Virginia Growth Assessment

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So no one knows when these results come out? Can someone explain to me what the point of them is if they don’t come out instantaneously? How are the gaps going to be addressed? Or is the hope we forget about Covid?

SOLs are for the schools/teachers. I assume this is too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So no one knows when these results come out? Can someone explain to me what the point of them is if they don’t come out instantaneously? How are the gaps going to be addressed? Or is the hope we forget about Covid?

SOLs are for the schools/teachers. I assume this is too.

We received the SOLs and the specific score breakdowns for our son. I assume we will get the same for the VGAs. I would assume that the schools get them first and then they give them to the parents or are released to parentvue.

I doubt anyone is trying to forget about COVID. I would guess that the Teachers are doing their best to address the gaps in learning where they can. I suspect that is far easier in the ES level to be able to work on catching kids up because the material spirals on itself and you can break down into smaller groups for better chances to catch kids up. I can see where it is harder in MS and HS. The Geometry Teacher cannot take the time to catch up kids who have gaps from Algebra. The Chemistry Teacher cannot help a kid catch up in Biology.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If they are doing this VGA then they need to drop the iReady. Do one or the other. And it should not be given multiple times during the year. talk about a waste of time.

How do you do a growth assessment without giving it multiple times? You can't just do year to year because there's too much mobility/intervening factors to assess growth. Good assessment is a learning experience just as much as instruction. Look at the test and see if you think your kid learns through doing it.

Give it at the beginning and end of the year. Don't give it during the middle of the year.

There is way too much time spent on assessments and testing. All of that is time that could be spent on teaching. I understand needing assessments at the beginning of year and at the end of the year but let's choose one and be done with it. If a kids results look wonky or they do poorly, then test those students with a different test.

I want to maximize the time teaching. Sick of hearing about assessments.

I guess I differ here--I think kids can learn a lot/solidify their knowledge by doing good assessments. Independent practicing recall and application on problems is just as central to learning as is experiencing direct teaching in a larger group. So I don't think of the tests as lost learning time. I understand why teachers do, because they have a pacing guide and content to cover and assessments cut into that. The assessments ideally help teachers better instruct students. I

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So no one knows when these results come out? Can someone explain to me what the point of them is if they don’t come out instantaneously? How are the gaps going to be addressed? Or is the hope we forget about Covid?

The schools have the numbers. We could give them to the parents but there's nothing from VDOE yet about what the numbers mean. Knowing your child scored 1256 on the VGA isn't very meaningful without a way to interpret the score. We're still waiting on the department of ed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So no one knows when these results come out? Can someone explain to me what the point of them is if they don’t come out instantaneously? How are the gaps going to be addressed? Or is the hope we forget about Covid?

The schools have the numbers. We could give them to the parents but there's nothing from VDOE yet about what the numbers mean. Knowing your child scored 1256 on the VGA isn't very meaningful without a way to interpret the score. We're still waiting on the department of ed.

Prince William County and Loudoun County have posted some information:

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY

Main Site: https://www.pwcs.edu/departments/accountability__grants__records__testing_/testing_staff/v_a_growth_assessment

Link to "Understanding Virginia Growth Assessment (VGA) Test Performance" (it takes you to a sharpschool site)

https://www.pwcs.edu/UserFiles/Servers/Server_340140/File/Accountability/Testing/Understanding%20Performance%20on%20the%20Virginia%20Growth%20Assessment.pdf


LOUDOUN COUNTY

https://www.lcps.org/Page/237244

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So no one knows when these results come out? Can someone explain to me what the point of them is if they don’t come out instantaneously? How are the gaps going to be addressed? Or is the hope we forget about Covid?

The schools have the numbers. We could give them to the parents but there's nothing from VDOE yet about what the numbers mean. Knowing your child scored 1256 on the VGA isn't very meaningful without a way to interpret the score. We're still waiting on the department of ed.

