Smarter Balanced AssessmentParent Night

February 5, 2015

Introduction to our Team

• Cindy Patton, 3rd Grade Teacher• Danielle Conner, 4th Grade Teacher• Jocelyn O’Donnell, 4th Grade Teacher• Jennifer Beaman, 5th Grade Teacher• Kris Janati, Principal

Please take a moment to introduce yourself to members at your table. Don’t forget to sign in!

Learning Objectives• Develop shared understanding of shift in learning goals

(Common Core) for our students

• Review elements of Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA)– Purpose– Skills/Concepts Measured

• Test administration– Practice!– Testing Schedule

Introduction to Common Core• Launched in 2009 by the National Governors Association Center

for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO).

• Prior to 2009, each state had adopted its own set of learning standards and measures of proficiency (assessments) for students.

• The goal of the CCSS was to provide a single set of clear and consistent educational standards in math and English/language arts that states can share and voluntarily adopt.

• A total of 45 states, the District of Columbia, four territories, and the Department of Defense Education Activity have adopted the Common Core State Standards.

Common Core (continued)

• CCSS prepare students to be successful in college and in the workforce.– College readiness means that graduates have the

skills they need to do well in college.– Being “ready” means that students graduate from

high schools with key skills in English and mathematics.

• CCSS provides explicit expectations for learning in grades K-12

• Prepare students to succeed in college and the workforce

• Ensure that every child—regardless of race, ethnicity or zip code—is held to the same high standards and learns the same material

• Provide educators with a clear, focused roadmap for what to teach and when

CCSS will…

6 Shifts in ELA/Literacy

• Read as much non fiction as fiction• Learn about the world by reading• Read more challenging material closely• Discuss reading using evidence• Write using evidence• Increase academic vocabulary

Shift 1: Read as much non-fiction as fiction

Students must…• Read more NON FICTION• Know the ways non-fiction

can be put together• Enjoy and discuss the

details of non-fiction

Parents can…• Supply more non-fiction

text• Read non-fiction texts aloud

or with your child• Have fun with non-fiction in

front of them

Shift 2: Learn about the world by reading

Students must…• Get smart in science and

social studies through reading

• Handle primary source documents

• Get smarter THROUGH texts

Parents can• Supply series of texts on

topics of interest• Find books that explain• Discuss non-fiction texts

and the ideas within

The more we read, the more we can read!

• By age 3, children from affluent families have heard 30 million more words than children from parents living in poverty. (Hart and Risley, 1995).

• Children who have larger vocabularies and greaterunderstanding of spoken language do better in school (Whitehurst and Lonigan).

• If children aren’t reading on grade level by third grade, they are four times more likely to leave high school without a diploma(Hernandez, 2011).

Shift 3: Read more complex material carefully

Students must…• Re-read• Read material at comfort

level AND work with more challenging stuff

• Unpack text• Handle frustration and keep

pushing

Parents can…• Provide more challenging

texts AND provide texts they WANT to read and can read comfortably

• Know what is grade level appropriate

• Read challenging material with them

• Show that challenging stuff is worth unpacking

Shift 4: Discuss reading using evidence

Students must…• Find evidence to support

their arguments• Form judgments• Become scholars• Discuss what the author is

trying to accomplish

Parents can…• Talk about text• Demand evidence in every

day discussions and/or disagreements

• Read aloud or read the same book and discuss with evidence

Shift 5: Writing from sources

Students must…• Make arguments in writing,

using evidence• Compare multiple texts in

writing• Write well

Parents can…• Encourage writing at home• Write books together, using

evidence/details

Shift 6: Academic vocabulary

Students must…• Learn the words they can

use in college and career• Get smarter at using

powerful language

Parents can…• Read often and constantly

with babies, toddlers, preschoolers and children

• Read multiple books about the same topic

• Let your kids see you reading• Talk/read to/listen to/sing

songs with/make silly rhymes and word games with your kids

Sample 4th Grade ELA Test Question,Pre-Common Core

1. Read a non-fiction selection.

2. Respond: The author’s purpose for writing the selection may have been to ______. Support this purpose with two details from the selection.

4th Grade ELA Question, Common Core

You have read "Hybrid or Electric?" and "Nuclear Power: The Key to the Future." • What is similar about the authors' points of

view? • What reasons do they use to convince readers

to make a change? • Support your answer with clear text evidence

from the articles.

6 Shifts in Mathematics

• Focus: learn more about fewer, keytopics• Build skills within and across grades• Develop speed and accuracy• Really know it, Really do it• Use it in the real world• Think fast AND solve problems

The National Mathematics Advisory Panel’s Final Report (2008)

Skills are sequential building blocks that contribute to future success…• Success in College!• Success in Algebra!• Positive and Negative Numbers!• Success with Fractions!• Success with Adding/ Subtracting/

Multiplying/ Dividing

Math Shift 1: Learn more about less

Students must…• Spend time on fewer

concepts

Parents can…• Know what the priority

work is for your child for their grade level

• Spend time with your child on priority work

• Ask your child’s teacher about their progress on priority work

Math Shift 2: Skills Across Grades

Student must…• Keep building on learning

year after year

Parents can…• Be aware of what your child

struggled with last year, and how that will affect learning this year.

