Hawaii educators will get test-heavy as part of Race to the Top assessment program

HONOLULU—Test makers are finding a way to follow up on money funded through the U.S. Department of Education’s Race to the Top program, a $4.35 billion nation-wide effort to dramatically re-shape America’s educational system. The State of Hawaii is receiving $75 million as part of phase 2 of the Race to the Top competition

The 31-state SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC), of which Hawaii is one of 17 decision-making states, was awarded a four-year $160 million Race to the Top assessment grant today by the U.S. Department of Education to create a student assessment system. The assessments are needed to allow for comparison between schools and students in different states receiving Race to the Top funding. Tests involved in the assessments, which provide scores immediately back to the teacher, are also intended to be used for improved teacher accountability and to help identify educators’ professional development needs.

SBAC was one of two consortia awarded a comprehensive assessment system grant. It’s the first collaboration of its kind to develop a common assessment system among a majority of states.

The goal of SBAC is to ensure that all students leaving high school are college and career ready. The plan is to create online exams using “open source” technology. The online system will provide accurate assessment information to teachers and others on the progress of all students, including those with disabilities, English language learners, and low- and high-performing students. The system will include:

* Required summative exams (offered twice each school year)
* Optional formative, or benchmark, exams
* A variety of tools, processes and practices for teachers to use in planning and implementing informal, ongoing assessment. This will assist teachers in understanding what students are and are not learning on a daily basis so they can adjust instruction accordingly.

“The immediate assessment results will provide teachers the information they need to adapt their instruction to the needs of each student,” said Judy Park of Utah, co-chair of the newly elected SBAC executive committee. “Those results will also improve student motivation during the testing process and help students better understand their current knowledge and skills.”

Throughout the year, students will have the option to take formative exams, which provide guidance to teachers about instructional milestones. The goal is for students who score well on specific learning standards earlier in the school year not to be tested on those standards later on an end-of-the-year test because they’ve already demonstrated proficiency.

SBAC’s assessment system will be tied to the Common Core State Standards, an initiative led by the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association to create a consistent and clear set of learning standards for K-12 in English and math that all states can use. States in the consortium must agree to adopt the Common Core State Standards by the end of 2011. States still in the consortium in 2014-15 must agree to use the consortium’s tests as their accountability assessments.

The SBAC tests will measure the full range of the common core standards in grades 3 to 8 and 11, including assessing problem solving and complex thinking skills. Teachers in participating states will be involved at all stages of item and test development, including writing, scoring, and the design of reporting systems. Educators will also be able to access a reporting system that identifies each student’s strengths, weakness, and progress toward college and career readiness.

Funding for the assessment grant will begin October 1. As one of the governing SBAC states, Hawaii will begin its work by conducting an assessment framework study, meaning the group will analyze the common core standards at each grade level to determine what skills are able to be tested. The bulk of the test development work will be conducted in spring 2011.

For more information about the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium, visit http://www.k12.wa.us/SMARTER.