New testing system could mean more time for instruction | The Salt Lake Tribune

New testing system could mean more time for instruction | The Salt Lake Tribune:

New testing system could mean more time for instruction

Schools » Program tests literacy in early grades.

By Lisa Schencker

| The Salt Lake Tribune

First Published Apr 24 2012 06:22 pm • Last Updated Apr 25 2012 11:07 am

Teacher Heather Musser sat directly across from first-grader Benjamin Blake as he read a story about hats Tuesday.

But she wasn’t just listening.

     

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She followed along on an iPad as he read, marking mistakes. When he finished, she asked him to describe what he had read, and again, marked his responses on the device. Instantly, scores describing Benjamin’s fluency, accuracy and comprehension popped up on her screen.

"It’s just a much better way to test," said the teacher at Roosevelt Elementary in Salt Lake City. "It would take three times as long to do it the old way as it does the new way. ... We can now spend a lot more time teaching rather than testing."

The new testing technology is now being used by more than half the state’s school districts and 22 charter schools thanks to a $3 million bill passed by lawmakers in 2011. Some criticized HB302 at the time, partly for putting money toward a new program in a time of budget woes. But 

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National Resolution on High-Stakes Testing