How to test the distracted students

Becca S Friedman :
As I sat down to write this article, I heard a quiet beep from my cell phone indicating I had a text message and within minutes I received a notification that a friend commented on my sister’s Facebook photo. We live in a world full of distractions. We often welcome those distractions. But how harmful can distractions be in a classroom full of fifth graders?
My fifth-grade students were recently given an eight-minute math computation benchmark test. During those eight minutes, no fire alarm was sounded and there was no celebrity who ran in the classroom screaming “Color War!” But the room was far from silent. My class clowns made the occasional rooster crow and unnecessary hacking cough with a few chuckles to follow. Another student decided to use the louder of the two pencil sharpeners to sharpen his pencil for one whole minute. Another student smacked her bubble gum and three more students kept shushing everyone around them with a clear look of frustration on their faces. This was obviously not the ideal testing situation. Every day in schools around the world students are expected to demonstrate their knowledge of a particular subject matter…. but what if they were distracted? What if their test score is a reflection of how distracted they were as opposed to how much they know? Every day our children are held accountable for their test scores and we can only hope for an accurate representation. Our schools, our teachers and their future depend on it.
The next day the scores came in. I was disappointed. I spent the entire year teaching them fractions, decimals, multiplication and division and this is what they have to show for it? They performed so well on classwork, homework assignments and quizzes! Ah, the distractions. I decided to give them a second chance.
This time there would be no distractions. I am not going to get into the specifics here of how I did away with the distractions because each teacher and school has a different and unique system that works for them. You can have a Principal or proctor present, perhaps separate the class clowns, rearrange the seating, maybe create a behavior management system or an incentive program… whatever you decide. But suffice it to say that this time, less than a week later my 5th graders would receive the same test with the same time limitations but without the distractions. The results were shocking.
Most students at least doubled their scores.
When Suzie took the test the first time, she scored with 21 points which placed her in the “average” category. The testing company suggested continuing current programming. This was fine. With this score, no one is concerned or worried about the academic performance or the future of this student. But I knew she was much smarter than that. When she took the test the second time in a distraction-free environment, she scored a whopping 56. The testing company suggested that I consider her need for enrichment individualized instruction. Now that’s my Suzie.
When Mike, Sam and Gloria took the test the first time they scored below average. The testing company suggested that I further assess and consider individualized programming. Mike scored a 17, Sam scored a 15 and Gloria scored a 13. These were not my brightest students but I didn’t think they were below average. After all, they had a B average on all classwork, homework and quizzes. When they re-took the math computation test, all three students swiftly jumped from the “below-average” category and swan dove into the “average” category. Mike went from 17 to 29, Sam scored from 15 to 30 and Gloria went from 13 to 26. That’s more like it. I knew these were not below-average students.
There were two students with red flags next to their names on the first test. David who scored an 11 and Zack who scored a 1. David is a sweet student who was suffering from the distractions. Zack is a bright student who loves attention from his peers. They both scored in the “well below-average” category. The testing company suggested that I “begin immediate problem solving.” My jaw dropped. I knew that David was particularly sensitive to noise and that Zack was especially mischievous but “well below-average?” No way! These students are capable of much better. This was not an accurate representation of what they know. The second time they took the test, David jumped from an 11 to a 22. He skipped right over the “below-average” category and safely nestled himself in the “average” category. That-a-boy! Zack leapt from that sad 1 point to 18 points. He was now at the upper end of the “below-average” category. The biggest improvement of any student.  
But there was an unspoken question.
What if I didn’t give my students a second chance? I made them well aware that I didn’t have to and that most of the time in life, they won’t receive second chances. I did this because I wanted them to understand that it didn’t matter whether they were the student creating the distractions or the student suffering from the distractions. Everyone was negatively affected. Everyone was initially misrepresented by their own scores. We discussed what it means to responsible for our actions and how our actions affect others. Sometimes, even in the 5th grade, we need those reminders.
*All names have been changed to protect the identity of the students.