Division of School Improvement 2014 Summer Summit Critical Connections for Leaders

1. Division of School Improvement 2014 Summer Summit Critical Connections for Leaders Georgia’s New Assessment Landscape Jan Reyes, Ed.D. Assessment Specialist Assessment and Accountability Georgia Department of Education jreyes@doe.k12.ga.us Melissa Fincher, Ph.D. Associate Superintendent for Assessment and Accountability Georgia Department of Education mfincher@doe.k12.ga.us

2. What are the critical connectionswe must make to support and strengthen the processes for promoting continual progress in our districts and schools?

3. A NEW Assessment System Georgia Milestones: Georgia Milestones Assessment System Georgia Milestones will consist of both end of grade (EOG) and end of course (EOC) measures.

4. Georgia Milestones Comprehensive • single program, not series of tests (e.g., CRCT; EOCT; WA); formative assessment tools to compliment 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) Consolidated • combine reading, language arts, and writing into a single measure to align to the standards

5. Coherency – Consistency Achievement of Georgia Students in Mathematics 2013 • NAEP – Grade 4: 39% at/above proficient • CRCT – Grade 4: 84% met/exceeded Achievement of Georgia Students in Reading 2013 • NAEP – Grade 4: 34% at/above proficient • CRCT – Grade 4: 93% met/exceeded Achievement of Georgia Students in Science 2011 (NAEP) / 2013 (CRCT) • NAEP – Grade 8: 30% at/above proficient • CRCT – Grade 8: 74% met/exceeded (67% in 2011)

6. Coherency – Consistency Achievement of Georgia Students in Mathematics 2013 • NAEP – Grade 8: 29% at/above proficient • CRCT – Grade 8: 83% met/exceeded • Coordinate Algebra EOCT: 37% met/exceeded • SAT – Class of 2013: 42% college ready benchmark* • ACT – Class of 2013: 38% college ready benchmark** 2012 • PSAT – sophomores: 37% on track to be CCR

7. Coherency – Consistency Achievement of Georgia Students in Reading 2013 • NAEP – Grade 8: 32% at/above proficient • CRCT – Grade 8: 97% met/exceeded • 9th Grade Literature EOCT: 86% met/exceeded • American Literature EOCT: 91% met/exceeded • SAT – Class of 2013: 43% college ready benchmark* • ACT – Class of 2013: 43% college ready benchmark** 2012 • PSAT – sophomores: 40% on track to be CCR *SAT data represent 71% of Class of 2013 **ACT data represent 51% of Class of 2013

8. Georgia Milestones 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.

9. Georgia Milestones Georgia Milestones will include norm-referenced items. • Grades 3 – 8 • End of Grade (EOG) in language arts, mathematics, science, social studies • High School • End of Course (EOC) in 9th Grade Literature & Composition, American Literature & Composition, Coordinate Algebra, Analytic Geometry, Physical Science, Biology, US History, and Economics Georgia Milestones will include constructed-response items, performance tasks, and selected-response items in language arts and mathematics.

10. Our Assessment Landscaping is Changing • Assessment development is a process, not an event • information and ancillary materials will be made provided as soon as available • Georgia is transitioning from a set of long-standing, mature programs • districts, schools, students, parents, and the public are familiar with 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

11. Resources to Move Us Forward

12. Resources Available NOW • Content standards • frameworks, formative lessons, PARCC evidence statements • Sample items • formative items via Georgia OAS; • released items via PARCC, SBAC, other states (KY, NY), NAEP • CRCT Readiness Indicators • Lexiles In Fall 2014, the Georgia Online Formative Assessment Resource (GOFAR) will launch with the SLDS and replace the OAS.

13. CRCT Readiness Indicators:Reading, ELA, Mathematics • Indicators were designed to send a signal to stakeholders about where students are relative to where they need to be headed • Indicators provide feedback about our preparedness for the increase in rigor and expectation for student achievement that is on the horizon • Feedback consists of the percent of students who achieved each readiness level – state , district, and school levels – for instructional planning purposes While we cannot guarantee that students who achieve the On-Track level will be proficient on the new assessment, we do know they will be better prepared and positioned to be successful.

