college- and career-ready online Field Test

Transcription

1 college- and career-ready online Field Test 2015

2 What is the College- and Career-Ready Online Field Test? Data Recognition Corporation (DRC) a leading K 12 service provider has been actively involved in supporting states as they transition to more-rigorous content standards, curricula, and assessments that better prepare students for college and careers. DRC provides high-quality operational items to current and future clients, and we want to ensure that students, educators, and departments of education across the nation have the opportunity to field-test these items. There are many benefits to participating, including receiving indications of how students are performing on the new item types and their experiences with online testing. As a part of our commitment to the next generation of standards and assessments, we developed a robust set of high-quality items and passages aligned to the College- and Career-Ready Standards in Mathematics and English language arts, which will be field tested in the fall of The field test will be administered online to students in grades 3 8 and High School. DRC INSIGHT Online Learning System DRC INSIGHT is our flagship testing engine, a secure, browser-based system that supports and enhances the testing experience for students and educators by providing: A student-friendly testing interface Powerful, reliable performance Valuable planning and support tools Next-generation content delivery Integrated scoring and reporting Together, DRC and DRC INSIGHT have a proven track record of delivering online assessments, without delays to state testing schedules, or downtime for teachers and administrators. 2

3 Comments from Online Testing It really got the teachers to understand the immediacy of learning about computer based tests. - Principal It was wonderful to be able to call the call center and reach a live person who could offer immediate assistance. The reminder s and all correspondence during the testing was fantastic and much appreciated. - District Assessment Coordinator I could never ask for better or more help... you are all indeed OUTSTANDING; I am not certain how the others felt, but I do feel it was beneficial for the upper level students. - Guidance Counselor What are the benefits and incentives for my classroom, school, or district? DRC is pleased to offer multiple benefits and incentives to districts and schools that participate in the College- and Career-Ready Field Test. Prior to testing, participants will gain access to powerful diagnostic information regarding each school s/district s technology readiness for online testing, which can be leveraged for other online testing programs. During testing, students will have the opportunity to experience new college- and career-ready items. During testing, students will be able to practice their online testing skills with DRC s next-generation online testing system. All participating schools will be entered into a drawing for the chance to win one of several $15,000 technology vouchers! During testing, daily student-level performance reports will be available on demand. After testing is complete, participants will receive summary reports that provide valuable insight into how students performed on college- and career-ready content relative to other states. Other benefits ipads and Chromebooks allow for more fluid integration for the field test within a classroom setting; causing little disruption to instructional time. Students will have more exposure to online testing, lessening test anxiety and increasing familiarity with various testing tools and item types. Longer testing window allows for more flexibility in scheduling and participation. Incentive structure throughout the window will increase participation and chances for the technology vouchers drawing. 6 3

4 Access to DRC s Technology Readiness Tools Suite of diagnostic tools that help evaluate, monitor, and improve school and district readiness for online testing Identification of variables that impact readiness, such as testing-device specifications, network capacity, and Internet connectivity Answers to critical technology questions, such as how long it will take to download tests and upload student responses, and how many students can test concurrently on the school s network Valuable information that can be used proactively by school and district staff, regardless of the state s online testing vendor Increased Exposure to College- and Career-Ready Content and Online Testing Opportunity for all students in grades 3 8 and High School to increase exposure of new college- and career-ready mathematics and English language arts items Opportunity to test any number of students, or any percentage of students, in each participating grade Opportunity for students to experience new item types designed to more appropriately measure the rigors of College- and Career-Ready Standards, including two-part evidence-based response, autoscored constructed response, text-dependent analysis writing prompt, and technology enhanced prompt or response (e.g., graphing, select object, matching, drag and drop items) Opportunity for students and teachers to practice the online testing skills they need for next-generation assessments, including keyboarding skills for younger students (grade 3) Summary of Benefits for Participants Custom Technology Readiness Summary Reports for Each District District-level reports summarize important technology readiness information for each participating school, including results of the diagnostic tools (load simulations and system-readiness checks) Reports allow districts to delve deeper into the technology readiness results across schools, revealing areas of concern to help ensure successful online testing within the district Field Test Performance Reports at All Levels Raw-score, student-level performance reports available on demand at the end of each testing day Roll-up summaries at the school, district, and state levels available at the end of the testing window -- Allow for equitable interpretation and comparison across students, schools, and districts within your state --Provide state-by-state and national comparisons 4

