It is official! My action research wondering will be "Do small group settings, provided for students on state and district assessment days, truly increase a student's academic success, or are small group settings merely a way for some teachers to ease their classroom testing day tension because specific students have been removed to test elsewhere?
My action research plan is as follows:
A. I am going to research the number of 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students on my campus that take these assessments (TAKS/Benchmarks) in small group settings and compare their success rate with their overall classroom passing rates.
B. I want to know what data/research is out there (online, articles, etc.) and what it has to say about the dynamics, positives/negatives of small group test administration.
C. I want to know what data/research has to say about the delivery of services, accommodations, placement, location and technology provided on testing days with emphasis on small group settings.
D. I want to know if the test drives the setting, or if the student drive the setting.
My sample population as stated in "A" above will be 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students on my campus that take these tests in small group settings; I chose these based on AEIS/TAKS scores. I am also going to compare their scores with those of at least 2 other similar district campuses. I will develop a questionnaire for campus administrators and teachers to complete to assist with determination of whether or not they feel that small group settings are student driven, or teacher driven. Hopefully, they will respond truthfully and those responses will be compared to data/research.
My goal is to find a more conclusive explanation as to why the phenomenon of small group test administration appears to be rapidly increasing. Perhaps this will help us to better understand the rationale behind the benefits of small group testing. If it is indeed discovered that teachers simply need to have specific students removed on testing days is driving this decision, then that would create another issue/concern for campus administrators to address, or not.
Granted, Special Education test taking accommodations can drive this decision, but is it really all that necessary? It seems that more and more of our students are removed from the comfort of their regular classroom to test in areas unknown. Now, before you all start tearing into me, let me state that I have experienced test administration days with students that I would have loved to send to another room (not all were ADD/ADHD students). It just seems that as more and more students are moved into the inclusion classroom setting, that more and more of those same students are now designated as small group test "takers".
This topic really "peaks" my curiosity, especially when students that normally do not take a test in a small group setting are magically placed in small groups or 1-on-1 when specific state/district assessments are given.
Your research topic sparks my curiosity too. This past year, we placed our most struggling students (not in Special Ed.) to be tested in a small group setting. Let me tell you, I did not find the setting successful at all. Perhaps this was because it was done at the last minute and small group testers were not in contact with the teacher of instruction to discuss the students' needs. Most of the students placed in small group testing were not successful and I believe it was because the students viewed small group testing as a reward. After students finished their tests, they were taken to the gym to play basketball or helped their test administrators in their classrooms, where as, all the other students had no other option but to read quietly after finishing their tests. Perhaps your questions can include what do the test administrators have students do when they are finished, and have teachers been given the opportunity to communicate with the test administrator. I look forward to your findings!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments. Part of my research will definitely include whether or not teachers have been given opportunity to communicate with test administrators. I feel it is important to know IF all information, that could and should have been shared about a student(s) prior to testing has actually been shared. Simply discussing this information as a student is led to "another room" doesn't make any sense. There is some rather interesting research out there on small group testing. Again, thanks for your comments.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to seeing your results. I too have seen an increase in the number of small groups. Some work well because it is the same environment that a student is accustomed to. For example, I work with Autistic children and they do not do well when they are with strangers.
ReplyDeleteFascinating! This past year when we tested, students were everywhere! We had people all over the place and had to hire all manner and kind of "warm bodies" most of whom I had never seen on campus before to help out. I don't know if it's really all that necessary. We had certified teachers with nothing to do because we had so much extra help because of small group/individual testing.
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