Princeton High mulls standardized testing for lower grades

An effort to find struggling students early in their academic careers.

By: Rachel Silverman
   Princeton High School underclassmen better sharpen their No. 2s, as the Board of Education is considering adding a mandatory standardized test for ninth- and 10th-grade students.
   Currently, students are not tested between the eighth grade, when the Grade 8 Proficiency Assessment is administered, and 11th grade, when the High School Proficiency Assessment is given.
   But at last week’s Program Committee meeting, board members talked about filling this gap with the Terra Nova exam — an English, language arts and math assessment published by McGraw-Hill.
   Unlike other standardized tests, which aim to measure overall schoolwide performance, Terra Nova scores would not be reportedly publicly.
   "It’s intended to be used for the individual child," Board of Education member Charlotte Bialek explained. The test would provide valuable data on those students new to the school district, as well as those who did not pass the eighth-grade test.
   "It would find out those who would struggle," Ms. Bialek said, "and indicate skills missing."
   The exam would also help in preparation for the 11th-grade HSPA, a graduation requirement for all New Jersey high school students.
   In addition, better individual scores on the HSPA could help rid Princeton High School of its "early warning" status. Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, any school that fails to meet certain "Adequate Yearly Progress" benchmarks can be branded as an "early warning" institution. Though the majority of Princeton High School students score at or above the necessary level of the federal standard, a small subset continually fail to meet them. Consequently the school has been on the "early warning" list since 2003.
   By locating and aiding those students who need extra help, administrators hope to reverse this trend.
   "Preparation for the HSPA is part of it," Ms. Bialek said in citing reasons for the additional Terra Nova test.
   The test, which would be given to roughly 600 students, is estimated to cost "at the high end $7,000 to $8,000," Assistant Superintendent Jeff Graber said.
   The source of such funding however, remains unclear at this point.
   An exact testing schedule is to be determined as well, though high school students should be prepared to see the Terra Nova in classrooms as early as this spring.
   "We’d like to pilot it this year," Mr. Graber said, "while the High School Proficiency Assessment tests are going on in March."