EDU 6160 Blog Post Assignment #7

In the following blog post, I will be summarizing the most recent statewide test for a grade level of my choosing, noting any prominent peaks and valleys on subscores. I chose to research the 11^th Grade Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA) in two different school districts’ high schools in Washington State with varying student population demographics. “In using standardized tests in most areas, including statewide tests, you will often see results reported as grade equivalent scores. These are like percentiles and other similar scores in that they are based on norms” (Shermis and Di Vesta, 2011, p. 33).

Of Jackson High School’s (Mill Creek, WA) 2,183 students, 60.0% are white, 18% receive free or reduced-price meals and 3.1% are African American (OSPI, 2016). Figure 1 displays the percentage of students meeting standard for English Language Arts (ELA) and Math at Jackson High School. In 2015-16, Jackson High School had a total of 89.4% meeting standard for ELA and 44.5% meeting standard for Math.

Of Garfield High School’s (Seattle, WA) 1,666 students, 40.2% are white, 33.9% receive free or reduced-price meals and 26.3% are African American. Figure 2 displays the

percentage of students meeting standard for ELA and Math at Garfield High School. In 2015-16, Garfield High School had a total of 85.7% meeting standard for ELA and less than 5% meeting standard for Math.

Both held to accountable for statewide testing and only 23.1 miles in distance, Jackson High School and Garfield High School show discrepancy in student population demographics and the percentage of 11^th grade students meeting standard on the SBA. After observing the gap between these two schools, there is a part of me that feels discouraged. However, I believe that it is important to keep in mind that statewide tests have, “Generated considerable information about schools and students over a number of years and can be considered as bases for identifying benchmark schools and the practices they use […] Many schools have improved considerably” (Shermis et al., 2011, p. 475).

References

Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. (2016). Retrieved November 19, 2016, from http://www.k12.wa.us/default.aspx

Shermis, M. D., & J., D. V. (2011). Classroom assessment in action. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.