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SIERRA VISTA — Are they proficient?
That’s the question students, parents and teachers will be asking most of next week as the AIMS tests come to town. Beginning Monday, grades 3-8 will spend approximately two hours each morning laboring over test booklets, on their way to discover if they have learned what Arizona expects of them — The Standards — in writing, reading and math.
The schools get graded, too.
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“I think the site coordinators are more nervous than the students,” joked Penny Morris, curriculum director for Sierra Vista public schools.
So how are they doing, and what are they doing to get ready? The students, that is.
“Oh, they’re looking forward to it,” said Joe Baeza, counselor at Sierra Vista Middle School.
Baeza can be indulged his wishful thinking. At the high school level, students form study groups and go over the practice guides available from the Arizona Department of Education Web site.
But high schools this week have only math testing on a single day, so the Herald/Review focused on eighth grade — the boys and girls who next year will enter a high school’s rarefied halls and are in a “maturity transition” time of life.
“Some little brains don’t pick it up quite so fast that next year they’re going to be much more responsible for their own learning,” said Michele Dalton, who teaches eighth-grade English at Apache Middle School.
“They joke around and say they’re going to be absent during AIMS week, but they all know it’s coming. We try to make it as painless as possible, and not make a big deal about it,” she said. “I personally think that makes it more stressful.”
At Lowell Junior High in Bisbee, principal Terri Romo held an AIMS pep rally.
“It’s just something fun and encouraging we do on the Monday before,” she said. She described it as a “do your best” motivational and confidence-building activity.
But Lowell students who are struggling have been able to take advantage of daily tutorials in English and math, and a nine-week prep program developed by the school’s math teacher.
“We keep the group small, not more than 15,” Romo said.
The Bisbee students also use the “Buckle Down Arizona” AIMS preparation test books, a series of study guides geared to the state learning standards for each grade level. One English teacher spends a day each week on AIMS preparation.
“Some get nervous and want to know what to study,” said Jennifer Martell, math teacher at Apache. “Well, we’re not allowed to look at the tests, but we teach to the standards. So, I tell them if they’re doing well in class, they should do well on the test.”
Martell has been reviewing some basics in class in advance of AIMS, but wouldn’t call them drills.
“We did our visit to Buena last month and for many of them it was the first time being inside, and they were struck by it,” she said. “It really sunk in that they have less than one quarter left at the middle school and we take that opportunity to tell them it’s time to learn good study habits and take responsibility.”
None of the middle school or junior high educators and counselors knew of any study groups among their eighth-graders.
“I haven’t seen any signs of test anxiety — yet,” said Deborah Casper, the AIMS site coordinator and counselor at Apache. “But we start early giving them stress reduction techniques, tell them to get a good night’s sleep and eat a good breakfast.”
It is advice amplified on the education department’s Web site from state Schools Superintendent Tom Horne: “Get plenty of rest during AIMS testing, have nutritious and well-balanced meals and try and get some exercise. It is proven, that students that eat well, sleep well and get moderate exercise, perform better in school.”
And perhaps learn to love commas, as well?
Other test-taking advice passed on to youngsters includes making sure they understand what’s being asked in a question or writing prompt, to be aware of common errors, and on multiple choice tests how to recognize the wrong answers.
“If they’re hung up on a question, I tell them ‘skip over it, you can always come back,’ ” Martell said.
AIMS testing is optional for home-schooled children and is touted as providing valuable information regarding students’ progress toward mastering Arizona’s standards.
But Palominas home-schooling mom Vicki Brady respectfully disagrees.
“Parents who home-school generally don’t use the AIMS tests,” she said. “I personally don’t consider it the best way to measure where kids are at. Home-schoolers like to use the California Achievement Test and the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. We get very comprehensive reports that break down the scores by percentile, national, state and grade level.”
Brady, who reviews online curricula for educational publishers, said parents of children who are educated at home know right where the children stand academically because “we’re with them all day.” She also suggested that the children’s learning is often accelerated because there is less distraction and progress is continuous because they do not take the “long breaks” in summer and then have to review content.
Security and administration of AIMS testing is stringent because the stakes are high and there are serious repercussions for an error.
“If the wrong test is given on the wrong day, they are all thrown out,” Morris said. “We go through a number of procedures to be valid and fair and equitable so we get accurate scoring.”
The tests are kept behind lock and key when they arrive and before they’re sent back, and they are inventoried and secured each day. Teachers are trained to administer them in an identical fashion.
“Otherwise it wouldn’t be standardized,” Casper said.
Roberta Alley, the state’s Deputy Associate Superintendent for Assessment, wants the public to know that the AIMS test items are written by Arizona teachers and are reviewed to maintain the difficulty level from year to year and reflect the different populations that teachers see in their classrooms. A professional education testing company consults, edits and facilitates the process.
“Everything goes through three reviews before we go to press,” Alley said. “We try to be cautious, thorough, have appropriate questions and get a good mix of assessments.”
On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, there are breaks between the reading and math portions of the AIMS, and teachers come armed with snacks of popcorn and granola bars for those who didn’t listen to state superintendent and eat a good breakfast.
“I’ve given my kids some breathing techniques to use if they tense up, and even a couple of mantras to repeat,” Martell said. “Things like, ‘I can do it,’ and ‘It’s not that hard.’ ”
REPORTER Cindy Skalsky can be reached at 515-4611.
TheSilverRose wrote on Jun 27, 2009 10:22 PM:
Thank You! "