Smarter Balanced and High Ability Learners

1. Smarter Balanced and High Ability Learners Chrystyna V. Mursky Director of Professional Learning Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium Education Consultant, Gifted/Talented Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Wisconsin Association for Talented and Gifted October 10, 2013

2. Four Corners • How familiar are you with the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium? • How familiar are you with computer adaptive assessment? • How familiar are you with the shifts in the CCSS for Mathematics? For English Language Arts? • How familiar are you with the Smarter Balanced sample summative assessment items? • How familiar are you with the Smarter Balanced resources for formative assessment practice?

3. Topics • Background on the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium • Overview of the Smarter Balanced Assessment System • The Smarter Balanced Summative Assessment • Overview • Shifts in the CCSS for Mathematics • Sample Summative Items for Mathematics • Shifts in the CCSS for English Language Arts • Sample Summative Items for English Language Arts • The Smarter Balanced Interim Assessment • Resources for the Formative Assessment Process

4. What is Smarter Balanced?

5. A National Consortium of States 26 member states and territories representing 39% of K-12 students 23 Governing States, 2 Advisory States, 1 Affiliate Member Washington state is fiscal agent WestEd provides project management services

6. K-12 Teacher Involvement • Write and review items/tasks for the pilot test (2012-13) and field test (2013-14) • Develop 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)

7. Higher Education Collaboration • Involved 175 public and 13 private systems/institutions of higher education in application • Two higher education representatives on the Executive Committee • Higher education lead in each state and higher education faculty participating in work groups • Goal: The high school assessment qualifies students for entry-level, credit-bearing coursework in college or university

8. A Balanced Assessment System Summative assessments Benchmarked to college and career readiness Teachers and schools have information and tools they need to improve teaching and learning Common Core State Standards specify K-12 expectations for college and career readiness All students leave high school college and career ready Teacher resources for formative assessment practices to improve instruction Interim assessments Flexible, open, used for actionable feedback

9. A Balanced Assessment System ELA/Literacy and Mathematics, Grades 3-8 and High School School Year Last 12 weeks of the year* DIGITAL LIBRARY of formative tools, processes and exemplars; released items and tasks; model curriculum units; educator training; professional development tools and resources; scorer training modules; and teacher collaboration tools. Summative Assessment for Accountability Optional Interim Assessment Optional Interim Assessment • Performance Tasks • ELA/literacy • Mathematics • Computer Adaptive Assessment • ELA/literacy • Mathematics Computer Adaptive Assessment and Performance Tasks Computer Adaptive Assessment and Performance Tasks Scope, sequence, number and timing of interim assessments locally determined Re-take option available *Time windows may be adjusted based on results from the research agenda and final implementation decisions.

10. Huddle Discuss the following with a few people around you: • How do you use a balanced assessment system now? • How will your practices be affected?

11. Smarter Balanced Summative Assessment

12. Summative Assessment: Purpose, Benefits and Limitations

13. Summative Assessment:Two-pronged Approach

14. Increased precision • Provides accurate measurements of student growth over time Using Computer Adaptive Technology for Summative and Interim Assessments Tailored for Each Student • Item difficulty based on student responses Increased Security • Larger item banks mean that not all students receive the same questions Shorter Test Length • Fewer questions compared to fixed form tests Faster Results • Turnaround time is significantly reduced

15. Estimated Testing Times for Summative Assessment The testing window is the final 12 weeks of the academic year.

16. Huddle Talk with a few people about the following questions: How would you rate your school district’s readiness for the Smarter Balanced summative assessment? What questions do you have about the summative assessment?

