State to pay $2.6 million to meld Benchmark, Iowa standardized exams
by Seth Blomeley
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Friday, February 2, 2007
The Legislature's Joint Budget Committee on Thursday signed off on a $2.6 million contract to streamline standardized testing in Arkansas public schools.
The contract with Harcourt Assessment Inc. of San Antonio runs from Jan. 20 through June 30 and is for test development.
If things run smoothly, state Education Department Director Ken James said, the contract could be expanded to a $56 million deal over six years.
The Arkansas Board of Education voted 5-4 in March to pursue the development of a combined or "augmented" test in which elements of the state Benchmark Exams in math and literacy would be blended with a nationally standardized test to create a single test for each grade.
Now nearly all of the state's 450,000 students take either the Benchmark test or the Iowa Test of Basic Skills or both, almost every year. Both tests are administered over the course of three to four days. That's prompted complaints from some educators and some parents that too much time is devoted to testing.
The Iowa test helps compare Arkansas students with students around the country and the Benchmark test measures Arkansas' students knowledge of the state curriculum.
Senate Education Committee Chairman Jim Argue, D-Little Rock, said he's been studying testing issues for years and is satisfied that the augmented test is the best way to go. Talking to Sen. Kim Hendren, R-Gravette, Argue illustrated his point using an example from Hendren's business.
"Using an analogy from your car dealership, where your customer makes a trip to the garage to get tires and pressure checked, and later they make another trip to the garage to check the oil," Argue said. "We're sending the kids to the shop twice for two different tests now. What this proposal gives us a chance to do is check the tires and the oil pressure on the same trip to the shop."
But there's been reluctance from some quarters to change the current system, which has been approved by the U.S. Department of Education.
The new test still must be approved by the federal government, and some have expressed concerns that the pending congressional reauthorization of No Child Left Behind might require additional changes.
There was no disagreement in committee on the worthiness of the tests.
Sen. Terry Smith, D-Hot Springs, questioned why the contract took so long to be completed. James said a losing vendor filed a protest with the state. It was found to be without merit but delayed the process, he said.
The committee wanted to make sure that the contract would be rebid if the tests turn out to be more expensive because of additional federal requirements that may be added later. James said the contract is clear that the company must meet the requirements of state and federal testing.
