Federal Testing for NCLB passes on "Adative" Testing

October 25, 2007
Petri Calls for Better School Tests
WASHINGTON - Rep. Tom Petri took on the status quo at the U.S. Department of
Education today with the introduction of the Assessment Accuracy and
Improvement Act, a
proposal to provide more accurate tests for elementary and middle
school students. The bill,
introduced with Rep. David Wu (D-OR) as a cosponsor, would allow
states to use "adaptive"
tests to fulfill their No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act testing requirements.
Currently, under NCLB, each state is required to test students in
grades three through
eight. Each state has its own tests, which must be approved by the
Education Department. The
tests are often done on paper and are identical for every student
within the same grade in any
given state.
Petri wants the Education Department to allow states to fulfill their
federal testing
requirement by using "adaptive" testing.
"An adaptive test is a test that changes in response to previously
asked questions," Petri
explained. "It's done on a computer. If a student answers a question
correctly, the test presents a
question of increased difficulty. If a student answers incorrectly,
the test presents a question of
decreased difficulty. The test customizes itself to the student's
actual level of performance with a
great deal of accuracy."
Petri said that several states would like to use adaptive tests to
satisfy federal testing
requirements. "Delaware and Oregon are especially interested in this,
and in Wisconsin, onethird
of the school districts in Wisconsin's 6th Congressional District
think adaptive tests are
valuable enough to use them for their own purposes in addition to the
paper testing the U.S.
Education Department requires."
What's the problem? Petri said the Education Department doesn't want
to deal with a
different approach. "They have to pass judgment on the tests the
states want to give to satisfy No
Child Left Behind. Adaptive tests would, admittedly, require more
effort to review. But that's
because they are better and will give us much more useful information."
Petri became convinced of the value of adaptive tests as he met with
students, parents and
educators in a series of forums on the No Child Left Behind Act which
he has held in the 6th
District over the past year.