State assessments right now: Why are results so critical?

Quality

Too many unknowns

In late February, ExcelinEd applauded the announcement from the U.S. Department of Education that statewide assessments for the 2020-21 academic year must proceed.

With so much uncertainty during this extraordinary academic year that put nearly every school and family into crisis mode, we need an accurate and meaningful evaluation of where our kids are so we can help them improve.

Yet at a time when it is critical for states to conduct a statewide assessment, federal leaders stopped short of issuing a blanket directive by saying that some states may receive waivers based on their individual “needs and conditions.” 

Because no state assessments were conducted for the 2019-2020 school year, failing to measure in 2020-2021 would force parents and teachers to grapple with a 3-year gap of vital information about each child’s learning and progress.

This lack of information could have significant impact on a child’s future.

The information gathered from state assessments will shape every child’s post-pandemic academic future. It will empower parents and teachers to plan for each child’s needs. And it will provide policymakers with direction to assign the resources, interventions and supports needed to help students catch up and achieve.

Creativity is key

Together, administrators, educators and parents showed a truly remarkable resilience during this pandemic. Using the innovations we’ve all been forced to deploy throughout this 2020, we can:

State chiefs can utilize the following methods to achieve those goals:

Administer tests toward the end of the school year to provide for more teaching.

Testing in May (instead of the normal March/April timeframe) would give teachers more time to teach. Additionally, May testing would give teachers and students some additional time to respond and adjust to any re-opening challenges before turning their attention to the assessment.

Utilize remote delivery of statewide online assessments.

Every state should work with their test vendor to develop an online version of their state test so families who are not yet ready to return to school in person, could take the assessment remotely. However, ExcelinEd acknowledges that with 15 million K-12 students lacking access to the internet or devices, access to an online state assessment will be a significant challenge. States will need to also provide for in person administration.

Produce student score reports in digestible formats using multiple modes of delivery.

We need to take an “all paths” approach to make it easy for parents and teachers to see, review and act on students’ results.

Online parent portals should provide personalized results as soon as they are available. Easily digestible and comparable data at the school, district and state levels will help parents develop a broader picture of their child’s progress. Personalized videos for each parent should be created and be delivered via e-mail or text. These videos should include a pictorial of how the child is doing; a comparison to last available data; and what improvement is needed for the child to reach grade level.

Many states already see the value in presenting assessment results that will inspire parents and teachers. California works with Spotlight Education to translate student assessment data into high-impact, customized narrative reports and videos for parents.

Teachers should have immediate and comprehensive access to results, which should be presented in a clear pictorial. Teachers should be empowered and encouraged to conduct a live discussion with parents about their child’s test results. These conversations will inform parents about what their child might need to pursue over the summer. Finally, a student’s test results should also be provided to next year’s teacher. This will allow teachers to meet their students where they are, and plan appropriate paths forward.

Extend incentives and interventions.

When a parent sees clear evidence that their child tested below their grade level, it can be a shock. But if a student’s teacher and parents together can take immediate action by including specific interventions in that child’s learning plan, shock can quickly turn into resolve.

Policymakers need not look too deep into state coffers for the funds to make interventions and incentives possible. The recent American Rescue Plan, passed by Congress this month, invests $122 billion in public K-12 education. State and local decision makers can use these funds to address learning loss.From these funds, states and districts can offer microgrants to families for tutoring or therapy supports. Families could also receive small grants for summer enrichment opportunities for students who participated in the state assessment. 

Critical information, outsized impact

The announcement from U.S. Ed. set in motion a tight time window to introduce innovation and creativity to state assessments, and that window is still open.

At ExcelinEd, we acknowledge that the stakes for the 2021 state assessments could not be higher, and that sending children into a school for an assessment may seem risky.

But it’s far more frightening that students – that our kids – have what could be lifetime learning gaps because of the pandemic. Whether the lag is small or large, the future impact of this missing learning is outsized.

We must know where our kids are to figure out how to reach them.

We must know how they are doing now to support their future learning.

And we must embrace innovation to keep students safe and make results actionable. 

In the spring of 2021, state assessments are the tool needed to encourage meaningful outcomes for students that can begin this year, continue into the fall, and reach well into the future.

Solution Areas:

School Accountability

Topics:

Assessments, COVID-19

About the Author

Patricia Levesque is the Chief Executive Officer for ExcelinEd.