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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, one-third 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.
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