Deborah V.H. Sigman Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction

1. Assessment Policies and Implications: A National and State PerspectiveCalifornia Algebra Forum May 21, 2012 Deborah V.H. Sigman Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction District, School & Innovation Branch California Department of Education 1 1

2. Summer and Fall of 2010 2 2 Adoption of Common Core Standards Prohibition on frameworks and materials adoption Participating state in the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career Consortium Extraordinary Fiscal Climate

3. Summer and Fall 2011 3 3 Transitioning to Common Core Ability to move forward on frameworks Offering supplemental material review Become Governing state in the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium Extraordinary Fiscal Climate

4. CCSS Implementation Plan Highlights from the past year: Superintendent sponsored legislation to implement common core Creation of Common Core Integrated Action Team Stakeholder meetings and request for information to gather statewide input CDE and SBE forward Implementation Plan to Legislative body and governor in March 2012 4 4

5. Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) An Ever Changing Landscape • 27 states representing 43% of K-12 students • 21 governing, 6 advisory states 5 5

6. Richer assessment of and for learning Use of technology as a tool Adaptive testing Universal access National expertise Preparation for 21st century skills College and career ready students Opportunities and Challenges of Transitioning to New Assessment System 6 6

7. Change is difficult Sequencing of activities Technology infrastructure Communication efforts Fiscal climate Opportunities and Challenges of Transitioning to New Assessment System (cont.) 7 7

8. SBAC Balanced System 8 8

9. Summative Assessments Today • Each state bears the burden of test development; no economies of scale Measure proficiency against state standards, not agreed-upon standards • Students often leave high school unprepared to succeed in entry-level college courses Usually heavy reliance on multiple choice questions • Inadequate measures of demonstration of skills and complex cognitive performance Each state procures its own assessment system Results often delivered months after tests are given • Tests cannot be used to immediately inform instruction or affect program decisions Accommodations for special education and ELL students vary • Difficult to interpret meaning of scores; concerns about access and fairness Most administered on paper • Costly, time consuming, and challenging to maintain security 9

10. Using 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 • Larger item banks mean that not all students receive the same questions Mature technology • GMAT, GRE, COMPASS (ACT), Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) 10

11. Technology Identify Technology Needs • Technology readiness application available for states, districts and schools to enter data regarding hardware, software, bandwidth, staffing, electrical systems and other infrastructure required for online testing • Data will be compared against minimum and recommended requirements • Application will support progress tracking • Data useful for state and national policymakers considering total cost of ownership of a high-quality assessment system 11 11

12. Update – California Technology Readiness Tool Rollout – Spring 2012 • Technology Readiness Data Collection Schedule – Spring 2012 • March 20 – April 9 ~ Pilot Districts Test Data Collection: • April 9 – 16 ~ Enhance Communications for the Technology Readiness Tool Survey • April 16 – June 30 ~ Statewide LEAs Data Collection • Technology Readiness Reporting – Spring 2012 the first data collection window will be a technology readiness inventory. Data collection summaries will be available April 9th. These reports will help improve data quality and to inform the consortia regarding which types of hardware and operating systems are currently being used in schools. 12 12

13. Guidelines for Purchasing New Hardware • Designed to inform schools and districts on current and future technology purchasing decisions consistent with SBAC requirements. • Include hardware and operating system specifications covering the vast majority of commercially available computers and tablets. Specifications are described below. • The full guidelines are available online at http://www.smarterbalanced.org/smarter-balanced-assessments/technology/ (Outside Source).

14. Assessment Claims for Mathematics (cont.) 1. 2. 3. 4. 15 15

15. Test Question Types & Designs 16 16 16

16. Sample Multiple Choice Items – Claim #1 Which one of the numbers below has the same value as 3.5 x 10-3?  35 x 10-4  3.5 x 103  0.00035  3500 17

17. Sample Short Answer – Claim #1 If x and y are positive integers, and 3x + 2y = 13, what could be the value of y? Write [or, enter] all possible answers. 18

