| Agency Description The HB 585 Work Group made several recommendations for the future of Virginia’s assessment system. In order to bring these recommendations to reality, the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) must procure new assessments to ensure alignment to the standards of learning, rigor, and effective measure of student mastery and readiness to the next grade level.
The current assessment system is outdated and needs to measure the rigor of the standards of learning. IT needs to align to national best practices and ensure our students can compete on a national market. There are minimal resources for teachers and parents.
A strong assessment system will allow students to engage with complex ideas, support their thinking with evidence, produce informed judgements, and demonstrate critical thinking. Most states have robust supports and resources for parents and educators such as released test items; a new system will ensure these supports are in place.
This recommendation of a multi-year contract will provide cost savings since it will be spread over five years.
There will be enhanced reporting features which will allow teachers, parents, students, and stakeholders know where students are and where they need to improve. These results inform the supports schools and divisions will be provided through Virginia’s Support Framework aligned to federal standards included in the state board approved ESSA plan.
The implementation of Virginia’s new assessment program will provide educators professional development and increased technical assistance. It also provides parents an enhanced report that clearly outlines their child’s performance and resources to assist their children at home. Teachers will also be able to access more resources such as an improved item bank. |
| Consequences of not funding/Justification The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) new assessment system will include timely, clear, and actionable reporting, as well as improved system coherence. The new system will also improve communications in terms of reporting features for divisions, teachers, and parents and will improve educator training and support. Critical for Virginia students, teachers, and parents, is the aligned assessments to Virginia’s Standards of Learning as well as the increase in rigorous assessments that align to national standards. Additionally, the implementation of new assessments such as competency-based assessments and performance tasks will provide VDOE, divisions, and especially teachers if students are performing as they should and are on track for mastering grade level content.
If state funding is not provided to support a new assessment system, Virginia's testing capabilities will fall behind. Teachers will have fewer assessment resources and parents will have fewer metrics related to their child's performance. |