Point #5a. Achievement & Assessments “A topic on most everyone’s list.” (There are two parts to this posting, please see Point #5b as well) Since TSD is awaiting the TCAP results from the state, due out in mid August, we thought we would provide our readers with the key points of the TCAP/PARCC. We will try to give you the background (with info from the CDE) about it, so that you can better understand what has been happening and will be happening next year. We have also included a link to the CDE site where you can find more information. Administrators and teachers are very well aware, as are most parents, that testing in Colorado is “in transition” and state educators expect that scores may be lower as this transition takes place. “The transitional test will encourage districts to move forward with their implementation of the new standards, while providing time for the preparation of students for the higher expectations to come,” said Jo O’Brien, assistant commissioner in the CDE’s Office of Standards and Assessment. “TCAP tests content common to both Colorado’s old Model Content Standards and its newly adopted Colorado Academic Standards. It assesses the same subjects and grades – reading, writing and math in grades 3-10 and science in grades 5, 8 and 10 – as the CSAP. In spring 2013 and 2014, students will again take the TCAP plus they’ll see some pilot items from the new – as yet unnamed – state exams expected to be rolled out in spring 2015.” (RW Note: the new exam is now called the PARCC Test) From the CDE website (see link below), Transitional Colorado Assessment Program (TCAP) KEYPOINTS As Colorado shifts to new academic content standards and assessments to measure them, we recognize there are questions about the transition and its roll-out. Here are some key points you may find helpful in explaining that process. General • In December of 2009 and August of 2011, the State Board adopted the new Colorado Academic Standards. • The Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) was based on the old Colorado Model Content Standards, which does not reflect in any way the new standards. After 16 years, CSAP has concluded its lifecycle. • The Transitional Colorado Assessment Program (TCAP) has been designed to support school districts as they transition to the new standards. • Where possible, TCAP has been designed to measure standards that are common between the old standards and new standards. o The TCAP frameworks clearly show the relationship between the assessment objectives and the Colorado Academic Standards. o The new standards, however, are often assessed at a lower level than what will be expected once the new standards are fully implemented. • TCAP will continue to assess the same content areas and grades as CSAP: math, reading and writing in grades three through 10. Science will be assessed in fifth, eighth and 10th grades. • TCAP encourages districts to move forward with implementation of the new standards, while providing time for the preparation of students for the higher expectations to come. • TCAP has been designed to be used for two years and by the conclusion of that time, all districts are expected to have transitioned fully to teaching the new academic standards. • TCAP does not assess the entire Colorado Academic Standards, nor does it assess the new standards at the same level of difficulty which will be expected once the new standards are implemented. • TCAP does not assess Colorado’s new personal financial literacy expectations or social studies. It does not test any content standards that have shifted grades and it will not test any new learning skills that are embedded in the new standards, such as invention and information management. • When the new standards are fully implemented, a new assessment designed to assess the full depth and breadth of those standards will be needed. co.chalkbeat.org/topic-state-testing cde.state.co.us/assessment/coassess-about
Posted on: Fri, 25 Jul 2014 12:11:24 +0000
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