Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium Building a System to Support Improved Teaching and Learning

Joe WillhoftShelbi ColeJuan d’Brot

National Conference on Student AssessmentJune 29, 2012

A National Consortium of States• 27 states

representing 43% of K-12 students

• 22 governing, 5 advisory states

• Washington state is fiscal agent

• WestEd provides project management services

A Next Generation of Assessments

• Rigorous assessment of progress toward “college and career readiness”

• Common cut scores across all Consortium states

• Provide both achievement and growth information

• Valid, reliable, and fair for all students, except those with “significant cognitive disabilities”

• Administered online

• Use multiple measures

• Operational in 2014-15 school year

US Dept. of Ed has funded two consortia of states with development grants for new assessments aligned to Common Core State Standards

(Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 68 / Friday, April 9, 2010 pp. 18171-85)

Smarter Balanced AssessmentsThe System Design

Theory of Action: Seven Key Principles

1. An integrated system2. Evidence-based approach3. Teacher involvement4. State-led with transparent governance5. Focus: improving teaching and learning6. Actionable information – multiple

measures7. Established professional standards

A Balanced Assessment System

Common Core State

Standards specify

K-12 expectations for college

and career

readiness

Common Core State

Standards specify

K-12 expectations for college

and career

readiness

All students

leave high

school college

and career ready

All students

leave high

school college

and career ready

Teachers and schools have

information and tools they need

to improve teaching and

learningInterim

assessments Flexible, open,

used for actionable feedback

Summative assessments

Benchmarked to college and

career readiness

Teacher resources for

formative assessment

practicesto improve instruction

Summative Assessments for Accountability

Page 7

✔

Interim Assessments to Signal Improvement

Page 8

✔

Summative and Interim Use of

Computer Adaptive Technology

Page 9

✔

✔

Formative Tools for Classroom- Based Assessment Practices

Page 10

✔

K-12 Teacher Involvement

• Support for implementation of the Common Core State Standards (2011-12)

• Write and review items/tasks for the for the pilot test (2012-13) and field test (2013-14)

• Development of teacher leader teams in each state (2012-14)

• Evaluate formative assessment practices and curriculum tools for inclusion in digital library (2013-14)

• Score portions of the interim and summative assessments (2014-15 and beyond)

Smarter Balanced AssessmentsItem and Task Development

Item and Test Design

Content SpecificationsOctober 2011

Content SpecificationsOctober 2011

Item SpecificationsJanuary 2012

Item SpecificationsJanuary 2012

Test SpecificationsFebruary 2012

Test SpecificationsFebruary 2012

Item Writing for Pilot Test

2012-2013

Item Writing for Pilot Test

2012-2013

Item Development and Research

• June– Cog Lab Recruiting of Locations and Students– Item Writer Recruitment– Stimulus Reviewer Confirmations

• July– Collect Item and Student Responses for AI Scoring

Research– Cog Lab Administration– AI Scoring Engine Evaluations– Item Reviewer Recruitment

Item Development Cont.

• July cont.– Small Scale Trials Sampling Plan– Guidance for States in Procurement Study– Item Reviews

• August– Item Reviews for Higher Ed input

• September– Content, Bias/Sensitivity, and Accessibility Reviews– Small Scale Trials Administration

Smarter Balanced AssessmentsFormative Practices and Professional Learning

• Provide comprehensive support for formative assessment, including instructional modules aligned with CCSS

• Training modules help teachers focus their instruction on the CCSS and develop teaching practices that support more in- depth learning

• Enhance assessment literacy by training teachers to use formative assessment tools and interim assessment to determine next steps in instruction

• Provide supports for students to manage their own learning

Formative Practices, Professional Learning and Implementation

Formative Master Work Plan

ID

Task Name

Work Start

Work

Finish

Professional Learning, Formative Assessment Practices, and Curriculum Resources with Technology Development for the Digital Library

1. Digital Library application, including hosting and moderated collaboration among users.

Oct.2012

Sept.2014

2.National Advisory Panel, State Leadership Teams, and State

Networks of Educators to develop Smarter Balanced quality criteria policies for Digital Library resources.

Oct.2012

Feb. 2013

3.Procedures to implement feedback cycles with State Leadership Teams and State Networks of Educators during the development process for all Digital Library resources, including continuous improvement after resources are uploaded.

Oct.2012

Feb. 2013

4.Professional learning materials on Assessment Literacy with supplemental assessment resources recommended by State Networks of Educators.

Jan. 2013

Dec. 2013

5. Smarter Balanced Exemplar Instructional Modules in ELA/literacy and mathematics across grades K–12 with supplemental instructional resources recommended by State Networks of Educators.

Jan 2013

May 2014

6. Training materials for all users on interpreting Smarter Balanced interim and summative assessment reports, searching Smarter Balanced resources, and using collaboration tools in the Digital Library

June2014

Sep. 2014

Smarter Balanced Timeline

Field Test 37,000

Items/Tasks

Field Test 37,000

Items/Tasks

Major Milestones

All-Call for Pilot TestingAll-Call for

Pilot Testing

Cognitive Labs & Field Trials

Cognitive Labs & Field Trials

IT Readines

s(Round 1)

IT Readines

s(Round 1)

Interim & Formative

Available for Use

Interim & Formative

Available for Use

Operational Summative Assessment

Operational Summative Assessment

Set Performance

Standards (Cut Scores)

Set Performance

Standards (Cut Scores)

Verify Performanc

e Standards

Verify Performanc

e Standards

Pilot of 10,000

Items/Tasks

Pilot of 10,000

Items/Tasks

Item/Task Writing Begins

Item/Task Writing Begins

IT Readines

s(Round 2)

IT Readines

s(Round 2)

All-Call for Field TestingAll-Call for

Field Testing

State Educator Teams Begin

State Educator Teams Begin

IT Readines

s(Round 3)

IT Readines

s(Round 3)

Find Out More

Find us at: SmarterBalanced.org