PACT Test soon to be History

House backs bill to find better exam--
Highlights from article written
By Yvonne Wenger
The Post and Courier
Thursday, February 28, 2008
The House voted 113-0 to give key approval to a bill that would replace the test with a diagnostic test that would deliver timely results. It would be the first major state change to the Educational Accountability Act of 1998.
The proposed new test, the Elementary and Middle School Assessment Program, would test third- through eighth-graders in English, math, science and social studies. The new test, to be implemented in 2010, would be used to help teachers identify what areas their students are having trouble with as well as report the state's performance under the No Child Left Behind Act.
That test would be given in a multiple-choice format toward the end of the school year, with a writing portion administered around February. Those changes will help drastically cut down on the turnaround time for the test results.
House Speaker Bobby Harrell said he thinks the legislation would go a long way toward improving education in the state by giving teachers what they've asked for. One thing it doesn't do, he said, is lower the state's standards.
The bill also calls for formative assessments, or practice tests used only for diagnostic purposes, to be given for English and math in grades one through nine. Nearly every district already administers the formative assessments.
High school students in grades 10 through 12 have a separate assessment test already in use.
State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex said the bill addresses some of the concerns he has heard from parents and teachers, but not all. He campaigned to replace the current test.
"This bill would give teachers more of the mid-year tests they want, tests that provide fast-return diagnostic results on individual kids," Rex said. "My only concern is that it doesn't reduce high-stakes end-of-year testing. So on balance, it would mean more testing and not less. From what I'm hearing across the state, more testing is not what parents and teachers want."
Despite those concerns, the bill includes another element that involves the rankings used to measure a student's performance level and seemed to be very well received by educators. It would change the four assessment levels of below basic through advanced to three: not met, met and exemplary.
The point of the change is to measure South Carolina against other states in a true comparison.
Educators argue that the public does not get an accurate picture when looking at how South Carolina children perform on national academic benchmarks because the state's standards are more rigorous.
In addition to providing teachers with more diagnostic information, a bill set to leave the House for the Senate to consider also would alter the way standards here are measured against other states.
Supporters say South Carolina's 'proficient' designation currently reflects a child who is performing above grade level. The bill would change the terminology to be 'exemplary.' The result, according to the supporters, will be a dramatic increase in the number of South Carolina students meeting 'proficiency' requirements in the federal No Child Left Behind law. All the while, they say, holding teachers to the same tough accountability standards.
Student performance levels are currently categorized in the state as advanced, proficient, basic and below basic. The bill would change those categories to exemplary, met and not met, and base them on grade-level performance.