Successful standardized testing requires effort from students as well as their family members.
Youngsville Elementary/Middle School hosted an event last recently designed to explain the various tests administered to students. Teachers and administrators made presentations.
Principal Eric Mineweaser said school officials have increased parent involvement as one of their goals, and monthly breakfast topics such as the tests will serve as one way to achieve it.
"The reason we're here is we have a vested interest in your children," Mineweaser said. "You have a lot of faith in us to give us part of your children's lives."
Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests constitute the biggest standardized testing students take, Mineweaser said. In addition, he said other tests serve as a link to help students practice.
Title I Teacher Mary Schwanke said most parents of students who have recently gone through kindergarten have heard of DIBELS the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills identify at-risk students.
Administered in kindergarten through second grade, Schwanke said the school district has used the testing for the past eight years. Students think of her as the DIBELS lady, she joked.
Each year, Schwanke said students take the test three times. The first comes during the first or second week of school, she said, with the next coming in January and the final one administered in the spring.
During the test, Schwanke said students demonstrate their Initial Sound Fluency. They look at pictures, she said, and decide what sound the name of whatever is pictured starts with.
At the beginning of kindergarten, Schwanke said teachers do not worry if students do not know many sounds. Some have already gone through preschool, she said, while others do not have that experience.
In the letter-naming section, Schwanke said students see a random mix of uppercase and lowercase letters. They don't have to know many at first, she said, but the expectations do rise.
If students show a weakness on one part, Schwanke said it gives teachers an indication of what they need to focus on. In the middle and end of kindergarten, she said students hear a word and recite the sounds it uses to realize sounds make up words.
Title I Teacher Chris Rooney said the Group Mathematics Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation compares student scores to a sample group. The district uses it for kindergarten and first- and second-grade students, she said.
The test includes three categories and students must show the use of concepts, operations and processes.
Results come back in a stanine form, Rooney said, in which an average score falls between four and six. Scores below that range indicate areas of needed emphasis.
Parents and guardians can do many things to help students perform better, Rooney said, emphasizing that she did not want parents to think she was telling them what to do at home.
According to Rooney, some studies have revealed the importance of real food. Trans fats slow down the brain by 40 percent, she said.
Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oils can help students, Rooney said. However, she said artificial red and orange dyes make them lose focus.
Sorting change provides one way for children to practice math, Rooney said, as does discussing how holidays and seasons relate to the calendar. Face clocks give them another option, she said.
Assistant Principal Shannon Yeager said students in grades three through eight take 4Sight tests, which serve as practice for PSSA tests. The district administers them four times annually.
"Third graders have the most difficulty," Yeager said. "They've never taken a similar test before."
In addition to multiple choice problems, Yeager said students work through open-ended questions. In math, he said they describe how they arrived at an answer.
Third Grade Teacher Mary DeSimone said classes incorporate the material covered on the test. Teachers at each grade level go over the test results and determine what they should concentrate on.
Parents can help by completing homework with their children, DeSimone said, or checking it when finished. They should also ask questions about stories they have read, she said.
In PSSA, Mineweaser said students have 60 multiple choice questions. In addition, they provide writing samples.
Given in grades 3-8 and grade 11, Mineweaser said the results determine the progress a school makes. The federal standards for progress require all students score proficiently on the test by the 2013-2014 school year.
