The State Board of Education is considering changes to Virginia’s third grade social studies test. As a history buff with an economics degree and a strong sense of civic pride, I can assure you that I am a strong supporter of history and social studies education. I would not support anything that I thought would compromise that. There is nothing in the proposal before the Board of Education that is intended to reduce civics or history education. The goal of the proposal before us is to enhance our nationally leading assessment program to align better with new research about teaching reading. We are being forced to do this work faster than we would like because of declining state revenues and resulting budget realities which force us to look closely at every expense while meeting new Federal test requirements.
Our vision is to improve social studies and reading education by integrating social studies, history and civics content into the reading passages for the third grade reading assessment. New assessment research indicates that student reading skills can be improved when reading content is set in a context children are familiar with. By using social studies content for reading tests we can achieve two objectives. First, we will encourage teachers to expose children to as wide a range of social studies content as possible because doing so will help improve a child’s reading assessment scores. And second, we can help increase the number of children passing the third grade reading test; with more than 15% unable to read at grade level in third grade, we have a long way to go to ensure every child is ready for later years of schooling. And reading is the foundation of a child’s ability to learn and appreciate history and social studies. Teachers will be strongly encouraged to expose children to these ideas and concepts because they will help the children succeed on their reading test. Instead of the simple social studies fact memorization that is emphasized now, teachers will need to focus on context which makes trips to museums, interactive assignments and other teaching methods that familiarize children with important social studies and historic context more important, not less.
Regardless of the final decision on the third grade social studies SOL, Virginia will continue to do more social studies assessments than any other subject except for math and will continue to boast one of the most comprehensive social studies assessment systems of any state in our nation. I don’t believe there is a risk that social studies or civics will not be taught. We have fourth grade, fifth grade and many other social studies tests required in our schools. The rote memorization required for the current third grade test is not the most sophisticated or inspiring way to teach social studies. In a state that has always been a leader in assessment, I am confident we can do better and am hopeful that our evolution to a new reading test embedded with social studies and other appropriate content, will help us do that.
And here is a follow-up to this piece.
June 27, 2009 at 3:39 am |
[...] tests. That puts kids’ futures at risk than any grading scale ever could. Can we all agree that standardized testing for third graders is a bit much. I am a firm believer in making learning interesting and these tests put so much [...]
June 28, 2009 at 3:32 am |
Read the 3rd grade standards. They’re pretty rigorous. “They will explain….” all about Rome, Greece, China, Mali, Egypt. Fine. Now look at how they assess (2007) whether kids have mastered the material. Question one- ie What architecture is Greece famous for- columns, arches, terraced building or something else. Answer- columns. OK, that about covers 1000 years of Greece. Now the Roman Empire- Question one….Well there isn’t a question one. Maybe China? Sorry, nothing. OK, moving right along, here’s one- “Ali can see pyramids from his house and his dad makes papyrus, where is he? Egypt, China, Greece, or Rome. Egypt!!! Great you have mastered the material And VA continues to lead the nation in assessment. Let us celebrate.
July 2, 2009 at 1:35 pm |
Having high standards is important. I believe our standards can be even higher. I also believe there is ample room for our accountability regime to be improved using new research into how children learn as well as by taking advantage of computerized testing and the flexibility it provides. Ideally, testing should not just be an end of year, punitive exercise, it should be something that can occur at various times so that teachers can use the results to tailor their instruction to a student’s specific needs. End of year testing has its place, but there are other ways to ensure accountability for the content. I greatly appreciate the passion for accountability and the bi-partisan support it holds. That passion should not mask the fact that we should always seek ways to improve our accountability system so it helps teachers teach and students learn. And that passion should also include a strong passion and support for appropriate school funding. Schools in VA are seeing dramatic cuts due to the economy. Teachers and schools are being asked to do well more than ever before with much fewer resources. Teaching positions are being eliminated. If we are truly passionate about history and social studies content we would extend that passion to ensure teachers have the resources and training they need. Without the resources (which are lacking right now) the SOL test becomes a hollow device. If our goal of testing is to ensure great teaching is going on, we need to make sure we advocate for an educational system that has the resources to make that happen.
July 2, 2009 at 1:48 pm |
I wrote this column for the Culpeper Star Exponent on this this morning.
Was the 3rd Grade SOL History Test Really Worth Saving?
Robert Legge
Culppeer Star Exponent
July 2, 2009
In response to a request from school superintendents seeking ways to reduce testing requirements, the State Superintendent proposed dropping the 3rd grade history and social sciences SOL test. The curriculum would still be taught but not tested under the proposal. The theory was that more emphasis needed to be placed on reading and math. 93% of students passed last year’s test that cost $380,000 to administer.
Surely the London-based SOL testing company Pearson was not happy but within days dozens of complaints came from historical parks, history advocates, and state legislators.
The superintendent reacted swiftly and withdrew the proposal. While the test comprises 4 elements- history, economics, civics, and geography, the most complaints came from history supporters.
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s Colin Campbell said “focusing on the early years of American history is critical in a democratic society”. Virginia Consortium of Social Studies Specialists’ Ken Bassett added “it’s a critical test that captures the measurement of the foundation for social studies”. Bill Obrochta of the Virginia Historical Society warned that the curriculum wouldn’t be taught “if there’s no stick at the end”. Another supporter referred to the need for “the hammer of a test”. Lovely analogies.
Let’s look at the SOL standards and one of the released tests. It’s technically for grades K-3, but the test mostly only covers grades 2-3. Grade 2 history standards are as follows: “The student will explain how the contributions of ancient China and Egypt have influenced the present world in terms of architecture, inventions, the calendar, and written language”. There is another section on American Indians. Grade 3 history standards require that students can explain the contributions and influence of Greece, Rome, and Mali and describe the accomplishments of Columbus, Cartier, Newport, etc.
Sounds pretty intimidating for 6-8-year olds. Not much American history though. OK, let’s see how we measure those rigorous standards.
Actually 4 years of history study is measured in just 10 questions, and two are about word recognition and reading comprehension and a third is more math-related. So that leaves only seven.
Question one from the most recently released test asks which of four Indian tribes lived in Virginia. Question two is about identifying Dr. King’s birthday. Three is about who used a kite in an experiment.
Four shows a graph and asks how often a president is elected. That’s the math question.
That’s it for measuring 4 years of American history study. No kidding, only 3 questions. On to ancient history.
Question 5: “Ali could see pyramids from his home. His father made papyrus”. Answer choice: Ancient Greece, China, Egypt, or Rome. Answer: Egypt. That sums up 5000 years of Egyptian history.
Questions six and seven are about reading comprehension and word recognition which I’ll skip.
Question eight: An example of Greek architecture is: arch, column, dome or terraced building? Answer: column. That covers the Greeks. Sorry ancient China and Rome, maybe they can work you in on another test.
Questions nine and ten were about the 13th century Empire of Mali’s practice of storytelling and their use of salt.
There’s 10 questions on civics, such as: What should Sam do to show he takes care of his belongings? Put away his coat or sit at his desk? Kids don’t even wear coats when they take these tests in late May but I think that’s the answer.
The economics portion deals with arcane terms like “opportunity cost” and Geography questions on whether the teacher is standing in front or behind the desk. There are tough questions about identifying France or the Indian Ocean.
If we want kids to understand and appreciate history, start with the known and work up to the unknown. Make it relevant and age appropriate. Have it start with Virginia, not Egypt or Mali.
Some test advocates said the material won’t be taught if it isn’t tested. Sounds more like it’s taught but not tested now.
Mr. Campbell. Have you read this test? Do you really think it is that critical that we continue it?
Is this typical of how the whole SOL program is run?