams that compete for months on end fueled by parents driving their kids across the state on Saturdays and Sundays to play a game in a given sport every weekend. The playing mania welling-up from the belief that their kids may fall flat or become something less if they miss a single opportunity to compete.

I hear it now. If we don't take the ReadiStep, we might miss something.

If I were considering ReadiStep, I'd begin with these questions:

1. Why an additional test? Would this new test be better? Is this the best way to gather any data that we want? Do we already gather this data?
   
   
2. Would an additional- low stakes- test provide data and a perspective that we don't already gather?
   
   
3. Would this additional test/perspective tell us something about a student that we do not or cannot know through our current system?
   
   
4. Would this additional perspective/test be more accurate that the information that we currently gather?
   
   
5. Would ReadiStep and its data add value to what we currently provide to parents?

Bluntly, it might be time to draw a line with the testing. Let kids get through middle school without a testing burden. Let kids and their brains grow, explore, play and learn through work and fun. The abstract reasoning and higher level thinking will come with time, development, and a commitment to their school work.