Funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the Race to the Top competition (RTTT) is designed to encourage and reward States that reform their educational system and significantly improve student achievement, graduation rates, and college preparedness. States receiving funding need to show improvement in four core areas:
- recruiting and retaining effective teachers
- standards and assessments
- data systems
- improving the lowest-achieving schools
States that articulated effective plans for progress in those areas were awarded grants from the Federal government. More information about Race to the Top is available here.
How Our Products Support RTTT
Race to the Top supports and encourages the development of online assessment systems. Pacific Metrics has developed online assessments for over ten years. Our Online Remoting Customizable Assessment (ORCA) system can be adapted to support a variety of testing needs, and is currently used by multiple states for formative and summative assessment administrations. In addition, our automated scoring system uses artificial intelligence to score multiple-choice and constructed-response items. Our products are supported by a nationally recognized team of researchers and psychometricians.
The Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSS) was developed through a collaboration of teachers, school administrators, and educational experts. It outlines standards for English language arts and mathematics that define the knowledge and skills all students are expected to learn, regardless of their geographic location or learning challenges. The goal is for every student to leave school with the skills necessary to succeed in college or workforce training programs. Released by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers, 44 states have adopted the standards, with the goal of implementing the initiative by 2015. The standards do not dictate how the curriculum will be taught, only what should be taught in each grade level to each student. Next generation summative assessments based on common core state standards are expected to roll out in 2014. More information about the CCSS can be found here.
How Our Products Support CCSS
Pacific Metrics develops online student assessment systems with items aligned to the Common Core State Standards in English language arts and mathematics. These systems provide accurate information to teachers and other stakeholders on the progress of all students. Our automated scoring system can reliably score student written constructed responses. In addition, our ORCA® Connect platform is being used in an Enhanced Assessment Grant (EAG) funded by the U.S. Department of Education to investigate the feasibility and utility of using online mathematics assessments, based on common core standards, to measure mathematics knowledge and skills with constructed-response items.
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) is an education reform bill under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that supports standards-based education reform by setting standards and goals by which States will be evaluated for federal funding. The standards, set by each state individually, outline what basic skills every student should have by the end of each grade. The states are held accountable through standardized tests, with the goal of increasing test scores over the previous year. More information about NCLB can be found here.
How Our Products Support NCLB
With an understanding that states must implement high-quality assessment systems, Pacific Metrics has developed multiple products that offer a full range of benefits. A pillar of NCLB is the need to include all students, including those with special needs and English language learners. Our online ORCA® delivery platforms have built-in accommodations to support these students. Our automated scoring system offers an important alternative to handscoring, with proven reliability, fast turnaround times, and cost savings.
