ERIC ED474270: Vertical Equating for the Arkansas ACTAAP Assessments: Issues and Solutions in Determination of Adequate Yearly Progress and School Accountability. A Report Submitted to the Arkansas Department of Education.

by: ERIC

Publication date: 2003-01-21

Topics: ERIC Archive, Accountability, Equated Scores, Scaling, Standards, State Programs, Testing Programs, Lissitz, Robert W., Huynh, Huynh

Collection: ericarchive; additional_collections

Language: English

This paper addresses issues of vertical equating for the Arkansas Comprehensive Testing, Assessment and Accountability Program (ACTAAP) assessments as they relate to school accountability and determination of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as required by the recent federal legislation, the No Child Left Behind Act. The paper first provides a brief statement of the problem, followed by a review of the testing in Arkansas, and related policies. It also examines some of the issues raised by this testing for AYP determination. The paper explores one commonly suggested solution to such a problem, scaling to arrive at vertically equated tests, and explains why this approach is not recommended in Arkansas for AYP determination. The paper suggests a solution, which is referred to as Vertically Moderated Standards. It is suggested that AYP be defined in terms of adequate end-of-year performance that enables a student to meet the challenges of the next grade successfully. (Contains 10 references.) (Author/SLD)