Also, Needs Assessments are done to help guide her towards providing better and more effective programs. Usually this testing will determine what group or services might be needed at their school.
Needs Assessments are her favorite testing tool. It helps guide her all year long, and serves as a compass from which all programs are generated. Standardized testing, which is done each year, seems to bother her mainly because the students become stressed or overly anxious. They use the test results from their standardized testing to help indicate who is falling behind, and to cross check that with behavioral problems or any further issues. She prefers criterion testing because it looks more closely at the issues and difficulties that a student is experiencing, and allows them (the school) to help better through various services that might be needed. At their school, they do not prefer standardized testing. They prefer a testing called “Maps Testing,” which allows them to see where their students are with less stress. This test tends not to use “trick questions,” and allows any modifications that might be needed in order to reduce stress. Indeed, she feels that testing is the driving force and the focus is on a number. She struggles with placing a number on a student, which can be debilitating, especially when that number is lower than the national averages. We cannot test for success. No matter how hard they try, they cannot. Even when they think they have the best student with the best scores and who is the most successful in high school, it still does not mean that he or she will be successful.
Success is based on an individual’s drive and motivation to achieve a goal. A student who once thought school was boring, or that they were hopeless in learning new skills, may suddenly feel motivated to achieve something new. She likes to see where schools rank.