As part of its commitment to ensuring the successful administration this spring of the new online Maine Educational Assessment for Mathematics and English Language Arts/Literacy developed by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, the Maine DOE is surveying schools about their technology readiness.
Principals and technology directors received the short survey focused on network capacity and speed from the Department last week, and are reminded to complete it by the Dec. 10 deadline. More than 100 responses have already been received.
Responses to the survey will help the Department better understand Maine’s overall state of readiness for a spring online assessment administration and also any technology and infrastructure upgrades needed by individual schools. As stated in October, it is the Department’s intent to ensure all schools have the necessary supports to enable all students to benefit from the advantages of this computer-adaptive assessment. However, if there is any school that is ultimately unable to meet the readiness criteria, there will be a paper-pencil option available.
In preparation for filling out the survey, the Department provided the following resources to help inform respondents’ understanding of their readiness. These resources may be additionally of interest to those looking to learn more about the technology requirements associated with the new assessment.
- List of approved test-taking devices and secure browsers
- Bandwidth calculators: School Speed Test from Education Superhighway or speedtest.net from Ookla
- School technology readiness calculator
- Beyond Technology Readiness: Minimum and recommended resources from the State Educational Technology Directors Association
- Technology Strategy Framework and Testing Device Requirements (PDF)
- Technology Strategy Framework and Testing Device Requirements Q&A (PDF)
The computer adaptive nature of the assessment will better allow students to demonstrate critical and higher-order thinking skills; provide more timely information to inform instruction; and improve teaching, learning, and the college and career readiness of our students. The Department believes Maine students are well-positioned to be successful in this new testing environment but wants to ensure schools also feel prepared.
For more information about the survey or a link if you are a principal or technology director who did not receive one, please contact Sherry Wyman at sherry.wyman@maine.gov or 624-6897. For more information about the MEA or the Maine Comprehensive Assessment System, visit www.maine.gov/doe/assessment.