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Education Dive
Testing disruption could have short- and long-term impacts
Extending testing windows and holding schools harmless in
accountability systems for this year are among the scenarios states are
facing.
Linda Jacobson
March 17, 2020
In recent years, states and districts have worked to reduce the number
of tests students take — but this wasn’t what they had in mind.
As more schools close for the next few weeks due to the spread of
coronavirus, spring testing is one part of this school year likely to
be lost.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said in his press conference Thursday that the
three-week closure might mean mandated state tests won’t occur this
year. And in Washington state, Gov. Jay Inslee suggested the same
during a press conference last week.
“State testing is very likely to be suspended completely statewide,”
Inslee said. “There is no meaningful way to produce those assessments
with the kind of student absences we expect from this closure and the
subsequent closures that are likely.”
The governor added he was in contact with both ACT and The College
Board, which administers the SAT, regarding continuing opportunities
for juniors to take their exams since many students need the results
for college applications.
ACT announced Monday it has moved the April 4 test date to June 13, and
that it would contact students with information about next steps.
“ACT is committed to making every effort to help those students
impacted by this test date change, particularly those high school
seniors who are facing deadlines for fall 2020 college admission,” ACT
CEO Marten Roorda said in a statement.
And if students registered for the March 14 SAT were not able to take
it, they can also register for the May and June administrations.
U.S. Department of Education officials also said last week because of
this unique situation, the department “would consider a targeted
one-year waiver of the assessment requirements for those schools
impacted by the extraordinary circumstances.”
The fact sheet added that states in which schools are closed for an
extended period of time “may also want to consider whether it is
possible to adjust or extend the testing window to accommodate as many
students as possible, including students in schools that were closed
for some period.”
'Missing elements'
Assessment disruption has both short and long-term impacts, said Chris
Domaleski, associate director of the Center for Assessment in Dover,
New Hampshire.
“There will be missing elements that will impact testing and accountability systems,” he told Education Dive.
If schools that are closing do reopen in April and tests are
administered during the normal window, the “trustworthiness of the
results” could be compromised and affected by the change in procedures
and questions over whether students had an “adequate opportunity to
learn,” he added.
Most states, Domaleski said, would hold schools harmless in
accountability systems, meaning the designation or rating from last
year would apply and no “cumulative impacts” would advance.
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