How Does Testing Lead the
Effort to Implement a New
Assessment?
Marc Webb, Testing Director
Miami Dade College, Wolfson Campus
Silvio Rodriguez, Director of Assessment, Evaluation, and Testing
Miami Dade College
Suzanne McGurk, Senior Assessment Manager
The College Board
2016 Conference
AGENDA
• Introduction
• Basic questions and realistic
expectations
• Case example, traditional
practices, need for change, the
transition
• Important things learned
• Questions & Answers
Reasons for Implementing a
New Assessment?
•
•
•
•
Change in administration
Change in State Rule
Change driven by faculty
Change in assessment platform
or discontinuation
• Other???
There is no one perfect
placement instrument
“A good garden may have some
weeds.”
Thomas Fuller
Gnomologia, 1732
“Continuous Improvement is the
way which always heads
towards the Perfection.”
Yogesh Chauhan
“Nothing in life has any business
being perfect.”
James Goldman
“To accomplish the perfect
perfection, a little imperfection
helps.”
Dejan Stojanovic
Case Study:
Finding a New ESL/EAP
Placement Assessment at
Miami Dade College
2015-2016 Academic Year
The Sunsetting of a Test,
Now What!
• On June 11, 2015, ACT announced the
sunsetting of the COMPASS testing
platform.
• The process at MDC communicating
the news to discipline and leadership.
• Is the discipline interested in
continuing English proficiency
placement testing?
It's Time to Find a New
Placement Assessment
•
•
•
•
•
Who is responsible for leading the effort?
Who needs to be involved?
What is the timeline?
What is the approval path?
Where do we begin?
• Why should testing & assessment be
involved?
Who should be involved
with the process?
• Faculty
• Department Chairs
• Testing Directors
and ITA
• Deans
• Others???
(MDC) ESL Placement
Test Sub-committee
EAP faculty = 5
=2
=3+1
=1
None (In future may add
ACCESS)
Who should lead the effort?
• Consider which areas will be impacted
most by this change.
• At MDC the process was initiated by the
Institutional Test Administrator (ITA).
• A faculty member chairs the committee.
The ITA works very closely with the chair
acting as a co-lead in this effort.
Process Timeline
Establish
Committee
Evaluate
Assessment
Options
Pilot Chosen
Assessment
Implement
New
Assessment
• ITA announces change at CASSC R&T meeting
• ITA and Faculty representative establish committee
• Seek committee members from various constituencies
• Determine assessment instruments available
• Collect and evaluate assessment information
• Presentations by top vendors for all MDC stakeholders
• Determine pilot window
• Schedule pilot groups
• Using data collected, establish placement cut scores
• Establish launch timeline
• Disseminate new testing criteria for new assessment in Placement Criteria Document
Why is it Important to Find the
Right Assessment?
• It will effect:
– Students:
• Placement
• Grades and Completion
– Enrollment
– The Testing & Assessment area
• Functionality and ability to administer with ease year
round (daily without interrupting other testing)
– Faculty:
• Curriculum and Teaching
• Success Rates
Key Elements of a Good
Assessment Platform
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Secure iBT (Internet Based Testing) Platform
Composite scoring
Nationally validated test questions
Ability to add background or custom questions
Ability to add custom placement messages and rules
Untimed assessment
Robust reporting
Access for multiple levels of users
Good technical support
ADA accessible test formats and features
Ease of Administration
Test unit cost
Adaptive test format (preferred) or multiple test forms
Others???
ACCUPLACER ESL
• Adaptive
• Five (5) ESL test sections
– WritePlacer ESL, ESL – Language Use, ESL – Listening,
ESL – Reading Skills, and ESL – Sentence Meaning
• Untimed
• Allows for:
– Custom background questions
– Custom placement rules and messages
– Composite score
•
•
•
•
•
•
Excellent reporting
Excellent technical support
ADA test formats and features
Group testing features
Remote proctoring (through B Virtual) & Remote availability
Secure
Caveats to Remember!
• There is no one perfect placement instrument
• New test adoption and transition is a slow
process
• Set benchmarks/goals/roles
• Be persistent
• Maximize vendor support
• Expect backsliding
• Be willing to adjust cut-scores and have
mechanism in place to do so
Marc Webb
(305) 237-3188
[email protected]
Silvio Rodriguez
(305) 237-7492
[email protected]
Suzanne McGurk
(843) 513-3915
[email protected]
2016 Conference