SBAC results for Springfield show upward trend in proficiency

The Springfield School District has received results from the 2016 Smarter Balanced Assessments for all schools taking part, showing more proficiency increases than decreases in English Language Arts and Math testing this year, compared to 2015.

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2016-06-08 / Front Page SBAC results for Springfield show upward trend in proficiency By Tory Jones Bonenfant toryb@eagletimes.com David Cohn, director of curriculum, instruction and assessment for the Springfield School District, presents Smarter Balanced assessment results to the directors of the Springfield School Board at a regular meeting on Monday, June 6. — TORY JONES BONENFANT David Cohn, director of curriculum, instruction and assessment for the Springfield School District, presents Smarter Balanced assessment results to the directors of the Springfield School Board at a regular meeting on Monday, June 6. — TORY JONES BONENFANT SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield School District has received results from the 2016 Smarter Balanced Assessments for all schools taking part, showing more proficiency increases than decreases in English Language Arts and Math testing this year, compared to 2015. David Cohn, director of curriculum, instruction and assessment for the Springfield School District, presented the assessment results to the directors of the Springfield School Board at a regular board meeting on Monday, June 6. “It’s an assessment that is way more rigorous than the NECAPs were,” he said. Students in Vermont have been taking the New England Common Assessment Program (NECAPs), testing on reading, writing, mathematics and science achievement, since 2005. The Smarter Balanced Assessments were introduced in Springfield schools in 2015. The Smarter Balanced Assessments, known as SBACs, are “computer-adapted,” a different approach compared to traditional fill-in-the-bubble pencil and paper tests, and presented “some challenges” to the district as teachers were trained on how to administer the tests, and students had to get used to completing the tests on a computer. However, this year’s assessment went “much more smoothly” than last year, the district’s first year administering them, Cohn said. The SBACs are administered to Grades 3 through 8, and to Grade 11, which is tested in the spring. The SBACs are aligned with Common Core state standards adopted in 2010, he said. Students are assigned a number on a point system, with a 3 or 4 being “proficient.” Eighteen of the 11th-graders this year moved from a 3 to a 4 as compared to last year, but are still considered “proficient” for test assessment purposes, Cohn said. Some percentages went up significantly compared to last year, notably Grade 6 Math, which went up 18 percent, and Grade 8 English Language Arts, up 16 percent compared to last year, according to data provided by Cohn. In SBAC test results for English Language Arts, the percentage of students testing “proficient” in Grade 3 increased 3 percent, from 33 to 36 percent, compared to 2015. Grade 4 decreased by 1 percent, from 28 to 27. Grade 5 came out even, maintaining 42 percent for both years, and Grade 6 increased by 7 percent, from 39 to 46. In Grade 7, students ranking “proficient” had a 7 percent increase, from 35 to 42. Grade 8 jumped 16 percent from 22 to 38. In grade 11, that ranking dropped 4 percent, from 46 to 42 percent for 2016. For Math, the percentage of students testing “proficient” in Grade 3 decreased 3 percent, from 27 to 24 percent compared to last year’s results. Grade 4 increased 5 percent from 17 to 22; Grade 5 decreased 3 percent from 16 to 13; and Grade 6 increased 18 percent, from 14 to 32 percent. Grade 7 students’ results showed a 3 percent increase from 24 to 27; in Grade 8, the increase was 6 percent, from 18 to 24. In Grade 11, students ranking “proficient” in 2016 increased 3 percent, from 19 to 22, according to Cohn’s information. Teachers have received the SBAC test results and have already discussed them with the students, Cohn said. “Here in Vermont, the turnaround was fast,” he said. The test assessments are weighted in same grade levels, from one year to the next, he said. The test, overseen by the Vermont Agency of Education, is not tied to grade point averages or to graduation, and therefore getting students to take it seriously has been “a challenge,” he said. “Our kids can do this stuff. You’ve gotta be willing to do the work, grind it out,” said Superintendent Zachary McLaughlin. At this time, the state is trying to collect feedback for accountability, for schools with test results indicating that they are underperforming, Cohn said. The bottom 5 percent of schools “will be held to some kind of accountability,” he added. “Vermont is not a punitive state,” Cohn said. Historically, the Vermont Agency of Education has sent people to help with “whatever we are struggling with,” he said. The SBAC state averages should be available within a month or so, Cohn said.