Transcript Understanding the Smarter Balanced Assessment & the Proposed Washington Agreement for Its Use in Higher Education May 2014 William S.

Understanding the Smarter Balanced
Assessment & the Proposed Washington
Agreement for Its Use in Higher Education
May 2014
William S. Moore, Ph.D., Policy Associate, SBCTC
Director, Core to College Alignment &
Transition Mathematics Project
[email protected]
Topic Overview
Context
 Common Core State Standards
 Smarter Balanced Assessment
Process for Setting Readiness Expectations
Core to College Update
 Proposed Smarter Balanced Agreement
 Transition course design/development
 Next steps
Questions
Common Core State Standards
• Clear, consistent,
rigorous standards in
English language
arts/literacy and
mathematics
• Knowledge and skills
needed for college and
career success
• Developed voluntarily
and cooperatively by
states with input from
teachers and college
faculty
Source: www.corestandards.org
Major Shifts
in the Common Core State Standards:
“Fewer, Higher, Clearer, Deeper”
MATH
ELA
• Focus strongly where the
standards focus
• Building content
knowledge through
content-rich nonfiction
• Coherence: Think across
grades and link to major
topics within grades
• Reading, writing, and
speaking grounded in
evidence from text, both
literary and informational
• Rigor: Require conceptual
understanding, fluency,
and application
• Regular practice with
complex text and its
academic language
www.corestandards.org
Common Core Standards and Assessments:
Key Factors in Student Success
Research has
consistently
shown that the
single most
powerful
predictor of
student success
in college is the
rigor of
academic
preparation.
Common Core standards and assessments:
• Anchor K-12 experience in real-world
expectations for success in college
and careers
• Remove the guesswork for teachers
and schools
• Allow schools, parents and students to
track progress
• Identify students who need
assistance while still in high school
• Reduce remediation and increase
college success
Smarter Balanced Assessment
Consortium
•
•
26 states &
territories (22
governing, 3
advisory, 1
affiliate)
K-12 & Higher
Education
Leads in each
state
A Balanced Assessment System
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:
Educator resources
for formative
assessment practices to
improve instruction
Interim:
Flexible and open
assessments, used for
actionable feedback
All students
leave
high school
college
and career
ready
Digital Library Resources
Assessment
Literacy Modules
Exemplar
Instructional
Modules
Education
Resources
• Commissioned Professional Learning Modules
• Resources for educators, students and families
• Frame Formative Assessment within a Balanced Assessment System
• Articulate the Formative Assessment Process
• Highlight Formative Assessment Practices and Tools
• Commissioned Professional Learning Modules
• Instructional coaching for educators
• Instructional materials for students
• Demonstrate/support effective implementation of the formative
assessment 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 assessment process
• Reflect and support the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics
and English Language Arts
• Create Professional Learning Communities
Slide 8
Assessing the Common Core
Draw Identify
Define
Calculate
Arrange
Design
Repeat
Recall
Level
Four
Apply Concepts
(Extended
Thinking)
Critique
Create
Match
Recognize
Prove
Categorize
Use
Infer
Level One
(Recall)
Synthesize
Analyze
Memorize
Illustrate
Who, What, When, Where, Why Measure
Tabulate Name
Connect
Smarter
Balanced
assessments
move beyond
basic skills and
recall to assess
critical thinking
and problem
solving
List
Graph
Classify
Describe
Explain
Interpret
Level Two
(Skill/
Concept)
Revise
Modify
Cause/Effect
Relate
Level Three
(Strategic
Thinking)
Predict
Compare
Interpret
Estimate
Assess
Develop a Logical Argument
Use Concepts to Solve
Non-Routine Problems
Apprise Investigate
Critique
Formulate
Organize
Draw Conclusions
Hypothesize
Summarize
Construct
Show
Compare
Explain
Differentiate
Source: Webb, Norman L. and others, “Web Alignment Tool” 24 July 2005. Wisconsin Center of Educational
Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2 Feb 2006
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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
Smarter Balanced Updates
1.Field test in Spring 2014 will target 2 million
students — roughly 20% of eligible students in
each state
2.Online “Readiness Tool” allows schools and
districts to evaluate technology readiness
3.Cost estimates (March 2013)
1. ~$22.50 per student for Summative only;
2. ~$27.30 per student for Summative, Interim, &
Formative
4. UCLA will serve as host and partner for a
sustainable Smarter Balanced beginning in
2015
College Content-Readiness Policy Framework
for Grade 11 Assessment Results
Level 1
• Not Yet Content-Ready - Substantial Support Needed
• K-12 & higher education may offer interventions
Level 2
• Not Yet Content-Ready – Support Needed
• Transition courses or other supports for Grade 12, retesting
option for states
Level 3
• Conditionally Content-Ready/Exempt from Developmental
• In each state, K-12 and higher ed must jointly develop Grade
12 requirements for students to earn exemption
Level 4
• Content-Ready/Exempt from Developmental
• K-12 and higher education may jointly set Grade 12
requirements to retain exemption (optional for states)
Note: Applies only to students who matriculate directly from high
school to college.
