The Missouri Department of Secondary and Elementary Education (DESE) announced on January 16, 2014 that it would not administer the tests being developed by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) to 11th graders. Instead, 11th graders will continue to take the ACT. In announcing this decision, Ass’t Commissioner Sharon Helwig cited budgetary issues and a desire to reduce the amount of classroom time dedicated to assessment. Dr. Helwig’s full memo can be read at


http://dese.mo.gov/am/ccr/documents/CCR-14-002.pdf



For post-secondary faculty in Missouri who are charged with managing placement practices for college-level writing courses at their institutions, DESE’s decision to remain with the ACT for 11th graders may obviate the need to reconfigure placement mechanisms so that they align with SBAC’s Grade 11 Achievement Levels.