State picks Data Recognition Corporation for new student assessments

The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development on Thursday announced the new vendor for statewide student assessments, to replace the problem-plagued Alaska Measures of Progress test.

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After consulting stakeholders from around the state, including school district leadership, officials from the state’s education organizations and district test coordinators and teachers, the state selected Data Recognition Corporation – or DRC – as its new student assessment vendor.

Brian Laurent, with the state Department of Education and Early Development, said the company has a history in Alaska.

“DRC obviously has experience with technology and infrastructure in Alaska,” Laurent said. “Specifically the challenges in parts of our state; specifically rural Alaska with the technology.”

DRC partnered with the state for nearly a decade to administer the statewide student assessment prior to the more recent Alaska Measures of Progress test. The company currently administers the state’s English language proficiency assessments.

The state’s former test was plagued by technical issues, which interrupted testing and delayed results.

Teachers and school officials also questioned the usefulness of the old test’s results, saying it lacked detailed enough information to properly assess students’ learning.

Laurent believes the new test addresses those concerns.

“With the example reports that were provided, just on their own, were an improvement compared to the reports that our previous assessment vendor released in 2015 for the Alaska Measures of Progress,” Laurent said.

Laurent said some of the customization options for the reports include the balance between text and graphics, and the types of graphics used in the reports in a effort to make them more user friendly for teachers, parents and others who may be reviewing the results.

While the vendor has been chosen, many of the details of the test itself have not yet been finalized.

An exact price tag has not been determined, though Laurent said it will fit within the state’s $4.45 million assessment budget for the upcoming year – of which, the federal government contributes approximately $3.5 million.

The DRC assessment covers English language, arts and math as well as separate, less-frequent testing in science.

The next testing window for Alaska schools is March 28 through April 28, 2017.