In my search for informative blogs and podcasts on educational technology, I was introduced to Tim Lauer's site, Education/Technology. As a principal for an elementary school in Oregon, he using this site to collect his thoughts on educational techology and provides a rich archive of useful information. While I was seaching for his thoughts and comments on podcasting, I came across the following entry: Tim Wilson's Podcasts...

While the article connected me with what Lauer deemed Wilson's "high quality podcasts", I actually found the content to be very timely and informative in regards to our ongoing discourse on high-stakes, state-wide testing such as the FCAT. While the podcast itself was very good in both content and quality, what really struck me was Lauer's discussion about his experience with the Oregon state test.

You might want to sit down before reading this, Jessica. In Oregon, they have the option to test students on computers using a web-based application rather than a paper and pencil test. Now get ready for the kicker: they can test students up to three times per year, and only the highest score counts. I know, I know. This sounds too progressive and makes way to much sense coming from Florida.

Just think of all the benefits of such a model. First, this eliminates the short testing window and prevents students, teachers, and schools from being judged on one test given on one day. Second, it eliminates the need to test all students at the same time and all the resources this consumes. Third, it gets rid of the difficulties in only testing once per year, such as the controversies on when to test and creating judgments based on one date and time. While I know that many of people don't like the idea of high-stakes, statewide standardized assessments, I think that such a model provides flexibility and addresses many of the concerns with the current testing system.

From my personal experience, I know that the FCAT has creating many problems in our school. One, the school plans all major projects, field trips, and events for AFTER the FCAT in order not to stress teachers and students, but this just leads to post-FCAT craziness in schedules and teaching. While it seems that people should be able to rest easier after the test, most teachers are actually more stressed out since they now have a ton of projects, field trips, and events to organize and administer. Another problem is that the FCAT does not provide immediate feedback, and I think this negatively impacts the students who are eager to find out how they did. After a while, students don't remember the test and have difficulty realizing how they could improve. Immediate feedback could help teachers individualize and target instruction to meet individual students' needs. Lastly, the FCAT now has many implications for my students, such as determining whether they need a double reading block in middle school. For my students that end up there, they will have 2 reading classes and no specials (P.E., art, band, choir, etc.) FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR. Currently, they only have one chance to test well enough to avoid this fate, but a more flexible, web-based assessment could allow them multiple chances to improve their score which I believe would increase student engagement and motivation. All in all, I think that this model would greatly improve on our current situation.

I really was impressed by Tim Lauer's thoughts on technology in testing. It seemed like he was directly speaking of Florida when he said, " find it interesting that in some states, rather than see that the technology provides for new opportunities, they try to fit the technology into old models such as a short testing window, testing all students at the same time, and only assessing once a year… "

In our district, the school board is trying to cut funding for technology, asserting that it does not improve test scores and increase student achievement. Of course it doesn't appear that way since we use technology to try and perform well on one paper and pencil test given within a short testing window once a year. Technology does provide for new opportunities, and it needs to come from the top.