STATE STANDARDIZED
ASSESSMENTS
History of K-12 Assessment
1969
The National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP)
administered for the first time, Florida participated in the assessment.
1971
The Educational Accountability Act of 1971 implemented the
Statewide Assessment Program.
1976
The Educational Accountability Act of 1976 authorized the nation’s
first high stakes graduation test; however, the Debra P. v. Turlington
court case delayed implementation of this requirement until the
graduating class of 1982-83.
1992
The Florida Writing Assessment Program began and the Grade 10
Assessment Test was first administered.
1998
The FCAT was administered statewide for the first time at select grade
levels in reading and mathematics.
2001
FCAT Reading and Mathematics were expanded to grades 3-10.
2002
Grade 3 retention requirements became effective for students scoring
Level 1 on FCAT Reading.
2003
FCAT Science was administered statewide for the first time. First high school
graduating class required to pass Grade 10 FCAT Reading and Mathematics.
2006
The Fall FCAT Retake was Florida’s first computer-based test administration
and was administered to schools and districts that volunteered to participate.
2011
FCAT 2.0 developed to measure student mastery of Next Generation Sunshine
State Standards
• FCAT 2.0 administered statewide for the first time in reading and
mathematics.
Florida End-of-course (EOC) assessment program began with the spring
administration of the Algebra 1 End-of-course Assessment.
2012
FCAT 2.0 Science and the Geometry and Biology 1 End-of-course Assessments
were first administered.
2013
The U.S. History End-of-course Assessment administered for the first time.
2014
The Civics EOC Assessment will be administered for the first time.
3
Why Does Florida Need an Assessment Tied
to the Standards?
• Florida’s assessments are required to be aligned to
Florida’s content standards
– Measure what you teach
• Provide information to students and parents - are students
on grade level and have they mastered the standards?
• Provide information to teachers – have their students
mastered the standards taught?
• Provides information to use in the state’s accountability
systems
• Key Reminder: In 2014-15, Florida’s third graders will have
been taught only the Common Core state standards since
kindergarten.
4
Key Criteria for Selecting Assessments
• Assessment is aligned to the standards
• Provide meaningful information for parents and
teachers
• Timely reporting of results
• Valid and reliable for a variety of purposes (e.g.:
promotion, graduation, accountability)
• Quality test items and tasks
• Testing time
• Cost
• Technology requirements/ paper-based options
• Comparability of Florida’s results with those of other
states
Three Assessment Options
• Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and
Careers (PARCC)
– Consortium of states funded through Race to the Top Grant.
– Assessment development work by contractors is led and
reviewed by states.
– Nationwide field testing is scheduled for spring 2014 with full
assessments available in spring 2015
• Custom Assessment
– Designed by Florida and developed by a contractor overseen by
the department and reviewed by Florida educators.
– Field testing in Florida for use in operational assessment
• “Shelf” or “Semi-Shelf” Assessment Product
– A number of assessment developers have indicated that “shelf”
products may be available to assess the common core standards
– These products may allow for some state customization
– Some states are buying or intend to buy these types of
assessments.
PARCC - Advantages
• Florida K-12 and higher education faculty and
staff, and department staff, have been key
contributors, and would continue to be part of
the work.
• External validation of item quality and very high
degree of alignment of items to standards
• Timely and meaningful reports are anticipated
• Economies of scale - Shared costs and access to
best national expertise in numerous areas
• Results can be compared to other PARCC states
• Paper-based option available for first year
PARCC - Disadvantages
• Approximately twice the testing time of FCAT 2.0 in Grades
3-8, and Grades 9 and 10 Reading
• PARCC End-of-Course (EOC) tests are about 1 hour longer
than Florida EOCs
• Higher costs than for comparable FCAT 2.0 tests/ EOCs. Will
be somewhat higher if fewer states remain in PARCC.
Florida will likely use paper-based tests at some grades,
further increasing costs.
• Paper and pencil option may not be available for as long as
needed
• Although PARCC is state led, initial design and any
adjustments to major aspects require federal approval until
the grant ends in late 2014.
• Governance and purchasing process for 2015 and beyond
still to be determined.
Custom Assessment - Advantages
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
9
Long Florida history of quality custom assessments
Customized to measure the standards Florida uses
Florida has the capacity to continue to perform this work.
Timely and meaningful student and teacher reports
completely customized for Florida
More opportunity for extensive engagement by Florida
stakeholders in every aspect of design, development and
scoring of performance tasks
More control over cost and testing time
More control over technical qualities that ensure the
strength of the assessment as a measurement tool
More control over standard setting
More control over technology requirements
Paper-based option would be required to meet state needs.
Custom Assessments - Disadvantages
• Reduced comparability of results with other states
• Would not have access to other states’ resources
and national experts as PARCC does
• Reduced purchasing power
10
‘Shelf’ or ‘Semi-Shelf’ Assessment –
Advantages
• Comparability of results with other states
using the assessment
• May allow for engagement by Florida
stakeholders in design, development and
scoring of performance tasks
• Some control over cost and testing time
• Paper-based option would be required
• Timely and meaningful reports would be
required
‘Shelf’ or ‘Semi-Shelf’ Assessment –
Disadvantages
• Number, quality and alignment of assessments an
unknown
• Little or no Florida input into student field test
statistics, initial test design, or initial item
development
• May have less control over standard setting
• Comparability with other states and amount of
cost savings depend on how many states adopt
the assessment.
• Exact technology requirements unknown
Moving Forward
• State Standard Assessments - Assessments that
replace FCAT 2.0 and associated EOCs must
accurately measure mastery of the more
challenging standards that will be taught to our
students, provide timely and meaningful
performance information, and must be cost
effective.