http://eduresearcher.com/2015/09/08/openletter/
The Smarter Balanced Assessment is the standardized assessment the New Hampshire Department of Ed chose to force upon the public and charter schools in New Hampshire.
The computer adaptive national SBAC test developed by AIR has zero validity and reliability data. Here are the comments of testing specialist Dr. Doug McCrae presented to the California State Board of Education on 9/3/15:
“My name is Doug McRae, a retired testing specialist from Monterey.
The big question for Smarter Balanced test results is not the delay in release of the scores, or the relationships to old STAR data on the CDE website, but rather the quality of the Smarter Balanced scores now being provided to local districts and schools. These scores should be valid reliable and fair, as required by California statute as well as professional standards for large scale K-12 assessments. When I made a Public Records Request to the CDE last winter for documentation of validity reliability and fairness information for Smarter Balanced tests, either in CDE files or obtainable from the Smarter Balanced consortium, the reply letter in January said CDE had no such information in their files. I provided a copy of this interchange to the State Board at your January meeting. There has been no documentation for the validity, reliability, or fairness for Smarter Balanced tests released by Smarter Balanced, UCLA, or CDE since January, as far as I know.
Statewide test results should not be released in the absence of documented validity reliability and fairness of scores. Individual student reports should not be shared with parents or students before the technical quality of the scores is documented. But, the real longer lasting damage will be done if substandard information is placed in student cumulative academic records to follow students for their remaining years in school, to do damage for placement and instructional decisions and opportunities to learn, for years to come. To allow this to happen would be immoral, unethical, unprofessional, and to say the least, totally irresponsible. I would urge the State Board to take action today to prevent or (at the very least) to discourage local districts from placing 2015 Smarter Balanced scores in student permanent records until validity reliability and fairness characteristics are documented and made available to the public.”
It’s important to note that the tests developed by AIR include a focus on controversial social issues instead of academics.
We continue to support quality ACHIEVEMENT TESTS (versus assessments that focus on behaviors, attitudes, dispositions, etc.) If you want to know your child’s proficiency in the core academic subjects, have your children take an achievement test outside the school district.
Suggestions:
Iowa Basic Skills Test
Stanford Achievement Test
California Achievement Test
NON-COMMON CORE