Yesterday, this column posted a graphicof Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) TerraNova (TN2) performance and gifted and talented (GT) identification rates. The graphic, which is simply the data released by the school system in a visually understandable form, shows an interesting relationship between GT identification rates and TerraNova scores.
In October 2010, this column pointed out that the school system was using outdated norms to assess student performance. As this column stated “Clearly, the TN/2 test used by MCPS uses outdated norms. An email to the school system this morning resulted in the acknowledgement that ‘The TN2 norm is about 10 years old.’ TN/2 norms were published 1996, 2000, and 2005. MCPS has apparently chosen to use the 2000 norms and scores the tests ‘locally.’ The use of outdated norms is not widely publicized or effectively communicated to parents. Parents are told ‘For example, if your child scored at the 64th national percentile, it means your child scored as well as or higher than 64 percent of his/her peers in the national sample.’ That may be misleading to parents unaware that the national sample is about ten years old.”
Now, Superintendent of Schools Joshua P. Starr has announced that MCPS will stop administering the TN2 test to second grade students starting next school year. He is recommending the money spent on the TN2 be used for other purposes.
“While the TerraNova does provide some useful information, I believe we can assess student progress with existing tools and use the money spent on the TN2 in a better way,” Dr. Starr said. “Testing certainly has its place, but we must carefully consider every assessment we are giving our students and determine if the benefits outweigh the cost and the interruption to instruction.”
The announcement states, “Currently, MCPS second graders take the TerraNova 2, which assesses reading, language mechanics, mathematics, and mathematics computation. Students in grades K-2 also take the MCPS Assessment Program—Primary Reading (MCPS AP-PR) three times throughout each school year to measure reading ability and attainment.”
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