On Panther's PAWS

If you asked students at the Saratoga Schools what was their favorite part of the Proficiency Assessment of Wyoming Students (PAWS) testing was, you might get some mixed responses.

Some students would respond with "reading", others with "math".

When asked, one Saratoga Elementary School (SES) student said his favorite part about the PAWS test was "finishing it."

For most students, their favorite part about PAWS testing came after the test. A reward for a job well done: popcorn and Klondike Bars for the middle school students. Ice cream cones were at the elementary.

As the treats were passed on to the students, the school staff was rewarded by being able to return to their normal routine.

"We tried to schedule it from taking up too much class time," Dan Marquart, SMHS guidance counselor and PAWS coordinator, said.

For the past four weeks, students at SES and Saratoga Middle/High School (SMHS) have been hard at work on the PAWS test. PAWS is a statewide assessment of student achievement in grades three through eight.

Seventh and eighth grade students were given a 50-minute period at the beginning of every school day to complete the test. Marquart said that most students were able to finish within the time allotted. Ron Hoopes, guidance councilor at SES and PAWS facilitator, said that his students were given the same 50-minute time to complete the test, however students were allowed more time.

"There was a suggested time, but we let them take as long as they needed," Hoopes said.

According to Hoopes, the third and fifth grade students have an additional writing portion on top of PAWS -- which is referred to as the student assessment of Wyoming students (SAWS). The SAWS testing will take place later this month.

"Writing was incorporated into the test last year to meet with Common Core standards," Hoopes said.

Common Core is not fully implemented into Carbon County School District No. 2 (CCSD#2), but Saratoga Elementary Principal Dave Rangitsch said it would be soon state mandated.

Because schools are not required to stay on a specific timeline, different districts choose to finish the PAWS testing at different times. Schools are given a specific window in order to complete the test, and Marquart said that March was best time for their students to complete the test.

"We wanted to take the test closest to the end of the year, so they would have close to a year's worth of school behind them before they take the test," Marquart said. "They need a long time to process and grade the test, especially the writing part because that is subjective."

Another purpose PAWS serves is the to see if district are meeting their individual adequate yearly progress (AYP). The AYP for each district is developed using a federally mandated formula and defined to answer three questions about a district: the percentage of students who are required to be proficient or above in math and reading, whether or not 95-percent or more students in those grades participated in the tests and additional academic indicators that will be measured, such as graduation rates.

Rangitsch said that AYP standards are constantly rising. For example, even if a school receives the same score as the previous year, they may not reach their AYP.

The test scores are sent nation-wide for data purposes, however, the testing is not without its disadvantages. Several school officials said that the largest problem with the PAWS test is that they will not get the results until the summer.

"We get the results in around July," Rangitsch said. "But by then, we can't go back as teachers and say 'here is where we need to improve on for this year.'"

Marquart said that another disadvantage of PAWS testing was that it may not measure academic performance with complete accuracy.

"Some kids just do not do well on tests," Marquart said. "[PAWS testing] is just one way out of multiple ways to measure student achievement."

All school officials were pleased with what they saw during the tests and, traditionally, Saratoga schools tend to do well on the PAWS test.

"We always perform decent here. There will always be a bell-curve with the scores," Marquart said. "The kids put in a solid effort."

Rangitsch said that the support the students received from parents and staff during PAWS testing was outstanding.

"The parents helped us out a lot. They provided snacks for the kids, made sure their kids got plenty of rest ... we really appreciate the support," Rangitsch said.