16
O’Brian:
We need better data on what those
issues are in each school district, but that is an
absolutely valid issue. Looking at data from the
Technology Readiness Tool, it appears that about 64
percent of school districts are ready to administer the
assessment online.
Our field testing has included schools in about
600 districts and about 10 percent of the students
from grades 3 through 11. From the field testing we
have done so far there have been very few technical
issues. We are using the field tests to see how
students interact with the technology and to see how
well it works. The student response overall has been
positive regarding taking the test online, but we have
found some things that we need to fix.
The script was unclear and included some
redundancies that were frustrating for test
administrators, so we will be adjusting the
administrative manual. There also was some
confusion over the accessibility features like the
ability for a student to magnify a word, cross out
wrong answers and highlight things. There was
confusion over how to use those features or even
that those features were available to use. So we
need to make it more clear that those features are
available and how to use them.
We also know that we need to support the use of
technology.
Morrison:
One of the many reasons we wanted
Illinois districts to participate in the field test was to
help us answer that question. We need to move
toward online instructionand assessment, particularly
if districts want to receive feedbackmore quickly and
make instructional decisions based on those results.
Q: Why won’t ISBE delay implementation of
PARCC for a year?
Morrison:
We can’t delay implementation
because that could compromise our waiver and
federal funding. The waiver did not come without
some strings attached. We know there are
consequences for states that don’t abide by their
waiver agreements. The state ofWashington just lost
its NCLBwaiver because it could not put in place the
new educator evaluation systems as outlined in their
request.
But thewaiver granted to Illinois does give school
districts some flexibility. First, it does away with the
Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) mandate, and
PARCC becomes part of a multiple measures index
that not only includes student proficiency on PARCC
and the ACT, but also takes into account high school
graduation rates and a growth metric we have
developed.
Also, the first year of PARCC will be to establish
a baseline. We obviously can’t measure growth the
first year, and it will be three years beforewe can use
the data for placing a school district in any
performance category. The stakes the first year are
pretty low.
The flexibility alsomeans the federal government
no longer will require school districts to set aside 30
percent of the Title I federal grants for certain federal
mandates. Districts still must meet the Title I
guidelines, but that 30 percent now can be
repurposed for things like technology, adding reading
andmath coaches, or even adding teachers.
Q: Why is ISBE insistent on implementing
PARCCdespite the issues that havebeen raised?
Morrison:
Theworld is changing andwe need to
make surewe keep pace. It’s a different time and we
need a different assessment that measures the
standardswe areaskingour teachers to teach.
I understand that the issue can get clouded by
other things that have happened to (school
administrators), but it is really critical that we
implement these new standards with fidelity and
transparency. This is at the heart of what we do as
educators.
I understand that some school administrators see
this as just one more thing; I see it as
the
thing that
we need to do for our kids to help them be
competitive in aglobal market.
(Continued frompage 15)
ISBEDeputySuperintendent andChief
EducationOfficer SusieMorrison, left, and ISBE
Director of Assessment Dr.MaryO’Brian.
