A recent statewide mandate to expand the English proficiency exam to kindergartners has many school officials up in arms.
MacArthur Elementary School Principal Anthony Colannino said the Massachusetts English Proficiency Assessment exam is too complicated for young learners, "filling in bubbles much too small for their tiny hands and not-yet- coordinated fingers."
In the past, the test was only administered to third- to 10th-graders whose first language is not English and who are "unable to perform ordinary classroom work in English," according to the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. This year the exam will be given to students in kindergarten through second grade.
"Now we're all the way down to 5- and 6-year-olds taking a pencil and paper test," Colannino said. "My students and others in Waltham and across the state are being judged on reading material above their grade level."
Colannino said students started taking the exam March 2. He said during the school day 20 students are scheduled to take the test that requires a maximum of 45 minutes to complete. Testing runs through the end of this week.
J.C. Considine of the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education said the state was required to expand the test.
"No Child Left Behind requires states to assess all (limited English proficient) students (from kindergarten through 12th grade) in reading, writing, speaking, and listening," he said.
Considine explained that the state developed and this year will administer new reading and writing tests for students in kindergarten through second grade.
The exam consists of two assessments - reading and writing and oral skills - to measure the performance of the students and the progress they make towards English proficiency. Only the reading and writing portion has been expanded to include kindergarten through second grade.
The tests include age-related questions that students can answer through writing, speaking or pointing. The physical gestures will be transcribed by a test administrator into an answer booklet.
"I'm uncomfortable with tests at that age," said Superintendent Peter Azar. "I think that children at that age are far too young to be tested in the way they are talking about."
In Waltham schools, English language learners are expected to reach a number of state academic standards, which include vocabulary, social interaction and research. These benchmarks change from grade to grade.
Northeast Elementary School Principal Nadene Stein said ongoing literacy assessments, like letter identification and rhyming tests given by teachers at her school, are a far better way to gauge learning.
"I'm not sure that the test is an accurate assessment of reading and writing skills, especially at the kindergarten level," she said.
All Waltham students labeled by the state as limited English proficient must participate in the test. Students do not face consequences if they score poorly.
"My concern is for what were telling families and children that are 5 years old what's important about their education," Colannino said. "Are we giving them a test that's developmentally appropriate? And is it going to give us assessment information we can use to better instruct their English language development? Right now, I don't have the answers to the those questions."
Jeff Gilbride can be reached at 781-398-8005 or jgilbrid@cnc.com.
