GED 2014:

1. GED 2014: Updates & Implications for Instruction

2. Introduction to the new ged • Launches January 2, 2014 • CBT delivered at Pearson VUE CBT testing centers • Content aligned to career & college readiness content standards • Four content areas: • Literacy • Mathematics • Science • Social Studies • Two performance levels • High-school equivalency • Career & college readiness

3. Purposes of the new assessment • To provide a path to a high school credential • To provide evidence of readiness to enter workforce training programs or postsecondary education • To provide information about a candidate’s strengths and developmental areas

4. Assessment system deliverables

5. Assessment guide for educators • Chapter One (released) • Overview of the assessment • Outline item types and layouts • Glossary of terms • Chapter Two (released) • Assessment targets for each content area • Description of Cognitive Levels – Depth of Knowledge (DOK) • Chapter Three (released) • Content passage specifications and selection criteria • Scoring of extended response items (writing tasks) on Literacy and Social Studies http://www.gedtestingservice.com/assessment

6. introduction– key points • Alignment of content with more rigorous career and college readiness standards being adopted nationwide • Two performance levels on the new assessment • Continuing the tradition of HS equivalency • Adding a new performance level to measure performance at higher levels of career and college readiness • New assessment content focuses on knowledge and skills most strongly correlated with success in career & college

7. Introduction – key points • New assessment will be supported by enhanced reporting • Learners will be provided sub-scores to inform future study • Sub-scores on the practice test will be supplemented with information and links to instructional materials • New assessment content requires new item types to evaluate test-takers’ knowledge and skills • Fill-in-the –blank • Drag & drop • Hot spot • Short Answer (SA) and Extended Response (ER) • Cloze • Designed with UDL in mind – more information on Accommodations will follow.

8. Fill in the blank • Assessment of skills at a higher cognitive level • Vocabulary • Mathematical reasoning • Data interpretation

9. Drag & drop • Assessment of skills at a higher cognitive level • Data organization • Analysis of arguments • Comparison/contrast

10. Hot Spot • Assessment of skills at a higher cognitive level • Relationship between data points • Plotting points on a coordinate grid • Analysis of evidence

11. Short answer & extended response • Assessment of skills at a higher cognitive level • Summarization skills • Reasoning skills • Analysis & construction of arguments • Use of American Edited English

12. cloze • More authentic assessment of skills currently assessed • Drop-down choices in editing tasks or in mathematical comparisons

13. Webb’s Depth of Knowledge model • A framework for analyzing a wide range of educational materials on the basis of the cognitive demands they require in order for a learner to produce a response to those materials. • Bloom’s Taxonomy was used to develop GED 2002. • Emphasis is on the complexity of the cognitive process that activities (applying, analyzing, creating) requires on the part of the learner. • Roughly 80% of the items across all four content areas will be written to DOK levels 2 & 3. • Roughly 20% will require learners to engage DOK level 1 skills.

14. A comparison

15. DOK: one verb, three levels • DOK 1-Describe three characteristics of metamorphic rocks. (Requires simple recall) • DOK 2-Describe the difference between metamorphic and igneous rocks. (Requires cognitive processing to determine the differences in the two rock types) • DOK 3-Describe a model that you might use to represent the relationships that exist within the rock cycle. (Requires deep understanding of rock cycle and a determination of how best to represent it)

16. Literacy assessment targets • Focus on three essential components: • The ability to read closely • The ability to write clearly • The ability to edit and understand the use of standard written English in context • Strongest predictor of career and college readiness. • Include texts from both academic and workplace contexts that will range from simple to complex. • 75% informational texts (literary nonfiction, workplace) • 25% literature • Writing tasks will require test takers to analyze given source texts, using evidence drawn from the text(s).

17. Literacy test parameters • Will cover a range of text complexity. • When vocabulary comprehension is being measured, the emphasis will be on understanding words that appear frequently in texts from a wide variety of disciplines. • U.S. Founding Documents and the “Great American Conversation” that followed will be required texts for study and assessment. • Length of texts in reading comprehension component will vary between 450-900 words. • Roughly 80% of items will be written to DOK 2 or higher

18. Literacy test parameters • The reading and writing standards will also be measured in the GED Social Studies Test. • The reading standards will be measured in the GED Science Test.

