Anonymous
Post 10/05/2021 10:18     Subject: Re:APS Growth Assessments
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We just received growth assessment scores in our elementary schools (I'm an APS teacher) but the scores don't mean anything to us. We have NO idea what the cut off passing score is or what is the possible highest/lowest score.

I am wondering what admin is going to say to parents who ask. My prediction is they will blame the state and then say we have to wait until the end of the year to see the growth from this school year.

There are links in Duran's email to info about the tests. Is it not there? Usually this stuff comes up if you Google. These aren't uncommon tests.

This sounds like an issue on Bridget Loft's plate. Just when I thought my opinion of her couldn't fall any lower....



The test is uncommon and so is the scoring. I hasn't been given before, the test was half as long as a regular SOL test.


Was it adaptive? Are SOLs adaptive tests? We have not done SOLs before (new to VA), so was trying to figure out what my child was telling me about the testing so far.
Anonymous
Post 10/05/2021 10:16     Subject: Re:APS Growth Assessments
Where did you see data that the SOL from 2021 was changed in terms of difficulty? We were not told it was changed as teachers. They did remove pilot questions which they include to try out new questions for future tests.
Anonymous
Post 10/05/2021 10:14     Subject: Re:APS Growth Assessments
The benchmarks are 3rd grade SOLs. So if they didn't pass the 3rd grade SOL, it's not unlikely they would also not pass the beginning of the year 4th grade Assessment based on 3rd grade SOLs.

Anonymous
Post 10/05/2021 01:45     Subject: Re:APS Growth Assessments
Anonymous wrote:I’m a teacher in APS. We have the scores for our students and we have been told the score benchmark for proficiency. I only know for my own grade level and it’s not the same scoring scale as the SOL at the end of the year. The Reading and Math tests for my grades also don’t have the same proficiency score ranges. It doesn’t really make any sense and the score report teachers have been given doesn’t indicate that it is a proficient score either, we were just told the benchmark from admin.

My students didn’t do all that poorly. The ones I expected not to pass, because they didn’t pass the 3rd grade SOL, didn’t. Most did fine.


Since the SOL standards were lowered last year - are these benchmarks artificially low as well?
Anonymous
Post 10/04/2021 21:10     Subject: Re:APS Growth Assessments
Anonymous wrote:We just received growth assessment scores in our elementary schools (I'm an APS teacher) but the scores don't mean anything to us. We have NO idea what the cut off passing score is or what is the possible highest/lowest score.

I am wondering what admin is going to say to parents who ask. My prediction is they will blame the state and then say we have to wait until the end of the year to see the growth from this school year.


Same! (teacher-to-teacher fist bump here)
Anonymous
Post 10/04/2021 19:53     Subject: Re:APS Growth Assessments
I’m a teacher in APS. We have the scores for our students and we have been told the score benchmark for proficiency. I only know for my own grade level and it’s not the same scoring scale as the SOL at the end of the year. The Reading and Math tests for my grades also don’t have the same proficiency score ranges. It doesn’t really make any sense and the score report teachers have been given doesn’t indicate that it is a proficient score either, we were just told the benchmark from admin.

My students didn’t do all that poorly. The ones I expected not to pass, because they didn’t pass the 3rd grade SOL, didn’t. Most did fine.
Anonymous
Post 10/04/2021 17:03     Subject: Re:APS Growth Assessments
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We just received growth assessment scores in our elementary schools (I'm an APS teacher) but the scores don't mean anything to us. We have NO idea what the cut off passing score is or what is the possible highest/lowest score.

I am wondering what admin is going to say to parents who ask. My prediction is they will blame the state and then say we have to wait until the end of the year to see the growth from this school year.

There are links in Duran's email to info about the tests. Is it not there? Usually this stuff comes up if you Google. These aren't uncommon tests.

This sounds like an issue on Bridget Loft's plate. Just when I thought my opinion of her couldn't fall any lower....



The test is uncommon and so is the scoring. I hasn't been given before, the test was half as long as a regular SOL test.

