Test-coaching company hopes to ease MCAS worries

Kaplan books point to growing role of tests

By Sandy Coleman, Globe Staff, 1/7/2000

s nail-biting over the MCAS intensifies, a company known nationally for helping students survive other standardized tests is stepping forward to do some hand-holding.

Kaplan, which offers books and classes to help students improve SAT and ACT scores, is now publishing books aimed at helping students and parents tackle the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System exam.

The new publications, the ''Parent's Guide to the MCAS for Grade 4'' and the ''No-Stress Guide to the 8th Grade MCAS,'' are designed to fill a void left by schools and the Department of Education, said Maureen McMahon, the publisher of Kaplan/Simon & Schuster and a driving force behind the books.

''Both schools and the Department of Education are providing practice questions and formal explanations of what the test is and what it measures,'' McMahon said. ''Our goal is to translate that into a simpler language and give it a friendlier coaching tone.''

The move highlights the increasing anxiety over MCAS, prompting private industry to start carving a niche around the test that the class of 2003 must pass to graduate.

However, some parents, educators, MCAS advocates, and critics worry that such help increases the pressure; creates access inequities; and inappropriately places the focus on getting through a test instead of learning the material.

Dori Burke, whose children attend school in Randolph, wonders whether the books, though inexpensive, will hamper those who may not have the resources to buy them.

''Everybody is not going to buy the books,'' she said.

The $5.95 parent's guide, already in stores, is a 64-page overview of the test that addresses the history of the test and presents sample questions as well as full-length explanations on how to arrive at correct answers.

The book also provides strategies for parents. Games like ''dictionary sprints'' ask students to race to find various words in the dictionary. It suggests parents read newspaper headlines with children so students can see how to capture the main ideas of stories to improve English comprehension scores.

The $8, 100-page no-stress guide for students is arriving in stores this month and is available on the Internet. It addresses effective test-taking strategies, including time management, eliminating wrong answers, and identifing clues using fun and humorous themes.

''The way the book is written is helping parents to develop a positive, confident approach to share with their kids,'' said Laura Sigman, a Kaplan spokeswoman. ''People are extremely overwhelmed by the exam. The key to success is to be comfortable.''

Kaplan also has published books to help parents with similar standardized tests in Florida, Texas, and New York. There are no guarantees offered of improved test scores.

James Caradonio, Worcester superintendent of schools, said he has noticed the market heating up among companies wanting to help students raise MCAS scores. At least three separate proposals have crossed his desk. (Needham-based Smarterkids.com even offers a Web site in which parents can plug in MCAS scores and get recommendations on educational products to boost them.)

Caradonio, who hasn't seen the Kaplan books yet, said he hasn't been impressed so far with other proposals, preferring not to name companies.

''The stuff that the state makes available is very good, and it's free and it's on the Internet,'' he said.

All's fair on the open market, said the state's education commissioner, David Driscoll.

''They [Kaplan] obviously see a public need and feel people will pay for it. Fine. I wish them luck,'' he said. ''But, I have a couple of concerns. One is that there is a limit to focusing on the test.

''We need to focus on the standards that are part of the test, but it has to be in the context of the overall school comprehensive program,'' he said.

The main problem, however, said Monty Neill, executive director of FairTest, is that ''this reinforces the whole mania on these tests. ... It gets people feeding into the process.'' FairTest, an assessment test watchdog, is a strong critic of the MCAS.

Debra Stotler, whose children attend school in Brighton, said she's all for the books if they ''will help the parents and teachers to teach the kids to think. But, if it's just to get through a test, well. ...''

On the other hand, Stotler believes the pressure to perform is going to be present with or without these new products on the market.

''It's almost like a curse we have to live with, and in that sense anything that can help is fine,'' she said.

This story ran on page B01 of the Boston Globe on 1/7/2000.
© Copyright 2000 Globe Newspaper Company.