Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 31, Number 8, 1 August 2014 — Input sought for new public school tests [ARTICLE]

Input sought for new public school tests

Parents, business and community leaders, and educators are being asked to weigh in on test questions and standards for puhlie school students. The Hawaii State Department of Education will use the puhlie input for new Smarter Balanced assessments in English, language arts and math for students in grades three through eight and grade 11. The Smarter Balanced assessments will replace the Hawaii State Assessment in reading and math starting Spring 2015. The new assessments will measure how well students are learning the Hawaii Common Core, a set of learning expectations for students at eaeh grade, and to graduate ready for college and careers. The state is creating an online panel to allow the puhlie and educators to give feedback on the assessment and to ensure assessment results are based on challenging, yet fair, expectations of puhlie school students.

Registered participants will provide input between Oct. 6 and 17 for up to three hours in a two-day window through a secure website. For more information and to register, visit SmarterBalanced.org/OnlinePanel. The deadline to apply is Sept. 19.