Track Sessions: Equitable Accountability

Equitable Accountability Sessions in Alphabetical Order

Assessing English Learner Progress and the Quality of English Language Programs

English learners (ELs) are a critically important and growing subgroup in our nation. These students enter their educational experience trying to learn academic content with the added challenge of learning a new language. It is critical to ensure that the progress of English language development is measured accurately so that schools can target their resources and improve their programs and services to support EL students. This symposium session will focus on a collaborative project between researchers and seven state education agencies examining (1) methods that effectively measure EL growth towards English language proficiency; (2) the relationship between EL progress and how EL programs and services are implemented in schools; and (3) uses of English language proficiency assessment data to inform school improvement efforts. The discussant will present significant takeaways and lead a lively discussion about the opportunities for states. Audience participation and discussion will be incorporated throughout the session.

Session Presenters: Fen Chou, Sharon Prestridge, Pete Goldschmidt, Mark Hansen, Maria Santos

Session Date: Monday, June 21 at 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM ET

COVID Impact on High School Graduation Tests and Considerations

Prior to COVID, as many as eleven states were using state assessment results as part of high school graduation determinations. During the pandemic, with the disruptions to the state summative assessments, states had to quickly adapt their graduation policy not only focusing on graduation requirements, but also taking into consideration the opportunity to learn, equity, fairness and safety.

In this session, two states, Massachusetts and Florida, will share their respective experiences in the design, development and implementation of such assessments. Both states have had high school graduation requirement linked to assessments for more than twenty years. They will share considerations and experiences in how they craft a reliable and valid assessment to support such high stakes decisions, and how they are adapting during the pandemic. We will also include psychometric considerations for developing and implementing such assessments. A discussant will offer his insights regarding the presentations and related issues.

Session Presenters: Ye Tong, Michol Stapel, Chris Domaleski

Session Date & Time: Tuesday, June 22, 2021 at 2:10 PM – 3:10 PM ET

Disrupted Assessment Policy And Practice: Recommendations For The Future

Interrupted K-12 education and assessment in 2020 and 2021 has implications for assessment policy and practice, especially when considering inequities in instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic. Effects of existing inequities for disadvantaged students, students with disabilities, and English learners have been exacerbated. Analyses of state science and social studies data from 2019 and 2021 highlight approaches that can be used to explore achievement gaps. Statewide achievement data gathered in 2020 and 2021 remain questionable for most, if not all, of their intended purposes; they can answer some questions, but not all. This session addresses the disrupted assessment policy and practice from four perspectives: state data on disruption effects; bottom line principles to achieve equitable results for students with disabilities and English learners; opportunities for deriving decisions from disrupted data, and U.S. education policy on assessment and accountability. It concludes with recommendations for the future, with time for audience Q&A.

Session Presenters: Martha Thurlow, Don Peasley, Stephen Sireci, Liru Zhang

Session Date & Time: Wednesday, June 23, 2021 at 2:10 PM – 3:10 PM ET

Fostering Assessment Fairness and Cultural Sensitivity in a COVID Environment

Assessment systems must focus on both intended and unintended consequences, particularly their impact on the achievement and well-being of vulnerable student populations. This is especially relevant given the significant disruption of the COVID pandemic and ongoing impact of systemic racism on student well-being, instruction, and assessment. In this session, we discuss how different models to develop, implement and validate assessment systems are needed based on the jurisdiction’s history, culture, and current standing. We discuss how a coherent, innovative, and equitable assessment system can both drive instructional change tailored to each student’s needs and support fair accountability.

Session Presenters: Taisha Steele, Aira Jackson, Stanley Rabinowetz, Hillary Michaels

Session Date & Time: Tuesday, June 22, 2021 at 3:40 PM – 4:40 PM ET

How States Detect the Improper Use or Administration of Accommodations to Violate Test Security

Statewide summative assessments are administered to all students, including those who may need accommodations. Therefore, State Education Agencies (SEAs) ensure proper accommodations are available on summative assessments to students with disabilities. Unfortunately, states have begun detecting the misuse of accommodations through data forensics, and on-site monitoring. In this session, a panel of experts will discuss the context around accommodations, the implications of accommodation misuse, and data forensics to detect misuse of accommodations.
In this session, participants will hear from two state assessment experts (Kentucky and Michigan), a national leader in the appropriate use of accommodations (NCEO), and a senior psychometrician (Caveon). These panel of experts will provide participants with an opportunity to:

Gain insight into the potential abuses of accommodations during high stakes testing.
Learn strategies for ensuring proper accommodations are afforded to students.
Learn how data forensics can play a part in identifying unusual accommodation data.

Session Presenters: Sarah Toton, Martha Thurlow, Jessica Fenby, Patsy Kenner, Walt Drane

Session Date and Time: Monday, June 21, 2021 at 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM ET

Including Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities in Alternate Assessment Growth Models: Exploring Considerations for State Frameworks

Session participants will discuss key questions and approaches to describing academic growth for students with significant cognitive disabilities. We will discuss challenges in developing reliable and valid growth measures, and considerations for including those measures in state accountability systems. Our session will describe an overall process for making these decisions, grounded in a TOA approach. We will discuss available research and present considerations for developing a growth model framework. State members will share their experiences in this area and session participants will be encouraged to join in the discussion.

Session Presenters: Ann-Michelle Neal, Phoebe Winter, Sandra Warren, Susan Forbes, Tracy Gooley, Meagan Karvonen

Session Date & Time: Wednesday, June 23, 2021 at 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM ET

The long-term impact of COVID’s dual losses for English learners - English language development and academic content, where do we go from here?

English learners are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 and school closures. The current challenges are also exposing existing systemic issues that have prevented many English learners from realizing their full potential. Many schools and districts continue to struggle to provide adequate wi-fi and technology devices. In the absence of a focus on the needs of English learners, the achievement and opportunity gaps are predicted to grow. To successfully promote content learning and support for language development, deeper work on the quality of instruction is needed.

This session will highlight efforts states and districts are making to assist ELs and to monitor their progress going forward. Leaders will discuss how they are interpreting and acting on data, including English Proficiency assessment data. The session will also highlight innovative efforts states and districts are making to foster stronger connections to English learner families and to elevate the quality of instruction for these learners.

Session Presenters: Genevieve Olvera, Sandy Greene, Ed.D., Julie Lara-Martinez, Ph.D., Narek Sahakyan, Juan D’Brot, Ernesto Matias

Session Date & Time: Tuesday, June 22, 2021 at 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM ET

The Prevalence and Impact of Disengaged Test Taking on Statewide Accountability Test Scores in Nebraska

The presence of disengaged test taking threatens the validity of score interpretations. This presentation is unique in that it is the first to examine the prevalence and impact of rapid-guessing behavior on statewide assessments. Our results suggest two distinct conclusions—one concerning, and one re-assuring. First, rapid guessing can diminish the trustworthiness of some individual student test scores. At the same time, the prevalence of rapid guessing does not appear to be high enough to meaningfully affect the aggregated test scores and proficiency rates used to assess school performance.

Session Presenters: Steven Wise, Darin Kelberlau, Hongwook Suh, Jennifer Paul

Session Date & Times: Monday, June 21, 2021 at 2:10 -3:10 PM ET