Depending on their grade kids are also getting EMAS, PALS, DIEBLS, and CBRS. All of those are standard tests.
Anonymous
Post 10/04/2021 16:48     Subject: Re:APS Growth Assessments
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We just received growth assessment scores in our elementary schools (I'm an APS teacher) but the scores don't mean anything to us. We have NO idea what the cut off passing score is or what is the possible highest/lowest score.

I am wondering what admin is going to say to parents who ask. My prediction is they will blame the state and then say we have to wait until the end of the year to see the growth from this school year.

There are links in Duran's email to info about the tests. Is it not there? Usually this stuff comes up if you Google. These aren't uncommon tests.

This sounds like an issue on Bridget Loft's plate. Just when I thought my opinion of her couldn't fall any lower....


It’s new this year. I doubt google would help. But the questions are literally recycled SOL questions. My middle schooler said the reading one had some of the same passages & questions from the SOL he took last spring. I think these tests don’t mean much at an individual level anyway.
Anonymous
Post 10/04/2021 15:22     Subject: Re:APS Growth Assessments
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We just received growth assessment scores in our elementary schools (I'm an APS teacher) but the scores don't mean anything to us. We have NO idea what the cut off passing score is or what is the possible highest/lowest score.

I am wondering what admin is going to say to parents who ask. My prediction is they will blame the state and then say we have to wait until the end of the year to see the growth from this school year.

There are links in Duran's email to info about the tests. Is it not there? Usually this stuff comes up if you Google. These aren't uncommon tests.

This sounds like an issue on Bridget Loft's plate. Just when I thought my opinion of her couldn't fall any lower....



The test is uncommon and so is the scoring. I hasn't been given before, the test was half as long as a regular SOL test.
Anonymous
Post 10/04/2021 14:34     Subject: Re:APS Growth Assessments
Anonymous wrote:We just received growth assessment scores in our elementary schools (I'm an APS teacher) but the scores don't mean anything to us. We have NO idea what the cut off passing score is or what is the possible highest/lowest score.

I am wondering what admin is going to say to parents who ask. My prediction is they will blame the state and then say we have to wait until the end of the year to see the growth from this school year.


Sounds like the results were.....not great?
Anonymous
Post 10/04/2021 14:24     Subject: Re:APS Growth Assessments
Anonymous wrote:We just received growth assessment scores in our elementary schools (I'm an APS teacher) but the scores don't mean anything to us. We have NO idea what the cut off passing score is or what is the possible highest/lowest score.

I am wondering what admin is going to say to parents who ask. My prediction is they will blame the state and then say we have to wait until the end of the year to see the growth from this school year.

There are links in Duran's email to info about the tests. Is it not there? Usually this stuff comes up if you Google. These aren't uncommon tests.

This sounds like an issue on Bridget Loft's plate. Just when I thought my opinion of her couldn't fall any lower....
Anonymous
Post 10/04/2021 14:03     Subject: Re:APS Growth Assessments
We just received growth assessment scores in our elementary schools (I'm an APS teacher) but the scores don't mean anything to us. We have NO idea what the cut off passing score is or what is the possible highest/lowest score.

I am wondering what admin is going to say to parents who ask. My prediction is they will blame the state and then say we have to wait until the end of the year to see the growth from this school year.
Anonymous
Post 10/04/2021 12:48     Subject: Re:APS Growth Assessments
I check parentvue every day and haven't seen any assessment data yet. Today I did notice that the report card layout was up, but nothing was filled out yet. So you can see the categories, but that's it.

I know that my DD's 1st grade class has completed the math assessment and PALS but is only starting DIBELS this week, so their assessments aren't finished yet.
Anonymous
Post 10/04/2021 12:37     Subject: APS Growth Assessments
I have no idea, but I got an email from my 5th graders teacher saying that conferences are mainly for them to learn about the kids from us. So, I wouldn’t expect anything of substance from the teachers at conferences.
Anonymous
Post 10/04/2021 12:15     Subject: APS Growth Assessments
Has anyone gotten the results of their APS elementary student's growth assessments yet?

According to Duran's September 13th email, fall assessments should have been complete by September 29 and "your students scores on these assessments will be communicated with you via ParentVue shortly after the assessment timeframe." I don't see anything in ParentVue yet for my students. I'm curious if they'll be shared before Parent Teacher conferences.