FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT
Dual Aligned Assessments
One component of the transition from the 2001-2002 Academic Content Standards to Ohio’s New Learning Standards is the dual alignment of the Ohio Achievement Assessments (OAA) and the Ohio Graduation Test (OGT) for the 2013-2014 school year. Below are the answers to frequently asked questions about this dual alignment.
Q. What does it mean to be dual aligned?
A. Questions on the OAA and OGT originally aligned to the 2001-2002 standards were reviewed by the Ohio Department of Education and American Institutes for Research staff then by committees of Ohio educators. During the review, each question was either aligned to a new learning standard or identified as having no alignment and therefore removed from the test bank.
Q. How are questions for each test selected?
A. The dual aligned questions were used to develop tests that meet current blueprint and statistical requirements. Questions were not moved from one test to another test.
Science: Questions that are identified as dual aligned and are within the grade band will be considered appropriate for the test. To meet OGT test requirements, the following types of questions will still appear on the 2013-2014 spring OGT.
§ Earth Science items that have moved to grades 7 and 8 in Ohio’s New Learning Standards
§ Science Process items that are not aligned to specific content in Ohio’s New Learning Standards
Social Studies: Questions that are identified as dual aligned and are within the grade band will be considered appropriate for the test.
English Language Arts and Mathematics: Questions that are identified as dual aligned and at or below the tested grade level will be considered appropriate for the test.
Q. Are the 2013-2014 science OAAs still grade-band or grade-level specific?
A. The 2013-2014 science OAAs are still grade-band assessments.
Q. What if a concept/skill has moved to a higher or a lower grade?
A. Science: If the concept or skill is still within the testing grade band then it may be assessed on the 2013-14 spring test, if it has moved out of the grade band then it will not be assessed.
A. English Language Arts and Mathematics: If the concept or skill has moved to an earlier grade level it is identified as foundational and therefore considered appropriate for the test. The concept or skill will not be assessed if the concept is at a grade higher than the assessed grade.
Q. What standards should we focus on for the 2013-2014 school year?
A. Ohio’s New Learning Standards. The dual alignment allows teachers to fully implement the New Learning Standards and adequately prepares students for the assessments.