Smarter Balanced and High Ability Learners
Chrystyna V. Mursky
Director of Professional Learning
Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium
Education Consultant, Gifted/Talented
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Wisconsin Association for Talented and Gifted
October 10, 2013
Four Corners
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How familiar are you with the Smarter Balanced
Assessment Consortium?
How familiar are you with computer adaptive
assessment?
How familiar are you with the shifts in the CCSS for
Mathematics? For English Language Arts?
How familiar are you with the Smarter Balanced
sample summative assessment items?
How familiar are you with the Smarter Balanced
resources for formative assessment practice?
Slide 2
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Topics
Background on the Smarter Balanced Assessment
Consortium
Overview of the Smarter Balanced Assessment
System
The Smarter Balanced Summative Assessment
– Overview
– Shifts in the CCSS for Mathematics
– Sample Summative Items for Mathematics
– Shifts in the CCSS for English Language Arts
– Sample Summative Items for English Language Arts
The Smarter Balanced Interim Assessment
Resources for the Formative Assessment Process
Slide 3
What is Smarter Balanced?
A consortium of 26 states and
territories working together to
build next-generation formative,
interim, and summative
assessments tied to the Common
Core State Standards in English
Language Arts/Literacy and
Mathematics for K-12 schools.
Funding from the federal Race to
the Top Assessment grant
(~$175M) and foundations (~$3M).
Governed by member states on a
consensus model.
Slide 4
A National Consortium of States
•
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
K-12 Teacher Involvement
• Write and review items/tasks for
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the pilot test (2012-13) and field
test (2013-14)
Develop teacher leader teams in
each state (2012-14)
Evaluate formative assessment
practices and curriculum tools
for inclusion in Digital Library
(2013-14)
Score portions of the interim
and summative assessments
(2014-15 and beyond)
Slide 6
Higher Education Collaboration
• Involved 175 public and 13
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private systems/institutions of
higher education in
application
Two higher education
representatives on the
Executive Committee
Higher education lead in each
state and higher education
faculty participating in work
groups
Goal: The high school
assessment qualifies students
for entry-level, credit-bearing
coursework in college or
university
Slide 7
A Balanced Assessment System
Common
Core State
Standards
specify
K-12
expectations
for college
and career
readiness
Summative
assessments
Benchmarked to
college and career
readiness
Teachers and
schools have
information and
tools they need
to improve
teaching and
learning
Teacher resources for
formative
assessment
practices
to improve instruction
All students
leave
high school
college
and career
ready
Interim assessments
Flexible, open, used
for actionable
feedback
Slide 8
A Balanced Assessment System
ELA/Literacy and Mathematics, Grades 3-8 and High School
School Year
Last 12 weeks of the year*
DIGITAL LIBRARY of formative tools, processes and exemplars; released items and tasks; model
curriculum units; educator training; professional development tools and resources; scorer training modules;
and teacher collaboration tools.
Optional Interim
Assessment
Computer Adaptive
Assessment and
Performance Tasks
Optional Interim
Assessment
Computer Adaptive
Assessment and
Performance Tasks
Summative Assessment for
Accountability
Performance
Tasks
• ELA/literacy
• Mathematics
Scope, sequence, number and timing of interim assessments
locally determined
*Time windows may be adjusted based on results from the research agenda and final implementation decisions.
Computer
Adaptive
Assessment
• ELA/literacy
• Mathematics
Re-take option available
Slide 9
Huddle
Discuss the following with a few people
around you:
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How do you use a balanced
assessment system now?
How will your practices be affected?
Slide 10
Smarter Balanced
Summative Assessment
Summative Assessment:
Purpose, Benefits and Limitations
Purpose
Benefits
Limitations
• Accountability for K12 at the state,
district, school and
classroom/teacher
levels
• Accurate
Information about
individual students’
achievement,
growth over time,
and (in 11th grade)
readiness for
college in English
and math.
• Far more
sophisticated and
comprehensive
measure of student
knowledge and
skills than most
existing K-12
accountability or
placement exams.
• Linked to known,
high-quality content
standards (Common
Core).
• Early warning for
students not yet
college ready.
• Summative exams
are not diagnostic in
nature.
• Will not measure
readiness for
advanced
mathematics
(Calculus) requiring
12th grade
instruction.
