Next Generation of Assessments

1. Next Generation of Assessments June 25, 2014 > www.education.state.pa.us

2. Title 22. Education • Part I. State Board of Education • Chapter 4. Academic Standards and Assessment • The purpose of this chapter is to establish rigorous academic standards and assessments, applicable only to the public schools of the commonwealth, to facilitate the improvement of student achievement and to provide parents and communities a measure by which school performance can be determined. > www.education.state.pa.us

3. Chapter 4. Standards • PA Core Standards • Academic standards for English language arts and mathematics based upon a Nationwide, state-led process coordinated by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers and in collaboration with teachers, content experts and other education stakeholders. The standards define the knowledge and skills students should have within their K-12 education careers so that they will graduate high school able to succeed in entry-level, credit-bearing academic college courses and in work-force training programs. > www.education.state.pa.us

4. Chapter 4. Assessment • Assessment Defined • A valid and reliable measurement of student performance on a set of academic standards in a subject area that captures student understanding of the set as a whole and the central concepts, knowledge and skills of each content area. > www.education.state.pa.us

5. Chapter 4. Assessment • Assessments Identified • The state assessment system shall include PSSA assessments and Keystone Exams. • The board will not include national assessments as part of the state assessment system . . . • Pennsylvania is a local control state. • Opposition to Common Core Standards and national assessments > www.education.state.pa.us

6. Assessment • Assessment Challenge • Grades 3 – 8 PSSA • Prior to 2014-15, aligned to PA Academic Content Standards • Math, Reading, Writing, Science • Beginning in 2014-15, aligned to new PA Core Standards • Math, English Language Arts • Science still aligned to PA Academic Content Standards > www.education.state.pa.us

7. Assessment • Assessment Challenge • Challenge one • Math PA Core standards are more rigorous than PA Academic Content Standards • How to compare 2014-15 results to 2013-14 results? • Challenge two: • Reading and writing now one assessment (ELA) • ELA PA Core standards are more rigorous than PA Academic standards for reading and writing • How to compare 2014-15 ELA results to 2013-14 reading results/ writing results? • Writing previously administered only in grades 5 and 8 > www.education.state.pa.us

8. Assessment • Assessment Challenge • Challenge three • Chapter 4 provides the right to parents/guardians to review any state assessment prior to the administration, and if the parent guardian finds the assessment to be in conflict with his/her religious beliefs, the parent/guardian may opt his/her child out of taking the assessment • In 2013-14 Pennsylvania parents/guardians found religion! > www.education.state.pa.us

9. Assessment • Accountability • School Performance Profile (SPP) • Assigns every school a score from 0 to 100 • 40% of this score comes from state assessment achievement • Because 2014-15 assessments are more rigorous, assessment scores are likely to be lower in 2015, causing SPP scores to be lower in 2015 • 40% of this score comes from value added growth • Because 2014-15 assessments are more rigorous, assessment scores are likely to be lower in 2015, greatly decreasing the ability to demonstrate growth in 2015 > www.education.state.pa.us

10. Assessment • Next Generation Assessment Challenge • PA is attempting to move to online testing • In 2012-13, fewer than 2% of students tested online • In 2013-14, fewer than 2% of students tested online > www.education.state.pa.us

11. Assessment • Next Generation Assessment Challenge • Test security • Test Administrator training • Certificates • Increased monitoring • Scrambled items • Data Forensics > www.education.state.pa.us