Testing - Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury

Every Student Succeeds does not change No Child Left Behind's testing schedule. ... recognized test in high school (such as the SAT or ACT) in lieu of state ... SkiptoMainContent Section CloseMenu PrintThisPage GotoHome|TennesseeComptrolleroftheTreasury AboutUs AboutUs ComptrolleroftheTreasuryJasonE.Mumpower ComptrollerEmeritusJustinP.Wilson LearnAboutOurOffice PublicRecordsRequests OfficeFunctions OfficeFunctions StateAudit LocalGovernmentAudit Investigations PropertyAssessments StateAssessedProperties StateGovernmentFinance LocalGovernmentFinance ResearchandEducationAccountability OpenRecordsCounsel SmallBusinessAdvocate HigherEducationResourceOfficer Boards Boards StateBoardofEqualization StateFundingBoard TennesseeLocalDevelopmentAuthority TennesseeStateSchoolBondAuthority StateEnergyPolicyCouncil UtilityBoards FindaReport Careers News COVIDExemption ContactUs PrintThisPage GotoSearch EveryStudentSucceedsAct Testing Highlights Sametestingschedule. EveryStudentSucceedsdoesnotchangeNoChildLeftBehind’stestingschedule.Readingandmathtestsareadministeredeveryyearingrades3-8,andonceinhighschool.Sciencetestsaregivenonceineachgradeband:grades3-5,6-9,and10-12. Flexibilitywithtestingform. UnderNoChildLeftBehind,statesadministeredoneyearlytest.EveryStudentSucceedsallowsstatestoconsolidateresultsfrommultipleinterimtestsintoafinalscore.Additionally,uponstateapproval,schooldistrictsmaygiveanationallyrecognizedtestinhighschool(suchastheSATorACT)inlieuofstateassessments. Stateflexibilitywithtestinglimitsandoptouts. NoChildLeftBehinddidnotaddresstestinglimitsorstateoptoutlaws.Aslongasstatesmeetfederaltestingrequirements,EveryStudentSucceedsallowsstatestolimitthepercentageofclasstimespenttesting.Thenewlawalsoallowsstatestodecidehowtogradeschoolsthattestfewerthan95percentoftheirstudents. Innovativetestingpilotprogram. Sevenstatesmayparticipateinafive-yearpilotprogramtodevelopinnovativetests,whichmaybeusedinonlyafewdistrictsatthebeginningoftheprogram.Theinnovativeassessmentsmaybenon-standardizedandmanagedlocally,sothatnotallstudentsinthestatetakethesametests. Testing UnderEveryStudentSucceeds,statesmustadopt“challenging”contentstandardsforatleastreading,math,andscience.Thestandardsmusthaveatleastthreelevelsofachievement,andalignwithcredit-bearingclassrequirementsatstatecollegesanduniversities.1TheU.S.DepartmentofEducationmaynot“influence,incentivize,orcoerce”statesintoadoptingaparticularsetofstandards,includingtheCommonCoreStateStandards. 2 Schedule TestingscheduleshaveremainedthesameunderNoChildLeftBehind(NCLB),Tennessee’swaivers,andnowtheEveryStudentSucceedsAct(ESSA).Studentsaretestedin: readingandmath:onceingrades3-8,andatleastonceinhighschool;and science:atleastonceingrades3-5,6-9,and10-12.3,4,5 Form UnderNoChildLeftBehind,statesgaveoneyearlytestineachsubject,andstatesmaycontinueusingasingletestunderEveryStudentSucceeds.UnderESSA,however,statesnowhavetheoptiontoadministermultipleinterimteststhroughouttheyearandconsolidateresultsintoonefinalscore.6 Testsmustmeasurestudentproficiencybasedonthestate’sstandards,butmayalsotrackstudentgrowth.Additionally,thenewlawstatesthattests“maybepartiallydeliveredintheformofportfolios,projects,orextendedperformancetasks.”7 Uponstateapproval,schooldistrictsnowhavetheoptiontogiveanationallyrecognizedtestinhighschool–suchastheACTorSAT–insteadofthestateend-of-coursesubjecttests.8 Limits NeitherNoChildLeftBehindnorTennessee’swaiversaddressedlimitsontesttime.EveryStudentSucceedsallowsstatestosettargetlimitsonthepercentageofclasstimespentontesting.Forexample,astatecouldplanonspendingnomorethan2percentofclassroomtimeonstatetests.Statesmuststillmeetfederalrequirementsforaccountabilitytestingandfollowthesametestingschedule. 