19. Mathematics test parameters • Intended to measure mastery of fundamentals • Will include “modeling tasks” that require test-takers to apply mathematics in a real-life context. • 45% quantitative problem solving • 55% algebraic problem solving • Includes items that test procedural skill & fluency as well as problem solving. • Problem solving tasks will be taken from both academic and workforce contexts. • 80% of items will be written to a DOK 2 or higher. • Statistics and data interpretation standards will also be measured in Social Studies and Science Tests.

20. Mathematics Test parameters • Candidates will be provided with a virtual, online calculator to use on a portion of the items on the GED Mathematics test. • A Mathematics Formula Sheet containing basic, essential information for answering items on the Mathematics test will be made available to test-takers during the entire Mathematics test.

21. Science test parameters • Assessment targets are divided into two sections: • Science practices: the skills necessary for reasoning in a scientific context; • Content topics: the body of knowledge typical of what is taught in American high schools. • Each science practice corresponds with the CCSS for Literacy in Science & Technical Subjects and mathematics and practices from A Framework for K-12 Science Education • Content topics drawn from three domains: • 40% life science • 40% physical science • 20% Earth and space science

22. Science test parameters • Will include items that test textual analysis and understanding, data representation, inference skills and problem solving with science content. • Approximately 80% will be written to a DOK level 2 or higher. • The contexts within which problem solving skills are measured will be taken from both academic and workforce contexts. • Approximately 50% of the items will be presented in item scenarios, in which a single stimulus (textual, graphical, etc.) serves to inform two or three items. The rest will be discrete.

23. Social studies TEST parameters • Assessment targets are divided into two sections: • Social studies practices: the skills necessary for reasoning in a social studies context; • Content topics: the body of knowledge typical of what is taught in American high schools and what is useful and relevant for an adult population. • Each social studies practice corresponds with the CCSS and the National Standards for History. • Focus on four major content domains: • 50% Civics and government • 20% U.S. History • 15% Economics • 15% Geography & the world

24. Social Studies test parameters • Will measure an individual’s ability to read, understand, analyze and write about topics relevant to a variety of social science disciplines. • Individuals will need to demonstrate basic numeracy and quantitative reasoning skills with respect to various forms of data representation, such as charts, graphs, and maps. • Will feature an extended written response task (ER). • Approximately 80% of the test items will be written to DOK level 2 or higher. • Approximately 50% of the items will be presented in item scenarios, in which a single stimulus (textual, graphical, etc.) serves to inform two or three items. The rest will be discretestand-alone items.

25. Additional information • Scrap paper will not be provided. • Students will use a “dry erase” board to work out problems, create rough drafts. • There is no longer an essay component to the exam • Extended Response (ER) items will be used in the Literacy and Social Studies tests. • A new Official Practice Test will be released in 2013 • Will also be CBT and will include supplemental information based on test-taker performance. • Stay tuned for additional information on: • Corrections • Accommodations • Exam costs

26. Implications for instruction • What are we doing to incorporate use of and comfort with technology? • How can our instructors increase emphasis on… • Critical thinking skills • Application in all content areas • What can we do to teach content so learners are able to demonstrate skills & competencies? • How must writing instruction change so there is an emphasis on analysis and the ability to read critically to identify and draw on evidence in source material?

27. Additional resources • GEDTS Assessment Guides and Webinars: • http://www.gedtestingservice.com/assessment • GEDTS Computer Based Test (CBT) Tutorial: • http://www.gedtestingservice.com/GEDTSTutorial.html • Common Core State Standards Initiative • http://www.corestandards.org • Webb’s Depth of Knowledge Guide • http://www.aps.edu/rda/documents/resources/Webbs_DOK_Guide.pdf

28. For more information Contact: Kate Fergus Curriculum & Training Specialist C/SE ABLE Resource Center Ohio University Athens, Ohio fergus@ohio.edu (800) 753-1519