How to Take the Spotlight Off of Standardized Testing
Episode #28
[00:00:00] In today's episode, I'm going to share how you can take the spotlight off of standardized testing. This is all coming up next right here on The Principal's Handbook. Stay tuned.. Welcome to the Principal's Handbook, your go to resource for principals looking to revamp their leadership approach and prioritize self care. I'm Barb Flowers, a certified life coach with eight years of experience as an elementary principal. Tune in each week as we delve into strategies for boosting mental resilience, managing time effectively, and nurturing overall wellness.
From tackling daily challenges to maintaining a healthy work life balance, I'm Barb Flowers. We'll navigate the complexities of school leadership together. Join me in fostering your sense of purpose as a principal and reigniting your passion for the job. Welcome to a podcast where your wellbeing is the top priority.
Welcome back to the podcast. Today we are going to be talking about how to take the spotlight off of standardized testing.
Many schools take some sort of final exam or end of [00:01:00] year test this time of year. In Ohio, we have our state testing that will happen soon, and it can be a very stressful time of year for teachers and administrators, depending on your school and your district and how much pressure is put on this testing.
I know in my district we try not to put too much pressure on teachers, and we really try to focus on, just doing what is best for kids throughout the year, but teachers put a lot of pressure on themselves because these scores are published and the public can see them. When we do a. district report card and a building report card so that parents who live in the community or anybody can really access the scores online and look and see how a certain school did.
And they can compare school districts based on their scores, which we know as educators, that there's so many factors that go into those scores. So you really can't compare it. District to district, because you have socioeconomic factors, parent engagement, things that go into that that has nothing to do with teaching in general.
[00:02:00] So it's a lot of pressure for teachers. Administrators feel that pressure. You know, I, I feel that pressure if I let myself where I know that people are going to look at those scores and think of my leadership based on those scores.
However, I have to keep putting into perspective that that's one piece of data. I have so many other pieces of data that I look at that I want to be growing as well as sustaining. State testing scores that I can't put all my focus there, and I want teachers to do the same. We want kids to be growing. It can't just be about standardized testing.
There's so many good assessments that we give, and What I've seen over time with standardized testing is you have students who will not even try on the test or you have students who take 10 minutes to answer 15 questions and one of them being an essay question, and it should not take 15 minutes.
So you get so frustrated. You know, students don't necessarily care about the standardized tests like we do as educators because there's so many other things going on in their [00:03:00] life. There are students who care and put their own pressure on themselves about it, but most students don't. Do not put the time and effort in it to really know how they're growing.
So today I just want to give some strategies about how to take the spotlight off standardized testing so that we can focus on other things. I'm not saying it's not important. I'm not saying not to care at all. But I just think it's a really good thing to take the spotlight off of it and focus on other things in the building.
My first suggestion is to look at a variety of data throughout the year. Like I was saying, I can't put all my focus in standardized testing and state testing that we give students and how they achieve in that area because we give a lot of other good tests.
In my school, I'm an elementary principal. We give a cadence. We give the map test, and those are all really great ways to see if students are growing. And one thing I love about a test like a cadence is it's given to students one on one. So teachers actually know how engaged students were taking the test.
Even the map test [00:04:00] tells you if there's rapid guessing going on, how long the students took to take the test. So you're able to analyze that data Knowing how much effort was put into that test where we don't have that data with our state testing. So I think that that is a really important thing is to just look at a lot of data throughout the year and we want to see all of that data progressing and going up.
We want to see students doing well in all areas and not just state testing. We use data during our professional learning communities. So using state testing data as part of a professional learning community is a great way to use it. Because we use our MAP data during PLCs, we use our Acadian's data during PLCs.
It's just another data point. And if you use it during PLCs like you do any other kind of data, it's really going to give that perspective that it's just another data point to use. Also, normalize testing to alleviate anxiety for both teachers and students. , in Ohio, we're really lucky, [00:05:00] actually. They've just made the state testing platform available where you can create your own standards based tests that look like the state tests that have released questions.
And I really encourage my teachers to use that, not because I want them teaching to a test, but because I think the more that they use that platform and see the test questions, the more they can make sure that they are teaching to the rigor of the standard because we're given standards. We all have the common core standards in the United States or some sort of state standards that we teach, but I don't think we always teach to the rigor that that standard was meant for.
And so when you use those standards, state test and use the testing portal to create assessments that match a certain standard, you're going to make sure that you are testing to that rigor. You're going to see what the state expects students to be able to do. It's definitely a great tool to use.
And I would encourage teachers, if you do have access to that or any old release test questions, it is a good thing to [00:06:00] use. It's a good thing to have students go on the testing site and do practice. Again, not to make it a big deal and make it where we're teaching to the test, but to just normalize the test and alleviate anxiety because students know how to use the tools available.
They know how to navigate the website and they're able to log in and it's not a big deal. It's just another test that they're taking. So making sure that you're , using the format of the test and have the rigor and you're teaching to that rigor and the standards, you're going to make students feel like it's just any other test and a normal part of their routine.
