Thank you, Maine educators and administrators! Your hard work, diligence to scheduling, and investment in assessments supported and ensured a successful administration of state assessments during the 2021 – 2022 school year.

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) remains committed to our mission of promoting learning opportunities of the highest quality for all Maine students by providing information, guidance, and support to our schools, educators, and school administrative unit (SAU) leadership, and we’re excited to share some updates to the Maine assessment program.  This includes ensuring that Maine’s assessment system provides educators and SAU leadership with the timely data they need, while limiting the amount of instructional time impacted by necessary assessment administration.

During the height of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the Maine DOE heard from and responded to the needs expressed by SAUs and schools to focus more on supporting students. The Maine DOE formed a partnership with NWEA to expand MAP Growth to all schools and SAUs for grades 3-8 and high school as an emergency effort to provide educators, school communities, and the state with real-time information about student achievement.

The Maine Department of Education has continued to hear from educators and administrators across the state that timely and useful data to inform instruction remain vitally important. We have also heard that growth measures comparing the performance of different cohorts each spring have been unhelpful. Therefore, in the spring of 2023, the Maine DOE will begin implementing a flexible, innovative assessment that is similar to the MAP Growth assessment model for math and reading in grades 3-8 and the second year of high school. This assessment will also serve as our federally required, statewide assessment. The assessments will be adaptive each year for grades 3-8, and fixed form (not adaptive) in the second year of high school. The first administration will occur during the spring 2023 assessment administration window, with a full transition to a through-year (a required fall assessment and optional winter implementation) model in the 2023-24 school year. Growth will then be measured based on fall to spring performance within the same cohort of students. Assessment items will include well-vetted, adaptive MAP Growth items along with specific grade-level items, producing a valid RIT score that is nationally comparable and will provide a measure of consistency over time in addition to Maine-specific grade level performance levels.

This transition will allow us to maintain existing interim assessments and the required summative assessment in fewer assessment administrations in a manner that will provide a system of equitable, student-centered, and personalized measures to provide evidence, data, and instructionally relevant information and tools.

What is a flexible, through-year assessment program?  

The assessments are intended to provide information for educators throughout the year. This means assessments can be administered 2-3 times a year: fall, winter (optional), and spring. Although many of the elements below are a familiar part of the current program, items highlighted** reflect new features/functionality now available.

• The assessments are computer adaptive, providing a personalized experience for each student.
• The assessments provide educators information about student performance relative to end of year achievement level expectations. ** 
• The assessments are efficient, leveraging information about how students performed in previous administrations to personalize later assessment experiences. ** 
• The spring assessment generates a summative score that meets federal requirements. ** 
• The assessments support within year growth and national comparisons via a norm-referenced score (i.e., RIT scores) provided after each administration.

Key benefits of this flexible, through-year state assessment model for educators and students in Maine include:  

• A two- to three-times-per-year assessment program that allows for performance monitoring while eliminating the need for a standalone and disconnected state summative assessment each spring, supporting the continuity of the overall assessment experience. ** 
• In addition to a state scale score, the assessment will provide RIT scores that yield national normative information.
• A reduction of overall assessment administrations compared to prior assessment administration cycles.   There will only be two required administrations of math and reading each year. There will no longer be a separate language usage assessment.
• A reduction in lost instructional time (each assessment is estimated to take less than 1 hour).
• New, interactive reports and tools designed to provide timely and actionable information to support our Maine educators and students.
• Continued cost saving for district leaders as this program will provide districts and schools with information previously provided by interim assessments, reducing the need for districts to purchase an interim assessment.

Next steps:

• To support a smooth transition, the Maine DOE will continue to provide MAP Growth administrations for Math and Reading in the fall (required) and winter (optional) of the 2022/2023 school as we prepare for the spring 2023 administration. Maine DOE will be sponsoring professional learning opportunities designed to support educators in the administration of the assessment and their use of through-year data for instructional purposes. Further information regarding professional learning will be forthcoming.
• It should be noted, there are no changes to the alternate assessment provided to students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. The Multi-State Alternate Assessment (MSAA) will continue to be utilized in mathematics, ELA, and science.

Assessment Calendar Now Available 

The assessment calendar for the 2022-2023 school year is now available. The schedule is located below and available on the assessment calendar webpage.

Questions can be directed to Janette Kirk, Chief, Office of Federal Programs.