New Education Test Data Due by Feb. 18

As the state prepares to release the first results of a new test, Ventura County education officials on Monday said the figures will give teachers a better idea of how well students are learning.

Results from the California Learning Assessment System, known as CLAS, will be released by Feb. 18, said Diana Rigby, director of curriculum and instruction for the Ventura County superintendent of schools’ office.

The new test, initially administered statewide last spring, is meant to measure how well students perform by having them write essays or solve mathematics problems and show how they arrive at their answers.

CLAS replaces the California Assessment Program, which used multiple-choice questions to measure students’ abilities.

Ventura County Supt. Charles Weis likened such a multiple-choice test to measuring students’ ability to play basketball by quizzing them on the rules. The CLAS testing program offers a much better approach, he said.

“It’s like we’re giving you a ball, putting you out on the court and letting you shoot,” Weis said. “It’s a real era change for assessment.”

However, the test is expensive to develop and score. More than 1,500 teachers gathered at 25 sites across the state to grade the tests. Because of the complexity, results have been delayed from the original release date in October, officials said.

With a price tag of $27 million, the new test is three times most costly to administer and score than the CAP test, officials said. Last year, students in fourth, eighth and 10th grades were tested in writing, reading and math.

This year, fifth-graders will be included and will be tested in science and social studies. Perhaps most significant for parents is that for the first time the state will be reporting the scores of students, not just schools.