Who's grading your kids' assessment test in California?
California will spend nearly $240 million in three years to administer and score its new standardized test, the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress.
For that amount of money, one might expect certified teachers would be responsible for scoring portions of the exam that require students to answer with handwritten responses, rather than filling in bubbles.
However, KCRA 3's investigative unit has learned the vast majority of those who will be scoring the CAASPP are not teachers. In fact, some may not have any background in education.
More than 3 million students in grades 3 through 8 and grade 11 will take the new "Smarter Balanced" assessment in language arts and math.
Instead of giving multiple-choice answers, students must actually write essays and math equations to solve some problems. The handwritten answers require people, not just computers, to score the tests.
"The end goal is to have the most prepared and most qualified person grading this portion of the test," said Claudia Briggs, a spokeswoman for the California Teachers Association.
Briggs said she believes teachers would be most qualified to score the CAASPP. The hurdle is that the company administering the exam is offering to pay scorers $13 an hour.
Most teachers are passing on the work, deciding their time and expertise is worth more.
"(It's) not enough of a compensation for the work that is required of a professional who is highly trained, educated and who really has a high level of experience," Briggs said.
The state Board of Education is finalizing a three-year contract with Educational Testing Service that's valued at just less than $240 million.
ETS plans to hire and certify more than 6,000 scorers. The California Department of Education provided numbers that show as of last month, ETS had certified 3,777 people to score the exam.
Of that number, 31 scorers are teachers, fewer than 1 percent.
ETS has created recruitment flyers and posted with online job sites. The only requirement listed is a bachelor's degree, although it says teaching experience is preferred.
"No, you won't find the best people," said parent Jose Lopez, a critic of standardized testing. "You're finding people that are just coming off the street."
He is among a growing number of California parents "opting out" of the CAASPP and other standardized tests. Lopez is concerned by the scoring system because teachers have been removed from the process.
"If you're going to spend a lot of money on education, do the right thing," Lopez said. "Do what's correct for the students."
KCRA 3 was unable to connect with a spokesperson for ETS prior to the deadline for this story.
During the search for a contractor to administer the CAASPP, state educators received three bids. A panel of evaluators determined ETS had the highest score of the three, based on the criteria required. Who's grading your kids' assessment test in California? | Local News - KCRA Home: