Unit 1 Prewriting Assignment Summary Writing Grade: 24/25 Directions: You should copy and paste the original article in the space provided below. Then complete the following prewriting assignment using complete, detailed statements. When you have completed the prewriting worksheet, save it as an .rtf and upload it to your portfolio. It is advisable to wait for teacher feedback before typing your rough draft. Paste copy of original article below: Arizona kids not ready for standardized testing to return after COVID-19, teachers warn Endia Fontanez Arizona Republic View Comments Corrections & Clarifications: The article incorrectly characterized how much third grade reading scores had dropped. Third grade reading scores dropped by approximately 11 percentage points from 2019 to 2021, and the scores for "economically disadvantaged" students were approximately 14 percentage points lower than the state average in 2021. As Arizona students prepare to take end-of-year standardized tests this spring, educators fear two years of disrupted learning may cause students to score lower than they normally would. The testing comes after what educators are calling "the hardest year yet" for catching up students whose schooling was disrupted during the pandemic. "The prediction is that (scores) are going to be lower. I mean, we can't have two years of disrupted learning and not expect it to impact test scores," said Michelle Capriotti, a teacher in Chandler Unified School District. Testing will take place for Arizona's Academic Standards Assessment in April for students in grades three through eight, covering English language arts and math. High school students will be expected to take the ACT assessments in either March or April. This academic year, schools have been expected to function as normally as possible during a time when things are not normal, Capriotti said. It means educators have taken on a number of COVID-19 burdens, such as students' social and emotional needs, while also preparing them to pass state tests. "We were still trying to fill the gaps that we had from the 2020-21 school year, and we came into 2021-22 thinking, 'This is our opportunity to kind of start to put the puzzle back together again,'" Capriotti said. "Well, COVID didn't go away. You know, just because we willed it, did not make it so." Capriotti said during the height of the omicron variant, seven to 10 kids would be absent from her class of 35, with most students out because they contracted the virus that causes COVID-19. On top of that, students have struggled emotionally and economically as family members got sick or died due to the virus. Standardized testing, she said, is not the priority in most kids' minds. Test scores dropped last year Education Forward Arizona, which tracks learning achievement across Arizona, found that third grade reading scores dropped by approximately 11 percentage points from 2019 to 2021. The nonprofit aims to improve student success from early education to college through changes to public policy in Arizona. "When we look at the testing data like this, it gives us a reflection of where we are as a whole and the community. And the drops that we saw from last year were definitely a reflection of how we've been doing in this once in a 100 year event, the pandemic, that none of us have ever experienced before," said Erin Hart, senior vice president and chief of policy and community impact at Education Forward Arizona. Capriotti stressed that even before the pandemic, research has found that student test scores can be predicted "based on their ZIP code," with disadvantages prevalent for students of lower economic class, as well as for students of color. Education Forward Arizona's numbers show that third grade reading scores for "economically disadvantaged" students were approximately 14 percentage points lower than the state average in 2021. "So why is it that we put all this emphasis on a third grader, but we don't have that same expectation for a student going to Harvard?" Capriotti said. Many colleges, from state universities to Ivy League schools, stopped requiring ACT and SAT scores for admissions during the pandemic because of test inaccessibility and disrupted learning. Educators call for change A study conducted by Instructure, the maker of the educational tool Canvas, found 81% of teachers believe the current nature of testing at the state and district level are making students anxious. While assessments of some kind can be helpful in showing student progress, some teachers are looking to change the way schools approach them. Trenton Goble, Instructure vice president of K-12 strategy, said it is important that tests are used in a way that actually improves student learning outcomes. He said one way testing can be improved is by delivering data to teachers in a timely manner, so they can see where their students are at and fill in any gaps, rather than receiving results months later, when the students are often on summer break and teachers are unable to help them. "I don't think assessments are good or bad by themselves. I think it really comes down to how we use those assessments," he said. "When assessments become something that everybody is preparing for, like what's driving our instruction in the classroom is ... the fear of performance at the end of the year, I don't know that that's the best thing for anyone." The implementation of more lower-stakes tests taken solely to track learning progress, Goble said, could do a better job at determining what students know and don't know than the current statewide mandated testing does, especially as students across the state struggle with different COVID-19-related circumstances that might skew end-of-year assessment results. "There were kids with parents at home that were highly engaged in their learning that probably did fairly well. And there were those kids who, through no fault of their own, probably disengaged a lot from the learning environment," Goble said. While educators use standardized test results to evaluate their teaching and see where gaps lie within groups of students, Capriotti said it is important to realize that test scores are only one outlook of student success and do not cover the full picture. "Data is only as useful as you make it," Capriotti said. "And if we're using it from a from a penalty standpoint, which is often the case, that's not helping kids." State education policy: A mistrust of Arizona's public schools runs through many of Legislature's education bills How testing affects school funding Standardized test scores also play a role in determining a school's overall letter grade, which in turn affects public school funding. And the Legislature is considering a school reform bill with an option that would allow D- and Frated schools to be taken over by out-of-state charter school operators. Capriotti said teachers have tried their best to keep students on track amidst a succession of abnormal school years, but limited resources have made the job difficult. "At the end of the day, it's just punitive, it's just to highlight the, quote unquote, 'failures of public schools,'" Capriotti said. "I don't believe public schools are failing. Schools have been failed. The inequities of funding systems — those things are failing the public schools — but the public schools are not failing our kids." Part 1: The topic sentence expresses the main idea of the summary. This sentence summaries the article’s introduction. In the box to the right, write one sentence that summarizes the introduction. Part 2: Each body sentence summarizes one or even two paragraphs from the article. In the box to the right, write one sentence that summarizes the first body paragraph. Part 2: Each body sentence summarizes one or even two paragraphs from the article. In the box to the right, write one sentence that summarizes the second body paragraph. Part 2: Each body sentence summarizes one or even two paragraphs from the article. In the box to the right, write one sentence that summarizes the third body paragraph. Part 3: The concluding sentence adds the article’s concluding thoughts. This sentence summaries the article’s conclusion. Replace this text with one sentence that summarizes the conclusion. COVID has caused students returning to school unprepared for standardized testing. Due to the social and emotional needs of the students caused by COVID, teachers fear that the test scores will be lower then ever. Due to the different circumstances involving students from different cultures and COVID related issues, IVY league universities did not require SAT or ACT testing for those students enrolling. Education Forward Arizona aims to improve student success and will plan to make changes to current policies do to third grade reading has dropped by approximately 11%. The scores that students receive play a huge role in the grade that the school is given.