Slide 12
Summative Assessment:
Two-pronged Approach
Computer Adaptive Test
• Assesses the full range of Common
Core in English language arts/literacy
and mathematics for students in
grades 3-8 and 11 (interim
assessments can be used in grades 9
and 10)
• Measures current student
achievement and growth across time,
showing progress toward college and
career readiness
• Includes a variety of question types:
selected response, short constructed
response, extended construction
response, technology enhanced
Performance Tasks
• Extended projects demonstrate realworld writing and analytical skills
• May include online research, group
projects, presentations
• Require 1 to 2 class periods to
complete
• Included in both English language
arts/literacy and mathematics
assessments
• Applicable in all grades being
assessed
• Evaluated by teachers using
consistent scoring rubrics
Slide 13
Using Computer Adaptive Technology for
Summative and Interim Assessments
Increased precision
Tailored for Each
Student
Increased Security
Shorter Test Length
Faster Results
• Provides accurate measurements of student growth
over time
• Item difficulty based on student responses
• Larger item banks mean that not all students receive
the same questions
• Fewer questions compared to fixed form tests
• Turnaround time is significantly reduced
Slide 14
Estimated Testing Times
for Summative Assessment
Test
English
Language
Arts/
Literacy
Math
Grades
CAT
Perf. Task
Only
Total
In-Class
Activity
Total
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
The testing window is the final 12 weeks of the academic year.
Huddle
Talk with a few people about the following
questions:
• How would you rate your school district’s
readiness for the Smarter Balanced
summative assessment?
• What questions do you have about the
summative assessment?
Slide 16
Common Core State Standards
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Define the
knowledge and
skills students need
for college and
career
Developed
voluntarily and
cooperatively by
states; more than
40 states have
adopted
Provide clear,
consistent
standards in
English language
arts/literacy and
mathematics
Source: www.corestandards.org
Slide 17
Mathematics
What is Changing?
Slide 18
The CCSS Require Three Shifts in Mathematics
• Focus: strongly where the
standards focus
• Coherence: Think across
grades and link to major
topics within grades
• Rigor: In major topics,
pursue conceptual
understanding, procedural
skill and fluency, and
application with equal
intensity
Slide 19
Shift #1: Focus
Key Areas of Focus in Mathematics
Focus Areas in Support of Rich Instruction and
Grade Expectations of Fluency and Conceptual
Understanding
K–2
Addition and subtraction - concepts, skills, and
problem solving and place value
3–5
Multiplication and division of whole numbers and
fractions – concepts, skills, and problem solving
6
Ratios and proportional reasoning; early expressions
and equations
7
Ratios and proportional reasoning; arithmetic of
rational numbers
8
Linear algebra and linear functions
Slide 20
Shift #1: Focus
Content Emphases by Cluster
The Smarter Balanced Content Specifications help support
focus by identifying the content emphasis by cluster. The
notation [m] indicates content that is major and [a/s]
indicates content that is additional or supporting.
Slide 21
Shift #2: Coherence
Think Across Grades, and Link to Major Topics Within Grades
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Carefully connect the learning within and
across grades so that students can build
new understanding on foundations built in
previous years.
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Begin to count on solid conceptual
understanding of core content and build on
it. Each standard is not a new event, but an
extension of previous learning.
Slide 22
Coherence: Some Standards from Early Grades
are Critical Through Grade 12
1.OA.7 Understand the meaning of the
equal sign, and determine if equations
involving addition and subtraction are true
or false. For example, which of the following
equations are true and which are false? 6 =
6, 7 = 8 – 1, 5 + 2 = 2 + 5, 4 + 1 = 5 + 2.
Slide 23
What it Looks Like in Grade 3
True or False:
3 x 8 = 20 + 4
T
F
50 ÷ 10 = 5 x 1
T
F
9 x 9 = 8 x 10
T
F
Slide 24
What it Looks Like in Grade 5
True or False:
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2
2
2
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1
3
1
3
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3
6
3
6
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
1
3
1
3
Slide 25
What it Looks Like in Grade 8
Tell how many solutions:
3x + 17 = 3x + 12
Slide 26
What it Looks Like in High School
X4 – 5x3 + x2 + 2x + 1 =
Drag the correct expression to make a true
equation.
x3 + (x + 1)2 + X4 – 6x3
X4 – 3x3 + 2x3 + x2 + 2x + 1
X4 – 5x3 + x + x + 2x + 1
…
Slide 27
Shift #3: Rigor
In Major Topics, Pursue Conceptual Understanding,
Procedural Skill and Fluency, and Application
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The CCSSM require a balance of:

Solid conceptual understanding

Procedural skill and fluency

Application of skills in problem solving
situations
Pursuit of all three requires equal intensity in
time, activities, and resources.
