Kansas board agrees to seek federal approval for innovative distributed assessment pilot

The Kansas State Board of Education voted to request that the Kansas State Department of Education submit an application to the U.S. Department of Education to pilot an innovative, curriculum‑directed assessment system that would use multiple benchmark assessments across the school year in place of a single end‑of‑year summative exam.

Dr. Nent, who led the presentation, told the board the demonstration authority would let participating districts use four or more benchmark assessments — with results returned to teachers within roughly 72 hours — to produce a summative score for federal accountability. He said six districts already are piloting the model and KSDE would submit an intent to apply now, a formal application in May and expect a 90‑day federal response if the board approves seeking the waiver.

Board members pressed for details about parental rights, comparability and cost. Michelle asked how pilot districts would treat families who opt out of state testing; Dr. Nent said opt‑out mechanisms would follow current procedures and that item‑level results would be shared with families as teachers share other graded work. Several members, including Debbie and Connie, asked whether local control would be preserved; presenters said districts design the benchmarks to align with local curriculum while meeting federal comparability rules.

Cost and scale drew repeated questions. Staff told the board the current six pilot districts pay for the work from their budgets and KSDE will pursue grant funding for expansion; staff gave a planning estimate of just under $1 million to scale to roughly 160,000–175,000 students and said additional costs arise if the model must meet state and federal accountability reporting for all districts.

Supporters said the pilot spreads accountability across the year, gives teachers quicker, actionable data and can reduce double‑testing where districts currently provide benchmarks and still administer an end‑of‑year exam. Skeptics warned about potential costs, the administrative burden to integrate district platforms and the consequences for districts that have recently changed assessment contracts.

After discussion, board member Betty moved that the board request KSDE submit the IADA application to the U.S. Department of Education to pilot a three‑year curriculum‑directed distributed assessment system and allow participating KSDE‑selected districts to use the pilot to meet Kansas state assessment requirements for state accountability; the motion carried.