This resource sponsored by Intel Education Copyright © 2016 K-12 Blueprint. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others Four Pathways to Implementing Online Assessment in the U.S.

Background Copyright © 2016 K-12 Blueprint. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided $350 million in assessment funding In February 2010, six state consortia existed, with most states involved in more than one Ultimately, two consortia competed for the bulk of the funding, the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium and the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) Both planned to administer computer-based tests, but only SMARTER Balanced group would use “computer adaptive” technology

SETDA Case Studies Copyright © 2016 K-12 Blueprint. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others ●In the school year approximately 40 states used new online student assessments from PARCC and Smarter Balanced ●The State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) sought to prepare states for the rollout of online assessments ●SETDA provided case studies that chronicle the experience four states have had implementing online assessments – Delaware, Idaho, North Carolina and Virginia

Delaware Copyright © 2016 K-12 Blueprint. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others Began testing online in 2010 State faced a contract expiration with Delaware Student Testing Program (DSTP) DSTP was paper-and-pencil based, returned summative data annually, typically several months after students completed exams A taskforce of teachers, administrators, lawmakers, business leaders and Department of Education personnel identified two priorities: immediate scoring, and the ability to track data over time The Assessment Task Force’s priorities led to the recommendation for a shift to online assessment

North Carolina Copyright © 2016 K-12 Blueprint. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others Launched statewide online summative assessments in 2012 One of the first states to provide no cost scalable Internet access to all public schools statewide Saw benefits of new online assessments Universal design Increased accessibility One-item per test page Large font Virtual highlighter, calculator Computer reads test aloud – student controlled accommodation Technology-enhanced/interactive items

Idaho Copyright © 2016 K-12 Blueprint. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others Launched statewide online summative assessments in 2003 Move to full online assessment followed the recommendation of a ten-member committee made up of business leaders and educators The committee held meetings across the state to hear what constituents wanted from statewide assessments Faced communication challenges during rollout of the initial online system; communication from various departments were not always aligned

Virginia Copyright © 2016 K-12 Blueprint. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others Launched statewide online summative assessments in 2005 The 2000 Standards of Learning (SOL) Technology Initiative laid the foundation for online testing in the state Interest in online testing spread quickly after early adopters observed students’ preference to test online during the fall of 2001

School Year Copyright © 2016 K-12 Blueprint. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others Approximately 40 states used new online student assessments from PARCC and Smarter Balanced New tests based on the deeper, more rigorous Common Core State Standards Substantially different from previous test Contain computer-based items, require significant writing, include simulations, and test higher-order thinking skills in new ways Implementation requires both a substantial infrastructure and a human capacity effort involving careful planning and ample communication Source: