Lori Higgins

Detroit Free Press

The state's new M-STEP exam could be a thing of the past after the 2016-17 school year, replaced by a test taken three times a year that would show how much students improve from the beginning of the school year until the end of the school year.

That was the vision laid out this morning by State Superintendent Brian Whiston, who spoke before lawmakers during a legislative hearing about testing.

Whiston said his vision isn't an attack on the Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress, which debuted in April 2015. Students across Michigan are currently taking the exam.

"M-STEP has done what its purpose is," Whiston said. "It's probably a good assessment."

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But he said Michigan needs a test that can measure whether students are on grade level. And a test given multiple times during the school year can help improve classroom instruction by giving teachers more information that can help them make changes quicker.

A test such as the M-STEP, and even the MEAP it replaced, can't measure growth within a school year, and typically the results are returned too late to provide immediate help to kids.

Whiston strongly recommended sticking with the M-STEP for the 2016-17 school year, despite some legislative efforts during the current budget development season to eliminate funding for the test.

While the test would be given three times in a school year — in the fall, winter and spring — Whiston said the winter exam would be optional.

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Students would begin taking the exam in kindergarten, with what he described as "age-appropriate" material in English language arts and math. The SAT would remain part of the high school examination.

He also said the exam should have some problem-solving activities.

Whiston became state superintendent in July and immediately launched an effort to transform the state into a top 10 performing state in 10 years. In order to get there, he said, Michigan students — and their parents — need to know if they're on grade level.

If Whiston's vision becomes reality, it would mark the latest change in testing in Michigan. In fall 2013, the Michigan Department of Education retired the 44-year-old MEAP exam. The department was well on its way to replacing it with the Smarter Balanced Exam. That exam is based on the Common Core State Standards, a rigorous set of expectations of what students must know to be successful in college or careers.

But lawmakers balked at that change, leaving the MDE to create the M-STEP exam. It was a rocky first year for the M-STEP. Though it had few of the technical glitches that were expected, many were critical because of the length of the exam and because results weren't delivered for months. The exam was shortened this year, and the MDE says results will get to schools much more quickly.

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Meanwhile, the state's accountability system has been on hold until the state has multiple years of test data to use to evaluate schools — a situation that could get worse if the state changes exams again.

Rep. Andy Schor, D-Lansing, asked Whiston whether he has concerns about starting over again with a new test.

"You raise an important point," Whiston said. "When we continually change assessments, it does cause problems."

If the state switches, Whiston said it should stick with the new exam for 10 years.

Chris Wigent, executive director of the Michigan Association of School Administrators, agreed. He said his membership agrees with the need for an assessment that can measure improvement, but "wherever we land, there needs to be consistency for a number of years, as we are all tired of bouncing around from assessment to assessment."

Lawmakers — members of the House education committee and the appropriations subcommittees on school aid and education — also heard from representatives of the Northwest Evaluation Association, which produces the Measures of Academic Progress exam.

That exam is similar to what Whiston envisions in Michigan. The exam is given to 650,000 students in 453 Michigan school districts and charter schools, said Carolyn Mock, the regional manager of state and government partnerships at Northwest Evaluation Association.

Contact Lori Higgins: 313-222-6651, lhiggins@freepress.com or @LoriAHiggins