Spring is standardized testing season, but some students are opting out

[MUSIC PLAYING] CATHY WURZER: Students across the state are gearing up for standardized tests this month. But in some school districts, more and more students are opting out of taking the tests. Today, the Star Tribune reported that only about half of St. Louis Park students took the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments, or MCAs, in 2019. That makes it look as though students are not doing well in that district academically while St. Louis Park says it's actually a participation issue.

Michael Rodriguez is on the line right now. He's the dean of the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota and a professor in the U's Department of Educational Psychology. Dean Rodriguez, welcome to the program.

DEAN RODRIGUEZ: Thank you, Cathy. Happy to contribute.

CATHY WURZER: Thank you. Say, for folks who are not familiar, what are the MCAs designed to test?

DEAN RODRIGUEZ: Yeah, MCAS are the indicator of how effective the state education system is functioning. And they are tied directly to our academic standards. Our state academic standards are simply statements about what students should know and be able to do at each grade level in each subject. Those academic standards were developed by Minnesota educators. And the test questions on the test were written by Minnesota educators.

And, of course, schools select curriculum. The standards are not a curriculum, but we have curriculum in place that help teachers essentially support student learning of those academic standards where we really hope students know and be able to do. And the state tests reflect those academic standards.

CATHY WURZER: So preparing for and taking these tests are a big part of the student's year.

DEAN RODRIGUEZ: It really is. And that's really the best preparation for these tests, is just good instruction, participating in class activities, learning all the stuff that all of our great teachers have to offer. That's really at the heart of it, yeah.

CATHY WURZER: I didn't realize that students could opt out of testing. Refresh our memories. When was that option allowed?

DEAN RODRIGUEZ: Yeah, that's actually been in place for quite a while. There are multiple reasons for testing. And unfortunately, I think a lot of it has been driven by federal legislation that started decades ago requiring schools in every state to have school accountability tests and assessments in place. And because it was-- because it is this larger requirement, and because of multiple reasons that individual students may have-- there are some legitimate reasons that students can be excused, particularly something like the test occurs during religious holidays or students have health concerns, and they're not able to fully participate or attend. But that opt-out option has been around for a long time. And I think, unfortunately, it's almost a little bit of a wave that comes and goes over time. And I think in part, it's driven by some misunderstandings of what the tests are for and what we do with those tests.

CATHY WURZER: By the way, was COVID a worsening factor in students opting out?

DEAN RODRIGUEZ: So COVID created a couple of challenges. One, students didn't have an opportunity to take the test because so many of us were at home. And the testing technology wasn't sufficient for people to be able to take the test wherever they are and for us to be able to provide a secure location for someone to take the test so that we knew that they were the ones participating in the test. So there was huge declines. In fact, for two years in Minnesota, the opportunity to take the test was so low, we didn't even report scores.

CATHY WURZER: Mm-hmm. Getting back to the opt-out business for just a moment, if I could, the Star Tribune had a good article about this. And someone was quoted as saying it is too stressful to take the hours-long tests. Testing is stressful. Is that a valid reason to not take a test?

DEAN RODRIGUEZ: Well, I think what I would rather us do is try to figure out what are the sources of that stress. Because as you can recall, when we're in school, we have instructional activities. We have small group, large group activities, individual, seat work. But we also have quizzes. We have exams. We have finals, especially as you get into middle school and high school. And students are taking tests on a regular basis in classroom assessments.

But I think we've created this almost mystique around the state tests that, for some reason, inspire a different kind of stress response. And I think in part, there are misuses of the state tests. And we're not really focusing on the value of the information to understand how we're doing as an education system and how we can inform instruction in our practices in order to meet the needs of all of our students. And we placed-- we as a system, as adults, have probably placed too much emphasis, and perhaps misguided emphasis, on these tests. And when students are stressed out in school, like I say, it's, in large part, a reflection of what they're experiencing in that environment.

CATHY WURZER: Mm-hmm. Point well taken.

DEAN RODRIGUEZ: And I think it's true. There's a lot of stress around it. But I think many of us are responsible for that. Because the tests really cover the content that the students have been learning.

CATHY WURZER: Might there be other--

DEAN RODRIGUEZ: Go ahead.

CATHY WURZER: Might there be other metrics available to take a picture of student knowledge then?

DEAN RODRIGUEZ: Well, so this is the tricky part. Those tests are really the only comparable academic indicator across schools because schools-- we have a very high level of local control in Minnesota. Schools can pick different curriculum. They can pick different textbooks, different resources. And, of course, teachers have different expertise and different backgrounds. We all operate under a common set of academic standards, but the way those get delivered is really unique to each community-- and, I think, as it should be.

We appreciate the uniqueness of local communities. And so teachers are hired in order to tailor their professional experience and their instructional knowledge to support students' learning of the academic standards, but also with an understanding of who those students are, what their traditions are, what the community has been through. So everybody's getting a different flavor of those academic standards. And then courses vary, of course, from school to school. The kinds of classroom assessments that teachers engage in vary from school to school.

So unfortunately, evidence from classroom assessment and course grades are not really comparable for the purpose of asking the question-- or answering the question, how effective is the state education system functioning? And the test is the only comparable academic indicator.

CATHY WURZER: Hmm, interesting. Now, what are teachers to do in a district when students-- say St. Louis Park as an example. Apparently, there are a fairly significant number of students that are opting out. How will they know if their students, say, with COVID, have fallen behind enough that they need remedial help? Is there a way to figure this out?

DEAN RODRIGUEZ: Yeah, that's a very difficult thing to figure out and to answer. It's unlikely that a representative group of students are opting out. It's very possible that students on one side of the achievement continuum or the other are more likely to opt out. So the students that actually participate in the test may not reflect all the best that that school district has been doing and has to offer. And so we are left with the big question about, what does this actually tell us about how well we're doing?

I always encourage schools to use all of the information that's available to them. So I think this is true in Minnesota schools. We don't rely just on those test scores, but those test scores are a pretty important part of the big picture. Because we do know how our students are doing in our courses. We know how they're performing on other kinds of exams. Especially in the high schools, we have students taking AP exams and the IB, other kinds of assessments. And all of that information helps us understand how we're doing as a system.

It's hard when we have those big holes and when it's unclear whether or not the representation in the test really reflects our entire student community. It leaves holes and leaves questions. But it's not the only source of information. It's an important one.

CATHY WURZER: Before you go, Professor, I'm wondering-- I'm sure there are a lot of parents who are listening right now. Do you have any advice for them as to how they should look at this situation?

DEAN RODRIGUEZ: Yeah, I do appreciate that. My hope is that all of our students look forward to contributing to that assessment process and put forth their full effort to do their best because it's part of the continuous improvement of our schools, of our community. And I hope that we can do a better job of correctly communicating about the test and not put undue stress and pressure on our students because it's an important thing for us. It also provides a clear message to students about what's important and what is the relevant knowledge and skill in each area, because the test really reflects what we hope that they know and are able to do to prepare them for future educational and career opportunities.

CATHY WURZER: Well, Dean Rodriguez, I appreciate your time. Thank you so very much. Interesting conversation.

DEAN RODRIGUEZ: Well, thank you. Good luck to all. Appreciate it.

CATHY WURZER: Thank you. Michael Rodriguez is the dean of the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota.