Home » Assessments – MSP, HSPE, Smarter Balanced
Assessments – MSP, HSPE, Smarter Balanced
Improving Math and Science Assessments
In 2007, the Washington State Legislature, with the prodding of the parent group Where’s the Math, passed 2SHB 1906 which contained a requirement to improve the math and science standards. (CURE supported math improvements, but we opposed HB1906 due to the other measures in the bill.)
Redesigning the WASL
In 2008 while Dr. Terry Bergeson was still Superintendent, beseiged by parent and education group complaints, the Washington State Legislature passed ESSB 5414 which called for a redesign of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL). The Superintendent of Public Instruction was required to revise the current WASL to reduce the number of open-ended/extended response questions at all grade levels. The assessments were to give timely results, and were to be more usable for diagnosing strengths and weaknesses. ESHB 3166 also called for the development of End-of-Course assessments for high school math and science, and provided a phase-in schedule for requiring passing the End-of-Course assessments in order to graduate.
Will the legislative mandates work?
We now have a new superintendent of public instruction, Superintendent Randy Dorn. Math standards were improved; however the panel chosen to implement the improved math standards tried to resist. Also, the standards in the subjects other than math and science have not undergone the same scrutiny and revision. Thus, the new assessments may not be a substantial improvement over the old WASL.
Online assessments
To comply with the requirements of timeliness of results, the state has moved to online testing. There are advantages and disadvantages with online testing. Besides the complications brought on by the computer itself, a key concern is the question of data storage and privacy, especially if the questions are attitudinal rather than knowledge-based. Time will tell.
Pull quotes:
“Consider the recent history of high stakes testing in the state of Washington. We spent more than a decade and a billion dollars on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) only to find that the test was deeply flawed…..”
“The truth is that as long as we try to force every kid through a one size fits all system we will never see improvement. No other country in the world is running an education system on the pretense that all students are the same and as long as we pursue that folly we will continue to waste precious resources and fall further behind our competitors.”
Read the commentary by Bob Dean
A Kindergarten Career Test! This is wrong on so many levels–and also very revealing. Read more.
Sadly, if a lie is repeated often enough, it eventually becomes believed as the truth. Educators, legislators, the media, educators, and others have all been referring to the MSP and HSPE—and the former State assessment, the WASL—as “standardized” tests. Not True.
Whether or not to use the state assessment as a graduation requirement is a state decision. It is not required by the federal No Child Left Behind law.
The new Measurements of Student Progress (MSP) are called “formative” assessments and the High School Proficiency Exam (HSPE) is being called a “summative” assessment. What does that mean?
Over the next few years, the state will phase-in computerized state assessments.
The Highs School Proficiency Exam (HSPE) is the new name for the high school level WASL. See information taken from the OSPI website HSPE information.
The MSP or Measurements of Student Progress will be the new assessment for grades 3-8. It is intended to be more diagnostic than the previous assessment (WASL). Online assessing will be phased in starting in the spring of 2010.
Information from the website of the Office of the Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction.
