DCAS Testing
The DCAS (Delaware Comprehensive Assessment System) is a computerized test taken in the state of Delaware by students in grades 2-12. DCAS is multiple choice, matching, click and drag, fill in pictures, and graph plotting. The difficulty of the questions the student answers is determined by the performance of the student when taking the test. If a student was doing well, then the questions would be harder than another student who is doing poorly. This is based on ten questions embedded within others that bump the next questions' difficulty levels up or down, depending on whether the student answered correctly or incorrectly. The harder questions are worth more points, which increase the number grade.
The score level on the DCAS ranges from a 1-4. A 1 would signify a student being well below standards, 2 being below standards, 3 being meeting the standards, and 4 being above standards. The maximum possible score is 1300 points.
An area of contention surrounding the test is that students are not required to reach proficiency in order to graduate. This has resulted in students skipping the test, as well as central tendency bias in the answers.[1]