Julie Quinn Computer-Based Assessments Specialist Utah State Office of Education 1

 27 Multiple Choice CRTs ◦Grades 3 – 11 English language arts ◦Grades 3 – 7 math, Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2 ◦Grades 4 – 8 science, Earth Systems Science, Physics, Chemistry, Biology  Direct Writing Assessment ◦Grades 5 and 8 ◦Plus formative tool available year-round, grades 5 & 8  Utah Test Item Pool Service (UTIPS) ◦Formative tool – USOE item pool and/or educator items ◦Available year-round to all content areas, K-12 ◦Facilitates local benchmark/interim tests

 41 Districts, 81 Charter Schools  530,000 students  Lowest per-pupil spending in nation Infrastructure  50% Windows, 40% Macintosh, 10% Linux  Strong technical skills among LEAs ◦Wireless, thin clients, multiplied workstations  Utah Education Network ◦ISP for districts and secondary schools, some charter schools ◦Few elementary schools with a single T1 line

YearParticipation Rate Number Of CRTs Administered – 8%Max 90, %92, %495, %659, % Projected 815,000 Projected

YearKey Events 2001All 27 CRTs available online 2004UTIPS available online 2004 & 2007 One-time legislative funding, focused on hardware acquisition 2007CBT Summit – to define state vision 2009Change in CBT vendor

YearKey Events 2009 & 2010 CAT pilot available as local LEA assessment option 2010Change in CRT development vendor (ELA & math) 2010Shorter CRTs, embedded pilot items 2010Text-to-speech pilot, embedded within CRTs 2010Innovative item research & small-scale pilot 2010DWA online with AI scoring

 Hardware + Software + Test items & forms + Bandwidth + Local configurations + Student preparation + Test administration procedures = Testing experience  It’s not just a new test – it’s an ambitious technology implementation project  Different skills needed to support testing ◦Cleaning answer documents vs. technical support ◦Different and more preparation prior to testing

 Low tolerance for interruptions ◦Browser loading of pages ◦System interruptions  Aging infrastructure ◦One-time funding creates “bubbles” ◦HVAC, electrical upgrades needed ◦Participation tied to what is physically possible  Balancing innovation with stability ◦Item types and accessibility impact on system ◦What are LEAs purchasing? Can it be supported?

 What is standardized presentation?  PBT version of the CBT format  Change in vendor/software  LEA configurations (e.g., screen resolution)  What is comparable?  Year to year  Form to form  Redesigning processes to be CBT-centric, while still producing PBT  Development QA timeline is different

 Require industry best practices for software development and deployment  Clear communication with all parties ◦Assessment and Technology brainstorming, preparing, and resolving problems together  Plan for crisis management ◦There will be problems ◦Philosophy shift to “not if, but when”  Set clear expectations for participation ◦What is voluntary? Flexibility for LEAs? ◦Each school CAN do something

 All efforts focused on lowest risk implementation  Solid LEA and school readiness checklists ◦Compare system technical specifications to LEA reported configurations to what is actually used  Strong support for issue resolution ◦Separate policy issues from system training and technical troubleshooting issues ◦Well defined tier 1, 2 and 3 support ◦Local configuration vs. system-wide problems ◦How to respond to administration anomalies

 Long-term vision for assessments ◦More options for validly assessing students  Students more engaged  Student results in teacher hands faster  Technology resources available to support instruction  CBT shines light on many issues ◦Test administration processes and ethics ◦Appropriate accommodations ◦SIS system and course scheduling ◦Better picture of technology infrastructure

 More time to spend on what to do because of the data instead of generating the data ◦Automatic scoring & use of artificial intelligence  Increases assessment literacy ◦What do good questions look like? ◦How can we make our questions better?  Easier to tailor assessments to instruction and student needs  Encourages conscious alignment of individual assessments to curriculum, K-12 ◦Why am I asking this question?

Julie Quinn Computer-Based Assessments Specialist Utah State Office of Education