Race to the Test

Did you remember that there was another section of Race to the Top still to go?
Released today are the winners in the Assessment section of Race to the Top; both the PARCC, with 26 member states, and the SMARTER, with 31 members, consortiums of states won funding (h/t to SMARTER for the better acronym; Massachusetts is a member of PARCC. And before you get too confused, let me point out that some states are a member of both groups). PARCC has won $170 million, SMARTER $160 million to develop new tests. According to Secretary Duncan:

As I travel around the country the number one complaint I hear from teachers is that state bubble tests pressure teachers to teach to a test that doesn’t measure what really matters...Both of these winning applicants are planning to develop assessments that will move us far beyond this and measure real student knowledge and skills.

The PARCC assessments will :

test students’ ability to read complex text, complete research projects, excel at classroom speaking and listening assignments, and work with digital media. PARCC will also replace the one end-of-year high stakes accountability test with a series of assessments throughout the year that will be averaged into one score for accountability purposes

..while the SMARTER assessment will:

test students using computer adaptive technology that will ask students tailored questions based on their previous answers. SMARTER will continue to use one test at the end of the year for accountability purposes, but will create a series of interim tests

No word yet from the state on this.