LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Significant changes are coming to the scoring system for Arkansas standardized tests after a decision Thursday morning.
The Arkansas Board of Education voted unanimously to pass new “cut scores," which will place students in grades three through high school into one of four levels based on performance.
“I like to say we've been on offense, getting the system aligned and marching down the field,” said Jacob Oliva, the secretary of the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE). “We're first and goal, and when we set these cut scores and start being able to release these tools, we're going to be able to spike the ball in the end zone.”
Shortly after, applause broke out as the board voted to approve the new system for the ATLAS tests, which replaced the ACT Aspire as Arkansas’ standardized test of choice last spring.
During the meeting, Stacy Smith, the deputy commissioner of the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, elaborated on what being placed at each level would mean for a student.
“When you think about where support is needed,” Smith said. “Levels three and four are students who are proficient. Students in level two may need some support. Students in level one will need some support.”
Smith elaborated further that students in level one have “limited knowledge” of the standards expected for their grade level.
Level two students have a basic understanding, and students in levels three and four have a proficient or advanced understanding of the subject matter. They may even be ready for advanced work.
A group of over 200 educators determined the new standards.
One of those was Kaiesha McGruder with the Lee County School District, who elaborated on the process in a video played before the vote on Thursday.
“We had a conversation,” McGruder said. “We collaborated, and we were like, ‘Why was your score this, and why was your score that’… everyone felt confident in that process because we could collaborate, but we also had the last say-so.”
Those conversations led to the new cut scores for the math, science and ELA portions of the ATLAS tests.
The numbers are slightly different depending on grade and subject, but a level one student generally scores between 1000 and 1045 on a subject, with level 2 students scoring anywhere from 1045 to 1059.
The numbers for level three students generally range between 1060 and 1074, with scores higher than that placing them in the level four category and possibly setting them up for advanced classes or accelerated learning.
Oliva said the new standards will be strict. If these levels and scores had been in place for last spring’s tests, over 65% of students would’ve been levels 1-2 in math and ELA, with science not far behind at 64.3%.
However, he said the standards should be tough because this will allow teachers to assess their students more accurately, leading to increased learning.
“This is going to be real-time information for our educators,” Oliva said. “To see how their students are performing, and they'll know how to make the instructional pivots to support them in the school year. They don't have to wait till the summer to find out how their students did because this system is designed to monitor and capture that student's performance throughout the school year.”
Now that the new system is in place, Olivia said that he anticipates school districts will receive individual school and student data by the end of October.