Students across the nation will enter a new era of standardized tests in the 2014-15 school year ushered in by the Common Core Standards.

For Montana, that means the coming school year will be the last year students in grades three through eight and 10th-graders will test in reading and math through the current state standardized Criterion Referenced Test that was first administered in 2004.

With the new assessment third- through eighth-graders and 11th-graders will take a new test in similar content areas, but with more extensive writing and critical thinking problems.

Montana consistently has performed above the rest of the nation on Criterion Referenced Test scores and Kalispell Public Schools students often outperform the state, but comparing scores between states is very difficult when each state has a different assessment.

The number of state standardized tests will be pared down significantly in an effort to provide consistency across the nation. Comparing “apples to apples” is something that excites some educators, while others question the Common Core’s rigorousness and ability to inspire innovation.

Currently, there are two state-led consortiums developing new tests aligned to the Common Core: The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers.

Montana is among more than 21 states belonging to the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium and Kalispell Public Schools are making sure they are well prepared for the transition.

Kalispell Assistant Superintendent Dan Zorn welcomes the wealth of new opportunities to analyze student achievement data that come with Common Core Standards and assessments.

Kalispell has diligently worked on aligning curriculum for the past couple of years. The district took it one step further by piloting a test among more than 600 freshman biology students in April.

“I think a lot of Smarter Balanced will be very similar to the CRT where you’ve got some multiple-choice items, short-answer questions. What I think will be different, is there will be more extended writing expectations that will include some kind of reading,” Zorn said.

After looking at Smarter Balanced sample problems and examples, the district designed its own version of one component expected to appear on the new assessments called “performance tasks.” Those tasks require students to read and analyze literature on a particular topic and then write a report.

“That’s the new piece and that’s the most difficult piece to score,” Zorn said.

In the pilot performance task, biology students read information on lake trout management in the Flathead Lake Watershed. After analyzing sources, they wrote reports from the perspective of a chief-of-staff preparing an outline and stance for a local congresswoman in the U.S. House of Representatives. Students were asked to evaluate the accuracy and bias of sources and provide supporting evidence in their arguments. Unlike state standardized tests, students received a classroom grade.

“What we’re looking for is evidence; how well do they support their claims,” Zorn said.

These extensive performance tasks really get to the heart of critical thinking across different content areas, Zorn said. He along with Glacier High School, Flathead High School and Kalispell Middle School English department heads helped design the pilot performance task. Grading the student assessments required a partnership of English and science teachers.

“What we’re asking is that all of our teachers become teachers of reading and teachers of writing in those content areas,” Zorn said.

Teachers graded over two days and provided a valuable learning experience of the work ahead.

“We have a lot of work to do,” Zorn said. “I think probably what we found is that maybe our kids are perhaps lacking in their ability to correctly cite sources and their ability to be able to use multiple sources to effectively argue their point. The mechanics of their writing is pretty solid in terms of their conventions. We also found that a lot of our kids are good with voice and descriptive language.”

Zorn said math performance tasks might not require so much writing as problems that involve multiple steps and explanation of the problem-solving process.

“We’ve seen some samples. One was an eighth-grade question. You have a park and your job is to put in benches and sidewalks and streetlights. You’re given the parameters. Kids have to put together a materials cost list and ultimately build a budget to complete the project,” Zorn said.

Zorn and Superintendent Darlene Schottle agreed that one of the drawbacks is the technology required to take the new assessments. After a three-year transition period, tests will be taken solely on computers in a time when the district is struggling to maintain its current equipment and bandwidth. More than 2,000 elementary students and 600 10th-graders will test on computers.

The computerized tests, however, offer the advantage of adjusting questions to a student’s ability based on previous answers using computer adaptive testing. This provides a more accurate measure of achievement, according to www.smarterbalanced.org.

The Common Core Standards have been adopted by 45 states. Montana was one of the later states to adopt them in 2011 and will fully implement standards in the coming school year.

The state-led standards create a framework of benchmarks for student learning by grade level. School districts will still design their own curriculum to achieve the benchmarks.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.