News Brief
CCSSO Kicks off Assessment Advisory Forum Series
CCSSO recently kicked off a new series of convenings to facilitate discussion among assessment consortia, state leaders and technology/assessment experts around issues identified by the five federally-funded assessment consortia to support the development of comparable assessment systems that are aligned to the Common Core State Standards. Meeting topics focus on priority information for consortia leaders and states, while incorporating the following considerations: accessibility for students with disabilities and English learners from day one; long term system sustainability and flexibility; integrating expertise on technology and test design; and maximum innovation, quality and value through vendor competition. Support for the series is provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and registration fees. 2012 meetings are being planned with a focus on the transition to computer-based assessment and assessment comparability.
On October 26, CCSSO and the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) co-lead Key Technology Considerations for the Next Generation of Student Assessments, bringing together 20 states with more than 50 assessment and technology industry leaders, and staff from all five consortia. The meeting focused on four goals:
- Anticipate school technology and instructional design in the near future
- Examine implications of evolving technology on state specification and assessment design/delivery
- Consider how assessment design can best balance standardization and flexibility to enable maximum innovation and sustainability in future years
- Outline how technology architecture and interoperability can best create a vibrant assessment ecosystem that fosters deeper learning while maintaining comparability
For more information view the meeting video, meeting presentations, meeting materials or contact Alyssa Alston at alyssaa@ccsso.org or 202-336-7050.