I observed this test being given to two different students, one was a fourth grade boy up for re-evaluation of his IEP and the other one was a fifth grade boy being tested to see if he qualified for special education services. I could not administer the test because of district policy and that is why I had to observe the testing, still gaining valuable knowledge about the test and its administration.
One thing that the teacher giving the test did right away before even beginning the test was that they explained to the student why they were going to take these tests. The teacher told the student that it was okay to not know the answers to some of the problems and it was okay to get some answers wrong. I think it is important to make kids feel safe about taking a risk to possibly make a mistake and especially in a stressful situation like taking a big test.
I thought that this test seemed fairly easy to administer. It was set up with a flip chart for the student to read off of and the teacher sat behind the flip chart and recorded answers. I liked the set up of the flip chart because it enabled the teacher to write as the student read but the student could not totally see the teacher. It reminded me of the "Out of sight, out of mind" phrase because the flip chart helped the student block out the stressor of someone watching them and writing things down.
This test is made up of numerous subtests in all subject areas: reading, writing, and math. Since the test is broken up into subtests it allows the team to decide to give certain tests to obtain information about all areas or a specific area. Since the test is broken up into subtests it also allows the team to see specific results in the various areas. For example, in the larger subject area of reading there are subtests on letter-word fluency, phonetic skills, and vocabulary.
As the teacher was giving the test, they could do a quick check on the student's progress and know whether or not the student was meeting grade level expectations or how far below grade level they were. This was possible because on the teacher's score sheet there was a scale that they could quickly look at and compare how many points the student got for that subtest with the grade level equivalency and see right away where the student was at in relationship to where they should be.