Testing Our Limits

What do you think of when you hear the word “testing?”  Do you envision number 2 pencils and bubble sheets?  Or rows of silent kids staring at Chromebooks?  Do you feel a little nervous, or maybe a little sleepy?  For neurodivergent learners, standardized tests can feel torturous, and the data they provide don’t accurately represent the “spiky” abilities that are characteristic of these learners.

One of the best things about being a private school is that we can make assessment work for us.  Instead of spending hours completing standardized tests, Helix students complete a variety of assessment activities throughout the school year.  These tests are purposeful, targeted, and designed to be as low-stress as possible.  This frees up instructional time and empowers us to make informed, data-driven decisions about our instruction.  

Benchmarking

Benchmark testing allows teachers and families to understand how a child is performing relative to grade-level standards.  Since it is not tied to a specific curriculum, benchmark testing is ideally less biased than other assessments.  It is also a blunt instrument, indicating subjects where students may need additional support or where they excel in broad categories.  

Most of what we think of as “standardized tests” are benchmarking assessments.  Many public schools administer a digital benchmark test (like iReady) 3-4 times per year, in addition to state-mandated standardized tests in the spring.  This can easily add up to 15 hours or more of benchmark testing each year, not including test preparation and practice.

At Helix, we minimize benchmark testing, while retaining the valuable information it can provide.  We use the Acadience system for benchmark testing, which consists of multiple short, timed assessments of reading and math.  Most assessment tasks are one or two minute timed activities.  Students who struggle with anxiety or attention span can complete one or two brief tasks per day without feeling overwhelmed.  In total, each student can complete their benchmarks in 3-10 minutes per subject.  These benchmarks are administered three times each year, at the beginning of the year, end of the second quarter, and the end of the year.  Over the course of a full year, none of our students spend more than an hour on benchmark tests.

At Helix, we put this benchmark data to work.  For new students, benchmark scores give us a starting point for placement testing.  Benchmark data is shared with parents, helping to build a baseline understanding of each student’s general performance level.  We also use benchmark data to celebrate student progress.  Without sharing where a student scored in comparison to the benchmark, we share information with students about how their benchmark scores change over time.  This encourages students to focus on their own growth, rather than comparing themselves to others or arbitrary benchmark scores.

Placement

At Helix, personalized instruction is at the core of our educational model.  To effectively personalize instruction, we need an accurate understanding of each student’s current knowledge and skills.  When a new student joins us, we use placement testing to build this understanding.  Placement tests are aligned to the various curriculum resources that we use, and are designed to help us understand where in a particular curriculum progression a student should begin.  

Placement tests not only tell us where in a particular curriculum to begin, but they allow us to identify and target specific skill gaps.  Sitting side by side with each student as they work through these assessments help us accurately understand what they may be struggling with.  For example, we can determine if a child is not counting accurately because they are not accurately tracking which objects they’ve already counted, or if they are actually saying the numbers out of order.  This understanding allows us to write specific, targeted goals for each student.  We complete this placement testing any time a new student begins, or anytime a student reaches an inflection point where we feel that data would be helpful.

Formative

If you ask a Helix student, they will probably tell you that we don’t give them tests.  Little do they know, we are testing them all the time.  When we give a student a spelling word, we are watching to see how they tackle it.  That data informs the next spelling word that we give them.  When we ask a student to read for us, we are taking note of the patterns in words that they are struggling with, and what they have already mastered.  This tight feedback loop allows us to tailor instruction in real time as we see how students are responding to instruction.  If a student begins to struggle, we slow down to make sure they are comfortable before moving on.  If a student is catching on to something quickly, we accelerate, letting them move at their own pace.

Reflection

Our favorite form of assessment at Helix is our student portfolios.  Every quarter, students choose work samples they feel proud of to include in their portfolios.  These work samples include writing, recordings of reading, math assignments, art, and more.  Once these work samples are chosen and organized, students have the chance to look through their work and make their own observations about what they have learned.  They identify things they are proud of, and think about what they are still working on.  Our teaching staff also reviews and reflects on these portfolios, celebrating student successes and noting any areas where we would like to see more progress.  At the end of each quarter, students share these portfolios with families during our showcase.  These are some of our favorite days of the year!  We love seeing the pride on our students’ faces when they share their hard work with their families.

Assessment is not about enduring stress, sitting quietly, or answering multiple choice questions.  At Helix, it is all about informing instruction and celebrating progress.  If we never test our limits, we will never know how much we can actually accomplish!