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9-3-10 'NJ is among coalition of states awarded Race to the Top funds to assess standardized tests'
Star-Ledger - "TRENTON — New Jersey will be at the forefront of a collaborative effort to develop a new generation of standardized tests, an effort two groups of states will fund with grants totaling $330 million awarded today by the U.S. Department of Education through its $4.35 billion Race to the Top competition...Two consortiums of states – both of which include New Jersey – will develop the new assessments, which will judge students on a national set of standards for what they should learn from third grade through high school in math and language arts classes. The new tests should be ready for use in schools by the 2014-2015 academic year following four years of development..."
'N.J. is among coalition of states awarded Race to the Top funds to assess standardized tests' Published: Thursday, September 02, 2010, 9:15 PM Updated: Friday, September 03, 2010, 5:09 AM Jessica Calefati/The Star-Ledger TRENTON — New Jersey will be at the forefront of a collaborative effort to develop a new generation of standardized tests, an effort two groups of states will fund with grants totaling $330 million awarded today by the U.S. Department of Education through its $4.35 billion Race to the Top competition. Two consortiums of states – both of which include New Jersey – will develop the new assessments, which will judge students on a national set of standards for what they should learn from third grade through high school in math and language arts classes. The new tests should be ready for use in schools by the 2014-2015 academic year following four years of development. "We’re pleased to be chosen to be a part of both coalitions," said Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for Gov. Chris Christie. "Finding better, more reliable ways to assess student learning is a core part of our education reform agenda, so it’s good news for New Jersey to be chosen to be a part of development of improved assessment tests." The U.S. Department of Education distributed nearly all its Race to the Top funding through an education reform contest that New Jersey narrowly lost last week. The imbroglio surrounding this failure, due in part to a botched application response, has consumed the state for the past week and led to former education commissioner Bret Schundler’s firing. The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) includes 26 member states and won $170 million to develop assessments of students’ ability to comprehend complex text, conduct research projects, excel at in-class speaking and listening assignments, and work with digital media. The SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) of 31 states received $160 million to create online standardized tests. When students answer electronic test questions incorrectly, technology the SMARTER coalition intends to develop will ask students follow-up questions tailored to their previous responses in hopes of summoning the right answer from test-takers. "We’ve always advocated for multiple assessments of student achievement, and these approaches appear to be a clear step in that direction. We’ll look forward to seeing what both groups end up producing," said New Jersey Education Association President Barbara Keshishian. The state Department of Education would not comment on the assessment awards, but former education commissioner Bret Schundler said New Jersey signed on to both consortiums’ applications so that the New Jersey’s students could benefit from tests written by either group of states. "We didn’t want to narrow our options until we saw which consortium was best executing its plan to develop high quality assessments," Schundler said, adding that these new assessments might eventually "supplant" the N.J. Statewide Assessment Sample Test. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said teachers across the country will have a say in designing and scoring the new assessments, which must be written so that English language learners and students with disabilities can also be tested. With 44 states and the District of Columbia signing on to one of the two winning consortiums, 85 percent of students in the country will be assessed using better, smarter tests, Duncan said. "By far the number one complaint I’ve heard from teachers, from parents, from students themselves is that the state bubble-tests pressure teachers to teach to a test that doesn’t really measure what matters," Duncan said. "These new assessments will tell us if our schools are succeeding and if our students are truly college and career ready."
Star-Ledger - "TRENTON — New Jersey will be at the forefront of a collaborative effort to develop a new generation of standardized tests, an effort two groups of states will fund with grants totaling $330 million awarded today by the U.S. Department of Education through its $4.35 billion Race to the Top competition...Two consortiums of states – both of which include New Jersey – will develop the new assessments, which will judge students on a national set of standards for what they should learn from third grade through high school in math and language arts classes. The new tests should be ready for use in schools by the 2014-2015 academic year following four years of development..."
'N.J. is among coalition of states awarded Race to the Top funds to assess standardized tests' Published: Thursday, September 02, 2010, 9:15 PM Updated: Friday, September 03, 2010, 5:09 AM Jessica Calefati/The Star-Ledger TRENTON — New Jersey will be at the forefront of a collaborative effort to develop a new generation of standardized tests, an effort two groups of states will fund with grants totaling $330 million awarded today by the U.S. Department of Education through its $4.35 billion Race to the Top competition. Two consortiums of states – both of which include New Jersey – will develop the new assessments, which will judge students on a national set of standards for what they should learn from third grade through high school in math and language arts classes. The new tests should be ready for use in schools by the 2014-2015 academic year following four years of development. "We’re pleased to be chosen to be a part of both coalitions," said Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for Gov. Chris Christie. "Finding better, more reliable ways to assess student learning is a core part of our education reform agenda, so it’s good news for New Jersey to be chosen to be a part of development of improved assessment tests." The U.S. Department of Education distributed nearly all its Race to the Top funding through an education reform contest that New Jersey narrowly lost last week. The imbroglio surrounding this failure, due in part to a botched application response, has consumed the state for the past week and led to former education commissioner Bret Schundler’s firing. The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) includes 26 member states and won $170 million to develop assessments of students’ ability to comprehend complex text, conduct research projects, excel at in-class speaking and listening assignments, and work with digital media. The SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) of 31 states received $160 million to create online standardized tests. When students answer electronic test questions incorrectly, technology the SMARTER coalition intends to develop will ask students follow-up questions tailored to their previous responses in hopes of summoning the right answer from test-takers. "We’ve always advocated for multiple assessments of student achievement, and these approaches appear to be a clear step in that direction. We’ll look forward to seeing what both groups end up producing," said New Jersey Education Association President Barbara Keshishian. The state Department of Education would not comment on the assessment awards, but former education commissioner Bret Schundler said New Jersey signed on to both consortiums’ applications so that the New Jersey’s students could benefit from tests written by either group of states. "We didn’t want to narrow our options until we saw which consortium was best executing its plan to develop high quality assessments," Schundler said, adding that these new assessments might eventually "supplant" the N.J. Statewide Assessment Sample Test. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said teachers across the country will have a say in designing and scoring the new assessments, which must be written so that English language learners and students with disabilities can also be tested. With 44 states and the District of Columbia signing on to one of the two winning consortiums, 85 percent of students in the country will be assessed using better, smarter tests, Duncan said. "By far the number one complaint I’ve heard from teachers, from parents, from students themselves is that the state bubble-tests pressure teachers to teach to a test that doesn’t really measure what matters," Duncan said. "These new assessments will tell us if our schools are succeeding and if our students are truly college and career ready."
