More Students Taking State Test
By Keith Whitcomb Jr.
Better communication has led to a steep drop in the number of students opting out of taking state tests, say school officials. The tests took place the second week of April.
“It went very well compared to the region,” said Berlin School District Superintendent Dr. Stephen Young. “We had about 8 percent of our students opt-out, which compared to the last several years is quite a significant drop.” He said other districts in the state have seen opt-out rates as high as 41 percent. “Still not happy that we didn’t make 95 percent, but I’m sure some changes will be taking place in the state knowing that so many other districts have such a high opt-out rate,” said Young.
Berlin School District Chief Information Officer, Fred Hutchinson, said Berlin’s numbers this year compare well not only to other districts, but to itself. “We had 27.18 percent opt-out last year, with an 8 percent this year,” he said. “I do believe it’s the sharpest improvement in the region, possibly in the state.” He said a combination of restructuring how the school does final exams and communication with parents helped lower the opt-out rate.
“We got rid of our written final exams for six through eight grade, we moved to a project-based final exam… and then a lot of community outreach,” he said. “I spoke to a dozen or more families on the phone, we had a letter go out, anybody who had questions was free to call me. We offered 15 participation points for the state test, and if they didn’t take the state test they would take a written assessment that would not be graded.” He said the tests allow the district to see how well it’s programs are working. Conveying this to parents, he said, has been helpful. “To me it’s a shift in the way the community understands what we’re trying to do here, instructionally, and how we’re trying to do it,” he said.
Plus One report
The Berlin School Board has a student that sits in at Board meetings and offers reports on items from a student’s perspective. Senior Rachel Cahill said there have been issues with students being able to access computers throughout the school day.
“Recently, I’ve realized we don’t always have the best access to technology throughout the school day, because the only place students have access to computers is in the library, but a lot of the times teachers are in the library with one of their classes, so the students who have work to do don’t really have anywhere else to go…,” she said.
While students have access to Chromebooks, these aren’t always available outside specific classrooms.
“Basically the only place we can go to use computers during our study halls is the library, but when there’s a class in there we can’t use them,” she said.
Middle/High School Principal Dr. Cathie Allain said there are a number of options to alleviate this problem, among them assigning Chromebooks to study halls, making arrangements to hold study halls in the library, and posting the library’s schedule.
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