Smarter Balanced in Washington

1. Smarter Balanced in Washington Preparing for the Transition Webinar #2 February 4, 2014

2. Organization of Webinars Series • Future webinars are scheduled for 3:30-4:30 PM on: February 27 March 20 April 9 May 13 June 10 July 15 August 13 • PowerPoint and answers to questions raised during the webinar are posted on OSPI Smarter Balanced web-page; audio recording of webinar is included • We will minimize repeating previously provided information, so please check the webpage.

3. Improving Teaching & Learning Summative: College and career readiness assessments for accountability Teachers and schools have information and tools they need to improve teaching and learning All students leave high school college and career ready Common Core State Standards specify K-12 expectations for college and career readiness Formative resources: Supporting classroom-based assessments to improve instruction Interim: Flexible and open assessments, used for actionable feedback 2

4. But first…. • We have been getting two overarching questions about the new state assessment system: 1. What parts of the system will OSPI provide? Summative, Interim and Formative tools (Digital Library) 2. Will districts have to pay for the Interim assessments or Digital Library? No • The costs of the summative tests are covered by the state, unless you choose to administer paper/pencil

5. Summative Field Tests Getting Ready for the Tests

6. Field Testing Updates • Still waiting for USED approval on request to avoid double testing • We have alerted the Department of Ed that due to the late date, we will not be double-testing. 5

7. Training and Resources • The TIDE Training Module is now available. You can access the modules on the Smarter Balanced Field Test portal, or through the OSPI Smarter Balanced webpage. • The TIDE Training Module is a supporting document to the TIDE User Guide, also available on the Smarter Balanced Field Test portal and the OSPI Smarter Balanced Webpage. • Test Administration Manual is also now available – posted on the OSPI Smarter Balanced webpage.

8. Training and Resources, continued • Six of the 9 Field Test training modules have also been released – posted on Smarter Balanced Field Test portal at http://sbac.portal.airast.org/fieldtest/resources/ • What is a Field Test? • Let’s Talk Universal Tools • What is a CAT? (Computer Adaptive Test) • Performance Task Overview • Student Interface for Online Testing • Technology Requirements for Online Testing • Three more modules are due out Feb 10th. • If you have questions not addressed in these resources, contact OSPI’s Assessment Operations office.

9. Training Test Overview • In addition to the online training modules, both Practice Tests and Training Tests are available for users at http://sbac.portal.airast.org/practice-test/ • Purpose of Training Tests: Provide students with an opportunity to quickly become familiar with the software and interface features that will be used in the Field Test • Grade Bands: • 3-5 • 6-8 • High school

10. Training Test Overview – Cont. • 6-9 items per grade band per content area • Non-PT items only • Includes new item types: • Matching tables (ELA and math) • Fill in tables (math) • Evidence-based selected response (ELA) • Includes all universal tools, designated supports and accommodations

11. Comparison of Training Test and Practice Test

12. Scheduled Downtimes

13. Updates on Field Testing Windows • There are four test administration blocks: • March 18 – April 4 • April 7 – April 25 • April 28 – May 16 • May 19 – June 6 (not for grades 9-10) • Scheduled system downtime for Field Test: April 10-13 (Block 2) and May 8-11, 2014 (Block 3) • If you must change the testing window, do so by Feb 7, by contacting the OSPI data analysts. • After Feb 7, no test window changes will be allowed.

14. Estimated Testing Times for 2014 Field Test and 2015 Operational Assessment Times are estimates of test length for most students. Smarter Balanced assessments are designed as untimed tests; some students may need and should be afforded more time than shown in this table.

15. Updates on Scheduling the Field Tests • All sessions of all tests are untimed. • Some outdated time limits are available in test specs on Smarter Balanced website – the consortium is aware and will be removing to lessen confusion. • The classroom activity, which is designed to introduce the Performance Task (PT),must occur prior to the PT. • Smarter Balanced recommends that students take the PT and the non-PT questions on separate days. • There is no prescribed order to giving students the PT or the Non-PT component first. However, Smarter Balanced recommends that students begin with the non-PT questions, followed by the classroom activity, and then the PT.

16. Updates on Scheduling the Field Tests

17. Pre-ID’ing and Data Topic Updates • Known TIDE Hiccups: • Leading zeroes in district code blocking user access: RESOLVED! Shouldn’t be an issue for student data upload • Confirmation emails not being sent to some users • typically the issue is on the user (district) end; make sure @airast.org is ‘whitelisted’ at both the district and user level • if you’ve received the confirmation email and logging in didn’t work, contact the Smarter Balanced help desk • if someone in your district has logged in, they are able to view the user list in detail, so • have them check the user list - if you’re on it and didn’t receive a temp password, delete and retry. If that doesn’t work, call the Smarter Balanced help desk • if you are not on it, you can be added by a DA-level user • if nobody in your district has received the confirmation and logged in: email Lucas.Snider@k12.wa.us – I’ll check on who was uploaded

18. Pre-ID’ing and Data Topic Updates • User Roles • Begin assigning user roles based on local needs and tasks defined in user guide • User roles is typically a DDSM responsibility; tasks should be coordinated by ‘District Administrator’ • Treat user role assignment as if it were a secure accountability assessment (not a field test) – think of who should have access at which level based on typical testing processes

19. Pre-ID’ing and Data Topic Updates • Pre-ID - Big upload 10 Feb • New and moved files; dates • District level upload and entry tasks • ‘Straggler’ records to be uploaded/entered by district • Instructions in TIDE user guide for template or screen entry • Please add as much optional data as possible • SSID and Confirmation Code • SSID: must be unique statewide – school code plus ssid is unique, so that’s what we’re using (in case of shared ssid across districts, of which there are plenty in our test pre-ID file) • Confirmation code: used to confirm student identity, so it’s just student’s first name • The combination of these two elements

20. Security Reminder • The field tests are secure. All test items and test materials are secure and must be appropriately handled. • Teachers and administrators will NOT have access to test items. The same professional practices expected on all state assessments are expected here and consequences can be administered for violations.

