Telling the Story of New Assessments

School Administrator, Dec, 1995 by Robert Rothman

How You Communicate with Stakeholders Can Make or Break Reform Efforts

When Kentucky officials released the first results of the new state assessment system in 1992, school administrators in several school districts tried something unusual. In addition to presenting to their board members the results of the assessment, along with an explanation of the results, the administrators asked board members to take part of the test.

The administrators knew that the new assessment differed sharply from traditional standardized tests, since it asked students to solve complex problems, use their knowledge, and communicate their understanding, rather than simply choose among four or five given responses. They wanted the board members to understand the new approach.

The administrators also knew that, since most students had not been accustomed to producing such responses, the results would be disappointing. They wanted to prepare the board for the relatively low scores by showing them that the expectations for students were higher than they had ever been before and that the type of work students would do in answering the test questions--and in classrooms throughout the year--was the kind of work they ought to be doing.

For the administrators, the board members' response was heartening. For the most part, they found the board members agreed that the assessments measured what they wanted to know about student performance and that the standards were indeed high. Yet, state officials acknowledge, despite that effort and many more, Kentucky has a long way to go to educate the public, parents, and teachers about the new assessment system. The assessment system, in many ways the cornerstone of a reform law built around student performance, remains the most controversial element of the 1991 law.

"If people look at student work, yes it makes a lot of sense" to them, says Edward Reidy, associate commissioner of education in Kentucky. "But it's hard to get people to look at the questions themselves. It happens, but it happens slowly."

Raising Suspicions

Across the country, districts and states face a serious challenge as they begin implementing new assessment systems: the challenge of educating parents, teachers, and the public about the new kinds of tests. For better or worse, people are comfortable with the standardized tests that have dominated education for decades, and many regard with suspicion alternatives that look unfamiliar.

The new systems are very different. They ask students to do different things, like respond to open-ended questions by writing, using graphics, speaking, or producing videos.

The new assessments also differ from traditional tests in the way the results are reported. Instead of comparing students against one another, these new systems generally compare student work against standards of quality. Thus the "scores" are also very different. Unlike the traditional percentile rankings, these assessments indicate what students know and are able to do.

While educators remain convinced that the alternative assessments are the right way to go since they measure the abilities they want students to demonstrate and foster the kind of instruction that can lead to high levels of performance, they have the burden of proof to show they are indeed better. Unfortunately, many educators do not think of this task until too late, and a number of initiatives--notably, in Littleton, Colo., and in California--have been eliminated in the face of public opposition.

"With few exceptions, communication is an afterthought," says Andy Plattner, the director of communications for New Standards, a partnership of 17 states, six school districts, and national organizations that is building a system of standards and performance assessments.

"People work for months and years designing standards and assessments, and at the end call in the public information officer and say, 'Put out a press release on this,'" he adds.

But that approach amounts to selling a prepackaged product. "In some cases, it may not be something people want to buy," Plattner says.

A Daunting Task

Nevertheless, some school districts have succeeded in educating teachers and the public about the new assessments, although, like Kentucky, they have found that the huge numbers of people they must reach is daunting. These districts are partners in the National Alliance for Restructuring Education, a national education-reform partnership that has made engaging the public in the reform effort one of five key "design tasks" in its reform agenda. The experiences of these districts offer some lessons for educators facing similar challenges.

One of the most effective methods of educating the public about new assessments is having people take the tests, much as Kentucky did. The Edmonds School District, in a suburb north of Seattle, Wash., provides classes for parents to learn about the kinds of tasks their children will be asked to perform on new is assessments. During the classes, school officials administer the tests to parents and explain how they will be scored. "The best way to have people understand it is to have them engage in it," says Sylvia Soholt, the director of communications for the 20,000-pupil district.