Task Module Assessment System
Goal 1: Define common criteria across the four Compact states for identifying students in the gap
The first, and one of the most challenging, tasks is to define common criteria for identifying students affected by a gap in the large-scale assessment system. In order to identify the criteria, the Project has pursued the following questions:
Where is the gap(s) in the assessment system?
Who are the students affected by that gap?
The Project has identified two gaps in the assessment system. The first gap is at the proficiency cut-off point, and affects those students who demonstrate proficiency in the classroom, but do not demonstrate that same proficiency on the assessment. The second gap is at the lower end of the assessment, and affects those students who perform below grade level in the classroom but who do not qualify for the alternate assessment.
Gap One: Of the students who take the regular large-scale state assessment and do not demonstrate proficiency, there are some whose performance on the assessment even with approved accommodations is lower than would be expected given the knowledge and skills they regularly exhibit in the classroom. The goal of the TMAS project is to design an assessment that will more accurately measure their knowledge and skills against grade-level content standards.
Gap Two: Of the students whose performance in the classroom indicates that they do not qualify for the alternate assessment but they are not performing at a proficient level, there are some for whom the assessment is not effectively measuring what they know and have learned. **The Project recognizes that this group is hard to separate out from another group that does not reach proficiency on the assessment, but whose performance can be improved by EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTION. This Project advocates high standards and high teacher expectations for all students, but has found that even with effective instruction, there is a group of students for whom the large-scale assessment, even with appropriate accommodations, is not a useful measure of their progress.
It is not easy to identify criteria by which to identify the students in each of the ‘gaps’. For instance, if students are taught below grade level and thus are not proficient on the assessment because they have not had access to the curriculum, this may be an issue best addressed by better instructional practices than by changes in the assessment system. However, there may be students who truly are working to their capacity, are learning in school, and still are not performing at grade level as demonstrated by the assessment. Separating out students into these two groups, one of which needs better instruction, and the other of which needs a different assessment, is not an easy task. Interestingly, preliminary interviews with teachers and data analysis indicate that it is not only students with disabilities who fall into either of these categories. In a fair number of cases, the students who most concern their teachers have not necessarily been identified with disabilities.
In order to understand how to develop an assessment that better meets students’ needs, the New England Compact decided first to identify exactly who the students are. This process, still ongoing, includes a series of research studies that will, in the end, contribute to an understanding of how to identify students in the gap, and to better understand the gap itself.
The TMAS project is currently engaged in a series of studies researching the following issues: