Terra Nova Replaced by Think Link Assessments in Huntington
A recommendation by the Huntington School District’s Education Development Committee to replace the Terra Nova assessments in math and English language arts for second graders with Discovery Education - ThinkLink assessments has been approved by School Board members for the 2008/09 school year.
These new brief assessments are aligned with New York state standards and benchmark indicators and are expected to help teachers and administrators better predict the level of student success on required state assessments spread across grades 3-8.
“As screenings they provide instant feedback and can be administered several times through the year,” Assistant Superintendent Barbara Lacey said. “Add to that a bank of over 200,000 questions [that] is available for all ELA and math standards and these can be used as probes to aid us with instruction on an ongoing basis,” said Michael O’Brien, who was Dr. Lacey’s predecessor as assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.
Huntington piloted the new assessment tool last June in several grades other than second. This year, monies were budgeted for its use in grades 2-8 and for piloting the program in kindergarten and first grade. “The tests can be administered in hard copy form or online, with online administration preferred because of the instant return,” Mr. O’Brien said. Students in grades K-2 will complete the assessments using pencil and paper while their counterparts in grades 3-8 will use the web-based feature.
In addition to the assessment program, Dr. Lacey said that Discovery Education will also provide an on-site trainer to work with faculty members for up to eight hours at no extra charge.
The assessments will be administered to second graders at the beginning of the school year and again near its end. The assessments will be given to students in grades 3-8 in the fall, winter and spring. The online exams take about 30-40 minutes to complete and results are provided immediately.
“This student assessment program will help us more effectively monitor every child’s progress in English language arts and math and assist teachers in adjusting instruction to fit identified needs,” stated a letter the district sent to parents. “The Discovery Education Co. and its products come with high consumer ratings. As with any change, our own experience will ultimately dictate our level of satisfaction.”
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