Ohio's standardized test-makers preparing revisions
First year of PARCC testing was no picnic for Ohio schools
07:56 AM
As Ohio schools transition to new, tougher state tests, this is bound to be a trying year, experts say. Scheduling struggles, glitches on the online tests and other issues are going to come up in the first year, said Chad Aldeman, associate partner at Bellwether Education Partners, a nonprofit research and advisory group based in Washington. “It should be better as time passes and it starts to become more routine,” he said. But the tests could be axed before that happens
As state leaders consider changing or dumping new student assessments, the consortium of states that developed some of the exams is planning to streamline them.
The governing board of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career (PARCC) will consider recommendations in the coming weeks to shorten the time students spend taking standardized tests. A final decision is expected by mid- to late summer.
“We have heard what you all are saying,” Jeff Nellhaus, chief of assessments for PARCC, told members of a Senate advisory committee on student testing last week.
“We’re definitely addressing the testing-time issue.”
The PARCC governing board, which includes Ohio schools Superintendent Richard A. Ross, is expected to consider a proposal to combine two blocks of testing, one in the fall and another in the spring. Individual tests also could be shortened.
The tests for English/language arts and math currently take up to 10 hours, depending on the grade level.
Whether such changes will appease state lawmakers and local educators remains to be seen.
“I don’t know that they can be salvaged,” said Rep. Andrew Brenner, a Powell Republican and leading critic. “We have other options. PARCC isn’t the only thing out there.”
Brenner has introduced a bill that would give districts more control over testing options and limit end-of-course exams.
Senate advisory panel chairwoman Peggy Lehner, R-Kettering, shares concerns about PARCC exams and wants changes made, but she has stopped short of saying Ohio should get rid of them. Her committee will make recommendations next month.
PARCC is a consortium of 12 states, including Ohio, and the District of Columbia that developed assessments based on new Common Core standards.
Participating states began using the tests this year, and they quickly came under fire in Ohio and elsewhere for being too hard and too time-consuming.
Critics say the tests cut into classroom instruction, and because test results are unavailable until the next fall, they are of little help to teachers. There also have been complaints about computer glitches with the exams, which are designed to be given online.
Republican leaders in the House added a provision to the proposed state budget last week to dump PARCC. Lawmakers pointed to a survey commissioned by the Senate advisory committee that found 80 percent of more than 16,500 superintendents, principals and teachers “disagree” or “strongly disagree” that time spent to administer new assessments was appropriate.
“This thing is a mess,” Brenner said, citing the poll results.
If Ohio dumps PARCC, it would have to replace the exams or risk losing about $750 million in federal education aid. Under federal law, states must assess students in English/language arts and math in grades 3-8 and again in high school.
In his budget proposal, Gov. John Kasich called for a 20 percent reduction in the average time students spend taking standardized Ohio's standardized test-makers preparing revisions | The Columbus Dispatch: