End of year testing this week for state's students
By REBECCA E. EDEN : The Herald-Sun
ree@herald-sun.com
May 6, 2001 : 11:39 pm ETDURHAM -- An entire year of instruction comes down to a few letters -- EOG and EOC -- this week in the Durham schools.
The letters stand for end of grade and end of course tests, which thousands of students will take Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week.
Durham school board member Phillis Scott called the testing under the ABCs of Public Education intended to make schools more accountable for the quality of instruction they provide "high-stakes," because it puts a lot of pressure on teachers and students.
"There is so much more to education, but it has basically been reduced to three days in May," she said. "But I'm confident that the superintendent, principals and teachers have done their job in preparing our students, and I feel very optimistic about the outcome."
Under the state's 5-year-old accountability program, students across the state take reading, writing and math tests in third through eighth grades in elementary and middle school. High school students complete five tests in courses including English, biology and algebra. The scores will be made public this summer, school officials said.
Students score between 1 and 4, with 4 standing for superior and 3 demonstrating that the student is performing at grade level. Two years ago, the school board began requiring all students in third, fifth and eighth grades who score a 1 or 2 to retake the test twice more and attend summer school, if necessary for them to pass it. Those who fail all three times will most likely repeat the grade. Students may request an appeal that takes into account their class work and teachers' opinions.
"How some students perform on these tests is not always a good indication of a student's proficiency," acknowledged Bert L'Homme, associate superintendent for instructional services.
The school district held back 663 students this year -- 66 more than expected and an all-time district high -- for failing to do grade-level work. The number equals nearly 9.4 percent of the 7,063 students in the third, fifth and eighth grades, the so-called "gateway grades," and about 2.2 percent of the district's roughly 29,800-student population. Of those retained, 565, or 85 percent, are black and 58, or 8 percent, are white.
The test results are then used to reward schools making gains and flag schools that aren't. Staff at schools that do well can receive up to $1,500 in cash incentives from the state. Principals whose schools do not meet the standards can be suspended or fired. And schools can find their leadership replaced with state assistance teams who work with staff to boost test scores.
And with all that pressure, L'Homme described the time as "very hectic and exciting."
"A lot of us are sitting on the edge of our seats," he said.
Last week, school counselors and administrators prepared for the testing.
"We've been busy around here," said Neil Clay, school counselor and the EOG test coordinator at Forest View Elementary School.
Clay and others across the district have been organizing test packets and enlisting "proctors" -- parents and staff members who make sure teachers don't alter the tests or give students the answers.
Parents can help prepare their children succeed on the tests, Clay said, by:
- Making sure children get enough sleep the night before the tests.
- Providing their children with a healthy breakfast on the morning of the test.
- Encouraging their children to relax and do their best.
Long before that, parents can help their children become better learners and more accomplished students, L'Homme said.
They should make sure children start school prepared. They should read to their children every day and encourage them to read extra books unrelated to their school curriculum.
Parents should go over their children's homework with them and have their children explain what they learned, he said.
"Parents being supportive of their child's education makes all the difference in the world," he said.Info on the EOGs and EOCs
Third- through eighth-graders take a standardized math and reading test.
Fourth-, seventh-, and 10th-grade students are also tested in writing.
High school students are tested in five courses at the end of each course. Kindergartners and first- and second-grade students are exempt from state tests. English-as-a-second-language students and some exceptional students are also exempt.
Students are graded on a 1 to 4 scale, with 3 being proficient and 4 being superior.
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