Abstract
State Education Agencies (SEAs) face challenges to the implementation of computer-based accountability assessments. The change in the accountability assessments from paper-based to computer-based demands action from the states to enable schools and districts to build their technical capacity, train the staff, provide practice opportunities to the students, manage the logistics of testing in the computer labs and provide change management services to all stakeholders including the public. In mandating these assessments, states have a responsibility for building technical, human and social capital to support the technical implementation and for informing the public to ensure student participation. An effort to move to computer-based accountability assessments requires all stakeholders to contribute in order for it to be successful. Understanding the contributions the SEA can make will help states in addressing the challenges to the successful administration of millions of exams. The study was a mixed method study of the statewide implementation of computer-based accountability assessment in three states. The purpose of this three-state comparative case study was to describe the SEA contributions to the extent of adoption of computer-based assessments for K12 statewide accountability. This study contributes to the literature on how institutional adoption of innovations can be facilitated or hindered by the activities of the governing body of the institution by studying how the actions of the SEA affect the institutional adoption of computer-based accountability assessments as shown by two indicators – technical implementation and student participation. The SEA factors contributing to the successful adoption of computer-based assessments are the procedures and practices at the SEA, interactions between the SEA and the districts, and SEA and local capacities. Because the SEAs can adjust their procedures and practices and their interactions between themselves and the districts, these areas are the focus of this study. By focusing on what the SEA can control in their implementation plans, this study aims to guide SEAs on what they can do to support the successful adoption of computer-based assessments for accountability.
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