North Carolina Career Technical Education Assessments: Using Assessment and Data for Continuous Growth and Improvement Tammy Howard, PhD Director, Accountability.

North CarolinaCareer Technical Education

Assessments: Using Assessment and Data for

Continuous Growth and Improvement

Tammy Howard, PhD

Director, Accountability Services

North Carolina Department of Public Instruction

General Overview of the System

• 215 Courses at the State Level

• 215+ End of Course Assessments

• Ability to Deliver Assessments Online or Paper/Pencil

• System to Capture and Validate Credentials and Certifications

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Vision and Concept

• System Initially Designed in the Early 1990’s

• Originally Conceptualized as a Method to Reward Teachers for Continuous Improvement

• Recognized Nationally as Model for Formative and Summative Assessment

• Aligned to Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act Technical Attainment Performance Indicators

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Assessment Models• Types of Test Item Banks

– Field Test

– Classroom (Teacher – Formative)

– Secure (Accountability – State End-of-Course)

• Types of End-of-Course Summative Assessments

– Developed

– Adopted

– Industry-Based

• Pre- and Post-Assessment Model

• EVAAS

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Curricular Alignment

• All Courses in NCCTE are required to have:– “Blueprints” of Essential Instructional Standards

Aligned to:– Instructional Content

Aligned to:– Formative Assessment

Aligned to:– Summative Assessment

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Validity, Reliability, and Analysis

• Validity Required for All Secure and Classroom Test Items

• Reliability Study Required for Each New Assessment

• Data Analysis Performed at State and District/Local Level

• State-level Item Analysis

• Scale Scores Determined After Reliability and Item Analysis

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Growth Analysis• In the early 1980s, the EVAAS approach to measuring

growth was founded at the University of Tennessee Knoxville by Dr. William Sanders

• Revolutionized the way educators and policymakers viewed schooling effectiveness and the ability of students to make growth

• In 2006, EVAAS was implemented statewide as a school improvement resource.

• In 2012, EVAAS became a formal part of North Carolina’s teacher evaluation and accountability after recommendation by WestEd and UNC researchers.

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How is growth measured?

• Predictive-based model– Based on students’ prior testing history

• all previous tests for which correlation has been established

• Students must have three prior test scores in any grade/subject

– What is the difference between students’ expected score and observed score?

• Use all available testing history for each student to minimize impact of measurement error

• Use standard errors to address uncertainty inherent in any growth model and protect against misclassification

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Inclusion in Growth Model (EVAAS)Each CTE assessment must have sufficient:• Stretch in the scales

– To measure growth of both high- & low-achieving students

– No floor or ceiling effects• Reliability in the scales

– Preferably have at least 40-50 test questions per subject/grade/year

• Number of districts/schools/teachers administering test – Preferably 25 at each level

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Inclusion in Growth Model (EVAAS)Each CTE assessment must have sufficient:• Correlation with curricular objectives• Predictive relationship

– Results of each CTE test must be related or correlated with results of other tests from different grades/subjects

– i.e. prior math or reading test scores and the CTE test score were not strongly related for Carpentry, but they were for Biomedical Technology

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EVAAS Reporting• Dozens of reports for use in school improvement

– Reflective analytics, such as value-added and diagnostic reports for districts, teachers and schools

– Proactive analytics, such as student projections– Comparison reports, such as value-added summary and

scatterplots

• Roster verification for the student-teacher linkages in teacher value-added reports

• Help supports, such as video clips, online ticketing system, and help pages

• Available through a secure web application with customized access

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Sampling of CTE Assessments Receiving EVAAS Reporting

• 50 CTE assessment met criteria for inclusion in growth model

Source: http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/docs/effectiveness-model/evaas/resources/vam-assessments.pdf

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For More Information….

Contact:

Trey Michael - [email protected]

Tammy Howard - [email protected]

Tom Tomberlin - [email protected]