Computers could replace pencils for Iowa testing

Education standards in Iowa traditionally are measured through the filling in of bubbles on a computer-read answer sheet with a No. 2 pencil.

By 2014, that pencil could be a thing of a past.

As part of Iowa's failed attempt to win a Race to the Top grant from the U.S. Department of Education last year, the state joined the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium, a group of states seeking to develop a computer-based standardized test in line with the Common Core State Standards Initiative.

Iowa did not win its grant, but the 29-state consortium was one of two proposed tests that received four-year, $176 million Race to the Top funding. If the test is adopted by the state upon its completion, it would replace the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills as the state's primary standardized test.

So why does Iowa need a new test?

While Iowa Department of Education Director Jason Glass says the current test has a long and prestigious history, he has several criticisms of its current incarnation: It's taken on pencil and paper, it is multiple-choice only and the questions are not aligned to the state's academic standards.

The proposed SMARTER Balanced test differs from the ITBS in almost all those areas.

The test will be delivered entirely by computers using an adaptive item bank system, similar to those used by the Graduate Management Admissions Test for business schools. All students get a slightly different test as the software measures the test-taker's progress and delivers the ideal question to test their understanding.

The current plan also would allow more than just multiple choice answers, allowing fill-in responses and essays that would be judged by an artificial intelligence system. Questions with answers more complex than A, B, C or D let educators get a better handle on a student's critical thinking skills.

Computer-based tests also tend to be shorter in length and are graded instantaneously as the student is taking them. SMARTER Balanced also plans to release interim tests that teachers can give throughout the year to track students' progress before the end-of-year assessment.

One area of concern is that the standards that the SMARTER Balanced test is aligned with, the Common Core standards, have not yet been fully implemented across Iowa's school districts. The state's current standards, the Iowa Core, are being folded into the Common Core, according to Jay Pennington, a bureau chief at the Department of Education.

“There's a lot of work that needs to happen there in terms of readiness and focusing and making sure people understand not only what the core is but also what the expectations are,” he said.

More rigorous standards are a large part of the state's current push to reform education, but it's hard to know if standards are working or not if there's no system in place to measure them.

SMARTER Balanced still is under development, so it's not known whether it will be adopted upon its projected completion.

But the state is actively seeking a larger role in the consortium, and recently stepped up from advisory to voting membership in the group.

"The truth is, we have to look at what the final product is,” Glass said. “This gives Iowa a seat at the table as this is developed and improved. We'll look at this in 2013 and 2014, and we'll look at this in comparison to ITBS or others and choose what's the right test for Iowa.”