STATE'S WESTEST RESULTS DELAYED AGAIN - Public Release Reset Multiple Times

(11/06/2014)
This year's Westest 2 results for the state's public schools have been delayed multiple times, the state says due to requirements tied to the state's transition to online testing.

Liza Cordeiro, Executive Director of the WVDE Communication Office told the Hur Herald that results are in the counties review window.

Cordeiro said this week the release is now expected by mid-November, rather than mid-October.

The state Department of Education usually releases Westest 2 scores in early August.

The reason for delay is because last school year was the first time the state's test vendor had to perform an equating study to make sure tests were equal to the paper version, which delayed scores, according to Larry White, executive director of assessment and research for the Department of Education.

Christine Campbell, president of the state's branch of the American Federation of Teachers, said she has heard concerns from teachers across the state in recent months about the effect later test results could have on their classrooms, especially because teachers are required to determine student learning goals based on those scores by Nov. 1.

"The whole point of going online was so we could get scores back earlier, and here we are online, and we're actually getting them later," said Campbell.

This is the last set of Westest 2 scores in West Virginia, to be replaced by the new Smarter Balanced Assessment Test, which aligns with Common Core standards.

State schools are now ranked using an improvement model, not the cut-line pass-fail system under No Child Left Behind, with Calhoun Schools showing improvement last year under the new system.