Stanford Test

Both students and their parents in the unincorporated U.S. territory of Guam have spent recent days preparing for the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT-10). This is due to the fact that from April 30 through May 11, schools on the island will be administering the Test to roughly 30,000 students, the Pacific Daily News reported.

Using the results of the SAT-10, teachers and parents will be able to see how students throughout Guam are progressing academically, according to the territory’s Department of Education (DoE). The Test is offered in a multiple-choice format, with subtests focused on reading, language, spelling, listening, social science, mathematics and science.

As the SAT-10 can be beneficial to the quality of instruction offered in Guam’s classrooms, the DoE has called on parents to help prepare their children for the two weeks of testing they will face.

For starters, the DoE has asked parents to make sure their children get a good night’s sleep, as the SAT-10 is administered in the morning. As a result, parents will also want to make sure their kids get to school on time and eat a good breakfast. Furthermore, students should know how to relax before and during the Test to ensure they are not under stress.

 

Several schools from around the country were recently honored at the Intel Schools of Distinction Awards in Washington, D.C. Among the institutions that were recognized was Valley Christian Junior High in San Jose, California.

Valley Christian received the Intel Foundation's Star Innovator Award for its achievements in math and science education, as well as the institution's ability to promote 21st-century skills among its students. This honor provides the school with $15,000, in addition to funding from other prizes, for a grand total of $125,000.

"By honoring the Intel Schools of Distinction winners, Intel hopes to inspire other schools to reinvigorate their own programs and prepare America's youth for success in the global economy," said Shelly Esque, vice president of Intel's Corporate Affairs Group.

Among Valley Christian's accomplishments has been its students' ability to consistently score in the nation's top 17 percent in mathematics on the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT-10) over the past four years.

According to Pearson Education, the maker of the SAT-10, this multiple choice assessment helps teachers better evaluate their students' progress. 

 

Georgia's Savannah Christian Preparatory School has several reasons to celebrate, the Savannah Morning News reported. In addition to high test scores and national recognition, the institution is celebrating its 60th year of educating local children.

According to the news source, Savannah was established in 1951 as the Evangelical Bible Institute, a boarding school for eight children. Throughout the School's 60-year history, much has changed, except for the institution's commitment to its Christian roots.

Today, more than 1,000 students attend preschool, elementary and high school at the institution, the news outlet stated. Recently, the elementary pupils' performance on the math and reading portions of the Stanford Achievement Test helped Savannah become a National Blue Ribbon School.

Pearson Education developed the Stanford Achievement Test to help administrators gauge students' academic abilities, according to the company's website. Meanwhile, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program was designed by the U.S. Department of Education to honor institutions that have raised their level of academic performance.

The news source reported that Savannah students' math and reading scores on the Test managed to place the school in the nation's top 15th percentile.

Third-grade students in Florida who were recommended for being held back had the chance to improve their reading scores over their summer vacations with the Highland County Summer Reading Program, the News Sun reports. This initiative is lead annually by the state Department of Education and is offered to third-grade students in many school districts around the region.

As the program comes to a close, the group of students will prepare to spend two weeks taking the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT-10). If these children receive proficient scores in reading on this assessment, there is a chance that they will be able to move to the fourth grade, Joyce McClelland, director of elementary education, told the news outlet.

According to its website, the SAT-10 is a multiple-choice test that is used to show educators what students know and are able to accomplish. The assessment for reading includes various sub-tests, which can measure students' vocabulary, phonics, decoding and comprehension skills.

In the past few years, McClelland said about 60 percent to 70 percent of the students who complete the course pass the SAT-10 reading assessment. While last year, this number was around 40 percent, she said she is confident that this figure will rise this year. 

 

It's become a requirement for public schools to assess how well their students perform when compared to the rest of the country. Through the No Child Left Behind Act, schools must choose a form of standardized testing to determine exactly where their students measure up.

However, although some private schools in Pennsylvania are opting out of taking tests, some Catholic schools and other private institutions are choosing to take the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT 10), according to the Bucks County Courier Times.

The news provider reports that these institutions are finding that they're attracting parents who are concerned that public school systems spend too much time in their curriculum focusing on prepping students for performing on standardized tests.

The SAT 10 is available to children throughout their academic careers ranging from kindergarten to high school, and tests them in reading comprehension, science and mathematics. Test takers must complete the test using multiple choice, short answers and extended responses.

Baldwin County schools in Alabama are planning to have their eighth grade students take the EXPLORE test, which will help determine their college and career readiness, according to AL.com. This test will replace the Stanford Achievement Test after spring 2011. Additionally state officials will be adding the Alabama Reading and Mathematics Test, which will start in spring 2012.

"When I talk about finding out what works," superintendent Alan Lee told the news provider. "I'm not just talking about professional development. We have to change the culture here. There should not be a school that's better than us."

The Alabama Reading and Mathematics Test is available for grades three through eight.

 

Since the inception of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, states have been subjecting students to standardized tests in order to gauge performance. There are a variety of standardized tests available such as the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) and the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT 10), but some states are looking to adopt unified standards.

The Common Core State Standards initiative has been adopted by 38 states thus far, with the goal of providing a clear understanding of how students in certain areas match up against the rest of the nation. States that have not yet chosen to adopt the standards include Washington, Idaho, Montana, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Missouri, Maine, Virginia, Alabama, Texas and Alaska.

The standards' website suggests that adopting this form of testing could be beneficial to schools, as they provide understandable content through building on the strengths of current state standards. There is also evidence to prove that they work in determining whether or not students are prepared for college.

 

As education reform pushes forward, there is a greater stress upon standardized test scores and how students should be performing for their grade level. As a result, there are a growing number of programs that are geared toward improving standardized test scores.

The Phoenix Academy in Palm Coast, Florida, works to help children who have fallen behind their peers either in academics or socially, according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal.

Although students can enroll in the program voluntarily, the school district typically targets second graders who have demonstrated below-average marks on the Stanford Achievement Test.

One of the ways the program looks to help students is by keeping them with the same teacher for a number of years, as they can help boost academic performance.

"I think the defining factor in that is if you have really high-quality teachers who are able to improve student growth, it is a wonderful model because they have consistency with highly-effective teachers," Frances Haithcock, Florida's public schools chancellor, told the news provider.

The Stanford Achievement Test measures students from kindergarten to high school in order to track their performance against their peers.

 

Students who are homeschooled often don't have to subject themselves to standardized tests as their peers in public school would. However, some homeschooling instructors see the benefits of the exams, as they can pinpoint where the student falls in terms of academic achievements with the rest of the U.S. population.

As a result, the Hartford Courant reports that the Bible Baptist Church in Cromwell, Connecticut, will be holding the Stanford-10 Achievement Test for all students who are in homeschooling programs. The test administration will take place on April 25 - 26 and students must pay $50 to take the exam.

The news provider reports that home educators will receive the results of their pupil's score and will see how they match up with other students from across the country.

The SAT-10 is offered in 13 levels, depending on the grade of the student. Homeschool educators may want to consider having their student take the exam every year in order to map their progress and figure out which lessons should be improved.