Briefing on the Smarter Balanced
Assessment Consortium
Joe Willhoft
Executive Director
ACTE Vision2013
Las Vegas, NV
Dec. 7, 2013
Smarter Balanced
Assessment System Overview
“Not just another test”…Smarter Balanced is
being built by states for states
1 Preparing students for a changing world
2
Connecting learning to life after high school –
career or college
meaningful information to guide
3 Providing
student growth
teachers with a practical suite of
4 Supporting
resources
5 Keeping educators in the driver’s seat
2
A State-led Assessment Consortium
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•
•
•
26 member
states and
territories
representing
39% of K-12
students
23 Governing
States, 2
Advisory States,
1 Affiliate
Member
Washington
state is fiscal
agent
WestEd provides
project
management
services
3
A State-led Assessment Consortium:
Sustainability for 2014-15 and Beyond
•
Future
affiliation with
the Graduate
School of
Education
and
Information
Studies at
UCLA
4
Improving Teaching & Learning
Common
Core State
Standards
specify
K-12
expectations
for college
and career
readiness
Summative:
College and career
readiness
assessments for
accountability
Teachers and
schools have
information and
tools they need to
improve teaching
and learning
Formative
resources:
Supporting
classroom-based
assessments to
improve instruction
All students
leave
high school
college
and career
ready
Interim:
Flexible and open
assessments, used
for actionable
feedback
5
Summative Assessments for
Accountability
Computer Adaptive
Testing (CAT) Portion
Performance Task (PT)
Portion
Meaningful, Useful
Reporting
✔
•Built on solid technology
•Coverage of full breadth/depth of Common Core
•Precise assessment of all students
•Deeper learning with thematic and scenario-based
tasks
•Real-world problems aligned to Common Core
•PT and CAT scores are combined for an overall score
•High School: Readiness for credit-earning coursework
•Benchmarked to NAEP, PISA, other measures
•Responsive turnaround time on reports
6
Interim Assessments
to Signal Improvement
Flexible and Open
✔
•Non-Secure
•Flexible timing and frequency
•Menu-driven, user-designed assessments
Authentic Measures
•Includes full range of item types
•On the same scale as the Summative Assessment
•Includes performance assessments
Supports Proficiency
Based Instruction
•Matching assessments with scope and sequence
•Teachers can review student responses
•Teachers can score student responses
7
Formative Tools for ClassroomBased Assessment Practices
Improving
Instruction
Pooling
Resources
✔
•Tools/materials for Classroom-based Assessments
•Fully aligned to Common Core State Standards
•Tools to evaluate publishers’ tests
•Consortium-wide access to high-quality resources
•Across-state collaboration on special projects
•Professional social networking (Web-based PLCs)
• Useful for in-service and pre-service development
8
A Balanced Assessment System
English Language Arts/Literacy and Mathematics, Grades 3-8 and High School
School Year
Last 12 weeks of the year*
DIGITAL CLEARINGHOUSE OF FORMATIVE TOOLS, PROCESSES AND EXEMPLARS
Released items and tasks; Model curriculum units; Educator training; Professional development tools and
resources; Scorer training modules; Teacher collaboration tools; Evaluation of publishers’ assessments.
Optional Interim
Assessment
Computer Adaptive
Assessment and
Performance Tasks
Optional Interim
Assessment
Computer Adaptive
Assessment and
Performance Tasks
PERFORMANCE
TASKS
• ELA/Literacy
• Mathematics
Scope, sequence, number and timing of interim assessments locally determined
COMPUTER
ADAPTIVE TESTS
• ELA/Literacy
• Mathematics
Re-take option
*Time windows may be adjusted based on results from the research agenda and final implementation decisions.
9
Individual Score Reports for
Grades 3-8 and 11
Overall
Claim for
3-8
Student
Scores
forGrades
ELA/Literacy
Student Scores for Mathematics
Overall ELA/Literacy Score
Overall Mathematics Score
Reading
Concepts & Procedures
Writing
Problem Solving/Modeling &
Data Analysis
Listening
Communicating Reasoning
Research/Inquiry
10
Smarter Balanced
Uses and Purposes of the Assessments
Purposes and Users for the
Summative Assessments
Grades Tested Purpose
User
School/District/State Accountability
Federal
ESEA/NCLB
Student Readiness for Creditbearing College Coursework
Higher Ed.
Institutions
9, 10, 12
State Designed End-of-Course,
Graduation Requirements, etc.