Slide 28
Smarter Balanced Sample Items
http://sampleitems.smarterbalanced.org/itemprevie
w/sbac/
• Item 43328: Fractions 2a
• Item 43081: The Contest
• Item 42933: Calculator
As you analyze the sample items, consider the
following 2 questions:
How do the items
reflect the shifts in the
Common Core State
Standards?
What are the
implications for core
instruction? For
instruction of high
ability learners?
Slide 29
English Language Arts
What is Changing?
Slide 30
Key Shifts in the CCSS for
English Language Arts
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1.Complexity: Regular practice with complex
text and its academic language
2.Evidence: Reading, writing, and speaking
grounded in evidence from text, both literary
and informational
3.Knowledge: Building knowledge through
content-rich nonfiction
Slide 31
Implications for Assessment
From
To
Focusing only on reading skills
Also focusing on complexity of what
students can read
Students moving quickly through a text
Students taking time to read and reread,
study, and ponder
Assessing literary terminology
Assessing academic vocabulary
Mostly assessing through SR items that
do not require specific reference to
textual evidence
Assessing through a range of items that
require students to draw evidence from
text; use CR items to require a variety of
complex performances
Mainly writing to de-contextualized
prompts
Focusing on text-based writing prompts
(arguments and informative essays)
Measuring ELA only
Measuring literacy across disciplines
Slide 32
Smarter Balanced Sample Items
http://sampleitems.smarterbalanced.org/itemprevie
w/sbac/
• Grandma Ruth 3
• Writing: Cell Phones
• Listening: Exercise in Space 2
As you analyze the sample items, consider the
following 2 questions:
How do the items
reflect the shifts in the
Common Core State
Standards?
What are the
implications for core
instruction? For
instruction of high
ability learners?
Slide 33
Smarter Balanced
Interim Assessment
Interim Assessment
Interim Assessment
• Optional summative clone and content-block assessment to
provide benchmark for student performance
• Accessible all year
• Provides clear examples of expected performance on
Common Core standards
• Includes a variety of question types: selected response,
short constructed response, extended constructed
response, technology enhanced, and performance tasks
• Aligned to and reported on the same scale as the
summative assessments
• Fully accessible for instruction and professional
development
Formative Assessment Practices
Slide 36
Digital Library Resources
Assessment
Literacy Modules
Exemplar
Instructional
Modules
Education
Resources
• Commissioned Professional Development Modules
• Resources for students and families
• Frame Formative Assessment within a Balanced Assessment
System
• Articulate the Formative Assessment Process
• Highlight Formative Assessment Practices and Tools
• Commissioned Professional Development Modules
• Instructional materials for educators
• Instructional materials for students
• Demonstrate/support effective implementation of the formative
process
• Focus on key content and practice from the Common Core State
Standards for Mathematics and English Language Arts
• High-quality vetted instructional resources and tools for educators
• High-quality vetted resources and tools for students and families
• Reflect and support the formative process
• Reflect and support the Common Core State Standards for
Mathematics and English Language Arts
• Create Professional Learning Communities
Slide 37
Inside/Outside Circles
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Take two minutes to write down your Aha’s
from this afternoon’s conversation.
Share your thoughts using Inside/Outside
Circles.
Slide 38
Find Out More
Smarter Balanced
can be found
online at:
SmarterBalanced.org
Slide 39
Common Core State Standards
Public Hearings
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Wednesday, October 16
– 2:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. Fond du Lac
– City/County Building,
Wednesday, October 23
– 2:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. Eau Claire
– Chippewa Valley Technical College, and
Wednesday, October 30
– 2:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.Wausau
– Northcentral Technical College.
Slide 40
Chrystyna Mursky
Education Consultant, Gifted and Talented and
Advanced Placement
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
608-267-9273
chrystyna.mursky@dpi.wi.gov