9 OptOuts Asofpublication,Tennesseedoesnothavestatepoliciesallowingparentstoopttheirstudentsoutofstatetests.NoChildLeftBehind,Tennessee’swaivers,andnowEveryStudentSucceedsallrequireschoolstotest95percentofallstudentsandsubgroups.UnderNCLBandthewaivers,schoolswithparticipationrateslowerthan95percentautomaticallyfailedthatyearintheaccountabilitysystem. 10, 11 Whileschoolsarestillrequiredtotest95percentofstudentsunderESSA,statesnowhavethepowertodecidehowastudenttestparticipationrateoflessthan95percentaffectsaschool’sperformanceintheaccountabilitysystem.Schoolswithlowerparticipationratesnolongerfailbydefaultinthe federal law.12 SubgroupReporting NoChildLeftBehindrequiredschoolstodisaggregatetestscoresbygender,racial/ethnicgroup,Englishlearnerstatus,migrantstatus,disabilitystatus,andeconomicallydisadvantagedstatus. 13 Tennessee’swaiver,however,alloweddistrictstocombinescoresforsomeracialandethnicminoritiesintoone“super-subgroup.”Thus,districtsweregradedontheperformanceofonlyfoursubgroups: black,Hispanic,andNativeAmericanstudents; Englishlearnerstudents; studentswithdisabilities;and economicallydisadvantagedstudents. 14 EveryStudentSucceedsdoesnotallowsuper-subgroupreporting;underthenewlaw,scoresmustbedisaggregatedseparatelyforracialandethnicminorities,inadditiontoEnglishlearner,disability,andlow-incomestatus. 15  Whilescoresmustalsobereportedbygenderandmigrantstatus,thesetwosubgroupsarenotfactoredintotheaccountabilitysystem. 16   TennesseeTests ElementaryandMiddleSchool TennesseegivesfourTCAPsubjecttestsingrades3through8:reading,math,science,andsocialstudies. HighSchool Untilthe2015-16schoolyear,thestateusedsevenend-of-courseexamsinhighschool:AlgebraIandII;BiologyI;EnglishI,II,andIII;andU.S.History. Inthe2015-16schoolyear,TennesseewillbeginusingTNReady,thenewmathandreadingtestsintheTCAPprogram.Tennesseewillalsobegingivingfivenewtestsinhighschool:IntegratedMathI,II,andIII;Geometry;andChemistry. TNReady AccordingtotheTennesseeDepartmentofEducation,TNReadywillmeasureadeeperlevelofunderstandingthanpreviouslanguageandmathtests.Studentswillusesourcestosupporttheirwrittenresponsesandsolvemulti-stepmathproblems. Insteadofoneexamattheendoftheyear,TNReadywillhavetwoparts.PartI,giventwo-thirdsofthewaythroughtheschoolyear,countsforasmallerportionofstudents’scoresthanPartII,given90percentofthewaythroughtheyear. Source: TennesseeDepartmentofEducation,2013-2014TCAPAchievementandEndofCourseResults, https://www.tn.gov/education/article/2014-tcap-results (accessedJan.13,2016); TennesseeDepartmentofEducation,TCAPTimeLimits,December9,2015, http://www.tn.gov/assets/entities/education/attachments/tst_tcap_time_limits.pdf (accessedJan.13,2016); TennesseeDepartmentofEducation, ParentGuidetoBeingTNReady,July2015,p.6, https://www.tn.gov/assets/entities/education/attachments/tnready_parent_guide_updated.pdf (accessedFeb.26,2016); TennesseeDepartmentofEducation, TennesseeESEAFlexibilityRequest,July2015,p.65, http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/esea-flexibility/flex-renewal/tnrenewalreq2015.pdf (accessedDec.5,2015). OptOutLaws: Oregon In2015,thestateofOregonpassedHB2655,whichcreatedthe“StudentAssessmentBillofRights.”Atleast30daysbeforethestatetests,schooldistrictsandpubliccharterschoolsmustgiveparentsaformtoopttheirchildrenoutofthetests.Studentsnottakingthetestsinsteadhavesupervisedstudytime. UnderOregon'scurrentNoChildLeftBehindwaiver,schools’ratingsdroponelevelintheaccountabilitysystemforeveryyeartheytestfewerthan95percentofstudents.Forexample,ifaschoolwouldhavereceiveda Model designation(thehighestinOregon)butdoesnotmeetparticipationrequirements,itsoverallratingisloweredonelevelto Strong. Iftheschooldoesnotmeetthe95percentrateagainthenextyear,itsratingisdroppedanotherlevelto Satisfactory. Thenewoptoutlawappliestotestsstartinginthe2015-16schoolyear.Studentscannotbedeniedadiplomasolelybecausetheydidnottakethestateassessments. Source: OregonPublicChapter519,2015, https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/lawsstatutes/2015orLaw0519.pdf (accessedFeb.26,2016); OregonDepartmentofEducation, ESEAFlexibilityRequest, July2015,pp.95-96, http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/esea-flexibility/flex-renewal/orrenewalreq2015.pdf (accessedJan.15,2016). SpecialGroups SpecialEducation Studentswithdisabilitiesreceive“appropriateaccommodations”whentakingstatetests. 