Transcript Rutland Middle School Science Night

Science Assessment
Update
MILESTONE ASSESSMENT PRESENTATION
CHRISTOPHER HOLMES, DISTRICT SCIENCE COORDINATOR
New Direction

The Georgia Department of Education have moved
away from the CRCT in middle grades to adopting
the Milestone Assessment.

This assessment will be a more rigorous assessment to
evaluate student understanding of grade level
content.
New Direction, Same Content
 It
is important to remember that Georgia
Milestones is primarily a criterion-referenced
test, reflecting the content standards for
each grade and course
 teachers
should teach the Georgia stateadopted content standards
Our Assessment Landscape is
Changing

Assessment development is a process, not an event
– as such, some components and/or resources may need to be rolledout in stages

Georgia is transitioning from a set of long-standing, mature
programs
– districts, schools, students, parents, and the public are familiar with
these programs and know what to expect

This transition provides Georgia with an opportunity
– however, as with any change, there will be periods of uncertainty
and discomfort
Assessment Qualities

Comprehensive
– single program – an assessment system – not series of tests (e.g., CRCT; EOCT; WA)
– formative assessment tools to complement summative*

Coherent
– consistent expectations and rigor to position Georgia students to compete with peers
nationally and internationally
– consistent signal about student preparedness for the next level, be it the next grade,
course, or college/career
– consistent signal about student achievement both within system (across grades and
courses) and with external measures (NAEP; PSAT;
SAT; ACT)

Consolidate
– combine reading, language arts, and writing into a single measure to align to the
standards
Coherency – Consistency

Achievement of Georgia Students in Reading2013
• NAEP – Grade 4: 34% at/above proficient
• CRCT – Grade 4: 93% met/exceeded

Achievement of Georgia Students in Mathematics2013
• NAEP – Grade 4: 39% at/above proficient
• CRCT – Grade 4: 84% met/exceeded

Achievement of Georgia Students in Science2011 (NAEP) / 2013 (CRCT)
• NAEP – Grade 8: 30% at/above proficient
• CRCT – Grade 8: 74% met/exceeded (67% in 2011)
Content Weights
Science Assessment
 To provide students, teachers, administrators, policy makers, and the
public with information each needs about student learning an assessment
system needs to be developed that includes:
• assessments designed to support classroom instruction,
• assessments designed to monitor science learning on a broader scale,
and
• a series of indicators to monitor that the students are provided with
adequate opportunity to learn science.
 Classroom Assessments are an integral part of instruction and learning
and should include both formative (those that are specifically designed to
be used to guide instructional decision making and lesson planning) and
summative (those that are specifically designed to assign student grades)
tasks
Science Assessment
 Science understanding cannot be measure by one type of assessment
 A sound science assessment system is needed that
• include multiple components that reflect the connected use of different
scientific practices in the context of interconnected disciplinary ideas
(crosscutting concepts);
• address the progressive nature of learning by providing information
about where students fall on a continuum between expected beginning
and ending points in a given unit or grade (learning progressions); and
• include an interpretive system for evaluating a range of student
products that are specific enough to be useful for helping teachers
understand the range of student responses and provide tools for helping
teachers decide on next steps in instruction.
Guiding principles stipulate that
Georgia Milestones:

be sufficiently rigorous to ensure Georgia students are well positioned to
compete with other students across the United States and
internationally;

be intentionally designed across grade levels to send a clear signal of
student progress/growth and preparedness for the next level, be it the
next grade level, course, or college or career;

be accessible to all students, including those with disabilities or limited
English proficiency, at all achievement levels;

support and inform educator effectiveness initiatives, ensuring items
and forms are appropriately sensitive to quality instructional practices;

and accelerate the transition to online administration, allowing – over
time – for the inclusion of innovative technology-enhanced items.
Who will take it?

Students in grades 3 through 8 will take an end-ofgrade assessment in the content areas of language
arts, mathematics, science, social studies. These
tests are administered towards the end of the school
year, typically in April or early May. Each school
district selects a local testing window from within the
state designated timeframe to administer the endof-grade measures.
Georgia Milestones

Science [Georgia Performance Standards]
– will require understanding of the core concepts, ideas,
and practices of science to explain scientific phenomena
–with content and Characteristics of Science/Nature of
Science standards serving as co-requisites

Item Types
• Selected-Response [aka, multiple-choice]
– all content areas
– evidence-based selected response in ELA
Science will consist of 2 sections
What does it look like?

Students will be asked not only what the answer is to a question, but
why – i.e. how they know or what evidence supports their answer.
Open-ended items (also known as constructed-response) ask
students to provide both short answer and extended types of
responses. Multiple-choice questions will also still be included.

The new assessments will enable educators to deepen their
understanding of student progress from one grade to the next – and
just as importantly, identify any gaps in progress so they can address
them well before students enter college or the workforce.
From the Old…
S7L2. Students will describe the structure and function of cells, tissues, organs, and
organ systems.
a. Explain that cells take in nutrients in order to grow and divide and to make needed
materials. (DOK 3)

Looking at the following picture:
The picture above would be considered to be
A.
Living
B.
Nonliving
C.
Non-cellular
D.
Unable to reproduce
To the New…
S7L2. Students will describe the structure and function of cells, tissues, organs, and
organ systems.
a. Explain that cells take in nutrients in order to grow and divide and to make
needed materials. (DOK 3)

Looking at the following pictures of an apple and a puppy:
Which choice below makes an accurate comparison of the two organisms?
A.
Both organisms are living that depend directly on the sun’s energy to obtain nutrients
B.
Both organisms are living that depend indirectly on the sun’s energy to obtain nutrients
C.
Both organisms are living that depend on the sun’s energy, directly or directly, to obtain
nutrients
D.
Both organisms are living and can receive nutrients despite of the sun.
Promotion or Not?

Since this is the inaugural year of the Georgia
Milestone, students will be held faultless. What
does this mean?

This means the promotion or retention of
students will not depend on their score on the
assessment. Class grades will dictate promotion
or retention in all grades.

Students in Georgia Milestone grades or courses,
however, will be expected to take a district end
of course/grade final.
What’s Next…
 After
this first year of the Georgia
Milestone, the state of Georgia will release
the student scores from across the district
and the state.
 At
that point the state will create a
baseline the following year to establish
exceeding, meeting and does not meet
scores ranges.
Available Resources
• Georgia Milestones (EOC and EOG) Content Weights
 http://www.gadoe.org/Curriculum-Instruction-andAssessment/Assessment/Documents/Georgia_Milestones_Content_Weights_201415_FINAL.pdf
• Content Descriptors (Will be updated soon)
 http://www.gadoe.org/Curriculum-Instruction-andAssessment/Assessment/Documents/CRCT%20Science%20Content%20Descriptions%2
0August%202013.pdf (3-8)
 http://www.gadoe.org/Curriculum-Instruction-and-Assessment/Assessment/Pages/EOCTContent.aspx (Biology and Physical Science)
• Performance Descriptions
 http://www.gadoe.org/Curriculum-Instruction-and-Assessment/Assessment/Pages/EOCTPerformance-Levels.aspx (Biology and Physical Science)
• Study Guides (Will be updated soon)
 http://www.gadoe.org/Curriculum-Instruction-and-Assessment/Assessment/Pages/CRCTStudy-Guides.aspx (3-8)
 http://www.gadoe.org/Curriculum-Instruction-and-Assessment/Assessment/Pages/EOCTGuides.aspx (Biology and Physical Science)
• Online Assessment System
 http://www.georgiaoas.org/servlet/a2l