Reporting ITBS Results to Students and Parents

Reporting to Students

Why should students be given their scores from tests like the ITBS? There are many good reasons for reporting scores to students, and they vary somewhat from grade to grade. As students move up through the grades, the usefulness of test results for personal academic planning and self-assessment increases. For most students, the scores provide feedback about how much they know and how effective their efforts to learn have been. Like the results from classroom assessments, the results from the ITBS can help students determine how complete their learning has been, which areas can be regarded as strengths, and which areas may need the most extra attention. Such feedback is essential if students are expected to be partners in managing their own instructional time and effort. Results from tests like the ITBS are one type of useful information students can draw upon in their decision-making.

If students never get feedback on their test performance, or if they never become aware that teachers or counselors actually use the test results, some students may begin to conclude that the tests are not very important. By the time such students get to grades 7 and 8, they may begin to wonder why they are taking a standardized achievement test year after year and whether they should take the testing process seriously. The perception of "unimportance" can lead some students to respond without reading, to hurry unnecessarily, and to approach test-taking only halfheartedly. In sum, one of the long-term benefits of reporting to students is that they can become aware of the importance of scores to others and they can begin to see how the scores might be helpful to themselves.

Teachers use a variety of strategies to help students become independent learners who are able to take on increasing responsibility for their own school progress. Self-assessment is a significant aspect of self-guided learning, and the reporting of test results can be an integral part of the procedures teachers use to promote self-assessment. By examining and interpreting ITBS results with students, teachers can help students identify areas in need of improvement, areas in which progress has been particularly strong, and areas in which continued strong effort will help maintain high levels of achievement. Test results can be used with information from teachers' assessments to help students set their own instructional goals, decide how they will allocate their time, and determine priorities for improving such skills as reading, writing, and problem solving. When students are given their own test results, they can learn about self-assessment while doing actual self-assessment.

By third grade, most students can begin to understand what their own scores mean, if only in relatively simple terms. By this age, reporting can serve a variety of purposes. It can begin to instill the idea that testing is not an aimless activity that is done routinely year after year, but that it is purposeful and helpful. Reporting also provides an opportunity for these students to begin developing an awareness of how they are growing in various skill areas. Self-assessment begins with self-monitoring, a skill most children have begun developing well before coming to kindergarten. By third grade, most students are aware of their development in such areas as writing, reading, and mathematics.

Students in the middle school and junior high grades have experienced considerable assessment and feedback and are able to understand their own scores better. They have been given feedback from classroom assessments by their teachers, they have received grades on report cards, and they have probably discussed their academic progress with a school counselor or teacher. Students in these grades are experienced at self-assessment and use various types of information, including test scores, to make personal decisions about how they will use their time and how much they will try to learn in specific subject areas. Thus, students in grades 6-8 can use test results to monitor their own efforts, to reassess their own learning goals, and to begin thinking about how their particular academic strengths can help them in their future educational and vocational endeavors.

Reporting to Parents

Without doubt, it is more effective to talk with parents face to face about their son's or daughter's ITBS scores than it is to send a score report home for them to interpret on their own. For a variety of reasons, a parent-teacher or parent-student-teacher conference offers an excellent occasion for teachers to provide and interpret test results to parents. First, teachers tend to be more knowledgeable than parents about the tests and the types of scores being reported. Teachers can be instructive and can urge proper caution as they explain what the scores mean. Second, the teacher has made numerous observations of the student and his or her work and, consequently, can substantiate the results. Inconsistencies between the test scores and classroom performance can be noted and discussed. Third, the teacher possesses work samples that can be used to illustrate the type of classroom work the student has done. Portfolios can be used to illustrate strengths and to explain where improvements are needed. Fourth, the teacher may be aware of extenuating circumstances that may have influenced the scores -- either positively or negatively -- to misrepresent the student's achievement level. Such supplementary information can be taken into account in a joint interpretive session. Finally, the parents have a chance to ask questions about points of misunderstanding or about how they can work with the teacher and student in addressing apparent weaknesses and in capitalizing on strengths. Whenever possible, test results should be given to parents at the school.