• Ensure support for “gap” skills

Math Shift 3: Speed and Accuracy

Students must…• Spend time practicing—lots

of problems on the same page

Parents can…• Encourage and challenge

kids to know and memorize basic math facts

• Know all of the fluencies your child should have, and prioritize learning of the ones they don’t

Grade Required Key Fluencies

• K: Add/subtract within 5• 1: Add/subtract within 10• 2: Add/subtract within 20; Add/subtract

within 100 (pencil and paper)• 3: Multiply/divide within 100; Add/subtract

within 1000• 4: Add/subtract within 1,000,000• 5: Multi-digit multiplication

Math Shift 4: Know it/Do it!

Students must…• Understand why the math

works. Make the math work• Talk about why the math

works• Prove that they know why

and how the math works

Parents can…• Notice whether your child

really knows why the answer is what it is

• Ensure and provide the time your child needs to learn key math

• Understand the math your child needs to know

Math Shift 5: Real World

Students must…• Apply math in real world

situations• Know which math to use for

which situation

Parents can…• Ask your child to do the

math that comes up in your daily life

Math Shift 6: Think fast/Solve problems

Students must…• Be able to use core math

facts FAST• Be able to apply math in the

real world

Parents can..• Notice your child’s math

strengths and areas in need of growth

• Make sure your child is practicing the math facts he/she struggles with

• Model thinking about math in real life

Sample 4th Grade Math Test Question, (Extended Thinking) Pre-Common Core

• A flea jumps about 3 inches with each hop. The dog is 2 feet long. About how many hops will it take the flea to jump from the tip of the dog’s nose to the tip of the tail?

• Show your work using words, numbers, or pictures. (Text box for work provided)

Sample 4th Grade Math Test Question, (Extended Thinking) Common Core

The 2-eyed space creatures, 3-eyed space creatures and 4-eyed space creatures are having a contest to create a group with 24 eyes.• How many 2-eyed space creatures are needed to make a group

with 24 total eyes?• How many 3-eyed space creatures are needed to make a group

with 24 total eyes?• How many 4-eyed space creatures are needed to make a group

with 24 total eyes?

• Somebody told the 5-eyed space creatures that they could not join the contest. Explain why 5-eyed space creatures cannot make a group with 24 eyes.

Evaluating Common Core:Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA)

• Grades 3-5 (Elementary level)• English/Language Arts• Mathemathics

Items and Task Models

• Selected Response• Constructed Response• Extended Response• Performance Task

Level of complexity of cognitive demand

• Level 1: Recall and Reproduction– Requires eliciting information such as a fact,

definition, term or simple procedure, as well as performing a simple algorithm or applying a formula

• Level 2: Basic Skills and Concepts– Requires engagement of some mental processing

beyond recall of information

Complexity of cognitive demand (continued)

• Level 3: Strategic Thinking and Reasoning– Requires reasoning, planning, using evidence, and

explanations of thinking

• Level 4: Extended Thinking– Requires complex reasoning, planning, developing,

and thinking most likely over an extended period of time

Performance Task

• Performance Tasks (PT) are extended activities that measure a student’s ability to integrate knowledge and skills across multiple standards—a key component of college and career readiness.

• Some activities within the PT are dependent upon each other. Students’ correct or incorrect calculations can impact other activities within the task.

Performance Task

• Performance tasks will be used to better measure capacities such as depth of understanding, research skills and complex analysis, which cannot be adequately assessed with selected- or constructed-response items.

Performance TaskPerformance Task– Note: 30-40 minute Teacher-Directed Introduction not

included

Directions (10 mins):• Review the directions • With table-mates, determine solutions to each of

the sequential performance tasks• Refer to attached scoring guide rubric to assess

your responses.

Keep in Mind:This is a benchmarking year

• Last year’s scores will look different – Learning expectations are different, so tasks are

different– Higher depth of knowledge questions and more

extended tasks

• Still learning about scoring process

How are we preparing our students?• Use of SBA Practice Performance Tasks for ELA and

Math• Higher expectations for writing. More explicit

instruction, guidance and support in writing tasks across the curriculum

• RIGOR!• SBA online practice• Additional time to build students’ skills (lunchtime

tutorials, extended day)• Academic language/vocabulary

What can we do at home?• Provide a quiet place to complete homework; provide

support and guidance as needed• Practice keyboarding skills• Ensure your child has a solid foundation of basic

multiplication facts• Review scored work and homework provided by teacher;

ask your child questions about it• Allow your child time and opportunities to develop

stamina• Discuss current events: cause/effect; higher level

thinking skills

What can we do at home?

• Good sleep• Solid nutrition, starting with a healthy

breakfast• Snacks• Ensure your child has a calm start to the day

by arriving on time to school• Schedule appointments and planned absences

outside of testing window dates

Testing Schedule: Grade 3• English/Language Arts: Performance Task– March 23 - 27

• English/Language Arts: Paper/Pencil (Skills) Test– March 23 - 27

• Math Performance Task– May 20-21

• Math Computer Adaptive (Skills)– May 12

Testing Schedule: Grade 4

• English/Language Arts: Performance Task– May 4-5

• English/Language Arts: Computer Adaptive (Skills) Test– April 27-28

• Math Performance Task– May 18-19

• Math Computer Adaptive (Skills)– May 13

Testing Schedule: Grade 5• English/Language Arts: Performance Task– May 6-7

• English/Language Arts: Computer Adaptive (Skills) Test– April 29-30

• Math Performance Task– May 26-27

• Math Computer Adaptive (Skills)– May 14

Testing Schedule: Grade 5

• Science MSP– April 20 - 24

Resources

• http://sbac.portal.airast.org/practice-test/

• www.smarterbalanced.org/

• https://engageny.org/

Thank you for your attendance and participation!!

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