18. Sample Items: Technology Enhanced and Constructed Response – Claim #1 19 19 19

19. Sample Items (cont.) 20 20 20

20. Sample Items – Claim #1 21

21. Sample Items (cont.) 22

22. Sample Extended Response – Claim #2 Making a Water Tank (Grade 11 – students provided graphing calculator as a tool) • A square metal sheet (6 feet x 6 feet) is to be made into an open-topped water tank by cutting squares from the four corners of the sheet, and bending the four remaining rectangular pieces up, to form the sides of the tank. These edges will then be welded together. 23

23. Sample Extended Response (cont.) A. How will the final volume of the tank depend upon the size of the squares cut from the corners? Describe your answer by: • i) Sketching a rough graph • ii) explaining the shape of your graph in words • iii) writing an algebraic formula for the volume B. How large should the four corners be cut, so that the resulting volume of the tank is as large as possible? • Item assesses Claim #2:Students can frame and solve a range of complex problems in pure and applied mathematics. 24

24. Sample Extended Response – Claim #4 Planning a Class Trip You and your friends on the Class Activities Committee are charged with deciding where this year's class trip will be. You have a fixed budget for the class and you need to figure out what will be the most fun and affordable option. Your committee members have collected a bunch of brochures from various parks - e.g., Marine World, Great Adventure, and others (see inbox of materials) - which have different admissions costs and are different distances from school. You have also collected information about the costs of meals and buses. Your job is to plan and justify a trip that includes bus fare, admission and possibly rides, as well as lunch, within the fixed budget the class has. 25

25. Sample Extended Response – Claim #3 Sums of Consecutive Numbers Many whole numbers can be expressed as the sum of two or more positive consecutive whole numbers, some of them in more than one way. For example, the number 5 can be written as: 5 = 2 + 3 and that‘s the only way it can be written as a sum of consecutive whole numbers. In contrast, the number 15 can be written as the sum of consecutive whole numbers in three different ways: 15 = 7 + 8 15 = 4 + 5 + 6 15 = 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 Now look at other numbers and find out all you can about writing them as sums of consecutive whole numbers. Write an account of your investigation. If you find any patterns in your results, be sure to point them out, and also try to explain them fully. 26

26. California currently has two sets of eighth grade mathematics standards. What is the SBAC plan for assessing grade eight students in mathematics? The SBAC is developing a single assessment that is aligned to the Common Core grade eight mathematics standards. As is the case now, student course selection is a local decision. California will have to determine if another assessment should be developed.

27. SB 1200 - Hancock • Requires the State Superintendent to recommend and the SBE to adopt the college and career readiness anchor standards developed by the Common Core State Standards Initiative 28

28. SB 1200 – Hancock (cont.) • Calls for a standards review commission to review the state-adopted CCSS in mathematics and recommend changes to the grade eight standards. 29

29. SBAC information: CDE/SBAC presentations and an electronic mailing list is found on the CDE SBAC Web page at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sa/smarterbalanced.asp To receive press releases and other announcements from SBAC, please email info@smarterbalanced.org CCSS information: www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cc/ SBAC Resources 30 30

30. SBAC - CDE Contact Information 31 31 31 Patrick Traynor Division Director Assessment Development & Administration Division ptraynor@cde.ca.gov 916-319-0803 Kristen Brown SBAC Coordinator Education and Research Evaluation Consultant Assessment Development & Administration Division kbrown@cde.ca.gov 916-319-0334

31. Transitioning to New Assessments - STAR Reauthorization Assembly Bill (AB) 250 modifies California Education Code (EC) to address the development and adoption of new curriculum frameworks, instructional materials, professional development practices, and high-quality assessments. 32 32

32. Statutory Authorization Requires that the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SSPI) develop recommendations for the reauthorization of the statewide pupil assessment system, which includes a plan for transitioning to a system of “high-quality” assessments as defined in EC Section 60603. 33 33

33. High-Quality Assessments • Means an assessment designed to measure a pupil’s knowledge of, understanding of, and ability to apply critical concepts through the use of a variety of item types and formats, including, but not limited to, items that allow for open-ended responses and items that require the completion of performance-based tasks. 34 34

