What's a SCASS?

SCASS is the acronym for State Collaboratives on Assessment and Student Standards. The collaboratives are groups of individuals from state departments of education who have mutually identified issues and projects in assessment-related challenges that are more effectively addressed by a group of states rather than an individual state. There are total of 14 different operating SCASS projects.

What kinds of work do these groups do?

Some of the groups address issues such as Accountability Systems and Reporting, Assessing Limited English Proficient Students, Assessing Special Education Students, Comprehensive Assessment Systems for ESEA Title I, Early Childhood Education Assessment, and Technical Issues in Large-Scale Assessment. Some, such as the Surveys of the Enacted Curriculum in Mathematics and Science and the Surveys of the Enacted Curriculum in English language Arts and Reading, are examining the relationship of what is assessed to what is taught. And some, such as the consortia for Arts Education Assessment, Comprehensive Social Studies Assessment, Health Education Assessment, and Science Education Assessment, are developing assessment materials in those content areas.

What are some benefits to the state in being a member of a SCASS group?

Products
A wide variety of high-quality products and publications are produced and are available for use by state education agencies. All products are designed by the participating states based on their particular needs. Some SCASS projects pool their resources to conduct cutting-edge research, such as the Assessing Special Education Students, Assessing LEP Students, Comprehensive Assessment Systems for ESEA Title I, Technical Issues in Large-Scale Assessment, and Surveys of Enacted Curriculum projects (click on individual projects for details of each). Others commission papers or write reports to define, clarify, or interpret assessment-related issues. Several of the projects have developed guides for helping educators understand and use assessments better or build training programs for creating and using portfolios. Three projects have created CD-ROMs to package large quantities of assessment items and other materials in order to provide these resources to state personnel, teachers, and other educators in a user-friendly way.

Economy of group action
Because these projects are collaborations among states, costs for developing assessment items and implementation materials are amortized over the number of states involved (such as in the science, health, and social studies projects). In comparison, a single state working with a major test publisher to develop secure test forms at a single grade level may require a contract of more than one million dollars.

A significant, collective voice
A consortium, or significant group of states, can also leverage attention and federal grants, such as the OERI-supported Comprehensive Social Studies Assessment Project or the CDC-supported Health Education Assessment Project, and most recently, the LEP and TILSA. The economy of these collaborative efforts is not lost on those who are looking for better and more economical ways of using federal funds.

Professional development growth experiences
Other benefits for SCASS participation come in the form of professional development in assessment on a broad range of issues, and from having state education agency personnel be part of a larger, national group that helps put their state work in a broader context. Involvement in the national decision-making process Conversely, the collective wisdom of these groups offer the U.S. Department of Education a sounding board for reacting to new initiatives and provides credible and useful input on department guidelines (such as on IDEA, Title I, ESEA, and other legislation).

Who takes part in these activities?

Typically, a two-person team (one person with assessment expertise and one with content expertise) represents a state and attends three meetings a year.

Is there a relationship to the No Child Left Behind act (NCLB)?

For the upcoming year, many of the SCASS projects will continue to assist states in implementing the requirements of the No Child Left Behind act. This past year projects have provided technical assistance, guidance, and important publications and materials in supporting the work of state education agencies on AYP, accountability systems, alignment, English language learners (ELL), special education, and a host of other issues that have arisen from the NCLB act. Given the high costs associated with these new demands, the SCASS projects-with their collaborative approach-offer an efficient, effective, and economic alternative to "going it alone."

How are the groups funded?

The SCASS consortia are funded by state participation fees and sometimes by grants. This past year two SCASS projects, Assessing Limited English Proficient Students (LEP) and Technical Issues in Large-Scale Assessment (TILSA), were awarded enhanced assessment grants from the U.S. Department of Education to collaboratively address the assessment of ELL students and assessment alignment issues respectively. Many states have made participation in the SCASS part of their NCLB plan and have used Section 6111 funds from NCLB to support the participation fee because SCASS projects have a direct impact on the state's assessment programs and the capacity of the state to deal with the complex and demanding NCLB legislation.

What is the duration of these projects?

The SCASS projects exist as long as there is a need identified by the states. They are based on a project year that begins on July 1 and ends on June 30 of the following year.

How can a state join one of these projects?

July marks the start of a new project year for the 14 operating SCASS projects offered by CCSSO. Information on joining new projects and renewing SCASS memberships is sent to all chiefs, deputies, assessment directors, and SEA project participants. By returning the Request for Invoice form, states become members for the project year starting July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008.

Can organizations other than state education agencies be members?

SCASS projects often have associate members that represent universities, test publishers, other not-for-profit education organizations, and federal agencies. These members need to be confirmed by the SCASS group and invited to participate by the state members. Associate members pay a basic fee for a yearly membership, and their organizations pay the travel, lodging, and meal expenses for the representative.

Where can I get additional information?

For additional information, please contact the SCASS Administrative Assistant at scassadmin@ccsso.org.