State BOE in process of adopting new assessment system

MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) - The Alabama State Department of Education is in the process of adopting a new assessment system.

According to State School Board Superintendent Eric Mackey says the system will not only benefit teachers but also students.

Mackey says one of the things they are most interested in is the ability for teachers to see how their students are doing and get a sample of the questions asked.

"Every year 25 percent of the test questions will be returned back to the teachers," Mackey says. "If there is a test question from number sense from last year, not only is this a question on number sense but also here's how many students passed that question, how many students had trouble with that question."

Mackey says this will allow the teachers to have the opportunity and tools they need for the future.

In Alabama, a testing system is contracted for five years but Mackey says the board wanted to choose a test the state will stay with for a very long time. He indicated the board is still working out the details with the new assessment system.

"As we move forward we want to have tests that are more interactive so that students can manipulate some for the questions like they do on an iPad or tablet. Testing is becoming more sophisticated and we want to give our students in Alabama the tools they need to make sure they can show the skills and the knowledge they have."

Previously the state has used systems like Scantron and ACT Aspire.

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