34. High-Quality Assessments • A high-quality assessment should have the following characteristics: • Enable measurement of pupil achievement and pupil growth • Be of high technical quality by being valid, reliable, fair, and aligned to standards • Incorporate technology where appropriate • Include the assessment of pupils with disabilities and English learners • Use, to the extent feasible, universal design principles, as defined in Section 3 of the federal Assistive Technology Act of 1998 35 35

35. Requirements of Bill Requires that the SSPI consult with The State Board of Education Public Schools Accountability Act (PSSA) Committee Measurement experts from California private and public universities Individuals with expertise working with students with disabilities and English learners Teachers, administrators, and governing boards from California’s local educational agencies. Parents 36 36

36. AB 250 Coordination Chart 37 37

37. 16 Areas of Consideration Aligning assessments to standards Implementing common assessments developed by state collaborative Conform to ESEA reauthorization Measurement of achievement at a point in time and over time for groups and subgroups of pupils and for individual pupils Allow for comparison from one year to the next as a reflection of growth over time Valid, reliable and fair for all students including English learners (EL) and students with disabilities 38 38

38. 16 Areas of Consideration (cont.) • Assessment of ELs using primary language assessments • Ensure no bias with respect to race, ethnicity, culture, religion, gender, or sexual orientation • Incorporate a variety of item types including open-ended and performance-based tasks • Generate multiple measures of pupil achievement, which, when combined with other measures, can be used to determine the effectiveness of instruction and the extent of learning • Assess science and history-social science in all grade levels at or above grade 4 39 39

39. 16 Areas of Consideration (cont.) • Assess understanding and ability to use technology necessary for success in the 21st century classroom and workplace • Formative and interim assessments that provide timely feedback for purposes of continually adjusting instruction to improve learning • Use test administration and scoring technologies that will allow the return of test results to parents and teachers as soon as is possible • Minimize testing time • Options for diagnostic assessments for pupils in grade 2 40 40

40. Public Input Opportunities 41 41 • AB 250 Work Group • Regional public meetings • Survey • Focus groups • E-mail account • reauthorization@cde.ca.gov • Web page: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sa/ab250.asp

41. Schedule of Meetings* March 21-22: AB 250 Work Group meeting April 3: Public meeting, Sacramento County Office of Education (COE) April 10: Public meeting, Fresno COE April 17-18: AB 250 Work Group meeting April 24-25: Public meeting, San Diego COE and Orange County Department of Education May 15: Public meeting, Contra Costa COE May 22-23: AB 250 Work Group meeting June 12-14: AB 250 Work Group meeting July 25-27: AB 250 Work Group meeting November 1, 2012: Recommendations due to Legislature *Subject to change 42 42

42. Reauthorization of Statewide Assessment System - CDE Contact Information Patrick Traynor Division Director Assessment Development & Administration Division ptraynor@cde.ca.gov 916-319-0803 Jessica Barr AB 250 Lead Assessment Development & Administration Division jbarr@cde.ca.gov 916-319-0364 43 43

43. ESEA Title I Waiver U.S. Department of Education (ED) issued guidance for state educational agencies (SEA) to apply for a waiver of 10 provisions of ESEA. Governor Jerry Brown, State Board President Michael Kirst, and Superintendent Torlakson have approved a California state-defined waiver to be submitted to the ED Public Comment until May 25: http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/pn/pn/eseawaiverrequest20120515.asp 44 44 44

44. ESEA Reauthorization U.S. Congress had re-engaged in its deliberations on the reauthorization of ESEA but that has since stalled 45 45

45. Harkin Bill • Harkin bill through Committee last October, but not a priority for Senate leadership • Harkin waits for bipartisan house action 46

46. Kline Bills • Kline has 3 bills through Committee, one (charter schools) through full House • Kline’s 2 other bills which comprise a substantial reauthorization effort • Student Success Act (H.R. 3989) • Encouraging Innovation and Effective Teachers Act (H.R. 3990) • Kline’s bills receive harsh criticism from civil rights, business leaders, Congressional colleagues (not bipartisan effort) 47

47. Reflections 48 48 Consider prior policy decisions and their impact to student/school decisions Consider unintended long term consequences with a short term gain Consider policy decisions made in the context of a fiscal crisis