Prince William County and Loudoun County have posted some information:

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY

Main Site: https://www.pwcs.edu/departments/accountability__grants__records__testing_/testing_staff/v_a_growth_assessment

Link to "Understanding Virginia Growth Assessment (VGA) Test Performance" (it takes you to a sharpschool site)

https://www.pwcs.edu/UserFiles/Servers/Server_340140/File/Accountability/Testing/Understanding%20Performance%20on%20the%20Virginia%20Growth%20Assessment.pdf


LOUDOUN COUNTY

https://www.lcps.org/Page/237244

Thanks for sharing these sources. This went totally under the radar.
Contact your state representatives who voted for this HB 2027.

The main problem here is that school districts across Virginia are replacing their previous growth assessments (e.g., NWEA MAP), which were truly open ended, with 3x SOL per year.

What a waste of time and resources, and how unfair to those kids who relied on MAP and similar tests to show their abilities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah I've been wondering if we will still make students take iReady if there is now VGA. That's 12 days dedicated to testing at the lower grades that don't have SOL testing. Coupled with the O days that's a month of no actual teaching going on. How are the kids supposed to learn anything if there are constantly days where nothing can be taught and then a test on what these kids haven't had a chance to learn.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This amount of testing is insane.

You can opt out/parent refuse any or all testing. Just FYI. Your kid will probably just read or do busywork instead, but they don’t have to test if you don’t want to. They don’t volunteer this to parents, but it’s true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This amount of testing is insane.

You can opt out/parent refuse any or all testing. Just FYI. Your kid will probably just read or do busywork instead, but they don’t have to test if you don’t want to. They don’t volunteer this to parents, but it’s true.

Which means that the tests are a waste of time regardless of whether the kid takes the test or not. It is more like the kids are learning to take tests with the occasional subject matter tossed in.

I get the need for assessments but there are too many.

[Anonymous]

Assessments without results are meaningless. If we don’t get the VGA results, what is their point? What is the point if we never get a plan of action on how the deficit is going to be remedied???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Assessments without results are meaningless. If we don’t get the VGA results, what is their point? What is the point if we never get a plan of action on how the deficit is going to be remedied???

Of course the results will come out. Just because you don’t have them now, doesn’t mean you’ll never get them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Assessments without results are meaningless. If we don’t get the VGA results, what is their point? What is the point if we never get a plan of action on how the deficit is going to be remedied???

Of course the results will come out. Just because you don’t have them now, doesn’t mean you’ll never get them.

But when? When most of the academic year is over and there is no time to fix the gaps? Isn’t their entire point to see the damage done by being out of school through COVID?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So no one knows when these results come out? Can someone explain to me what the point of them is if they don’t come out instantaneously? How are the gaps going to be addressed? Or is the hope we forget about Covid?

The schools have the numbers. We could give them to the parents but there's nothing from VDOE yet about what the numbers mean. Knowing your child scored 1256 on the VGA isn't very meaningful without a way to interpret the score. We're still waiting on the department of ed.

Prince William County and Loudoun County have posted some information:

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY

Main Site: https://www.pwcs.edu/departments/accountability__grants__records__testing_/testing_staff/v_a_growth_assessment

Link to "Understanding Virginia Growth Assessment (VGA) Test Performance" (it takes you to a sharpschool site)

https://www.pwcs.edu/UserFiles/Servers/Server_340140/File/Accountability/Testing/Understanding%20Performance%20on%20the%20Virginia%20Growth%20Assessment.pdf


LOUDOUN COUNTY

https://www.lcps.org/Page/237244

Thanks for sharing these sources. This went totally under the radar.
Contact your state representatives who voted for this HB 2027.

The main problem here is that school districts across Virginia are replacing their previous growth assessments (e.g., NWEA MAP), which were truly open ended, with 3x SOL per year.

What a waste of time and resources, and how unfair to those kids who relied on MAP and similar tests to show their abilities.

Yes, I have found some of this information myself (first found it posted on a Roanoke public schools page). But the fact that that chart can't be found anywhere on VDOE's website (that I can find) and that FCPS is still saying they haven't gotten any information from VDOE yet has me questioning the validity of the graph. I believe it's accurate. But I don't like to run with something until I know its source. If anyone can find that graph and information related to interpreting VGA scores on the VDOE website, I'd love to see it.