TRENTON — The U.S. Department of Education today awarded a total of $330 million to two coalitions of states — both of which include New Jersey — to create a new generation of standardized tests that will assess national standards for what students should learn in school. The U.S. DOE is awarding funding for the new assessments through its...
Arne Duncan, U.S. Education Secretary, heads a round table with teams of teachers in N.Y. TRENTON — The U.S. Department of Education today awarded a total of $330 million to two coalitions of states — both of which include New Jersey — to create a new generation of standardized tests that will assess national standards for what students should learn in school.
The U.S. DOE is awarding funding for the new assessments through its $4.35 billion Race to the Top competition. The federal government awarded nearly all of its Race to the Top funding through an education reform competition that New Jersey narrowly lost last week. But $425 million was left over to create better standardized tests.
The imbroglio surrounding New Jersey’s loss, due in part to a botched application response, has consumed the state for the past week and led to former education commissioner Bret Schundler’s firing. Before he was fired, Schundler sent a letter to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan asking him to award New Jersey the competition's remaining $95 million.
Once the winners collaborate to create these new assessments, they will test students’ knowledge of math and language arts from third grade through high school and will also offer students a second chance to answer questions they got wrong. The new tests should be ready for use in schools by the 2014-2015 academic year.
The two winning applications submitted were drafted by the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) and the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) for $170 million and $160 million, respectively.
The PARCC coalition, which includes 26 states, will assess students' ability to comprehend complex text, conduct research projects, excel at in-class speaking and listening assignments, and work with digital media.
The SMARTER coalition, which will include 31 states, will use computer technology to ask students tailored follow-up test questions based on their previous answers. These assessments will inform students, parents, and teachers whether students are on track for academic success before end-of-year exams are given.
"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," wrote Duncan in a press release. "Both of these winning applicants are planning to develop assessments that will move us far beyond this and measure real student knowledge and skills."
Related coverage:
• Gov. Chris Christie says it's 'time to move on' from Race to the Top error
• Fired N.J. education chief Bret Schundler says he made 'Race to the Top' error
• Future of N.J. school reform remains uncertain without federal funds, permanent education chief
• Tom Moran: Christie faces ugly political ramifications of 'Race to the Top' error, Schundler firing
• Schundler requested firing instead of resignation so he can collect unemployment
• Gov. Chris Christie fires N.J. schools chief Bret Schundler