State Option
3-8 and 11
Teacher/Principal Accountability
State/District
Option
3-8 and 11
11
12
College Content Readiness at Gr. 11
ELA
Students who perform at the College Content-Ready level in English
language arts/literacy demonstrate reading, writing, listening, and
research skills necessary for introductory courses in a variety of
disciplines. They also demonstrate subject-area knowledge and skills
associated with readiness for entry-level, transferable, credit bearing
English and composition courses.
MATHEMATICS
Students who perform at the College Content-Ready level in
mathematics demonstrate foundational mathematical knowledge and
quantitative reasoning skills necessary for introductory courses in a
variety of disciplines. They also demonstrate subject-area knowledge
and skills associated with readiness for entry-level, transferable, creditbearing mathematics and statistics courses.
13
Career Readiness Task Force:
Charge Approved by Executive Committee
Review available models
Develop recommendations that describe
performance on Smarter Balanced assessments in
relation to academic readiness for postsecondary
career education and training
Recommendations will be revised based on feedback
from member states, the Technical Advisory
Committee, and the general public prior to a vote by
Governing States.
Task Force Composition
• 15 members.
• Representatives from K-12, higher
•
•
education, and the business community.
Individuals with expertise in career and
technical education.
Additional experts will be invited to
advise the task force.
Task Force Roster
Patrick
Ainsworth
Former Assistant Superintendent and Director,
Career, and College Transition Division
California Department of Education
Kimberly
Green
Executive Director
National Association of State Directors of Career
Technical Education Consortium
CA
Bernadette
Howard
Associate Vice President for Creativity,
Sustainability and College Improvement
State Director for Career and Technical Education
Kimberly
Joyce
Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs
Delaware Technical Community College
DE
Coleen
Keffeler
CTE Coordinator
Meade 46-1 School District
SD
Dan
Lara
Dean of Business, Applied Technology, and Industry Linn-Benton Community College
Alice
Madsen
Clifford
McClain
Vera
McCrink
Cris
McCullough
Nigel
Norton
Scott
Ocken
Carol
Perry
Nivea
Torres
Career and Technical Education/Career & Education
Development Specialist
Academic Dean, Industry and Technology
Executive Dean/Dean of Liberal Arts & Human
Services
Interim Superintendent
Teri
Wigert
Director of Support Systems and Resources
Robert “Butch” Grove
Dean of Instruction for Professional and Technical
Education
Coordinator and Associate Professor, Career &
Technical and Postsecondary Education
Associate Administrator, Division of ProfessionalTechnical Education
Dean of Policy Alignment and Outreach
Wake Technical Community College
NC
University of Hawaii
HI
OR
Highline Community College
WA
University of Nevada Las Vegas
NV
State of Idaho
ID
California Community Colleges Chancellor's
Office
CA
Maine Department of Education
ME
Des Moines Area Community College
IA
Mountwest Community & Technical College
WV
Connecticut Technical High School System
CT
Wyoming Department of Education
WY
Defining Career Readiness
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•
•
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Recognition that “college ready” and “career ready” are not equivalent.
Few if any “career” occupations (that pay a family-sustaining wage and
offer avenues for advancement) can be entered without some amount of
postsecondary education and training.
Career readiness is a multi-faceted construct that includes a continuum
of academic preparation for a wide array of postsecondary career
education and training options.
Acknowledgement that Smarter Balanced can only address academic
readiness in English and math for further education and training (could
range from short-term on the job training to graduate education,
depending on occupation a student chooses to pursue).
Problem: Describing the Link between Smarter
Balanced Assessments and Career Readiness
Solution: Career Readiness Frameworks
•
Frameworks illustrate for exemplar occupations within 16 Career Clusters
the types of further education and training that students at each Smarter
Balanced achievement level would be currently qualified to pursue (and–by
showing all the levels–the broader set of postsecondary options that
become available as performance improves).
•
States could choose to use frameworks as-is or to adjust them based on
the high-demand fields in their economy, the way they have organized
career fields within their own CTE curricula, local career requirements or
other factors.
•
Recommend that states establish a group composed of representatives
from K-12, higher education, business and industry, and labor to review
and customize the framework.
•
The customized state framework could be linked to student score reports,
state career exploration and planning resources, O*Net career information,
and postsecondary programs.
Additional Recommendations
•
•
•
The primary purpose of the frameworks is to provide students and parents
with information to help them interpret the meaning of student scores.
The Task Force drafted language to help users understand the utility and
limits of the information provided. These statements address the following
topics:
– Nature and limitations of the framework and occupation exemplars.
– Description of broader career readiness construct and need for multiple
measures to understand the extent to which students are “career
ready.”
