Parent Center
Gateway Questions and Answers
| Q: | What are the Gateway tests? |
| A: | The Gateway tests are end-of-course tests in English II, Algebra I, and Biology which Tennessee students must pass as part of the requirements for earning a high school diploma. |
| Q: | Will all students be required to take the Gateway tests to earn a regular diploma upon graduation from high school? |
| A: | Yes, once the requirement goes into effect, it applies to all students who intend to graduate with a regular diploma. The tests will also be made available to students in state-approved private schools. |
| Q: | How will the requirement be applied to special education students? |
| A: | Special education students who successfully complete their Individualized Educational Program (IEP) and pass the three Gateway tests will earn a regular high school diploma. If they complete their IEP and fail any of the tests, they will be issued a special education diploma upon graduation. |
| Q: | Will other end-of-course tests be required? |
| A: | The 1992 Education Improvement Act called for end-of-course tests to be developed for all high school subjects. This could have ranged from 40-65 different tests. To make this testing requirement more manageable, the legislation was changed in 1998 to give the State Board of Education the authority, subject to approval by the Education Oversight Committee, to determine which high school subjects would be tested. |
| Q: | Why were English II, Algebra I and Biology chosen as the graduation requirements? |
| A: | These are fundamental subjects research has determined students need most in order to succeed in college and the workplace. They are taken early during the high school years so students who fail to make a passing score have additional time to prepare to retake the tests. |
| Q: | All students already must take U.S. History. Why isn't this a Gateway requirement? |
| A: | Most systems delay teaching U.S. History until a student's junior or senior year so it is taught too late in the high school curriculum to be a Gateway course. There is not sufficient time for school systems to remediate and re-test those who do not pass the test. |
| Q: | How will the scores on the end-of-course tests be used? |
| A: | The test results will provide students, schools and school systems valuable information on how well their students are being prepared. To give students a stake in the outcome, State Board policy calls for students' end-of-course test scores to be made a part of their grades for those subjects. This may range from about 10% to 25% (specific range to be determined). Local boards will likely adopt systemwide policies on the specific percentage an end-of-course score will count as part of a student's overall grade. This will be a system-wide decision, not an individual teacher's decision. |
| Q: | If a student fails a Gateway test, will that mean the student fails the course? |
| A: | No, the end-of-course tests, including those for the Gateway subjects, will only count as part of the course grade. |
| Q: | How many times may a student take the Gateway tests? |
| A: | Students will be given additional opportunities throughout their high school career -- during the school year and in the summer -- to retake any of the Gateway tests failed. |
| Q: | Will remediation be available before a student retakes one of the Gateway tests? |
| A: | Schools must provide some type of remedial effort for a student who fails a Gateway test. This could range from before or after school tutoring, summer school remediation, or taking a more appropriate course. For example, a student who passes Algebra I but fails the test could go on and take Algebra II, but the school would have to provide some type of remediation for the Algebra I test. |
| Q: | What if a student fails a Gateway course but passes the test? |
| A: | The student would have to retake the course in order to earn the credit. |
| Q: | If a student passes a Gateway course, but has to retake the corresponding Gateway test, will an improved test score be used to improve the course grade? |
| A: | This has not yet been determined. It may be left up to local board grading policy. |
| Q: | What types of testing data will the state produce from the end-of-course testing program? |
| A: | In addition to individual student, school and system results, once three years of data are available, the test data will be used as part of the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment system to produce cumulative gains for students, teachers, schools and systems. |
| Q: | How is the Department of Education helping teachers and administrators prepare their students for the new Gateway requirements? |
| A: | The department has established committees of practicing classroom teachers in middle grades, Biology, English II, Algebra I and corresponding vocational courses to define what the tests will look like and to take the Gateway curriculum from broad-based learning expectations to very specific Performance Indicators. These Gateway frameworks incorporating the Performance Indicators have been placed on the Department of Education's Web site at http://www.state.tn.us/education/cicurframwkmain.htm and http://170.142.130.39/gate/. The goal was to make certain that there are reasonable expectations for each of these subjects and that they are aligned as closely as possible with the assessments currently being used in grades 6-8 in terms of asking students to apply information, problem solving and higher order thinking skills. |
