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New assessments are tests worth taking

This spring, thousands of North Dakota students took a new test that will do a better job of measuring how well they are learning what they need to know and be able to do. These new assessments are, for the first time, aligned with current state academic standards in English and math. They represent a giant step forward in helping students to realize their potential.

These new tests provide meaningful information about students’ academic strengths and weaknesses. They provide a more honest appraisal of how prepared our students are to be successful in the next grade level, and ultimately how prepared they are to be successful in college or today’s careers. Teachers will know when individual students, or an entire class, need additional support and instruction to avoid the need for costly remedial work in college.

These new assessments are wholly different from previous tests, and the results shouldn’t be compared to the past. This first year, our primary goal is to establish a baseline that can be used to compare to future test results. Judging from what we know about states that have already made reports, we are on the right track.

A major part of this transition occurred this year. Students in grades three through eight and in grade 11 took a new set of standardized tests that we believe will more accurately measure academic progress.

The assessments that we introduced this year do a better job of measuring student learning. Instead of students spending hours filling in ovals for multiple-choice questions that are open to guessing, students are asked to use critical and analytical thinking, problem-solving skills, and persuasive writing. Math problems may look different to parents, but the concepts and formulas are the same: multiplication tables, algebra and the Pythagorean theorem.

Just recently, West Virginia announced that its third graders exceeded national performance expectations on their new assessments. This is important because, since kindergarten, those children have been taught using the new standards. The results reinforce findings from Kentucky last year that indicate that the longer students learn under the new standards, the faster they make progress.

That is our focus. In North Dakota, we are starting our third year under the new standards. Other states have seen improvement with these new standards and assessments, and so will we. As with any change, there will be a period of adjustment as teachers and students get used to the new standards and tests.

In North Dakota we have a proud tradition of excellent public schools. Our new assessments can make them even better.

Kirsten Baesler is North Dakota’s superintendent of public instruction.

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