14. CRCT Readiness Indicators:Reading, ELA, Mathematics For instructional planning and decision making: • Needs Additional Support:The student has demonstrated that his or her command of the knowledge and skills described in the CCGPS warrants additional instructional supports. • On Track: The student has demonstrated that his or her command of the knowledge and skills described in the CCGPS is sufficient; the student is on track for success at the next level. • Commendable:The student has demonstrated that his or her command of the knowledge and skills described in the CCGPS is exemplary.

15. Lexiles

16. Lexiles

17. Lexiles with CRCT Readiness Indicators

18. Formative Assessment InitiativesBringing a Balanced Assessment Focus to the Classroom Statewide launch in summer 2013 1600 new items loaded Phase I available February 2014; Phase II pilot in winter 2014

19. Overall ELA Pilot Summary Data

20. Overall Math Pilot Summary Data

21. Key Findings From Pilots of Formative Open-Ended Items • Overall performance shortfalls • Students are not familiar with these types of items • Many respond ‘dnk’ – as in ‘do not know’ • Don’t seem to understand the need to “show” their work, detail their thoughts, rationales, cite evidence to support their answer or claim • Tendency is to cite answer only – as if a multiple-choice item • Don’t read carefully and answer all parts of the question/item

22. Sample Open-Ended ItemEnglish Language Arts - Grade 6 Passage: The Tall Rock • A story told by a boy who is visiting his grandfather’s house. He describes climbing “Mountain Rock” with his younger brother and how the rock seems to have gotten smaller as he has grown up.

23. Extended Response ItemW.6.3; RL.6.6; W.6.3b; W.6.4; L.6.1 Write a conclusion to the story, told from the narrator’s point of view twenty years later. Your narrative should describe the narrator’s conclusions about the childhood experiences with Mountain Rock, but now from the perspective of an adult. Use details from the text to support your answer. Answer with complete sentences, and use correct punctuation and grammar.

24. Rubric

25. Exemplar Response It was a long time ago the last time I visited Mountain Rock. My grandparents sold their house about ten years ago and moved to an apartment. Even though I am now an adult, I still like to think about the fun I had on Mountain Rock. Of course I got taller and taller until finally I could just step on top of the rock without any help. It was cool to think that when I was just a little kid I needed Grandpa to help me climb the rock. Even when the rock didn’t seem like a big mountain, Grandpa still had to lift me to the top for a long time. One summer when I was a teenager we took our five-year-old cousin Tracy with us to visit my grandparents. On the way there I shouted “I get to climb first.” Nick thought that was hilarious and said, “You kids and your rock!” just like our mom used to say. I’ll always have happy memories of Mountain Rock.

26. Student ResponseScore 4 The response presents the narrator’s conclusion in a way that logically relates to events from the story and that refers to many specific details from the story. While on the surface this response may appear to summarize the story, the way in which the student handles the language and retelling makes it clear that the narrator truly is reliving fond childhood events twenty years later. The student demonstrates a thorough command of the conventions of standard English. Though there are a few minor errors, primarily typographical, meaning is clear throughout the response. Twenty Years later,I still remember those olden days we used to vist my grandparent's big white house right up the hill on summer days. when i was little he'd swing me up through the air.the whole hill spun me around the sky was blue and bright.and, the tree's everywhere looked green and enormus.I used to climb the mountain rock.Oh how we loved mountain rock.everytime my brother said" I get to climb first. my mother would say "you kids and your rock.When we reached their house my brother would run and start to climb the rock my arents would just smile put their hands around each other and watch.And i'd just watch looking down.after my grandpa welcolmed us for a second i thought the rock got smaller but it was just that i was getting taller.But all at once i had a though no matter how big,tall or the older i got this would always be the tallest place.I sure do love those memories and i will always keep them!!