| Q: | Will any training or professional development be available? |
| A: | During the summer of 1999, the Department of Education is holding six leadership institutes for selected educators. These will be four-and-a-half days that provide an intensive look at the Performance Indicators and strategies for delivering this information to local school systems. Each school system has been invited to nominate one teacher per discipline to attend these institutes. |
| Q: | What can teachers, parents, guidance counselors and administrators do to help prepare students to do well on these tests? |
| A: | School administrators are encouraged to put some of their best teachers in these Gateway courses and to place teachers with strong English, math and science backgrounds in sixth, seventh and eighth grade classes. Guidance counselors will need to advise students appropriately to ensure they are ready for these courses and the exams. The Department of Education is providing counselors some possible alternative paths. For example, students may continue to take Math for Technology I and II; Math for Technology II students will take the same end-of-course test as the Algebra I students. Biology for Technology students will take the same end-of-course test as the Biology students. Teachers and parents need to make sure that all students, beginning with this year's seventh graders, are aware of the new testing requirements. |
| Q: | What happens to the current Competency Test requirement? |
| A: | Students graduating through the spring of 2004 will be required to take and pass both parts of the Competency Test, which is first administered when they are in ninth grade. Once the new Gateway testing requirement goes into effect, it will replace the Competency Test for students graduating in the spring of 2005 and thereafter. |
| Q: | When do students first take the new Gateway and end-of-course tests? |
| A: | Students will take the tests after they have completed the corresponding course. |
| Q: | When will the new tests be developed? |
| A: | In May 1999, the Tennessee Department of Education sent out a request for proposals for developing and field-testing items during the 1999-2000 school year for the three Gateway tests. The tests were administered on a no-fault basis for data gathering purposes in 2000-01 and was first administered "for real" to students during with the 2001-02 school year. |
| Q: | Algebra I is a middle grades course in many Tennessee schools. When will these students take the Algebra I test? |
| A: | Entering freshmen in 2005-06 who completed Algebra I in middle school will be able to take the Algebra I test whenever it is administered in 2005-06. In subsequent years, Algebra I students will be able to take the test after completing the course, whether it is in middle school or high school. |
| Q: | What if a student passes the Algebra I Gateway test in middle school, then moves to a school system where Algebra I is only offered in high school? Will the test still count? |
| A: | Once a Gateway test is passed, the student will not have to take it for a graduation requirement again. The score will follow the student. |
| Q: | When was the English II Gateway test first required for students? |
| A: | The English II test was first administered to tenth graders taking English II during 2002-03. |
| Q: | How will the new tests compare with existing tests Tennessee students take? |
| A: | The new high school assessments will be closely aligned with the TerraNova Tests in English, Math and Science in grades 6-8 as far as the focus is on higher order thinking skills and problem-solving skills. The state has also reviewed the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), ACT Assessment and National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) high school assessments to assure that there is consistency. We won't be able to compare the new scores with scores from the previous end-of-course tests in math, but the new tests will be used to produce value-added results using the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment system. |
| Q: | Tell me more about the Performance Indicators for the three Gateway subjects. |
| A: | The Performance Indicators will help define the new Gateway tests. They are written in three levels of difficulty. Level I skills are foundation skills that should have been introduced to students earlier in their school career. Level II Performance Indicators are at the heart of these courses and where the course content will focus. Level III Performance Indicators contain advanced skills. The test questions based on these indicators will not count against a student but can give students bonus points. |
| Q: | Will Performance Indicators be developed for the other seven courses to be tested? |
| A: | The Department will phase in development of the Performance Indicators for the other seven courses to be tested. All of these should be on the Web site. |
| Q: | What are the next end-of-course tests to be developed? |
| A: | The next tests to be developed will be for English I and the three remaining math courses; then will come the science and history tests. |
| Q: | What about teaching the rest of the curriculum frameworks? |
| A: | Teachers should cover the full curriculum. They will be responsible for teaching the entire course, not just specific objectives. |
Page Created By: Allison Olmstead
Updated By: Allison Olmstead
Last Updated: May 2007