State Board Highs and Lows

Rachel Wise, District 3, Nebraska State Board of Education (March, 2014)

State Board Highs and State Board Lows!

Rachel Wise

This month I will write about a recent State Board high — an action that my board colleagues and I are very excited about. I will then address what I consider a State Board low — something I would really rather not write about, but feel compelled to inform and acknowledge.

Let’s get to the good news. On March 4^th, the State Board of Education unanimously adopted Nebraska Fine Arts Standards. As eloquently stated by Debbie DeFrain, the Nebraska Department of Education Director of Fine Arts, “these standards will help lead the way in developing citizens of tomorrow through excellence: in continuous improvement; in quality of life; in promoting richness of humanity; and, in recognizing the importance of fine arts in healing, uplifting and maintaining the human spirit.” Many individuals and organizations across the state were involved in developing the standards and participated throughout the process. It was clear that the needs of students and the ability of local schools to implement standards remained at the forefront of their work. Supporting this process and voting to adopt the Fine Arts Standards has been a high among my board experiences.

So, now for the low. Let’s revisit an article that I wrote last April regarding assessment. Nebraska State Accountability (NeSA) is a system of assessments or “testing” developed to measure student progress on Nebraska standards. In Nebraska, students are assessed as follows:  writing – grades 4, 8 and 11; reading – grades 3-8 and 11; math – grades 3-8 and 11; science – grades 5, 8 and 11. All of these tests are administered during pre-set times from January through early May. Eighth and 11^th grade students take the 90-minute Nebraska state writing test online. Fourth grade students take the test in a paper/pencil format in two, 40-minute sessions. So you may be wondering why is writing about a writing test a low?

Last year, 8^th and 11^th grade students taking the state writing test encountered technical difficulties and many students were not able to finish the test or get an accurate score. The contractor, Data Recognition Corporation, stopped using a sub-contractor from last year and began providing those testing services to Nebraska this school year. Long story short—problems were again encountered and 2 to 3 percent of Nebraska students experienced technical difficulties while taking their writing test this year. As a State Board member, the low is knowing that students encountered a frustrating situation while taking the writing test. For many college students today, taking online classes and encountering technical difficulties with a class or an online test is part of the learning experience. However, technical difficulties should not be a part of the learning experience of an 8^th or 11^th grade student taking a state test!

So what is the Nebraska Department of Education and State Board prepared to do? We have not paid Data Recognition Corporation and are working diligently to garner assurances that the technical difficulties will not occur in the upcoming online reading, math and science tests. We also have apologized for the challenges this has created for some students and staff in some schools across the state.

Next month, I am optimistically looking forward to writing only about the highs of representing District 3 on the State Board of Education.

One more high, Voices for Children recently published its 2013 Kids Count in Nebraska Report. If you care about kids, this is a very important report to read. You can access the 2013 report or any of the reports since 2006 at www.voicesforchildren.com/kidscount.

This article represents my personal view, not that of the State Board of Education or my role as president. Feel free to contact me at rachel.wise@nebraska.gov. Search the Nebraska Department of Education website at www.education.ne.gov to learn more about education in our state.