STATE MANDATED TESTING COMING TO FIVE KEYS

By Steve Good

As much as we hoped it wasn't true, it is. This year we will participate in the CAASPP Smarter Balanced assessments -- which means we will be administering standardized testing for English language arts/literacy and mathematics in Spring 2018! 

What are the Smarter Balanced assessments?
The Smarter Balanced (SBAC) assessments are the new STAR tests (the old standardized testing program) -- but they are computer-based and will measure student knowledge of California’s ELA and mathematics standards through more than multiple-choice questions. 

Shouldn't we be exempt or something?
Five Keys is an alternative school that serves adult students through an exemption in Ed Code Section 47612.1. As such, Five Keys only enrolls high school dropouts / credit deficient students and students that are referred to us by local school districts. The average age of a Five Keys student is approximately 26 and the average length of enrollment is less than 60 days.

Thus the highly transitory nature of our students and the fact that virtually all of our students are either dropouts or severely credit deficient qualifies us for Alternative School Accountability Measures (ASAM), to be replaced with Dashboard of Alternative School Systems (DASS), but does not exempt us from CAASPP testing. The benefit of the DASS program is that it recognizes our students are unique and that state testing isn’t the best measure of success. So the DASS program exempts us from certain accountability consequences for low performing students while at the same time looking at other measures of success and accountability, such as pre- and post-TABE scores. The new DASS accountability indicators have not been developed yet; however, I am on the State Task Force for developing these new measures and will be certain to represent our unique students.

What changes should we anticipate?
One change that has recently taken place in preparation for testing is our enrollment policy regarding grade level placement.

During the CAASPP testing window of the 2016-2017 school year, we had 3,000 students enrolled as 11th graders; of these, only 28 were actually high school aged (16-18 years old).

Under the state testing guidelines, all 11th graders are required to participate in state testing. With our former enrollment policy, which placed all students with at least 55 credits into 11th grade (regardless of age, how long they have been away from school, what type of credits they have), only about 1% of our enrolled 11th graders fit the profile of the population the test is actually designed for.  ​
 

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Thus, the new Grade Level Placement Procedures are as follows:

1. Students 16 – 18 years of age will be placed into the same grade level as the school they last attended.
2. Initial placement will based on student self-reporting.
3. Upon receipt of transcripts, correct grade placement will be verified. Students 19 years or older, because of their age, will be classified as 12th graders. Exception: regardless of age, students with no prior high school credits will be classified at 9th graders.

We want to ensure we identify and appropriately place high school aged students in the proper grade levels… And not have adults who have been out of school for years take this computer-based exam.

What kind of support will teachers and students receive?
We want to ensure our students and teachers are adequately prepared for these exams. Expect to see major curriculum developments over the next year! Test prep training and materials will also be available beginning January 2018.

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Acronyms to know

​(In order of appearance)

• CAASPP: California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress; replaced the STAR program in 2014
• SBAC: Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium; refers to the Smarter Balanced tests that have replaced STAR tests
  
• STAR: Standardized Testing and Reporting; the former state assessment program administered by the CDE, now replaced by CAASPP
• ASAM: Alternative School Accountability Measures; former system replaced by DASS
• DASS: Dashboard of Alternative School Systems; replaced ASAM in July 2017; holds alternative schools accountable for alternative accountability indicators that will be incorporated beginning Fall 2018 

Visit the New Assessment Blog!
Our Assessment Coordinator, Gabriela Farias, has developed a central place where you can find all the latest updates about assessments at Five Keys, including SBAC test prep, TABE, CASAS, and more!

Assessment Blog