Transitioning California to a
Balanced Assessment System
TOM TORLAKSON
State Superintendent
of Public Instruction
August 15, 2014
State and Federal Program Directors’
Diane Hernandez, Director
Assessment Development and Administration
Division
CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Tom Torlakson, State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Objectives
TOM TORLAKSON
State Superintendent
of Public Instruction
• Implementation of College and Career Readiness
• Smarter Balanced Assessment System
‾ Summative assessment
‾ Formative tools
‾ Interim assessment
•
•
•
•
•
•
Smarter Balanced Field Test Update
2014–15 Assessments
Smarter Balanced Supports
Computer-Adaptive Testing
2013–14 Reporting
2014–15 Reporting
2
Journey Towards the Implementation
of College and Career- Readiness
California adopts
Common Core State
Standards authorized
through SB15X
legislation
CDE releases
Common Core
implementation plan
Pilot test
Smarter
Balanced
summative
assessment
California joins
Smarter
Balanced as a
governing state
CA develops
rigorous
content
standards
2015
2012
2010
2014
STAR sunsets
(July 2014) – AB
484 - STAR
2001
CA aligns
assessments
to standards
Field test
Smarter
Balanced
summative
assessment
Operational
test
Smarter
Smarter
Smarter
Balanced
Balanced Balanced summative
interim
formative
assessment
assessment
tools
2013
2011
1997
Transitioning to a
New Assessment
System Report
released by Supt.
Torlakson
Supt. Torlakson
conducts outreach
to develop
recommendations
for new assessment
system (required
by AB 250 March
2012)
replaced by
CAASPP
TODAY: California prepares for a next
generation, world-class system
▪ Developing new curriculum frameworks
▪ Building new professional development
modules
▪ Adopting new instructional materials
▪ Conducted Smarter Balanced Field Test
▪ Developing formative tools and interim
assessments
Achievement
levels established
to signal college
and career
readiness
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Smarter Balanced Assessment System
Summative:
College and
career readiness
assessments for
accountability
TOM TORLAKSON
State Superintendent
of Public Instruction
Common Core
State
Standards
specify
K-12
expectations
for college and
career
readiness
Teachers and
schools have
information and
tools they need to
improve teaching
and learning
Formative tools:
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
4
Smarter Balanced
Field Test Update
TOM TORLAKSON
State Superintendent
of Public Instruction
• About 3.2 million California students were
anticipated to participate in the Field Test
• Approximately 3.19 million students
completed testing
• Accounts for more than 73% of all Smarter
Balanced testing
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Smarter Balanced
Field Test Update (cont.)
TOM TORLAKSON
State Superintendent
of Public Instruction
•
Concurrent users
– California was prepared for 500,000 concurrent test
takers
– 184,000 users represented the peak on April 29th
•
Technical Assistance Center (CalTAC)
– The average number of daily contacts: 549
– CalTAC contact requests:
• Resetting passwords
• General test administration questions
6
Smarter Balanced
Field Test Feedback
TOM TORLAKSON
State Superintendent
of Public Instruction
• Mid-testing Surveys for LEA Coordinators
– Testing Window One
• 102 respondents
– Testing Windows Two and Three
• 344 respondents
• Post-testing Survey
– Released June 27, 2014
– Designed for LEA coordinators, technology
coordinators, and teachers and administrators
7
Mid-Testing Survey Feedback
TOM TORLAKSON
State Superintendent
of Public Instruction
“We chunked each week by grade level districtwide, and it seems to be working well. It regulates
the number of students online, and gives each
school a manageable target per week.”
“Overall 99% positive…students have been doing
fine, teachers were a bit more stressed. Kids are
engaged and excited about it…get antsy if they
don’t get started on time and are sitting around
waiting. Kids were using scratch paper. Having a
tech person at site helped. Staggered start time
and dates was very helpful.”
8
Mid-Testing Survey Feedback
(cont.)
TOM TORLAKSON
State Superintendent
of Public Instruction
“...Our training sessions have paid off.
Coordinators and TAs are able to start test
sessions and students are logging in and
using our ID cards we provided all sites.
Students are terrific! We’ve had some
access problems. By far, our biggest
headache…has been password resets.”
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Smarter Balanced
Field Test Feedback
TOM TORLAKSON
State Superintendent
of Public Instruction
• Focus Groups designed to gather input
from participants regarding their
experience with the Field Test will held in
July and August 2014.
– LEA Coordinators and Test Administrators
– Parents and students
10
TOM TORLAKSON
State Superintendent
of Public Instruction
Smarter Balanced
Summative Assessment
2014–15
• Grades 3–8 and 11
• Grade 11 used for Early Assessment
Program (EAP) purposes
• Test windows:
– Grades 3–8; students will have received
66% of instructional days
– Grade 11; students will have received
80% of instructional days
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Example of Smarter Balanced
Testing Window
2014–15
TOM TORLAKSON
State Superintendent
of Public Instruction
• Middle School grades 7–8
• 180 Instructional Day School Year
• First day of testing window is on the 121st
instructional day (66%)
• First day of school: August 25, 2014
• Holidays: 26 days (August – June)
• First Day of Testing: March 9, 2015
• Last Day of Testing: June 5, 2015
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Additional CAASPP Assessments
Testing Window Information
2014–15
TOM TORLAKSON
State Superintendent
of Public Instruction
Testing window: 25 days that includes 12 days
before and after completion of 85 percent of
instructional days
•
CST, CMA, & CAPA
– Science*
– Grades: 5, 8 &10
• Alternate Assessment to replace CAPA
– ELA and mathematics
– Grades: 3–8 & 11
– Testing window: TBD
• STS
– Reading Language Arts*
– Grades 2–11
* Paper-pencil only
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Achievement Level Setting
Panels for Smarter Balanced
Assessments
TOM TORLAKSON
State Superintendent
of Public Instruction
• This fall, educators, parents, and
business/community members will participate in
online and in-person panels to provide
recommendations for setting achievement levels
for the Smarter Balanced summative and interim
assessments.
