The Future of Assessment

I turned on the local news this weekend, and instead of hearing about snow, my ears perked up as I listened to a discussion about educational testing ....

"In 2001, the year that the tenth grade MCAS tests became a high-stakes requirement for graduation, Apple’s introduction of iTunes ® and iPods ®revolutionized the way that we purchase and listento music. A decade later, that same technology is still functional but seems archaic as the ways in which we consume music have continued to evolve. The iPod ® gave way to the iPhone ®, tablets, the cloud, and streaming music. Apple continues to sell songs and albums through iTunes, but Version 12.0 of iTunes released in October 2014 bears little resemblance to the iTunes of 2001. MCAS, in contrast, remains virtually unchanged since the release of Version 1.0 in 1998. To be sure, there have been upgrades and tweaks to the assessment system since then as well as refinements to the content to keep up with revisions to the state’s Curriculum Frameworks. But those have been incremental changes moving MCAS from Version 1.0 to 1.1, 1.2, etc. There has been no effort to build Version 2.0 of MCAS – a new state-of-the-art testing system fully aligned to the 2011 Curriculum Frameworks." - Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education (MBAE), February 2015

This quote from the MBAE reflects a report comparing MCAS and PARCC in terms of how well the tests measure student's preparedness for college and careers. In the fall of 2015, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) will vote whether we continue to administer MCAS, we adopt PARCC, or we do something entirely different. This spring, we will see 71 districts opt to administer PARCC, and those results will give us valuable information towards making that decision. In the meantime, reports such as the most recent above, lead me to believe we will see the sunset of MCAS.

What does this mean for our classrooms and our students? It is often said that what gets tested is what gets taught. A new generation of assessment, such as PARCC, will mean students taking assessments using technology. Assessments will test application of concepts, and will contain rigorous problems that reflect a deep conceptual understanding of the standards. In order for students to be prepared for such assessments, they need to be exposed to complex problems and to be given opportunities to engage in mathematical discourse on a deep level. The mathematics taught must be reflective of the depth and rigor as intended by the 2011 Standards.

Is it fair to compare MCAS to an outdated iPod? I'm not sure given that Masschusetts places among the highest ranking students in the US, and that is largely because of MCAS and all of the hard work that educators have done in preparing students for testing. Regardless, it is time to pull together to support students, teachers, and the larger community as we potentially move into this new era of assessment.