[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 163 (Thursday, October 25, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2252]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  INTRODUCTION OF THE ASSESSMENT ACCURACY AND IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2007

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                          HON. THOMAS E. PETRI

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 25, 2007

  Mr. PETRI. Madam Speaker, as Congress considers the reauthorization 
of the No Child Left Behind Act this year, have an obligation to listen 
closely to the students, parents, and educators that we represent to 
ensure that our efforts result in responsible and pragmatic 
improvements. While we have made great strides in the areas of 
assessment and accountability over the last five years, this 
reauthorization provides a critical opportunity to learn from our 
experiences and fine-tune the law.
  One example of a lesson my constituents have learned, and have 
adamantly shared with me, is that we should be encouraging States to 
move toward better assessment models. As I have met with educators over 
the past year, one of the primary concerns that I have heard is that 
the State assessment fails to provide information of value to educators 
and administrators. Even more disturbing, it often takes 4 to 6 months 
before scores are returned to schools, which leaves little or no time 
for teachers to use the information to address student performance 
before they advance to the next grade.
  However, I believe there is a sensible solution that Congress can 
adopt to address these concerns and give States more options in 
assessment design. Today, Representative David Wu and I are introducing 
the bipartisan Assessment Accuracy and Improvement Act of 2007 to give 
States the option to use adaptive testing as their statewide assessment 
measuring reading, math, and science to fulfill No Child Left Behind 
requirements. I believe that this legislation will give States the 
ability to truly track the academic growth of every child and provide 
more accurate information to teachers, parents and school 
administrators through the use of an adaptive test.
  For those who may be unfamiliar with adaptive testing, it is a test 
that changes in response to previously asked questions. For example, if 
a student answers a question correctly, the test presents a question of 
increased difficulty. If a student answers incorrectly, the test 
presents a question of decreased difficulty. As you can see, an 
adaptive test customizes itself to a student's actual level of 
performance with a great degree of accuracy.
  Giving States the flexibility to use an adaptive test and to ask 
questions outside of grade level will improve the accuracy of student 
assessment and enable educators to target appropriate instruction for 
each child based on performance at, above, or below grade level. In 
addition, using an adaptive test over time will allow accurate 
measurement of the performance growth of each individual student.
  In my district, nearly a third of school districts currently use 
their own funds to participate in adaptive testing in addition to the 
State assessment required by NCLB. Educators and administrators 
appreciate the diagnostic information it yields and the efficiency that 
it provides. I believe that school districts nationally are already 
``speaking with their wallets'' by spending scarce resources to 
voluntarily participate in this testing because it provides valuable 
information that the State assessment does not. And, although our bill 
does not require States to adopt adaptive testing, it gives them the 
freedom to do so should they decide it is a better model for their 
students and educators.
  Madam Speaker, adaptive testing and growth models are the key to 
putting the ``child'' back into No Child Left Behind. I hope that our 
colleagues will join us in this pragmatic and responsible improvement 
to the law as we work towards a bipartisan reauthorization this year.




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