Setting Student Readiness
Expectations
Consortium Process and Recruitment
Setting Student Readiness Expectations
•
Process of setting common expectations for
performance proficiency for the Consortium
• Relies on judgment and classroom experience of
educators
• Educators are key to success
•
Process to be inclusive, representative,
transparent, and scientifically rigorous
• In Person Standard Setting
• Distributed Standard Setting
• Vertical Articulation Committee
In-Person Process
•
•
•
Recruited/Nominated by States
– grades 3 to 8: content specialists and teachers
from varying grade levels
– high school: high school content specialists and
teachers and college faculty [October 13-15]
Review difficulty of questions and define what
students at four Achievement Levels can
reasonably expected to answer correctly
Interested? Contact Bill Moore, 360-704-4346,
[email protected]
Distributed Process
•
•
Open to the public – parents, teachers, college
faculty, administrators, business/community leaders
Two-stage recruitment process:
– Through states during academic year
– Through professional organizations, media over the
summer
•
•
Activity will occur online and take approximately 3
hours to complete (for Level 3 decision only)
[October 6-17]
Online registration
Vertical Articulation Committee
•
•
•
60 panelists selected from In-Person Standard
Setting participants will review results from both
in-person and distributed panels
Ensure vertically articulated achievement and
proficiency levels in Grades 3 through high
school
Committee will make final recommendations to
state leadership
Core to College Project Update May 2014
Higher education
agreement
Policy
recommendations re
use of SBAC
Strengthen 12
Grade “Launch Year”
6 local partnership
grants
Transition courses
Communications
campaign
Faculty network
“Real Learning for
Real Life”
th
Case for Supporting
Standards
Case for Incorporating
Smarter Balanced
Assessment into
Placement Process
• Anchored in college and
career readiness
expectations
• Improvement over existing
tools (cost, item variety
and range, …)
• Framework for meaningful
K-16 “alignment”
• Transparency and
ownership
• Opportunity to address
equity issues in college
preparation and readiness
• Opportunity to create
incentive for more students
to get “college-ready” in
high school
Review and
decide on
proposal
Showcase
local school/
college
partnerships
Develop
specific
proposal for SB
use in higher
education
System policy
work group (Fall
2013-Winter
2014)
System group
and
institutional
review (Spring
2014)
Confirm SB
participation
commitment
Cross-sector
(Fall 2014summit gathering January 2015)
(Fall 2014)
Core to College
Smarter Balanced
Process
Proposed Agreement: Math
SB Score Level on the 11th
Grade Assessment
Placement Options Available Based on Score
For students scoring at
level 4…
Any entry college-level math course through pre-calculus I
For students scoring at
level 3…
 An entry college-level terminal math course not on the
calculus pathway
 An entry-level calculus pathway math course, contingent on
a B or better in a calculus pathway class in the senior year of
high school
For students scoring at
level 2…
An entry college-level terminal math course not on the calculus
pathway, contingent on a B or better in the statewide math
college readiness/transition course
For students scoring at
level 1…
Additional placement information, determined by local
institutional processes (transcript, high school GPA, additional
testing, etc.), needed for all entry-level courses
Proposed Agreement: English
SB Score Level on the
11th Grade Assessment
Placement Options Available Based on Score
For students scoring at
level 4…
An entry college-level English course (including but not limited to
English Composition or its equivalent)
For students scoring at
level 3…
An entry college-level English course (including but not limited to
English Composition or its equivalent)
For students scoring at
level 2…
An entry college-level English course (including but not limited to
English Composition or its equivalent), contingent on a B or better
in a statewide English senior year college readiness/transition
course or through local institutional processes (transcript, high
school GPA, additional testing, etc.)
For students scoring at
level 1…
Additional placement information, determined by local institutional
processes (transcript, high school GPA, additional testing, etc.),
needed for all entry-level courses
3-Year Agreement Timeframe
Class of
2016
Class of
2017
Class of
2018
Take SB
spring 2015
Take SB
spring 2016
Take SB
spring 2017
Enter higher
education
fall 2016
Enter higher
education
fall 2017
Enter higher
education
fall 2018
Review agreement in winter 2018 and consider revision/renewal for class of 2019
Key Points about the Agreement
What It Does
What It Doesn’t Do
• Supports
implementation of
Common Core
• Replace or address
directly issues with
current placement tests
• Provides motivation for
some students to
improve readiness for
college
• Apply to admissions
decisions
• Complements system
efforts toward multiple,
alternative placement
measures
• Extend beyond Class
of 2018 without review
process based on
performance data
Timetable for WA Transition Courses
2013-14 academic year
Support teacher-led course design work
Produce working model course maps
Summer 2014
Refine and adapt instructional resources
Provide professional development for teacher teams
2014-15 academic year
Offer pilot courses in selected districts
Evaluate and refine course materials
2015-16 academic year
Courses available at scale across the state
Current Faculty Recruitment Efforts
Smarter Balanced
In-Person Panel
Smarter Balanced
Distributed Panel
Process
Transition Course
Review/Partnerships
• 5-6 people each, math & English
• Contact Bill Moore by May 16
• Anyone who’s interested
• Register here by September 19
• Anyone who’s interested (especially if
local school district is involved)
• Contact Bill Moore for details
Questions?
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