State board hears new elementary fundamentals tests, delays decision to April

The ABTL on March 1 received a technical briefing on a new suite of elementary-education certification tests that the testing contractor and agency staff have begun offering as a possible replacement for parts of the state’s 5000-series exams. Staff emphasized the tests were launched in March and that the new system will initially report full-test scores; modular subtests called “practice steps” will open in the summer after enough initial data are collected.

Sumi, a member of the assessment development team, said the five tests — reading & language arts; teaching reading; mathematics; social studies; and science — are designed to align with current national standards and to embed “tasks of teaching” that reflect classroom practice. She told the board: “Each of these tests do include tasks that integrate the task of teaching,” and explained that candidates will receive a full score report for each test (the first of which will be reported for March test-takers on April 17) and later will be able to retake individual steps instead of the entire test once the step capability is enabled.

Malik Mckenley, who led an earlier portion of the vendor presentation on world-language assessments, joined Sumi to describe how the modular approach will work. He said candidates who retake only a failed step will bank their best step scores and that an updated overall scaled score will be generated from the candidate’s highest step results. He emphasized that bridge modules will remain available at the overall-test level for candidates who qualify for bridge under the state’s one‑SEM rule.

Board members raised implementation questions about cost, timing, and reporting. Members said they wanted clearer side‑by‑side comparisons of (1) how long each new subtest will be, (2) the timeline between testing and score reports, and (3) the pricing for early-adopter discounts versus regular pricing and the cost of retaking individual steps. One board member noted the possibility that candidates who test early under discounted pricing could face higher out-of-pocket costs if they subsequently need multiple step retakes.

After the discussion, a motion was made to lay the proposed adoption of the 8000‑series elementary tests on the table until the ABTL’s April meeting so staff could provide additional documentation (study companions and a detailed cost/timeline comparison). The motion passed by voice vote. Staff said they will distribute the materials and the technical report in advance of the April meeting to allow time for review.

What’s next: The item was deferred to the ABTL’s April 20 meeting for further review. Staff will provide the study companions, sample score reports, and a side‑by‑side comparison with the 5000‑series tests and cost scenarios.

Provenance: topicintro: "Great. Excuse me. Thank you Malik. Good morning. Can everyone hear me?" (SEG 1155). topfinish: "We do have interactive practice tests for each of the five new tests... and I believe that is it but opening it up for questions." (SEG 1560–1568).