Innovative Science Assessment - 2022 Pilot Interest

Innovative Science Assessment 2022 Pilot

As you might know, DESE is piloting an innovative new science assessment for grades 5 and 8 that is intended to focus more on deep learning, to be more engaging and culturally responsive for all students, and to emphasize the "doing of science". We had a very successful year one pilot, and are planning to pilot another innovative science assessment in SY21-22 with increased participation from districts. Therefore, we want to give you the opportunity to join the SY21-22 pilot with your 5th and 8th grade students in next year’s pilot!

The pilot does not require any additional testing time, because the innovative pilot is given in place of one session of MCAS STE. Official student scores will be based only on the MCAS questions.

Signing up here is a way to express interest, but is not a commitment. We are looking for a pilot cohort of roughly 5000 students in grade 5 and 5000 in grade 8, with demographic balance similar to the state overall. We will select participants from the interested districts to ensure balanced representation.

What does it mean to be part of the pilot for SY21-22?

All schools in your district with 5th and 8th grade students will participate in the innovative science pilot. (The very largest districts may have only a portion of schools participate)
Students who would normally take the grade 5 or 8 MCAS STE will take the innovative pilot assessment instead at the same time, which will consist of one session of MCAS-type questions and one session of innovative, interactive performance tasks (same total testing time as the regular MCAS STE).
Teachers for grades 3-5 and science teachers grades 6-8 will receive professional development (PD) and sample materials to help them adapt their instructional approaches to focus more on deeper learning in science.
Students’ scores and the school’s accountability score will be based only on the results of the first session of MCAS-type questions. We will still provide teachers with feedback on students’ performance on the tasks, but for this second pilot year the performance tasks will not factor into official scores.

1. Name (superintendent or executive director) *This question is required.

2. Email *This question is required. This question requires a valid email address.

3. District or charter name *This question is required.

4. Would you like your district or charter to participate in the innovative science assessment pilot in 2021-22?

5. Teachers in the pilot will receive professional development on deeper learning using high-quality science curriculum. Which of the following would your teachers be able to commit to? We will have more information about the goals and format of the PD forthcoming. (check all that apply)

3-5 after-school sessions
3-5 half-day sessions
3-5 full-day sessions

6. Please provide a district-level point of contact for communication about the innovative science assessment, in addition to yourself. Good options could include: science director, assessment manager or deputy superintendent for instruction.

Name
Role
Email