27. Student ResponseScore 3 20 years later, I had grown into a full grown, mature adult. When we would visit my grandparents i would travel with my mom, dad, and brother. Now that I am an adult I travel with my wife and two girls. I still climb on the "Mountain Rock" just mot as much as I did when I was a kid. Now that I am grown I help my kids climb the wall. They love climbing the wall even more than I did when I was their age. They are always arguing on the trip to my grandparent's house. The main argument is "Who is going to get to clim bthe wall first." Maybe, I will be a grandparent someday and have a "Mountain Rock" for my grandkids to climb on. The response includes a few relevant details from the story. In order to achieve a higher score, the student needs one or two additional specific details from the story. The student demonstrates command of the conventions of standard English. There are a few distracting errors in grammar and usage but meaning is clear.

28. Student ResponseScore 2 I used to enjoy the climb on the boulder at grandpa's house and how tall i used to feel , and i would anticapate all six hours of the ride there. The rock used to be like a mouantian to me, but now when I revisit I can tell that I have grown alot throughout the years. But I will always remember the thrill of being so high, and to this day it is still the tallest place in the world to me. The student does not plausibly establish the narrator as an adult. While the student appears to show the narrator reflecting on the past, it is difficult to determine whether or not he or she places the narrator twenty years later or merely summarizes the narrator’s feelings in the story provided. The student uses a few details from the story, but, in order to achieve a higher score, he or she needs to more clearly show that the setting is twenty years later. The student demonstrates an inconsistent command of the conventions of standard English. There are a few distracting errors in grammar and usage, but they do not impede understanding.

29. Student ResponseScore 1 I realized it was the rock that made it worth while,even thought the rock was not big to my eyes it was big to my mind,which made the whole trip alot more memorible,and i couldnt wait to come back next year. The student demonstrates a minimal understanding by writing a conclusion that does not address the narrator’s childhood experiences but rather continues where the story leaves off. While the student does include support from the story, his or her approach is not acceptable for a higher score. The student demonstrates an inconsistent command of the conventions of standard English. There are a few errors in grammar and usage, but they do not impede understanding.

30. Observations from Scoring • Some students wrote a non-narrative: • 20 years later, the narrator could bring his on children to Mountain Rock and remember the good times he had on Mountain rock himself. • Some students wrote in third person: • the kids really loved that rock,and they will all ways remeber it as if it was there home.When they have kids they will show them the rock too so they can climb it too. • Some responses were too brief to adequately address the prompt: • I may have gotten older, but it`s times like these that make me still feel how I felt when I was little. • It has been more than 20years since I have climbed the mountions. • He Rerember Those Experiences Because They Where Fun

31. Benchmark AssessmentImplementation Schedule Phase I Fall 2013 pilot Available February 2014 Phase II Winter 2014 pilot Available Fall 2014 • ELA • Grades 4, 5, 9, and 11 • Mathematics • Grades 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, Analytic Geometry, and Advanced Algebra • Biology • ELA • Grades 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, and 10 • Mathematics • Grades 1, 2, 3, and Coordinate Algebra • U.S. History

32. FIP Learning Modules • Introduction to Formative Instructional Practices • Clear Learning Targets • Collecting and Documenting Evidence of Student Learning • Analyzing Evidence and Providing Effective Feedback • Student Ownership of Learning: Peer Feedback, Self-Assessment, and More • Leading Formative Instructional Practices (for district and/or school leaders) • Coaching Formative Instructional Practices (for instructional coaches and/or teacher leaders) FIP aligns to TKES and LKES!

33. NAEP Item Tool Workshops Available: Bobbie Bable, NAEP State Coordinator (404.657.6168; bbable@doe.k12.ga.us)

34. We value your input, thank you!

35. Division of School Improvement 2014 Summer Summit Critical Connections for Leaders Georgia’s New Assessment Landscape Jan Reyes, Ed.D. Assessment Specialist Assessment and Accountability Georgia Department of Education jreyes@doe.k12.ga.us Melissa Fincher, Ph.D. Associate Superintendent for Assessment and Accountability Georgia Department of Education mfincher@doe.k12.ga.us