CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Some elementary school students who attend virtual charter public schools will be allowed to take the West Virginia General Summative Assessment remotely.
The state Board of Education voted Wednesday to approve a waiver that allows for students in grades 3-8 to take the test at home.
Vaughn Rhudy, executive director of the West Virginia Department of Education’s (WVDE) Office of Assessment, told the board the remote testing tool will be allowed as long as the school, proctors, parents and students agree to all state requirements and sign the required agreement forms.
Rhudy said charter public school students will be tested in-person at their school or at an off-site location approved by the WVDE.
The only state school board member to vote against the waiver Wednesday was Debra Sullivan. She said the waiver doesn’t seem fair to students who go to school in-person.
“It does seem to be creating a privileged class within the virtual body of students. Even though we have all these virtual students across the state that a subset of them is being told you can stay home.” she said.
Sullivan said testing at home takes away from the human connection a student should have with their teacher.
“Having children appear once a year, to come in-person and take a test and see somebody face-to-face, it seems to me that’s an important thing,” she said.
Last year, the state Legislature revised the charter school law to state that any virtual public charter school may administer any required state assessment, if available, in a virtual setting utilizing remote proctoring that best meets the education needs of the student, Rhudy told the board.
“This waiver allows us to comply with that part of the state law and to serve the needs of those particular students that are enrolled in virtual public charter schools,” he said.
Sullivan said she has concerns that the concept will fail because the waiver is too open ended.
“What if it doesn’t work? How do we know it even works?” she asked Rhudy.
Rhudy confirmed the virtual testing has worked in other states.
“We do know that other states have used this and are testing some of their students remotely,” he said. “It has worked very well in those particular states. We have confidence in that.”
Sullivan said it shouldn’t be considered a burden to bring kids in on-site to take a test. She said it actually helps both students and teachers.
“It’s good to have eyes on kids. It’s a benefit, I think, to the kids to see somebody they may or may not be interacting with online,” she said. “It’s really an opportunity for teachers to get to know these kids because they don’t have that.”
The waiver does not apply to the West Virginia Alternate Summative Assessment, ELPA-21, or the SAT School Day.
The next state BOE meeting is March 13.