k-2 assessments: with great choice comes great ... · k-2 assessments: with great choice comes...
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K-2 Assessments: With Great Choice Comes Great Responsibility
2017-2018
Arkansas Association of Educational AdministratorsSummer Conference : August 1, 2017
Why Is there a Choice?● Many districts in Arkansas have invested their own financial resources into
interim type tests for several years including assessments at Grades K-2.○ This plan will allow these districts to preserve their longitudinal data and
financial investment if the district chooses to do so, and the vendor is on the state-approved list.
● Districts are able to select the assessment from the state list that best meets their needs.
● The federal legislation, Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) allows choice regarding state required assessments.○ It seemed logical to pilot the idea of assessment choice at Grades K-2 where
there is no federal accountability. ○ If successful, it may be something that the ADE will scale-up in future years
at higher grades.
District Choice
❖ Districts must choose a vendor from the state approved list for K-2.
❖ The ADE will fully fund any of the assessments on the state approved list including all services and deliverables that are listed in the state contract.
➢ One caveat: Some of the vendors may offer additional tiered packages such as instructional resources, RTI, and/or additional assessments that are not part of the state contract. Any of these optional items purchased will be at the district expense.
What Are the Vendor Choices?❖ Istation
❖ NWEA
❖ Renaissance
Resources available on ADE LiveBinderhttp://www.livebinders.com/play/play?present=true&id=1851411
Choose Your Own Adventure: District Choice
❖ Districts must commit to using the vendor of their choice for three years regardless of any changes to school or district leadership.
➢ Longitudinal data is important when making decisions about student achievement.
Criteria for Districts to Consider❖ Cost to district
❖ Alignment to the Arkansas State Standards at Grades K-2➢ To what degree does the assessment meet your curriculum
needs?
❖ Quality of the test items
❖ Time requirements and flexibility to administer the assessment
❖ Available accessibility features and accommodations
Criteria for Districts to Consider❖ Ease of use of the online portal
❖ Technology requirements
❖ Usefulness of reports at the student, classroom, school, and district levels
❖ How the assessment will help support other state/district initiatives such as R.I.S.E., STEM, dyslexia, etc.
District Commitment Form❖ Commissioner’s Memo LS-18-001, 2017-2018 Required Testing
Commitment, was posted Friday, July 21.
❖ Each Superintendent must indicate their K-2 selected vendor. District Commitment Forms are due back to the ADE by Friday, August 11.
■ In order to keep our timelines in place, is is critical that districts return their Commitment Survey by the deadline.
Using the K-2 assessments appropriatelyWith Great Choice Comes Great Responsibility
What is the Purpose of the K-2 Assessments?❖ For Arkansas educators to receive actionable data in real
time as to how students are performing
❖ To make instructional decisions for students in terms of curriculum.
❖ To help determine which students may need remediation, intervention, and/or enrichment.
❖ It is NOT the intended purpose of K-2 interim assessments to compare student scores among districts.
Embedded Testing❖ Our goal at K-2 is that testing is no
longer a once a year event where everything in the school stops, but can be embedded as part of instruction.
Adaptive Testing Design❖ Testing for growth vs. testing for mastery of
content
➢ By design, students will be missing 25-50% of the test items
➢ Prepare your teachers
Increased Test Flexibility❖ The ADE is currently developing guidance
around the new online K-2 assessments.➢ Online adaptive testing should allow for
more flexibility in testing when K-2 students have behavior issues, meltdowns, and/or lack of attention spans.
Using the Data❖ Immediate results
❖ Used to drive instructional decisions
❖ Training after first admin
❖ Most important part of the process
Next Steps❖ District Commitment Forms are due back to the ADE by
Friday, August 11.
❖ Each vendor has agreed to release districts from any existing K-2 commitments.
❖ The ADE will hold all K-2 contracts
❖ Do NOT roster students/upload students until districts receive further guidance from the ADE.
❖ Be on the lookout for training/PD in late August-early September
ADE Contact Information❖ Hope Allen, Director of Assessment
Arkansas Department of Education
501-682-4558
❖ Sheree Baird, Assessment Specialist
Arkansas Department of Education
501-683-0902