To simplify the administration of the MEAP and MME, and to enhance the validity of its assessments, the Office of Educational Assessment & Accountability announces the following changes, effective Fall 2008 (Spring 2009 for MME).
1. All MEAP assessments will be shortened to allow ONE-DAY administration of each MEAP session, with Mathematics, ELA session 1, ELA session 2, and science or social studies each on a separate day. Students will be able to complete all MEAP testing within FOUR school days. This will be accomplished by releasing half as many operational items as in previous years, thus requiring fewer items to be field-tested each year.
2. MEAP Reading will eliminate the "Response to Paired Reading Selections" essay, and will have more multiple-choice and/or short-answer items (to be field-tested in Fall 2008). This will enable the OEAA to measure higher-order reading comprehension without heavily incorporating writing performance in the reading performance scores. In addition, MEAP Reading will commission passages from published authors rather than seeking permission to use existing passages. This will target passages toward specific GLCEs, and allow for the release of passages on the OEAA website.
3. MEAP Math will be shortened to ONE DAY by reducing the number of items per core GLCE from three to two.
4. MEAP Science will replace two of the four constructed response items in each grade with six multiple choice items. This will reduce the amount of time needed for the Science assessment.
5. MEAP Social Studies will replace the constructed response item with short-answer and/or multiple choice items (to be field-tested in Fall 2009).
6. MME will eliminate the Social Studies constructed response item (previously scored for both Social Studies and Persuasive Writing), and will move this task to the Secondary Credit Assessment System where the activity can be more adequately implemented.
If you have questions regarding these changes, please call the Office of Educational Assessment and Accountability at 877-560-8378.
Best regards,
Joseph A.Martineau, PhD
Interim Director
Office of Educational Assessment and Accountability
Michigan Department of Education