– In-person panel; October 13–19
– Online panel; registration deadline- September 19
http://smarterbalanced.measinc.com/EventCode/100614
– Comments taken October 5–17
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Smarter Balanced
Practice Tests and Training Tests
TOM TORLAKSON
State Superintendent
of Public Instruction
• Practice Tests
– Provide students with grade-specific testing
experience similar in format and structure to the
Field Test, including available supports.
• Training Tests
– Allow teachers and students to experience the
features, functionality, and item types in computerbased testing.
– A training test is available for each of three grade
bands (3–5, 6–8, and high school) and contains
approximately 6–9 items per band, per content
area.
•
Practice tests and training tests are available at
http://sbac.portal.airast.org/practice-test/.
15
Comparison of Training Tests and
Practice Tests
Purpose
Grade Levels
Number and Types
of Items
Universal Tools,
Designated
Supports, and
Accommodations
Scoring
Training Tests
Practice Tests
Provide students with an opportunity to
quickly become familiar with the software
and interface features
Provide students with a grade
specific testing experience that is similar in
structure and format to the Field Test
3 grade bands
•3–5
•6–8
•High school
Each grade
•3–8, 11
Approximately 15 items per grade band
(6 in ELA and 8–9 in math)
Approximately 30 items in ELA and 30 items
in math per grade level
No performance task
Includes 1 ELA performance task and
1 math performance task per grade level
All that are included on the Field Test are
included on the Training Test
Most included
Refresh scheduled later in the year
Items are not scored
Items are not scored; however, answer keys
and scoring rubrics are available
Smarter Balanced Formative
Assessment ToolsDigital Library
TOM TORLAKSON
State Superintendent
of Public Instruction
• This is an optional component that the
State is making available to LEAs.
• The library is comprised of exemplar
resources for instructional practices and
professional learning.
• Resources can assist teachers in using the
formative assessment process.
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Smarter Balanced
Digital Library (cont.)
TOM TORLAKSON
State Superintendent
of Public Instruction
• Formative assessment is a deliberate
process used by teachers during
instruction that provides actionable
feedback that is used to adjust teaching
and learning strategies to improve students’
attainment of learning targets/goals.
• Includes four attributes:
1. clarify intended learning
2. elicit evidence
3. interpret evidence, and
4. act on evidence
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Smarter Balanced
Digital Library (cont.)
TOM TORLAKSON
State Superintendent
of Public Instruction
• Digital Library Preview
– June 3 through September 30, 2014
– Test the initial software application
– Provide users access to an initial set of
resources that will grow
– LEAs register users for access during
the preview period
– Link to Digital Library:
https://www.smarterbalancedlibrary.org
(This link is for registered users)
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Interim Assessments
TOM TORLAKSON
State Superintendent
of Public Instruction
• Will consist of comprehensive
assessments and item assessment
blocks.
• Will launch in Fall 2014/Winter 2015
• Will be created from test items deemed
valid, reliable, and fair from the Smarter
Balanced field test.
• Will build out over time.
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Interim Assessments (cont.)
TOM TORLAKSON
State Superintendent
of Public Instruction
• Two types of interim assessments will be
available:
– Interim comprehensive assessment
(ICA), similar to the Smarter Balanced
Summative Assessment
– Interim assessment blocks (IAB), groups
of test items that will assess certain
aspects of a topic or standard(s)
• Both will begin as fixed-form tests, and
computer adaptive tests (CAT) will be
added.
21
Computer Adaptive Technology for
Summative and Interim Assessments
Faster results
• Turnaround in weeks compared to months today
Shorter test length
• Fewer questions compared to fixed form tests
Increased precision
• Provides accurate measurements of student growth over
time
Tailored to student
ability
• Item difficulty based on student responses
Greater security
Mature technology
• Larger item banks mean that not all students receive the
same questions
• GMAT, GRE, COMPASS (ACT), Measures of Academic
Progress (MAP)
Reporting Results
2013–14
TOM TORLAKSON
State Superintendent
of Public Instruction
• CST, CMA, & CAPA
– Science
– Grades: 5, 8 &10
• CAPA
– ELA and mathematics
– Grades: 2–11
• STS
– Reading Language Arts
– Grades 2–11
23
CAASPP Reporting Results
2014–15
TOM TORLAKSON
State Superintendent
of Public Instruction
• Reported at the state, county, LEA,
site and grade levels
• Paper reports at the aggregate and
student level will be provided
• Score reports will be redesigned to
include Smarter Balanced ELA and
mathematics
• Redesigning Web reporting site
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CAASPP Reporting Results
2014–15
TOM TORLAKSON
State Superintendent
of Public Instruction
• Smarter Balanced
– ELA and mathematics
– Grades 3–8 & 11
• CST, CMA, & CAPA
– Science*
– Grades: 5, 8 &10
• STS
– Reading Language Arts*
– Grades 2–11
*Paper-pencil only
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Smarter Balanced
Reporting Results
2014–15
TOM TORLAKSON
State Superintendent
of Public Instruction
• Smarter Balanced Reports
– Interactive online for Interim
Assessments
– Aggregate score data: TBD at the local
level
– Custom subset filters by gender and
demographic data
– Downloadable as PDF files
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For Further Information
TOM TORLAKSON
State Superintendent
of Public Instruction
CDE CAASPP Office
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/ca/
caaspp@cde.ca.gov
916-445-8765
CDE Smarter Balanced Web Page
http://www.cde.ca.gov/smarter/
CDE Testing and Accountability Web Page
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/
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