Ohio s Transition to Online Assessment. Past, Present, & Future

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1 Past, Present, & Future

2 Ohio s Presenter Kirk E. Ross Education Consultant, Online Assessment Technology Ohio Department of Education Office of Curriculum & Assessment Kirk.Ross@education.ohio.gov Phone: (614)

3 Past: Building the Backbone In 1979, the Management Council for the Ohio Education Computer Network (MCOECN) was created by the Ohio Legislature. There were 27 data centers providing financial accounting support to school districts. Eventually, the 27 data centers would merge into 21 Information Technology Centers (ITCs) serving approximately 1.4 million students in 700 Ohio school districts, career centers, community schools, and educational service centers.

4 Past: Building the Backbone In 1987, the Ohio Academic Resources Network (OARnet) was created by the Ohio Board of Regents, through legislation by the Ohio General Assembly. Exponentially increasing demand from college and university researchers for statewide connectivity and increased bandwidth led to the acquisition of dark fiber to create a highly scalable, fiber-optic infrastructure (backbone), launched in November 2004.

5 Past: Building the Backbone In the past, Ohio implemented a statewide technology infrastructure data collection method called the Biannual Education Technology Assessment (BETA). BETA results helped with understanding Ohio s capacity to deliver technology-based instruction & assessment.

6 Past: Presence of Online Assessment In 2001, the Ohio Department of Education (ODE), Office of Career-Technical Education, funded the development of an online assessment system to be utilized by career-technical education students (high school). Many districts opted to use nationally-recognized, offthe-shelf online assessments to fulfill their assessment needs. Great amount of variability when considering which assessments were used, for what purposes, and to what extent.

7 Past: Presence of Online Assessment Around 2004, as part of the ODE s website, the department created an online assessment portal, allowing students to experience taking computerbased assessments. Ohio also participated in NAEP online assessment pilots. Science Writing

8 In June 2010, Ohio adopted the CCSS for English Language Arts/Literacy and mathematics. In August 2010, Ohio was one of 12 USDOE Race to the Top Competition winners. By 2014, 100% of Ohio s classrooms will implement a more rigorous college- and-career ready curriculum that, together with aligned assessments and teacher supports, will form the foundation of a comprehensive system to empower Ohio s students to succeed globally in the 21st century. April 2011, Ohio became a participating member of the SBAC & PARCC assessment consortia.

9 In November 2011, Ohio became a governing member of PARCC. The decision to become a governing member of PARCC came after a months-long, in-depth study of both consortia, which ultimately ended in a Curriculum & Assessment staff decision to formally join PARCC as a voting member. Ohio also started the planning process for the Next Generation of Assessments in science and social studies.

10 To ensure an effective and efficient transition to online assessment, with an eye toward sustainability, Ohio convened a committee made up of stakeholders internal & external to the ODE. The Ohio PARCC Implementation Committee. Members include: ODE leadership, curriculum staff, assessment staff, instructional technology staff, and public, non-public, and charter school representation; state technology officer; higher education officials; district leadership; and district teachers.

11 The purpose for the Ohio PARCC Implementation Committee is threefold: Actively engage in a data-driven, strategic planning initiative necessary for designing, developing, implementing, and monitoring a statewide, technology-based learning framework, focusing equally on instruction and assessment systems; Establish and maintain a detailed, results-oriented scope of work necessary for achieving the strategic planning initiative; and Document and proactively communicate strategic planning initiative efforts and scope of work outcomes.

12 The Ohio PARCC Implementation Committee identified five goals: Goal 1: Conduct a needs assessment Goal 2: Develop a transition strategy Goal 3: Ensure interoperability Goal 4: Communicate proactively Goal 5: Develop an implementation sustainability plan

13 Goal 1: Conduct a needs assessment Undertake a systematic set of procedures for the purpose of setting priorities and making decisions for designing, developing, implementing, and monitoring a statewide, technology-based learning framework, focusing equally on instruction and assessment systems.

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15 Goal 2: Develop a transition strategy Take the necessary steps to create a multi-year, multistepped transition plan, allowing districts to gradually build the necessary infrastructure, confidence, and comfort with a technology-based learning framework, focusing equally on instruction and assessment systems.

16 Goal 3: Ensure interoperability Take the necessary steps to ensure interoperability of data between the PARCC assessment system, statewide technology-based systems for instruction and assessment, and industry-based applications necessary for implementing a technology-based learning framework, focusing equally on instruction and assessment systems.

17 Goal 4: Communicate proactively Take the necessary steps to design and implement a stakeholder-drive communication and training plan to support the design, development, implementation and evaluation of a technologybased learning framework, focusing equally on instruction and assessment systems.

18 Goal 5: Develop an implementation sustainability plan Take the necessary steps to design a long-term implementation sustainability plan, which will ensure that requirements for realizing a statewide, technology-based learning framework are met during implementation, and that there will exist an established process for maintaining and improving the instruction and assessment systems that comprise the learning framework.

19 Future Staff in the ODE Office of Curriculum & Assessment have been engaging in a discipline called future studies. Futures studies is an interdisciplinary field, studying yesterday's and today's changes, and aggregating and analyzing both lay and professional strategies and opinions with respect to tomorrow. It includes analyzing the sources, patterns, and causes of change and stability in an attempt to develop foresight and to map possible futures.