Technical Testing Project

Ohio’s Secondary Career-Technical Education (CTE) programs require a standardized assessment system across the 16 career fields to be used primarily as an accountability measure for maintaining Perkins IV funding. Secondary students are required to take an end-of-course (EOC) post-test exam following instruction for all courses, aligned to Ohio’s specific business and industry needs, taken in their program. The EOC exams serve as a measure of student’s technical knowledge and skill. In addition to the primary purpose of state and federal accountability, these exams serve several secondary purposes. First, local school districts may choose to use student gain scores as an input to teacher effectiveness ratings for the Ohio Teacher Evaluation System. This requires a pretest and a posttest. Second, some EOC tests are used to articulate credit for linked post-secondary courses. Third, a new feature of the system is that tests may be used to provide formative feedback to teachers for student improvement.

Our Role
Major project contributors include the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) Office of Career-Technical Education (CTE) (sponsor), CETE (vendor), and the Ohio Department of Higher Education (partner). Additionally, secondary and postsecondary CTE instructors are instrumental contributors in developing and reviewing test items and tests, validating the assessments, and setting proficient and advanced cut scores. CETE is responsible for designing, developing, and delivering assessments for the state of Ohio through WebXam, its proprietary test delivery platform.

In 2016-17, CETE has also partnered with the ODE office of CTE to provide professional development to instructors. Throughout the year, CETE Assessment Services staff assist districts, administrators, and instructors in providing technical support and customized professional development to build awareness and to equip key stakeholders to properly use and navigate the technical-testing system.