17 UnderEveryStudentSucceeds,nomorethan1percentofallstudentsinthestatemaytakealternatetestsbasedonalternateachievementstandards. 18 Datapublishedforschoolyear2014-15reportsthat139,232ofTennessee’s995,892childrenenrolledinpublicschoolswereidentifiedasstudentswithdisabilities,or14percent. 19 Basedontheseestimates,about7.2percentofTennessee’sspecialeducationstudentscouldtakeESSA’salternatetests. 20 Inschoolyear2014-15,7,961studentstookatleastonealternativeassessment. 21 EnglishLearners UnderEveryStudentSucceeds,stateshavetwooptionsregardingnewlyarrivedEnglishlearners.ForsuchstudentswhohavegonetoschoolintheUnitedStatesforlessthanayear: Statesmaywaivethefirstadministrationofthereadingtest.Englishlearnersstilltakestatetestsinothersubjects,buttheresultsarenotincludedintheaccountabilitysystem.Inthefollowingyears,Englishlearnerstakealltestsandresultsarereportedasnormal. StatesmaygiveallstatetestsinEnglishlearners’firstyear,butgraduallyscaleuptofullreporting: inthefirstyear,thetestresultsdonotcountintheaccountabilitysystem; inthesecondyear,onlystudentgrowthfactorsintotheaccountabilitysystem;and inthethirdyear,bothproficiencyandgrowtharereportedasnormal. AfterstudentsarenolongeridentifiedasEnglishlearners,statesmaycontinuereportingthemundertheEnglishlearnersubgroupforuptofouryears,increasedfromtwoyearsunderTennessee’swaiver. 22,  23 InnovativeTestingPilotProgram Sevenstates,oraconsortiumofstates,mayparticipateinapilotprogramtodevelopinnovativeassessments.Statesmaystartusingthenewtestingsysteminonlyafewschooldistricts,butmustaimtowardstatewideuse.Thenewtestsmustalignwithstatestandards,andreportthesameinformationascurrentstatetests,includingseparatereportingofresultsbystudentsubgroup(e.g.,specialeducationorlow-incomestatus). 24 InNewHampshire,theonlystatecurrentlyoperatinganinnovativetestingpilot,theparticipatingdistrictsarenotrequiredtogivethesamestandardizedassessmentsastherestofthestate.Instead,allpilotprogramdistrictsmustbasetheirtestsonthesamestate-approvedguidelinesofwhatstudentsshouldknow.Aslongasthesebaselinesaremet,however,districtshavefreedomtodevelopandmanagethenewtestsatthelocallevel. 25 Similarly,thefederalpilotinEveryStudentSucceedswaivestherequirementthatallstudentsinthestatetakethesametests.Additionally,theinnovativeassessmentsdonotneedtofollowthestandardtestingscheduleandmaybeadministeredlessfrequentlythaneveryyear. 26 Theinnovativeassessmentsystemmayusecompetency-basedassessments,wherestudentsprogressattheirownpace. 27 Or,testsmaybeembeddedintothecurriculumandstudents’day-to-daywork,aconceptknownas“instructionallyembeddedassessments,”sothatstudentsaremeasuredthroughouttheyear.Thenewsystemmayalsouseperformanceassessments,whichencouragepracticalapplicationofskills. 28,  29 ForanEnglishclass,forexample,studentsmightwritearesearchpaperandcorrectlyanalyzesourcestodemonstratereadingcomprehension. ESSA’sinitialpilotprogrammaylastuptofiveyears,contingentonatwo-yearextensionontheoriginalthree-yearauthorization.Ifthesystemmeetscertaincriteria,statesmayusetheinnovativeassessmentsystemsforaccountabilitypurposesinlieuofthestatestandardizedtests.Followingtheinitialpilotprogramwithsevenstates,theremainingstatesmayapplytotryinnovativetesting. 30 InnovativeTesting: NewHampshire PriortoESSA,inMarch2015thestateofNewHampshirereceivedawaiverfromtheU.S.DepartmentofEducationtotryaninnovativeassessmentsystem.ThePerformanceAssessmentforCompetencyEducation(PACE)pilotwasimplementedinfourofNewHampshire’sschooldistricts. UnderPACE,studentstakethestatewidetest(equivalenttoTennessee’sTCAPs)onceinelementaryschool,onceinmiddleschool,andonceinhighschool.Intheotheryears,districtsusetheirownlocally-developedtestsbasedonstate-designedcompetenciesandapprovedbythestate. Source: DeborahS.Delisle,AssistantU.S.SecretaryofEducation,“PerformanceAssessmentofCompetencyEducation(PACE)Pilot,”letter,addressedtoNewHampshireDepartmentofEducation,March5,2015, http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/NH_PACE_3.5.15.pdf (accessedJan.13,2016); NewHampshireDepartmentofEducation, NewHampshireAccountability3.0ModelOverview, July18,2014,pp.6-8,http://www.education.nh.gov/assessment-systems/documents/faq.doc (accessedFeb.24,2016). 