Florida, New Hampshire and Utah Award Contracts to Measured Progress

DOVER, N.H., July 20, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Measured Progress has been chosen to continue as provider of the Florida Alternate Assessment, the New Hampshire Alternate Learning Progressions Assessment, and the development portion of Utah's Science Core Criterion-Referenced Tests (the company already holds the contract to deliver the Utah science assessment). These three contracts, worth a combined $13.5 million, range in length from one year to nearly five years. Each project includes technology upgrades to make the programs more cost-effective, efficient, and accessible to students.

Maintaining existing testing programs has always been a top corporate goal for Measured Progress, a New Hampshire-based not-for-profit. That priority has taken on new significance as major education reform efforts including the Common Core State Standards and Race to the Top initiatives, coupled with growing demand for high-tech solutions, mean states are calling on assessment providers to continue existing efforts, find ways to cut program costs, and help them make the transition to new assessment models.

The states are shifting into high gear, both through their involvement in the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Career (PARCC) and Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium (SBAC) and related efforts to implement the Common Core. At the same time, many states rely upon assessment providers to develop tools to make test administration, scoring, and reporting more efficient and economical. Demand is also growing for technology-enhanced items, a broad category that ranges in definition and scope from applying technology to conventional items to creating multi-dimensional items that yield better information about student knowledge and capabilities.

Florida, New Hampshire, and Utah are all leveraging technology to make their programs more efficient, cost-effective, and inclusive for all students.

Florida is looking to provide a computer-based administration of its alternate assessment program—alternate assessment is testing for students with significant cognitive disabilities who are unable to participate in the general assessment. Measured Progress currently works with 11 states on their alternate assessments. Florida wants the computerized system to be built in a way that will incorporate the assistive technologies students currently use in the classroom. Assistive technologies are computer-assisted accessibility and accommodations features, such as switches, communication boards, and eye gazing technology. These and other features are delivered through a single version of a test with accessibility tools embedded to meet the specific needs of individual students.

Over the next three years, Measured Progress will incorporate computer-based administration into the Florida alternate assessment, starting first with focus groups, then a pilot program, and culminating with an operational program. To meet the state's needs, the company will augment NimbleTools, a software system that tailors accessibility features to enhance each student's testing experience.

New Hampshire is also modernizing its alternate assessment delivery system, transitioning from paper-based portfolios to video capture of performance for students in grades two through eight and one high school grade. (The exception is the writing test for grades four, seven, and ten, which will continue to be assessed in hard-copy format.)

New Hampshire's move forward technologically with its alternate assessment builds upon a foundation that reflects a decade of partnership between the state and Measured Progress. "Measured Progress has a long history of providing our state with very high-quality assessment services. They have a well-earned reputation for working in partnership with clients in creative and productive ways," said Gaye Fedorchak, the state's Director of Alternate Assessments and Access Services. "They are highly responsive in a responsible way—and at reasonable cost."

In Utah, Measured Progress has committed to moving the use of technology-enhanced items from pilot to operational for the science assessment. The 2011-2012 school year will mark the first widespread use of such items in the state's testing system. They will count toward students' scores in 2012-2013. In addition, Utah will be one of the first states to employ Measured Progress's BASIS item banking system.

Measured Progress and the Utah State Office of Education have a joint track record for leadership in online testing administration. Utah first piloted online testing in 2003. In 2009 the state again engaged Measured Progress to deliver its computer-based testing program. Utah has a sophisticated technology hub underpinning its online program. Measured Progress has brought to the program a proven platform capable of accommodating high-volume testing loads. In the 2011 administration, more than 90 percent of student criterion-referenced tests were administered online with minimal technical problems.

Online test administration, technology-enhanced items, and computer-delivered accessibility are just part of the story as states move forward. "For anyone who cares about teaching and learning, this is a momentous time," said Measured Progress President Martin Borg. "We are working with states deliberately and conscientiously to build technological solutions that not only serve the purposes of our clients, but also transform the testing endeavor into one that truly supports better educational outcomes for all students."

SOURCE Measured Progress