High school roundtable talks testing
By Lori Mellinger editor@bullardnews.com

Bullard High School continued its series of roundtable discussions on Monday addressing a matter that seems to be on everyone's mind - testing.

District Testing Coordinator and middle school counselor Carla Case spoke to the seven parents, four students, principal Scott Franks and counselor Ronnie Suggs on the latest developments for TAKS testing.

TAKS - the standardized test introduced by then-Gov. George W. Bush - has gone through many incarnations, and it's not finished yet, Case said.

But the biggest change students will face is online TAKS testing.

"Online testing is coming," Case said. She just returned from a workshop in Austin, and they said that by 2010 all TAKS testing will be online.

As it stands now, some of the testing already happens that way.

Franks said that the school's English 1 and 2 are tested online and English 3 is optional.

"The TEA (The Texas Education Agency) is having us phase this in," Case said. In 2009, grades four, six, seven, nine and ten will still have an option."

The reasoning, Franks said, is that these grades are not ones where the TAKS must be passed in order to promote.

To assuage both parents and students, Case said, there will still be paper and pencil backup.

But she said the students' fears don't necessarily need to be allayed.

"The students love it," she said. "It's user friendly; it guides you through the process easily and research shows that scores actually improve if the student is computer proficient."

Which brought one parent to ask that very question.

Franks addressed that by talking about the district's change in curriculum to, he said, make sure the students have that foundation.

"All eighth grade students are required to take a technology applications class with an end of course exam to measure proficiency," he said.

One parent said her child wanted to take the course when she was in eighth grade but couldn't because of scheduling conflicts and extracurricular activities.

Case said that, too, had been addressed.

"We've changed the scheduling so all students are getting it," she said.

The district - in fact - has a written plan beginning from pre-kindergarten through middle school to introduce and increase computer proficiency.

Case said the advantage to online testing is quicker results.

"When we get the results faster, we're able to see where improvement is needed or where students will need to retest," she said. "This will help all of us."

Another challenge, brought up by a parent, was the number of computers.

"That too, is something we're working on, but it's doable," Case said. "We're going to run into some glitches, but we'll all work through

them."

She reiterated, however,

that parents needed to help as well.

"So much emphasis is put on testing, and it can be stressful - for the parents, for the students and for the teachers," Case said. "We want to keep the stress level as low as possible.

"Test anxiety is very real."

Case suggested that students and parents especially use online resources to know dates and break it down to reduce the fear.

"TEA has a great web-site that helps with dates," she said.

Case also suggested simple things, like drinking water.

"Water is effective at reducing anxiety, and we've seen research that scores improve just because of hydration," she said.

But nothing, she said, beats parental involvement.

"All of us - students, parents and teachers - have to be computer proficient to make this work."

For more information on TEA go to www.tea.state.tx.us.

The next roundtable meeting will be held at 8 a.m. Feb. 14 at Bullard High School.

All parents are encouraged to attend. For more information, call Scott Franks at 903-894- 9272.