South Carolina part of two state groups getting $330 million to overhaul testing
September 6, 2010
WASHINGTON, DC – September 6, 2010 – SouthCarolina is part of two groups of states that are getting $330 millionin federal grants over the next four years to develop a new generationof tests.
The tests will be aligned to the Common Core Standards that wererecently spearheaded by the nation’s governors and chief state schoolofficers, and which have been adopted by South Carolina and 36 otherstates. More states are expected to adopt them by year’s end.
The assessments will gauge students’ knowledge of mathematics andEnglish language arts from third grade through high school, according toU.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. They will be computer-basedand, unlike multiple-choice exams, will measure higher-order skillsincluding students’ ability to read complex text, synthesize informationand do research projects.
About $160 million is going to the SMARTER Balanced AssessmentConsortium (SBAC) with Washington State as the fiscal agent, while $170million was awarded to the Partnership for the Assessment of Readinessfor College and Careers (PARCC) with Florida as the fiscal agent. Anumber of states have overlapping membership in the two consortiainvolving a total of 44 states.
SBAC, working on behalf of 31 states, will focus on computer adaptivetechnology that asks students tailored questions based on their previousanswers. SBAC will continue to use one test at the end of the year foraccountability purposes, but will create a series of interim tests usedto inform students, parents and teachers about whether students are ontrack.
The PARCC coalition of 26 states will focus on testing students’
ability to read complex text, complete research projects, excel atclassroom speaking and listening assignments and work with digitalmedia.
PARCC will replace the one end-of-year high stakes accountability testwith a series of assessments throughout the year that will be averagedinto one score for accountability purposes, reducing the weight given toa single test administered on a single day and providing valuableinformation to students and teachers throughout the year.
The two groups are supposed to work in a friendly competition. Theirproposals have many similarities but are not identical in approach orphilosophy. Duncan said the new assessments are not pilot programs, butwill be implemented in participating states by the 2014-15 school year.
“Both of these proposals seek to be proactive in tracking studentprogress,” said State Superintendent Jim Rex. “Our state will make adecision about consortia membership – to remain a member of one orneither – after our new governor and superintendent come into office inJanuary. If we opt out, we would continue to administer ourstate-developed tests based on the Common Core Standards.”
Duncan set aside $350 million from the billions that Congress voted lastyear for the Race to the Top grant competition to finance the testinginitiative. The government has not yet said what it will do with the$20 million not awarded to either group of states.
