How school testing affects Mather Elementary

As evidenced by McCann's classroom, creativity still has a place, even in the more frenetic MCAS world. In addition to all the artwork, children stand up and read aloud small essays they wrote about how they felt taking the standardized test at the end of their fourth-grade year. Most are hopeful, some even triumphant.

There are many things McCann likes about the test - such as the idea that kids all over the state will be learning the same material. At the same time, she worries that the pace is too quick for some students. "MCAS has forced me to teach things before they're ready," she says, "and if you need to spend extra time on a subject, you can't."

In Wellesley, the critics are harsher, and supporters are almost nonexistent. Most succinctly, principal John D'Auria quips, "It's horrendous."

Outside his office, with its wide window overlooking the front quad and books tilted askew in their shelves, people seemingly line up to light into MCAS. It's not the principle of the test, all agree, it's the test itself.

For one, tests both here and in other states have been besieged by claims of inaccuracy. Some reports have shown that students have been denied graduation because of tabulation errors, and Bill Atherton, head of the science department here, says he saw several errors on last year's science test.

There's also an acute sense among parents and teachers that the MCAS simply isn't a good test. Schoolwide, there has been no effort to match the curriculum with the MCAS. Mr. Atherton says his classes are, by coincidence, only about 60 percent aligned with the MCAS, yet his students score well on the tests. Students here haven't done as well in social studies, but that doesn't seem to have anyone worried. "We don't think it's an accurate measure of what kids know on history," says teacher Adam Blumer.

When his students study the Civil War, for instance, he encourages them to work with primary documents to see how each side justified the conflict. Little of that sort of critical thinking is tested on MCAS, Mr. Blumer says.

Those are all legitimate complaints, test supporters agree, and few suggest that the test is a finished product. But they insist that states need to make sure that all kids have mastered the basics by the time they graduate, and for now, testing seems like the best means to that end.

As for the Massachusetts test results themselves? So far test scores have improved, with 73 percent of the state's sophomores passing both the math and English tests in 2001 - a 22 percent increase over last year.

"Anything new, it takes years to get the bugs out, but a statewide test is a good idea," says Laurie Davis, mother of a sudent at Mather. "In the past, plenty of kids were leaving the system without being able to read and write."

By Gail Russell Chaddock

States must test all students in Grades 3 through 8 annually in reading and math - and publish the test results. A sample of students in the fourth and eighth grades will also be required to take the National Assessment of Educational Progress, to demonstrate that states are making gains in educational achievement.

At schools where students consistently fail the tests, parents can get federal funds to pay for additional educational services, including private tutoring, after-school programs, or transportation to another public school.

A pilot program will test whether giving some states and school districts more flexibility in how they use federal dollars will improve student achievement.

Students whose English is poor have three years to learn the language, but schools can allow some students to study in their native tongues for longer periods.

States must have a plan to ensure that all teachers are "highly qualified" by the end of the 2005-2006 school year.

Federal money targeted to schools on the basis of poverty rates will rise from $18.8 billion to $22.6 billion a year. The new funds are to be plowed into helping schools reach the performance targets of the new tests.

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