21. Supports and Accommodations • The Usability, Accessibility and Accommodations Guidelines are available on OSPI’s website: http://www.k12.wa.us/SMARTER/default.aspx. • Two accommodations/designated supports planned for the Operational Test will not be available for the Field Test: Audio Glossary (designated support) and Closed Captioning (accommodation). • We’ll highlight one or two accommodations in each webinar. • Today, we’ll highlight translations, but first…

22. Supports and Accommodations for Visually Impaired Students • Support for students with visual impairments • We have heard the anxiety some are having over supports and accommodations for students who are visually impaired or blind (Braille, large print, etc.). • We are working with Smarter Balanced to try to get answers to the questions that have been forwarded. • We want as many visually impaired/blind students as possible to participate in the field test. Districts, OSPI and the consortium will learn from the experience. • We appreciate your patience as we try to navigate the special needs of these students.

23. Translation as a Designated Support • Designated supports are those features that are available for use by any student for whom the need has been indicated by an educator (or team of educators with parent/guardian and student). • Assigning a designated support does not require documentation of need in an IEP or 504 plan. It is recommended that a consistent process be used to determine these supports for individual students. • Designated supports need to be identified and assigned in the Test Information Distribution Engine (TIDE) prior to assessment administration. • Students should be familiar with using the designated supports assigned to them.

24. Translation as an EMBEDDED Designated Support

25. Translation as a NON-EMBEDDEDDesignated Support

26. Translation as an Accommodation • Accommodations are those features available for use by a student with a documentation of need in an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 accommodation plan. • Accommodations need to be identified and assigned in the Test Information Distribution Engine (TIDE) prior to assessment administration. • Students should be familiar with using the accommodations assigned to them.

27. Translation as an EMBEDDED Accommodation

28. Summative Operational Assessments

29. Assessment Design: ELA (Writing) • Writing purposes possible in each grade band: • 3-5 narrative, opinion, explanatory/informative; • 6-8 narrative, explanatory/informative, argumentative; • 11 explanatory/informative, argumentative

30. Assessment Design: ELA (Writing) • Writing prompts in the ELA CAT: • One brief write (opinion, narrative, or explanatory/informational) item, which should take 5-10 minutes.    • Machine-scored revision and word choice items that specify a writing purpose: opinion, narrative, or explanatory/informative.  • There are also editing items in the CAT.

31. Assessment Design: ELA (Writing) • Writing in the ELA Performance Tasks (PT): • In the first part of the PT, the student will read sources and answer 3 research questions.  • In the second part, students will be asked to write either an explanatory/informational, narrative, or opinion extended piece of writing, using the sources they have read.  • Students will not know ahead of time which writing purpose they will be assigned.  • The performance task is untimed. • Smarter Balanced recommends the entire performance task be done in 2 hours, each part taken on a separate day.

32. Interim Assessments We are all life long learners… patiently learning a little each month about interim assessments

33. Interim Assessment Design Principles • Administered through the same system as Summative • Can be administered at various points in the year • Optional for districts • Online administration • Adaptive as appropriate • Adhere to Usability, Accessibility, and Accommodations Guidelines • Items drawn from same pool as Summative; full array of item types • Not intended for accountability decisions

34. Interim Assessment Components

35. Interim Comprehensive Assessments (ICA): Sample Use Cases • Mid-year (e.g., February), a teacher might want to know how students are doing in preparation for the summative test, to better know what areas to focus more efforts/attention on. • Beginning of the year, students entered a class from another state, and the teacher did not have data for them. A teacher decides to give these students the previous year’s ICA to complete the data for the class.

36. Interim Assessment Blocks (IABs) Sample Use Cases • A teacher is providing focused instruction on opinion in grades 3-5 writing (argumentative in the higher grades). Teacher could use a block focused on opinion writing to determine degree of students’ understanding before or after the instruction. • An 8th grade math team of teachers wants to be informed about how their students are doing in geometry after teaching a geometry unit.

37. IABs for ELACurrent Thinking on Coverage *Placeholder until items are developed **”Opinion” is “Argumentative” for grades 6-8 and 11

38. IABs for math Current Thinking on Coverage

39. IABs for math Current Thinking on Coverage

40. Interim Assessment User Interface, Scoring and Reporting • User interface • Details for accessing items are not yet determined. Interim test engine is still in development. • Scoring • Interim assessments will have various item types, most of which will be machine scored • Hand scoring will be a local (school/classroom) responsibility • Rubrics and training will be provided

41. Interim Assessment User Interface, Scoring and Reporting, continued • Reporting • Interim Comprehensive Assessment (ICA) • Report same information as Summative Assessment • Overall composite scale score • Achievement levels • Claim level information • Interim Assessment Blocks (IABs) • Report information consistent with claim level information • Item level reporting is a future feature (not on current work plan)

42. Interim Assessments Timeline • Interim Assessments will be available in late fall of 2014 • Items have to get through field testing, scoring, and standard setting • Initial release will include a fixed form Interim Comprehensive Assessment (ICA) for each grade level and content area • Adaptive forms will be available as the item pool allows • Initial release will also include a fixed form Interim Assessment Block (IAB) for most blocks • Adaptive IABs will be available as the item pool allows • All blocks will have adaptive IABs after 2014-15

43. Resources For You! • For the latest news and developments on Smarter Balanced in Washington: http://www.k12.wa.us/smarter/default.aspx • For questions about Smarter Balanced or the assessment system transitions, contact:Assessment@k12.wa.us360-725-6348

44. Thank you!