AIMS Week

All quotes are excerpts from Questions arise over big gains in Arizona schools by Anne Ryman, Jack Gillum, and Ryan Konig which appeared in the Arizona Republic on Mar. 6, 2011

“Over five years, groups of students in 93 Arizona schools made gains on the state's standardized AIMS test that were so remarkable, the state should have examined them for possible testing violations by educators, testing experts say.”

150 school days ago we entered the classroom together faced with the challenge of picking up where last year ended.  We developed leadership skills and strategies for problem solving.  The ultimate test will be life after high school.  But first, in order to demonstrate that the students are at an appropriate level, we have the AIMS test.  The kids knew this day was coming.  Testing is not new to students of the 21^st Century.  And, we approached it with the mindset that challenges and problems will present themselves in real life, in the grocery store, when you’re hosting a party, following a recipe, testing an hypothesis, or assembling a new toy.  This test is just to see what you can do right now.  Do your best!

“The anomalies, found using a methodology widely recognized by mathematicians and testing experts, are not proof that any cheating on AIMS by educators occurred at those schools. The Republic contacted officials at more than a dozen schools with especially large gains, and all insisted the increases were real.

The wide swings in scores, however, are cautionary flags that call for more scrutiny by the state or an outside organization, said testing researchers interviewed by The Republic.”

Believe it or not, I am probably in the minority as a teacher that loves this week.  I am competitive, and I flourish knowing that my class - and school - will be compared to others based solely on this one assessment.  Last month we had a graph in our room displaying the average 3^rd grade AIMS Math score in Arizona last year – a mediocre 67%.  As groups completed similar problems, I checked their work, and added our own bars to the graph.  All 5 teams surpassed the mark set by their predecessors, and the Lightning even topped off at 91%!  Our school has intelligent, intuitive, and capable 3^rd graders.  I have had the pleasure of watching each child’s confidence grow.  As the day drew near, I continued to preach “Do your best!”  I also cautioned against overconfidence by telling long winded stories about my hockey days concluding with the reminder I have had to consider so many times; “Respect your opponent.” 

"It could be with a small group and powerful interventions and a dedicated staff, you could pull off a miracle," said Cizek, author of a book on detecting and preventing cheating. "But there are no currently known interventions or instructional practices that have been shown to produce gains of that magnitude."

We have used data to drive everything we have done this year.  When I say we, I’m including the students.  They each have a data binder charting and displaying scores on tests, writing samples, and graphic organizers used for note taking or the comprehension of a text they read this year.  We meet regularly to discuss the folders, the contents of which each student put into a power point to share at last week’s student led conferences.  The students know where they struggle, and - even more importantly - where they’re strong.  My team and I have used pre-assessments for every unit, built lessons based on those findings, and gave opportunities for students to practice, analyze, and create.  Post tests showed significant improvement every time.

“A 2010 survey of 3,000 Arizona educators by Arizona State University researchers found that 1 percent of teachers admitted to cheating outright on high-stakes tests, including pointing to correct answers or asking low-achieving students to be absent on test days.”

So, AIMS week has arrived.  Today was the first day where the door was closed for 2 hours penning my students and I in there with the test.  The Republic failed to highlight that most teachers would prefer to see how their students perform on the test the right way.  I feel so good knowing that the kids performed well in the absence of first, second, or even third degree cheating (see cited article for a clear depiction of the differences).  Of course, I don’t have the scores yet, but I know that they will be impressive.  The student who marked B and C alternately for each question during one of our benchmark tests was the second to last finisher.  He double checked every math problem by drawing a picture.  The student who dropped his pencil 15 times during the fall benchmark broke his lead only once.  No one fell out of their chair.  No one cried.  And, no one finished in less than 30 minutes, evidence that they were rereading, checking every answer, double checking their thought processes.  None of these gains will be measured by the AIMS.  The real tragedy is that they may not be considered when people try to find an explanation for student success.