The Free Press, Mankato, MN

Local News

November 21, 2009

Two Mankato schools help state’s online transition

East Jr. High, Franklin Elementary among 350 to field test MCA-III

By Tanner Kent

MANKATO — Two Mankato schools have been chosen to help the state prepare for its transition to online standardized testing.

After state lawmakers decided during the 2009 session that public funds were no longer allowed to be spent on hand-scored standardized tests, the state began developing a new series of standardized tests that will be delivered entirely by computer.

The new MCA-III replaces the MCA-II — which are used to gauge student proficiency for purposes of No Child Left behind — beginning with the math test in the 2010-11 school year. Science will follow in 2011-12 and the reading test will be implemented in 2012-13.

In the meantime, the state chose about 350 schools to conduct field tests for the MCA-III math test. Franklin Elementary sixth-graders will take the test the week of Nov. 30; and Mankato East Junior High seventh-graders will take the test the week of Dec. 7.

“It’s going to be a challenge,” said Gwen Walz, assessment coordinator for Mankato Area Public Schools. “These tests require so many more resources.”

Walz said the new tests will put stress on school computer labs, which means limited access for students during the test-heavy months of March and April. She also said the computerized tests require authorization codes for students and software setups for computers — tasks that can be draining for the district’s limited technology staff.

Jim Keltgen, network manager for Mankato schools, said the district operates with 40 megabytes of bandwidth — not enough to handle both the typical traffic load and the MCA-III.

Keltgen said the district will have to employ so-called caching servers to host the test internally during field tests.

“If all the students took the test without the internal help,” he said, “it would eat up our entire bandwidth.”

Students are not expected to prepare for the tests, and the scores are not recorded.

According to information from the state department of education, participating school sites were chosen based on their ability to “meet the statewide student demographic representation necessary for a statistically sound field test administration.”

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