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National Symposium:
INNOVATIONS IN TESTING TECHNOLOGY FOR CANADIAN SCHOOLS
October 6 & 7, 2005, Victoria BC
PRESENTATIONS
A Future in the Process of Arrival
Dr. Alan Taylor
This keynote presentation provides an overview of recent research findings on the use of computer technologies to assess student learning, undertaken by Dr. Alan Taylor. It begins with a description of the "state of the art" in electronic applications of student assessment at the K-12 level across Canada and the United States. Among the highlights are descriptions of cutting-edge innovations and applications holding promise to revolutionize the field of student assessment. The presentation includes a number of recommendations, based on the research findings, that are relevant at provincial, state, school district, and school levels.
A District's Perspective on the Use of Assessment Technology
Stewart Hercus
This session will deal with how School District No. 46 (Sunshine Coast ) has implemented a district-wide testing program for all students from grades 2-10 in reading, writing and numeracy. Computer technology is used to do the testing. The link between testing and improved student achievement will be examined, as well as how this testing links to special needs students.
Test Security Issues and Best Practices
Cyndy Fitzgerald, PhD
This session will highlight the top test security issues currently facing the educational testing arena today. These issues range from cheating on tests to posting test questions on the Internet. Best practices for dealing with these types of issues will also be provided. Best practices include methods for detection, prevention and remediation of test fraud incidents.
E-Assessment of English Language Proficiency: Directions & Challenges
Dr. Barry Carbol and Dr. Mike Marshall
Determining English language proficiency (ELP) presents a significant challenge for Canadian school boards, post-secondary institutions and employers. At the same time, the evolution of computer and internet-based technologies holds promise for public and private organizations as an efficient and effective way of assessing English proficiency. In an effort to clarify the issues associated with online systems targeted at English language proficiency and the standards that underlie them, the presenters will provide an overview of the state of global efforts to assess ELP using online solutions, a demonstration of a current Canadian example, the Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP), and a discussion of delivery considerations.
Pearson's Progress Assessment Series: Measuring & Forecasting Student Growth
Michael Hussey
This session focuses on how Pearson PASeries(tm) (Progress Assessment Series(tm)) measures progress throughout the school year and forecasts growth toward specific performance standards. Now schools, boards, and provinces can see how students have grown academically and where they stand in achieving grade-level expectations or provincial performance standards at any time during the year.
Leading-Edge US Developments and Issues
Dr. Stanley Rabinowitz
Online assessment represents the future of assessment in the U.S. and internationally. Several models exist - ranging from computer-based delivery of assessments developed for traditional paper administration up through full adaptive methodologies. Computer-based administrations also hold great promise for innovative assessment formats in all content areas. This session will describe recent developments in computer-based assessments and the many challenges affecting full implementation.
You Have Data, Now What?
Robin Gardiner Poncia
The public school system has always been somewhat ambivalent about the role of statistical data in education. On the one hand, schools generate an abundance of information. Teachers and principals, wearily confronting a steady flow of forms to fill out, know the list all too well. On the other hand, the system has never been quite certain what to do with all this information. This session will provide participants with an overview of how data is being used to drive school improvement plans and impact student achievement.
System Planning: Where are we going? How will we know when we get there?
Barry Anderson
This afternoon keynote session offers an outline of conditions for technology to be used to re-engineer education. It will provide brief overview of the status quo and obstacles to alternative views of the future and entertain questions from the audience.
An Alberta Case Study in Online Assessment
Deanna Shostak & Ken Marcellus, Alberta Education
Tracey Wilen-Daugenti, Cisco Systems
Computer-based assessment has been called the "next educational frontier." Cisco Systems Internet Business Solutions Group teamed with the province of Alberta's education ministry for a groundbreaking pilot project that explored the feasibility of using Internet technology to enable both remote development of assessment items and online field testing. The project has attracted attention from around the world and lays a solid foundation for broader application of this exciting technology in Alberta and beyond. During this session, we will discuss Alberta Education's two part pilot on remote item development and online field testing for students in Applied Mathematics 30 and Pure Mathematics 30. We plan to cover the process, the outcomes, the lessons learned, and the next steps from this pilot so that others will benefit from our work.
The Role of the ePortfolio in Student Assessment ... and More!
Dr. Kathryn Chang Barker, FuturEd Inc.
An ePortfolio is a digital or electronic portfolio with the capacity to archive and present an individual's skills and knowledge acquired from formal, non-formal and informal learning. Dr. Barker has been studying and promoting the ePortfolio since 1997. In this presentation, you will learn:
Terminology associated with the ePortfolio
Uses of the ePortfolio in K-12, higher education and the workplace
Specific uses of the ePortfolio in the assessment of learning
How the ePortfolio is embedded in eLearning and technology-assisted student assessment
User issues such as interoperability, utility and extensibility
Challenges faced by educators and institutions
The current status of the ePortfolio in Canada and the European Union
Issues in Item Bank Development and Use
John Anderson, University of Victoria and Mike Marshall, Applied Research & Evaluation Services, UBC
This breakout session will explore the following issues:
1. Purpose(s) - There are many possible purposes as to why a district or school or province may want to develop a central testing system which should influence the design of the system: Feedback and diagnostics; Accountability; Certification; Selection.
2. Sorting (NRT) or categorization (CRT/DRT) - the system purpose will influence the analytic framework underlying the test system. One size fits all, or special purpose testing?
3. Items - A system will have to acquire test items, tasks or problem sets. These should serve the purpose(s) which have been explicitly determined and be feasible in terms of acquisition costs and administrative use over time. Issues include: Design; Acquire from external sources versus local development; Quality assurance.
4. Scoring, Analysis & Evaluation - Discussion of the ways in which test results can be analyzed to produce meaningful information about student achievement and school performance.
5. Standards, Cut-points & Reporting - Interpreting scores and grades to say something about achievement in the jurisdiction.
6. Resource Requirements - these are both technical and substantive. The bottom line: can the jurisdiction afford to develop and sustain a quality testing system?
Planning and Implementing Large-Scale Computer Based Assessment (CBA)
Pitfalls, Promise and Potential
Jim Gaskill, UBC
Parkinson's Law still holds; if something can go wrong it will. BC has encountered a number of pitfalls in implementing Computer Based Assessment. However, experience has shown that the promised flexibility and responsiveness can be attained. By starting small, BC has begun to implement a variety of strategies to serve students and to explore other applications of the technology.
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