1
K-2 Smarter Balanced
Assessment Update
English Language Arts
February 2012
Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium
Updates
2
 Content Specifications for Summative Assessment of
CCSS for ELA & Literacy in History/Social Studies,
Science, and Technical Subjects

Assess reading for both literary and informational texts

Attention to reading closely

Attention to reading texts of increasing complexity at all grade
levels
Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium
Updates
3
 Assess 3 types of writing considering balance of types
across grade levels

Narrative

Argumentative (Opinion/Persuasion)

Informative/Explanatory
Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium
Updates
4
 SBAC summative assessment design proposes to
sample all CCSS strands, with the exception of
Reading Foundational Skills
Evaluate Reading Foundational Skills in the early grades
 Many early reading assessments are available to assess the
developing reading and literacy skills of young children.
 Reading Foundational Skills are best assessed locally to make
instructional decisions
 For grades above K-2 Reading Foundational Skills should be
addressed systematically where appropriate

Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium
Updates
5
 K-2 testing will not be developed through SMARTER
Balance.
 MDE given limited funding and is working with Great Start
to design an assessment system for K-2.
 Looking to the other assessment consortium in their early
childhood assessment.
Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium
Updates
6
 Language Standards: Not a test of vocabulary memorization

Word analysis skills

Close reading

Determining meanings in context

Interpret figurative uses of language
A lexile or frequency count is only one consideration when it
comes to determining text complexity.
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 Factors that influence text complexity (Hess & Biggam, 2004)

Word difficulty and language structure

Text structure

Discourse style

Genre and characteristic features of the text

Background knowledge and/or degree of familiarity with content

Level of reasoning required

Format and layout of text

Length of text
Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium
Updates
8
 There are 5 learning outcomes or CLAIMS for the
CCSS ELA standards:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Read closely and critically to comprehend a range of increasingly
complex literary and informational texts.
Produce effective writing for a range of purposes and audiences
Employ effective speaking and listening skills for a range of
purposes and audiences.
Engage appropriately in collaborative and independent inquiry
to investigate/research topics, pose questions, and gather and
present information.
Skillfully use and interpret written language across a range of
literacy tasks.
Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium
Updates
9
 Summative assessments will be administered
across grades 3-8 and grade 11.
 The next slide is included in the K-2 Smarter
Balanced Update so that K-2 teachers will have
some idea of what summative assessments may
expect of third graders.
Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium
Updates
10
 What to expect with short research performance
tasks for Claim 4:

At grades 3-5, students might read/view and discuss a short
informational article about a science topic, such as static
electricity.

Then they conduct a designed experiment with a partner to collect
data about how static electricity behaves under certain conditions.

Individually, students prepare and present their results to show
that they can draw conclusions that integrate or compare what
they read about and what they observed (using data collected and
text evidence as support).
Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium
Updates
11
 Claim 4: Grades 3-5 students might be asked to read
and discuss several short personal accounts of US
citizens who immigrated to this country when they
were children (firsthand accounts)
 And an article (secondhand account) about different
immigration patterns across US history
 Then respond to a research question where they
would have to integrate or compare both sources.