It’s nice to get emails like this one (slight modifications made to protect the identity of the author and anonymize it):

I am the technology directory for [a Texas school district]. I just want to say how much I enjoy all of the valuable information that you offer to the tecsig group. My district is small, approximately [2000] students. I wear many hats, some that really should not be placed on me.

Had it not been for you and the tecsig group, the 8th grade assessment requirement would have caused a big panic for our Assistant Superintendent who handles the curriculum and testing services, among other things, for the district.

To make a long story short, I signed the district up to use the InfoSource Learning’s SimpleAssessment online test, the one you said you were going to use…. InfoSource was great and very helpful. My problem is our students did TERRIBLE. No one passed it but three….

On the Star Chart survey to be submitted, what it going to happen to our district when I put only three students passing? I notice that you are taking a survey about this very thing. I also notice that only 20% have passed the assessment. I am worried about the repercussions to our district with our low passing rate.

Now I don’t know whether to take the final grade that was earned by the student’s in their technology class at the end of their 8th grade year. The only thing about that grade is that it is nothing like what was on the InfoSource Assessment. Would our assessment be adequate or approved by TEA? I know that you are busy, so if you are not able to respond to this message, I certainly will understand. I really hate bothering you, but I don’t know anyone else to ask that would know the right answers to my questions.

Here’s my response:

Howdy! Thanks for your feedback.

One of the reasons I started the survey was to verify an idea I had–essentially, that the InfoSource Learning assessment was TOO hard for 8th graders, or even 9th graders who were 8th graders during the 2007-2008 school year. This is important to note because, as educators, we know that giving students TOO hard an assessment is frustrating and counter-productive.

Using the survey results, I intend to make the case that InfoSource Learning’s assessment was too difficult and that we need a more gradual assessment process. I don’t expect TEA will be able to say anything for these reasons:

1) No additional funding was provided to conduct the assessment.

2) Notice of a mandated assessment came VERY late in the 2007-2008 school year, as late as the last Friday in May, 2008 when the TEA letter came out at 5:00 PM or so “To the Administrator Addressed.”

3) School districts had to come up with any which way to conduct an assessment, perhaps skewing the results (think how much time has gone into crafting assessments for core content areas).

4) This is not even year 1 of the assessment…so, I don’t expect the TEA to use the poor scores to penalize districts but rather to make the case for more technology funding (in fact, that’s what I’d do! Our Texas schoolchildren don’t know much technology, and districts need more funding to bring them up to speed).

In regards to whether you should use another assessment. Some districts don’t have the option of providing TA:TEkS courses to their entire population of students. Instead, districts only provide TA:TEKS courses to those that sign up for it as an elective. So, in such a district, it would be inaccurate to provide just the data for students who completed a course.

Your district, however, if you taught the entire population, CAN use the course grades as the “district methodology for assessment”. Your assessment would be approved, as I understand it.

Thank you for sharing your feedback…you reminded me of why I write for Texas education!

What are your thoughts? I suppose that I’d add to my response above and say, how do these assessments help us achieve NETS-Students?

And, do you think my hypothesis–based on the emerging data–that the InfoSource Learning assessment is harder than Learning.com’s is accurate?

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