Also make sure you remove the pressure associated with testing. Educators already feel so much pressure. Whether we put it on them as the school leaders or not, they feel pressure with state testing. So you need to help alleviate that pressure. You need to create a less stressful environment and , just normalize that this is another test they're going to take, and take away that pressure.
So avoid countdowns, avoid [00:07:00] amplifying the significance of the test, having conversations with students about the significance of the test. We want to teach students to just be good at assessments anytime. Anytime we have an assessment, you're going to do your best, you're going to be quiet, you're going to focus.
We don't want to put extra pressure on this test that you need to be more quiet than normal, that you Need to do this or that compared to normal. We need to just focus on making how we test for state testing as normal as possible. As leaders, if we put pressure on teachers, teachers are going to put pressure on kids and kids aren't going to do as well.
We have more kids than ever that have anxiety. I know in my school, I see more kids who need accommodations on five Oh fours. They have testing related stress. And it's just a lot of kids with anxiety. We have a lot of teachers with anxiety. And so I think the more we can alleviate pressure and the more we can stop making this test seem so much more important than every other test, [00:08:00] it's going to help everybody's wellbeing in the building.
Also, you want to make sure that you're prioritizing what's best for students. In the heart of what you're doing, day to day should just be what's best for students. It shouldn't be about, are we preparing them for this test at the end of the year? It should be, are we teaching standards? Are we giving good instruction?
Are we meeting kids needs? Are we differentiating? All of those things that we know are good practices in education are the things that we should be doing. It shouldn't be a focus on standardized testing all year so that we raise those scores. We just want students to get better and continue to grow in all areas.
Rather than zeroing in on test taking strategies, really emphasize just what you want kids to learn all year. For me, what I really think about being in an elementary is, you know, I don't want teachers to focus on test taking strategies and ways to help kids pass the test if they can't read.
Our number one focus should be [00:09:00] getting kids to read. I can remember being a new teacher, and one of my roles as a Title I tutor was I helped with third grade, getting them ready to take the third grade reading test, and I remember working with teachers and we would teach kids test taking strategies when they couldn't even read.
And we were teaching them things like, look for a key word in the question and then find that word in the passage and the answer has to be there somewhere. It's okay if you can't read the whole thing, just do your best.
As helpful as they can be in that moment, it's just not good teaching. We were using a lot of time to teach strategies that were only helping kids for state testing. It wasn't helping them improve their reading or helping them get better in any way.
I don't recommend doing that. I recommend focusing on what's best for your students and what's going to help them grow and achieve in life. Also make sure you're focusing on a growth mindset. So remind teachers and students that test scores are just a way to grow. [00:10:00] Remind teachers and students that standardized tests give you scores and it's opportunities for growth. So you do your best on the test and then you look at that score and you try to grow.
We want to have that growth mindset and having a growth mindset it's not only going to help teachers feel less anxiety, but it's going to help students feel less anxiety and it's going to build their resilience when they approach challenges on the test that they might not know everything. They're going to do their best and just have that growth mindset that they need to know what they don't know and they'll continue to learn.
So having that growth mindset is important for kids. And then using that growth mindset with teachers to engage in reflective practices. Using the test as a way to reflect on teaching is going to get you the best outcomes from it. Focusing on what were the strengths of the test? What were the weaknesses?
You know, what instructional strategies can we change so that we do better next time? And doing it without judgment. is really going to help people feel less [00:11:00] stressed about the test, but just engaging in reflective practices like you always do with data. Hopefully your school is doing some sort of professional learning communities where you are looking at data often.
You are talking about the strengths and weaknesses of the data. Teachers are sharing instructional strategies that they can use in the classroom. and learning from each other. And that's the same type of process you want to use with your state testing data. You want teachers to look at those scores, engage in them, reflecting on them, what they could do better,
it should be like that with every major assessment that students take. Teachers should be engaging and reflecting in what those scores mean. I hope that you find this helpful and can incorporate some of these strategies into your school, but by utilizing these strategies, not only will you support teachers and take some of the pressure off of them, but you're going to focus on students well being over just what the test scores are.
And if you're a principal who's seeking to elevate your [00:12:00] leadership and well being, I'm here to help. My one on one coaching offers clarity. It'll help you build resilience and enhance your effectiveness in your role. You'll receive personalized support, insights into your strengths and areas for growth, and practical tools to improve both your leadership and your school's performance.
Having experienced the power of life coaching myself, I am so excited to share this journey with you. So if you're interested in a complimentary session, To just explore what your current challenges are and think about what future aspirations you have. Reach out to me on Instagram at barbflowerscoaching or visit me at barbflowerscoaching.
com. Also, if you love the show, if you're listening on Apple, scroll down in your app and leave a review. Keep in mind, you have the power to shape your life according to the mindset you choose.
I hope you have a great week and I'll see you back here next time.
Mhm. Mhm.
