Pushing the Envelope:
Technology & the New Assessments
Author: Rick Phelan
Published: 03.18.13
California high stakes testing is in transition. With the end of STAR in 2013-14, out go high-stakes multiple-choice tests with pencils and paper ... and in comes a new era of statewide accountability measures with computer-based assessments. The Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium (SBAC) is working with California and 28 other states to make the switch.
California Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) assessments evaluated student knowledge and mastery based on 1997 California Standards. Students in grades 2-11 were assessed every spring in various content areas. Test items for English Language Arts and Math can be seen here.
Starting in the 2014-15 school year, higher-order thinking skills focusing on Common Core Standards will be assessed through a computer interface being designed by SBAC. Scientific pilots are taking place now with different demographic groups to evaluate question items for the new assessments. Computer assessment items with the SBAC involve:
- Composing and editing ideas online
- Analyzing and synthesizing information using visual displays
- Interacting with online simulations
- Using online calculators/spreadsheets
- Completing performance tasks that involve online components
Reflections on the New Testing
Teachers, parents, and community members can get a sense of what new test items are like on the SBAC website:
SBAC Test Items: English Language Arts
SBAC Test Items: Mathematics
As educators review sample SBAC items, questions are emerging about student abilities to carry out tasks with computers. Is the SBAC measuring technology skills or common core content areas?
Many schools are reflecting on their current practices with technology wondering if their curriculum and technology activities are sufficiently robust. Some are looking more deeply at the International Society for Technology National Educational Technology Standards for students, teachers, and administrators and thinking about the need for more articulation and alignment.
Patricia Deubel sums up this thinking when she states, “Educators cannot teach one way, test another way, and expect positive outcomes.” See her T.H.E. Journal article, Are We Ready for Testing Under Common Core State Standards?, for more insight on this issue.
Blog: Technology for Learners