1 ElementaryandSecondaryEducationActof 1965,PublicLaw114-95,§1111(b)(1) etseq.,2015. 2 ElementaryandSecondaryEducationActof 1965,PublicLaw114-95,§1111(j)(1),2015. 3 ElementaryandSecondaryEducationActof1965, U.S.Code20(2012),§6311(b)(3)(C). 4 TennesseeDepartmentofEducation, TennesseeESEAFlexibilityRequest, July2015,p.38, http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/esea-flexibility/flex-renewal/tnrenewalreq2015.pdf (accessedDec.5,2015). 5 ElementaryandSecondaryEducationActof1965,PublicLaw114-95,§1111(b)(2)(B)(v),2015. 6 ElementaryandSecondaryEducationActof1965,PublicLaw114-95,§1111(b)(2)(B)(viii),2015. 7 ElementaryandSecondaryEducationActof1965,PublicLaw114-95,§1111(b)(2)(B)(vi),2015. 8 ElementaryandSecondaryEducationActof1965,PublicLaw114-95,§1111(b)(2)(H),2015. 9 ElementaryandSecondaryEducationActof1965,PublicLaw114-95,§1111(b)(2)(L),2015. 10 ElementaryandSecondaryEducationActof1965,U.S.Code20(2012),§6311(b)(2)(I)(ii). 11 TennesseeDepartmentofEducation,TennesseeESEAFlexibilityRequest,July2015,p.65, http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/esea-flexibility/flex-renewal/tnrenewalreq2015.pdf (accessedDec.5,2015). 12 ElementaryandSecondaryEducationActof1965,PublicLaw114-95,§1111(c)(4)(E),2015. 13 ElementaryandSecondaryEducationActof1965,U.S.Code20(2012),§6311(b)(3)(C)(xiii). 14 TennesseeDepartmentofEducation,TennesseeESEAFlexibilityRequest,July2015,p.45, http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/esea-flexibility/flex-renewal/tnrenewalreq2015.pdf (accessedDec.5,2015). 15 ElementaryandSecondaryEducationActof1965,PublicLaw114-95,§1111(b)(2)(B)(xi),2015. 16 MaryBatiwalla,ExecutiveDirector,OfficeofAccountability,TennesseeDepartmentofEducation,e-mail,March14,2016 17 ElementaryandSecondaryEducationActof1965,PublicLaw114-95,§1111(b)(2)(B)(vii)(II),2015. 18 ElementaryandSecondaryEducationActof1965,PublicLaw114-95,§1111(b)(2)(D),2015. 19 TennesseeDepartmentofEducation,2015StateReportCard, https://www.tn.gov/education/topic/report-card (accessedFeb.9,2016). 20 1percentof995,892is9,958.92.Thatis7.2percentof139,232. 21 MaryBatiwalla,ExecutiveDirector,OfficeofAccountability,TennesseeDepartmentofEducation,e-mail,March14,2016. 22 ElementaryandSecondaryEducationActof1965,PublicLaw114-95,§1111(b)(3),2015 23 TennesseeDepartmentofEducation,TennesseeESEAFlexibilityRequest,July2015,p.68, http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/esea-flexibility/flex-renewal/tnrenewalreq2015.pdf (accessedDec.5,2015). 24 ElementaryandSecondaryEducationActof1965,PublicLaw114-95,§1204,2015. 25 NewHampshireDepartmentofEducation,NewHampshireAccountability3.0ModelOverview,July18,2014, education.nh.gov/assessment-systems/documents/faq.doc (accessedFeb.24,2016). 26 ElementaryandSecondaryEducationActof1965,PublicLaw114-95,§1204,2015. 27 OfficeofResearchandEducationAccountability,Competency-basedEducationinGradesK-12,TennesseeComptrolleroftheTreasury,January2016, http://www.comptroller.tn.gov/Repository/RE/Competency%20Based%20Education.pdf (accessedJan.16,2016). 28 ElementaryandSecondaryEducationActof1965,PublicLaw114-95,§1204(a),2015. 29 NewHampshireDepartmentofEducation,“GovernorHassan,DepartmentofEducationAnnounceFederalApprovalofNewHampshire’sPilotCompetency-BasedAssessmentProgram,”March5,2015, http://education.nh.gov/news/pace.htm (accessedDec.22,2015). 30 ElementaryandSecondaryEducationActof1965,PublicLaw114-95,§1204,2015. 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