David Blount, Editor

Online/Web-Based Assessment

While Virginia’s focus on moving toward web-based assessment has taken formal shape in the past two years, it could be said that its roots stretch back to the mid-1990s. That’s when the Board of Education established revised Standards of Learning (SOL) in the four core areas of English, math, science and history, followed by subsequent revisions to the Regulations Governing the Accrediting of Public Schools in Virginia, otherwise known as the Standards of Accreditation (SOA). At the same time, the state legislature was beginning a multi-year effort to enhance the presence of educational technology in all public schools.

In 1995, the General Assembly approved HB 2542, the Omnibus Educational Act of 1995, which, when coupled with state funding appropriations, made automated library media centers and school networking capabilities a educational technology priority for the state. A year later, HB 512 further amended the Omnibus Educational Act to establish the state’s educational technology funding goals, consistent with those components of the Board of Education’s revised six-year technology plan, emphasizing school retrofitting, a five-to-one ratio of pupils to computers, and teacher training. The 1996-98 budget then included more than $100 million for meeting these goals.

Approved in 1998, HB 1340 is credited with further enhancing the importance of educational technology by transferring reference to the Board of Education’s technology plan to the Standards of Quality. The new two-year budget contained $50 million for continuing the goals established in 1996. In 1999, HB 2480 charged the Board of Education (BOE) with contracting for the development or purchase of interactive educational software and other instructional materials designed as tutorials to improve achievement on SOL tests. The legislature also began to address issues of testing security, approving HB 2477 authorizing the BOE to pursue civil remedies for breaches in test security.

During the 2000 legislative session, a $113 million Standards of Learning Technology initiative was included in the 2000-2002 budget to establish a computer-based instructional and testing system for the SOL and for technology infrastructure. The intent of this initiative was to use web-enabled systems to improve SOL instructional, remedial and testing capabilities of high schools, with funding targeted to reach three general goals: 1) providing student access to computers with a ratio of one computer for every five students; 2) creating Internet-ready local area network capability (student access to the Internet) by 2003; and 3) assuring adequate high speed, high bandwidth capability for instructional, remedial and testing needs. To receive funds, school divisions must develop a plan for using the money and commit to being capable of administering high school tests by May 1, 2003; to appropriate a local match of funding; and to use funds to build capacity, using established criteria, at middle schools and then elementary schools if the capacity is considered adequate at each high school. Also in the 2000-2002 budget, $4.8 million ($26,000/high school) was included for hiring technology resource assistants in high schools.

Related to this budget initiative, HB 1484 enabled the Board of Education to work with vendors to provide computerized assessments, as well as test construction, analysis and security for (i) web-based computerized assessments for evaluating student progress during and after remediation, and (ii) the development of a remediation item bank directly related to the SOL. Regarding test security, two additional bills approved in 2000 permitted the Attorney General to take action against anyone breaching SOL test security. Listed among the prohibited acts in HB 867 and SB 548 were permitting unauthorized access to secure test questions; copying all or any portion of any secure test booklet; and making available test answer keys.

The next logical step in expanding online/Web-based testing in Virginia would be to implement and fund a SOL technology initiative at the middle and elementary school levels. Doing so likely would require an additional $50-$100 million. Legislators, as well as the Board of Education, likely will continue to examine the dates of the testing “window” as these initiatives are fully implemented. The Department of Education has consistently stated its intent to enable SOL tests to be administered at the latest possible dates that will allow test scoring and result reporting.

1994 – HB 947/SB 340 (educational technology goals)

1995 – HB 2542

1996 – HJ 168 (Accountability Commission/student tests)

1998 – HB 1340, HJ 176 (technology connectivity survey)

1999 – HB 2477, HB 2480

2000 – HB 867/SB 548, HB 1019 (release of SOL tests), HB 1484, HJ 302 (assessments for special education students)

2001 – HJ 570 (study of SOL tests)

As stated in the K–12 Web-Based Assessment Implementation briefing, Virginia is among a handful of states moving toward such testing. South Dakota has been piloting online adaptive tests in the areas of reading, math, science and language arts, with full implementation set for Spring 2002. Oregon’s computer-adaptive tests (Technology Enhanced Student Assessment) to assess the accomplishments of students related to the Certificate of Initial Mastery and other benchmarks has been piloted the past two years. In Delaware, a bill was approved in 2001 to require the state Department of Education to develop rules about the security of test materials, proper administration of tests, and procedures for collecting, storing and retrieving test materials and data.

The issues of on-line/web-based assessment, of test security and a host of other issues are raised by federal legislation in the 107th Congress that would require more student testing. The House and Senate have approved their respective versions of the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Under both H.R. 1 (No Child Left Behind Act of 2001) and S.1 (Better Education for Students and Teachers Act), states would be required, within three years, to implement annual testing in reading and math for all students in grades 3 through 8. A conference committee has been meeting to try to iron out differences in the bills.

http://141.104.22.210/VDOE/Technology/soltech/soltech.html

http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/suptsmemos/2000/inf113.html

http://www.sreb.org/main/LegAction/legrept/legreptindex.asp

http://www.ecs.org/ecsmain.asp?page=/html/issues.asp?am=1

http://www.nsba.org/sbn/01-may/050801-4.htm

http://thomas.loc.gov/

Click here for a policy issue briefing on “Online Assessment.”

Click here for a policy issue briefing on “K-12 Web-Based Assessment Implementation.”

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