The Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) has released a new report focused on parents’ perceptions of assessments: their development, administration, and the use of the resulting data. In For Every Child, Multiple Measures: What Parents and Educators Want from K-12 Assessments, the researchers found that parents, teachers and district administrators hold similar views on their top education priorities, on the design, goal and utility of assessments, how assessment results could be better used, and who should make instructional decisions.
Key findings of the report include:
1. An overwhelming majority of parents are most interested in teaching and learning that is centered on their child; a majority of educators agree that individualized education is “of paramount importance” to them.
2. Parents, educators and district administrators agree on local decision making about teaching and learning.
3. Formative and interim assessments are perceived as more valuable by parents, educators and district leaders than summative assessments. For some district administrators, they value these forms of assessment so highly that they want more of them.
4. Many district administrators believe new assessments tied to the Common Core will matter to their work; few teachers agree. Parents are more concerned than either teachers or district administrators with how well their children will compare to other students within and outside of their districts.
5. Many parents, and most teachers and district administrators, believe too much money is spent on state assessments. Additionally, all three groups believe these assessments induce a “considerable amount” of stress that negatively affects students and educators.
6. Teachers and district leaders believe that assessments “are not equally useful and valuable for all groups of students.” Furthermore, they would like to spend more time discussing assessment results, and their implications for practice, with their colleagues.
7. Most teachers and district administrators receive training on interpreting and using assessment results, but are not exactly proficient at the skill. Additionally, many parents say they need more information on how to interpret and use assessment results.
NWEA offers four recommendations for assessment developers and policymakers based on these findings. First, broaden the dialogue beyond summative/high-stakes assessments. Second, avoid “tunnel vision” and focus on more than English language arts and math. Third, develop innovative ways to measure the application of thinking, learning and life skills. Finally, encourage local decision making on assessments that support learning.
NWEA also offers recommendations for state and district leaders. To read these as part of the full report, please visit http://www.nwea.org/every-child-multiple-measures
