Education professionals from around the country met in Louisiana this week to talk about the “next generation” of student assessment tests.
More than 30 states – including Michigan – are part the Smarter Balanced Assessment Coalition, which received $176 million from the federal government to develop these new tests.
The online English and Math tests will be rolled out in 2014. The state will still use the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) and Michigan Merit Examination (MME) to test students in science and social studies, as well as students with cognitive disabilities.
Joseph Martineau is with the Michigan Department of Education and was the the National Council on Measurement in Education conference in Louisiana.
He says the new tests will not just be “end-of-year” high stakes tests. He says there will also be "interim assessments throughout the year so that people can track the progress of their students."
Martineau calls the tests "game changers" because of their focus on higher-order thinking skills:
"Things like analyzing data or synthesizing something to create an argument, or doing a project that requires you to do some problem solving while you’re doing the task. Things like that that are typically costly for us to create on a test."
The new tests will be for Michigan students in third through eighth grade, and eleventh grade.
Pilot testing will begin in 2012.
