JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — In the wake of DESE’s release of the state’s MAP scores, Missouri’s school administrators are asking state and federal lawmakers to place less emphasis on mandatory standardized tests to gauge student growth and achievement.
“While scores on state tests are important, they are only one piece used to measure the quality of the education students are receiving from the schools in their community,” said Scott Downing, Superintendent in Warsaw, Missouri, and President of the Missouri Association of School Administrators. “With the changes coming in education over the next couple of years, parents should know that schools will adjust to the mandates from the state and federal government accordingly. However, we should not lose sight that schools are responsible to the needs of their community and students first and foremost.”
Last year marked the first time students in Missouri were tested on the common core-aligned learning standards adopted by the state, but thanks to lawmakers in Jefferson City rejecting all things associated with common core, schools will have to use a new assessment again in 2016, and new standards currently being developed will go into affect in 2017 and 2018.
“If the state wants accurate data in order to compare one district to another or one state to another state, schools are going to need some consistency from policymakers at the top,” said Mike Lodewegen, Associate Executive Director of MASA. “With so many changes coming at us, our best bet is to continue focusing on our community and looking beyond what the state or federal government has in store for us.”
“It’s important to note that, by and large, we test in four areas: math, English, social studies and science, but the standardization that comes along with this testing is a challenge for schools because the test prep culture is contradictory to what our teachers know engages students,” said John Jungmann, Superintendent of the Springfield School District. “Students want to focus on areas that are interesting to them, sometimes that is math or English, but for some it is health or music or art.”
School administrators said that, in light of the coming changes to state education standards, lawmakers should explore long-term solutions that get away from too much standardized testing, which they compared to “using the number on a scale to determine a person’s overall health.”
Collin Reischman was the Managing Editor for The Missouri Times, and a graduate of Webster University with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.
