While many Florida students spent the summer at summer camp, watching cartoons or splashing around in a pool, the Florida Department of Education didn’t kick up its feet and relax the way many of the students it serves year-round did. Since the beginning of the summer, the FDOE has worked hand-in-hand with Utah-based contractor Alpine Testing to determine once and for all if the new Florida Standards Assessment test is a truly valid way to measure student achievement in the Sunshine State.
The validity process is moving into its final days to be completed by the Sept. 1 deadline.
Independent contractor Alpine Testing threw its name into the ring to complete the validation of the FSA in May. They’re working in tandem with Washington, D.C.-based edCount to verify whether the test replacing the FCAT is an appropriate measure of student achievement.
Florida didn’t arrive to this process easily, however.
The validity test was the ultimate result of a rocky roll-out of the FSA earlier this year. Students couldn’t complete the new test or even log in at all, prompting lawmakers to question the state’s new assessment. In a move exemplifying their concerns, they quickly passed legislation requiring a full review of the FSA.
The summer has been full of meetings across Florida and the country to delve into the nitty-gritty of the FSA.
Contrary to what many may think, creating a new assessment test is a much more involved process than simply picking a couple of questions, throwing out a few answer options and handing out a test packet in a classroom.
In order to complete the validity test, Alpine has taken a look at testing blueprints, analyzing the very backbone of the FSA. The two companies also have looked deeper into how each test is scaled, scored and equated to see if it measures up to testing industry “best practices.”
The “best practices” match-up won’t end there. Alpine and edCount will also look at how long each test is, which sections are covered and how much time a test will take, among other measures. Testing topics and using grade-appropriate language are also being taken into consideration.
This week marks the final leg of the validation process. FDOE Communications Director Meghan Collins said the department still hadn’t received Alpine’s report of their final month’s work, but with only four days to go until the end of August, it’s just a matter of time before Florida knows for sure whether the FSA is an accurate test or not.
Until the study is complete, students are essentially in the dark as to how they actually performed on the FSA, which could prove slightly problematic for some of the state’s students.
Third-graders in particular may be impacted by the FSA results since it’s the only grade in which the assessment is used for promotion to the next grade level.
Collins told Sunshine State News, however, that even if students were at risk of being held back, the decision ultimately comes down to a district choice. Districts have already made those decisions without the final results of the FSA.
“[The assessment] is just one way in which districts can determine whether a student is ready to be promoted to fourth-grade,” she wrote in an email.
Collins explained all the districts received a list of their third-graders who were at risk of being held back based on their English Language Arts assessment results. The testing score is one way that the districts could decide whether to push students up a grade or keep them back.
The group said it would have its final report out Friday but requested an extension until Sept. 1, after which the FDOE will determine how to proceed with its plans moving forward.
As for now, Florida’s students are still on track to take the FSA again this year.
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
