Many individual state policies are driving the move from paper-and-pencil to online assessments, and both Race to the Top assessment consortia, SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) and Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), aim to move online in 2014. To help states and districts navigate the transition, Pearson has developed a new resource, Considerations for Next-Generation Assessments: A Roadmap to 2014.
This Roadmap was recently introduced at a workshop for state assessment officials held following the Council of Chief State School Officers National Conference on Student Assessment in Orlando, Fla on June 22. It is now publicly available as both a downloadable PDF and an interactive, animated version at: www.PearsonAssessments.com/NextGenRoadmap.
In developing the Roadmap, Pearson sought public input on best practices in transitioning to online assessments via an open wiki, and by directly engaging with external organizations and leading experts in digital learning. The resulting guide incorporates that feedback and outlines the five recommended steps for a successful transition, offering links to helpful resources and three state case studies — Mississippi, North Carolina and Virginia— that illustrate in detail actual state experiences with online assessment.
“Technology is enhancing assessment in ways that will provide more timely and useful insights into student learning for parents, teachers, policymakers, and perhaps, most importantly to individual students,” said Shilpi Niyogi, Executive Vice President, National Services, Pearson Assessment & Information. “The efficiencies and enhanced view into student performance that online assessments offer can accelerate the transformation of our education system, but collaboration and communication among various stakeholders is necessary to maximize the full potential of digital learning. Our goal is to help connect the dots and ensure the smoothest possible transition for all states—and all students.”
Considerations for Next-Generation Assessments: A Roadmap to 2014 is one example of Pearson’s collaboration with educators on the development of next-generation assessments. Additional resources can be found at a special website,Next Generation Assessments, featuring open, public access to numerous white papers and a new video series featuring content development, research, and psychometric experts on topics such as the power of technology to transform assessments and measuring student growth.