5 HOW MUCH TIME DOES THE FIELD TEST TAKE? The field test will take approximately one hour per session. Three sessions are available: Math ELA: Literature & Informational Text ELA: Writing, Language & Research When will the field test take place? Fall 2015 Field Test in Grades 3 8 and High School Enrollment period: August 2015 November 2015 Administration of the field test: October 2015 December 2015 Who can participate in the field test? DRC is seeking a nationally representative sample of students in grades 3 8 and High School to take part in the field tests. As many students as possible are being encouraged to participate. It will be up to each state, district, or school to determine how many students will participate from each grade. Any student who participates in standardized testing may take part in the field tests. *Participation can occur at any level, whether districtwide or in individual schools or classrooms, and can include all students or selected grades for a given school or district. Participation is not limited to current DRC clients. How Will the field test BE administered? The field test is administered online via computers or tablets. DRC offers several options for administering the online field test for flexibility in deciding the level of involvement and the approach that makes the most sense for each district, school, or classroom. Participants may choose to administer the online test to all districts/schools or only selected districts/schools, and to all grades or only selected grades. In addition, DRC will work with participants to take advantage of the existing programming available in schools (such as after-school programs) to minimize disruptions to teaching and learning time. * Includes special education students. 5

6 How will participation in the field test help determine state, district, or school technology readiness? DRC will administer the items via the DRC INSIGHT online testing system, which is currently delivering tests successfully in our client states. One of the many features of DRC INSIGHT is a set of technology readiness tools that evaluate and verify the capacity for online test delivery. DRC s technology readiness tools allow a participating state, district, or school to determine whether it is ready to deliver online testing. Simulation and verification tools indicate readiness and identify potential problem areas such as network capacity and configuration in a proactive way. Participating in the field test will provide the opportunity to use these tools, along with district-by-district and school-by-school readiness reports. What are the technology requirements of the online testing system? Devices used for testing can use Windows, Mac (OS X), Chrome OS, ios, and other operating system platforms, and must meet certain minimum hardware and software requirements as shown below.* Online Testing System Component Processor Memory Disk Space Windows Operating Systems Mac Operating Systems Tablet Capabilities DRC INSIGHT Online Testing Engine (used on student testing devices) 1 GHz Minimum: 512 MB RAM Recommended: 1 GB 100 MB Windows Vista Windows 7 Windows 8 (including 8.1) Windows Server 2008 OS X 10.7 OS X 10.8 OS X 10.9 ipad Chromebook Android Testing Site Manager (administrator tool installed on one or two school computers) 1 GHz 1 GB 10 GB Windows Server 2012 OS X *Contact DRC for complete technology requirements.

7 What are DRC s qualifications For Developing college- and career-ready test items? DRC has become a leader in helping states transition to new and more-rigorous standards, including the College- and Career-Ready Standards. We have been instrumental in helping states implement a variety of transition strategies, including designing new assessments and increasing the rigor of existing assessments. Our test development experts have received extensive training and professional development in writing items that measure the College- and Career-Ready Standards, including, but not limited to, attending item-writer workshops where the authors of the College- and Career-Ready Standards provided direct training. DRC has applied its expertise in several ways: Working with state educators to develop new College- and Career-Ready Standards Analyzing existing state standards and test items to determine alignment with College- and Career-Ready Standards Preparing comprehensive transition plans for states that are moving to items and tests aligned to College- and Career-Ready Standards Conducting cognitive labs that provide a research base for developing test questions aligned to College- and Career-Ready Standards Working with teachers to develop new items and test content aligned to College- and Career-Ready Standards Using the evidence-centered design model to develop items, including using item task models to provide evidence of student knowledge DRC has provided one or more of these services for assessment projects in: Alabama Michigan South Carolina Alaska Idaho Louisiana Missouri Nebraska Pennsylvania Washington Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium WIDA Consortium (includes 36 states) To learn more about DRC, please visit our website at 7

8 How do Schools prepare for the field test? DRC will provide the following training, documentation, and support resources to ensure students, teachers, and administrators are prepared to administer the field test: Customer service, including technology experts who are available via and telephone both before and during the testing window Online testing tutorials and training/practice opportunities Online user guides and administration manuals Ongoing Webex training sessions One-on-one walk-throughs for setup What is the next step for schools interested in enrolling students? Please call toll-free or to get started. Visit for more information and to see sample items. Data Recognition Corporation Bass Lake Road Maple Grove, MN DRC-ED101-V3