M-DCPS SLASHES HUNDREDS OF END-OF-COURSE EXAMS

Miami-Dade County Public Schools has eliminated nearly all of the 300 District-Developed End-of-Course (DDEOC) assessments that were originally scheduled for Spring 2015. The move follows the passage of HB7069, a law that provides flexibility for districts to determine how to measure student progress, eliminating the state mandate for district-designated, end-of-course exams to be given in all courses not measured by existing statewide, standardized assessments.

"Today's announcement should come as welcomed news to everyone who recognizes that too much testing deprives our students of valuable instruction time," said Alberto M. Carvalho, Superintendent of Schools. "In making these decisions, we've taken a logical and responsible approach to address the concerns of students, teachers and parents."

The following actions have been taken:

• No elementary-level DDEOCs will be administered.
• Only 10 middle/senior high school subjects have been identified to be included in a small-scale field test.
• The results from the field test will not be used in 2014-15.
• All field tests will be administered as computer-based tests using the Thinkgate platform.
• It is unlikely that more than 4 or 5 classes would be selected from any school.
• Principals will be advised if classes within their school have been selected to participate in the field test.

The purpose of the field test is to determine the psychometric properties of the assessments, for administration in subsequent years. Such assessments would ensure that state-established course content was being delivered consistently across the District, and potentially as a measure of content-specific student achievement to inform teacher evaluation.

The following courses have been identified to be included in the field test:

• M/J Comprehensive Science 1
• M/J Comprehensive Science 2
• Physical Science
• Chemistry 1
• Physics 1
• M/J United States History
• M/J World History
• World History
• Spanish 1
• Spanish 2

Looking forward, plans call for several new exams to be field tested each year.

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