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Consultants recommend four assessments and a decision checklist for choice schools; Commission to review report in April
Summary
Solomon Research & Analytics presented a report recommending NWEA MAP Growth, i-Ready (Inform), the Montana MAST assessment, and ACT/preACT as starter options for Community Choice Schools; the consultants also delivered a practical checklist and decision matrix for evaluating alternative proposed assessments. Commissioners asked follow-up questions about growth models, reporting timelines and data access.
Consultants from Solomon Research & Analytics briefed the Community Choice Schools Commission on Feb. 18 on recommended assessments and tools the Commission can use to evaluate assessments proposed by choice-school applicants.
Joe Marr and Dr. Bill Sullivan told members they identified four recommended assessments the Commission could pre-approve as examples: NWEA MAP Growth (a norm-referenced growth model), i-Ready diagnostic/inform (criterion-referenced with instructional alignment tools), the state’s new Montana assessment (MAST) and ACT/preACT for high-school college-readiness and growth ladders. The consultants also provided a practical checklist and a decision matrix to assess validity, reliability, subgroup fairness, accessibility and longitudinal-growth model quality for any alternative proposals.
Why it matters: the law requires choice schools to propose rigorous, valid and reliable interim measures aligned with the Commission’s performance framework. Consultants emphasized technical standards (validity, reliability, alignment and differential item functioning) and practical considerations including reporting timelines, data ownership and the Commission’s June 30 reporting deadline for renewal-year performance reports.
Key technical points from the presentation: - Validity and reliability are foundational; growth models and subgroup reporting are central to meeting statutory requirements. - NWEA MAP Growth offers a large national norm sample and a well-documented conditional growth model; it is not directly aligned to Montana standards but is robust for growth comparisons. - i-Ready (Inform) yields detailed skill diagnostics and instructional resources but has less public technical documentation for older students. - MAST provides state-aligned results and includes differential-item analysis that specifically examined Native American students; it is new statewide and some growth measures and independent alignment work are still in development. - ACT/preACT can function as a high-school college-readiness and growth ladder when preACT is administered earlier.
Commissioners raised practical concerns. Commissioner Barbara Forrester Frank said practitioners in the field find the state assessment’s reporting difficult to use for classroom instruction: "in the field, we do not find it useful... reporting is terrible, and the kids don't take it seriously." Consultants acknowledged that state summative assessments commonly lack immediate instructional utility but noted they included MAST because it is the state instrument and therefore useful for statewide comparisons and reporting obligations.
Consultants warned about data lags and verification: the MAST statewide data for the prior year were reported as late as November, and a tight June 30 renewal reporting deadline may necessitate staged reporting or data-sharing agreements to allow Commission access to raw school data for verification.
Next steps: the Commission will review the Solomon report and practical checklists and carry the assessment recommendations forward for deeper discussion at the April meeting; the Commission did not adopt any assessment policy on Feb. 18.
Quote: Joe Marr summarized the deliverable: "We have 4 recommended assessments that are approved for use. It's not an exhaustive list, but they're good examples," and he urged use of the practical checklist to vet alternative proposals.
Provenance: consultants’ presentation and question-and-answer session (Solomon Research & Analytics) at the Feb. 18 meeting; no Commission adoption on Feb. 18.
