Under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), states now have greater flexibility regarding accountability and how to assess student learning. States are still required to test students in math, English language arts, and science at least once in high school, but now they can choose between continuing to deliver a state-designed test or adopting a “nationally recognized state assessment.” This might include tests used by multiple states that are also widely accepted by institutions of higher education (like the ACT or SAT) or tests created by consortium of states, such as Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers.
To help states navigate this transition, Education First’s High-Quality Assessment Project (HQAP) recently commissioned a brief that frames key choices and tradeoffs that states should consider in selecting their high school assessments. Although it might sound desirable in theory to streamline high school assessments into one single test (almost half of all states currently require students to take the ACT or SAT at some point during high school), author and assessment expert Erin O’Hara encourages policy makers and educators to ask several important high-level questions: What is each test intended to measure (high school content knowledge or college readiness)? What authority might states have over non-state-specific (or state-developed) tests? And how can states ensure that tests are objective, valid, and fair for all students, including those with disabilities or difficulty learning English? Under each of these “big-picture” issues, the report also lays out more detailed questions to examine. For example, how well aligned is each test is to an individual state’s academic standards? How much does each state value continuity in testing across elementary, middle, and high school? And which test will provide the most useful or important information to teachers and parents about student performance?
As Fordham stressed in our recent evaluation of several “next-generation” Common Core assessments (also funded by HQAP), selecting a state test is all about tradeoffs on administration time, cost, interstate comparability, and overall alignment to standards. States should carefully consider their priorities and the various pros and cons of each assessment before selecting their high school tests. And this thoughtful brief will help leaders do exactly that.
SOURCE: Erin O’Hara, “Choices and Trade-offs: Key Questions for State Policymakers when Selecting High School Assessments,” Education First, High-Quality Assessment Project (May 2016).
