CSAP release a yawner, for now
Tuesday, July 29, 2008Written by: Alan Gottlieb
Today’s press conference unveiling 2008 CSAP scores was, when you get right down to it, much ado about, well, nothing much.
Windy speeches abounded, the crowd in the packed lobby of the Colorado Department of Education’s ornate HQ applauded dutifully at all the right moments. The word of the day was ‘mixed,” as in CSAP results were “mixed,” which is a polite synonym for not so great, or maybe even lousy.
As usual, some schools and districts did better than expected while others did worse. This year,
But the whole event had an anticlimactic air about it, because the big shoe has yet to drop. That would be detailed data from the gaudy new Colorado Growth Model, also known as Information That Actually Means Something. We got a taste of the growth model today, with the release of statewide data.
Even that general data gives a fascinating peek behind the scenes of, say, the achievement gap. One tidbit: only 13 percent students rated unsatisfactory or partially proficient on the math CSAP are growing fast enough to get them to proficiency in three years. (Look for stories on this and other CSAP subjects on the Education News Colorado web site).
Late next month, when CDE releases growth model data for districts and schools, we’ll really be able to tell what’s going on, education-wise in Colorado – at least compared to the woefully incomplete and shallow stuff we’ve been fed until now. I’m sure the growth model data won’t be perfect, but having it at our disposal will be akin to moving from black and white to color, from two dimensional to three dimensional, from mono to stereo.
July 30th, 2008 at 11:11 am
While it is true that the aggregate data is a “yawner,’ and the growth data will move us away from DRIP (data rich, infomation poor) I maintain that there is ample data for schools, and more importantly teachers to respond to. I already have my class breakdowns, with individual student scores form last Spring. Along with the overall score are individual subtest scores, as in grammar, interpretive reading, etc. So while policy heads, and their critics (Gotllieb included) mull and spin the overall results, the intended purpose of CSAPs, to bring all students up to standards, can be reached if schools and teachers DO SOMETHING with the results. As a classroom teacher I know what changes I need to make in my classroom practice, and the school can look at curricular changes for the upcoming school year; although, it sure would be nice to get the results earlier so work can be done over the summer. While the purpose of CSAPs is summative in nature, teachers can make them formative for their practice. Move them from autopsies to checkups.