Thursday, July 2, 2020

What is ETS role in the new SAT

Update #2 (1/27/16): Based on the LinkedIn job notification I received yesterday, it  seems  that ETS will be responsible for overseeing essay grading on the new SAT. Thats actually a move  away from Pearson, which has been grading the essays since 2005.   Not sure what to think of this. Maybe thats the bone the College Board threw to ETS to compensate for having taken the actual test-writing away. Or maybe theyre just trying to distance themselves from Pearson.   Update: Hardly had I published this post  when I discovered recent information indicating  that ETS is still playing  a consulting role, along with other organizations/individuals, in the creation of the new SAT. I hope to clarify in further  posts. Even so, the information below raises a number of significant questions.   Original post:   Thanks to Akil Bello over at Bell Curves for finally getting an  answer: (In case the image is too small for you to read, the College Boards Aaron Lemon-Strauss states that with rSAT we manage all writing/form construction in-house. use some contractors for scale, but its all managed here now. You can also view the original Twitter conversation  here.)   Now, some questions: What is the nature of the College Boards contract with ETS?   Who exactly is writing the actual test questions? Who are these contractors used for scale, and what are their qualifications? What percentage counts as some? What effect will this have on the validity of the redesigned  exam? (As I learned from Stanfords Jim Milgram, one of the original Common Core validation committee members, many of the College Boards most experienced psychometricians have been  replaced.)   Are the education officials who are mandated the redesigned SAT  in Connecticut, Michigan, Colorado, Illinois, and New York City aware that the test is no longer being written by ETS?   Why has this not been reported in the media? I cannot recall a single article, in any outlet, about the rollout of the new test that even alluded to this issue. ETS has been involved in writing  the SAT since the 1940s.  It is almost impossible to overstate what a radical change this is.