– Reminder that Smarter Balanced only measures English and math
knowledge and skills as defined by Common Core.
– Reminder to students and parents that scores represent performance at
a particular point in time and that advancement is always possible.
To facilitate student career planning while avoiding the appearance of
tracking, the Task Force recommends that information on postsecondary
career options should only be displayed at Grade 8 and in high school.
Next Steps
December 4 & 10
December 13
• Presentations to State Leads
• Release for State Review/Comment
January 24
• State Review/Comments Due
February 7
• Revisions Completed
February 10
March 21
• Release for Public Review/Comment [Webinar(s) for
stakeholder groups]
• Public Review/Comments Close
April 4
• Revisions Completed
April 7
• Final Pre-vote Version Released to States for
Review/Discussion
April 29
• State Vote at Collaboration Conference
Smarter Balanced
Getting Ready for the Tests
Major Milestones in Development of
Summative Assessments
✔
✔
Small
Scale
Trials
Mar – Nov
2012
✔
Pilot
Testing
Feb –
May 2013
Field Test
Mar –
June
2014
Early Q.C. of items & software; no student results
Full system
run-through;
Establish
performance
standards;
some results
Cognitive
Labs
Apr – Aug
2012
Deploy For
Operational
Use
Sep 2014
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2014 Field Testing
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•
•
•
March - June 2014
Sampling about 20% of students in Consortium
Purpose: Evaluate items and tasks for Smarter
Balanced pool…
 Statistical data analysis of 20,000+ items
 Divide items/tasks into secure (summative) pool
and open (interim) pool
 Conduct standard setting for different performance
levels (“cut scores”)
US Dept. of Ed flexibility to avoid double testing
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Estimated Testing Times for 2014 Field
Test and 2015 Operational Assessment
Test Type
English
Language
Arts
Mathematics
COMBINED
Grades
CAT
Perf.
Task
Only
3-5
1:30
2:00
3:30
:30
4:00
6-8
1:30
2:00
3:30
:30
4:00
11
2:00
2:00
4:00
:30
4:30
3-5
1:30
1:00
2:30
:30
3:00
6-8
2:00
1:00
3:00
:30
3:30
11
2:00
1:30
3:30
:30
4:00
3-5
3:00
3:00
6:00
1:00
7:00
6-8
3:30
3:00
6:30
1:00
7:30
11
4:00
3:30
7:30
1:00
8:30
Total
Class
Activity
Total
Times are estimates of test length for most students. Smarter Balanced assessments are
designed as untimed tests; some students may need and should be afforded more time than
shown in this table.
24
Technology Requirements:
Responding to School Needs
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•
•
•
Smarter states have established standards for new and
existing hardware
Online “Readiness Tool”
– Schools and districts can evaluate technology readiness
Schools do NOT need one-to-one computers
– Illustrative example: A 600-student school can be supported by a
single 30-computer lab
– Smarter Balanced Readiness Calculator at:
http://www3.cde.ca.gov/sbactechcalc/
Pencil-and-paper option available for three-year
transition period
25
Guidelines for NEW Technology
Is Posted on Website (v1.0 Apr. 2012)
Available
Display
Minimum Processor
RAM Memory/Storage Resolution Size
for New Speed
Hardware 1.0 GHz 1 GB 1 GB
1024x768 10” Class
 Windows 7
Operating
 Mac 10.7
Systems
 Linux (Ubuntu 11.10; Fedora 16)
 Chrome
 Apple iOS 6
 Android 4.0
Desktops, laptops, netbooks (Windows, Mac, Chrome, Linux), thin client, and
tablets (iPad, Windows, and Android) will be compatible devices provided they are
configured to meet the established hardware, operating system, and networking
specifications -- and are able to be “locked down”.
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Accessibility & Accommodations
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Accessibility & Accommodations
(from S.B. Guidelines)
28
Setting Performance Standards
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•
•
•
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Setting standards for four Performance Levels at each
grade
September 2014, using Field Test data
Grade-level panels of 30 per content area recommend
cut scores
– At least two representatives from each Governing State on each
grade level panel
Concurrent “crowd-sourced” recommendations from the
field
Recommendations presented to chiefs for approval in
late September 2014
29
Take a Peek Under the Hood…
The Smarter Balanced Practice Test
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•
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Shows item types and tools/features
Now available; Released May 29
Expanded features being released over the
summer/fall
http://www.smarterbalanced.org/practice-test
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Learn More and Stay Engaged
www.smarterbalanced.org
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