17. Common Core State Standards Source: www.corestandards.org • Define the knowledge and skills students need for college and career • Developed voluntarily and cooperatively by states; more than 40 states have adopted • Provide clear, consistent standards in English language arts/literacy and mathematics

18. Mathematics What is Changing?

19. The CCSS Require Three Shifts in Mathematics • Focus: strongly where the standards focus • Coherence: Think across grades and link to major topics within grades • Rigor: In major topics, pursue conceptual understanding, procedural skill and fluency, and application with equal intensity

20. Shift #1: FocusKey Areas of Focus in Mathematics

21. Shift #1: FocusContent Emphases by Cluster The Smarter Balanced Content Specifications help support focus by identifying the content emphasis by cluster. The notation [m] indicates content that is major and [a/s] indicates content that is additional or supporting.

22. Shift #2: Coherence Think Across Grades, and Link to Major Topics Within Grades • Carefully connect the learning within and across grades so that students can build new understanding on foundations built in previous years. • Begin to count on solid conceptual understanding of core content and build on it. Each standard is not a new event, but an extension of previous learning.

23. Coherence: Some Standards from Early Grades are Critical Through Grade 12 1.OA.7 Understand the meaning of the equal sign, and determine if equations involving addition and subtraction are true or false. For example, which of the following equations are true and which are false? 6 = 6, 7 = 8 – 1, 5 + 2 = 2 + 5, 4 + 1 = 5 + 2.

24. What it Looks Like in Grade 3 True or False: 3 x 8 = 20 + 4 T F 50 ÷ 10 = 5 x 1 T F 9 x 9 = 8 x 10 T F

25. What it Looks Like in Grade 5 True or False:

26. What it Looks Like in Grade 8 Tell how many solutions: 3x + 17 = 3x + 12

27. What it Looks Like in High School X4 – 5x3 + x2 + 2x + 1 = Drag the correct expression to make a true equation. x3 + (x + 1)2 + X4 – 6x3 X4 – 3x3 + 2x3 + x2 + 2x + 1 X4 – 5x3 + x + x + 2x + 1 …

28. Shift #3: Rigor In Major Topics, Pursue Conceptual Understanding, Procedural Skill and Fluency, and Application • The CCSSM require a balance of: • Solid conceptual understanding • Procedural skill and fluency • Application of skills in problem solving situations • Pursuit of all three requires equal intensity in time, activities, and resources.

29. Smarter Balanced Sample Items http://sampleitems.smarterbalanced.org/itempreview/sbac/ • Item 43328: Fractions 2a • Item 43081: The Contest • Item 42933: Calculator As you analyze the sample items, consider the following 2 questions:

30. English Language Arts What is Changing?

31. Key Shifts in the CCSS for English Language Arts • 1.Complexity: Regular practice with complex text and its academic language • 2.Evidence: Reading, writing, and speaking grounded in evidence from text, both literary and informational • 3.Knowledge: Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction

32. Implications for Assessment

33. Smarter Balanced Sample Items http://sampleitems.smarterbalanced.org/itempreview/sbac/ • Grandma Ruth 3 • Writing: Cell Phones • Listening: Exercise in Space 2 As you analyze the sample items, consider the following 2 questions:

34. Smarter Balanced Interim Assessment

35. Interim Assessment

36. Formative Assessment Practices

37. Digital Library Resources Assessment Literacy Modules • Commissioned Professional Development Modules • Resources for students and families • Frame Formative Assessment within a Balanced Assessment System • Articulate the Formative Assessment Process • Highlight Formative Assessment Practices and Tools Exemplar Instructional Modules • Commissioned Professional Development Modules • Instructional materials for educators • Instructional materials for students • Demonstrate/support effective implementation of the formative process • Focus on key content and practice from the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics and English Language Arts Education Resources • High-quality vetted instructional resources and tools for educators • High-quality vetted resources and tools for students and families • Reflect and support the formative process • Reflect and support the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics and English Language Arts • Create Professional Learning Communities

38. Inside/Outside Circles Take two minutes to write down your Aha’s from this afternoon’s conversation. Share your thoughts using Inside/Outside Circles.

39. Find Out More Smarter Balanced can be found online at: SmarterBalanced.org

40. Common Core State Standards Public Hearings • Wednesday, October 16 • 2:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. Fond du Lac • City/County Building, • Wednesday, October 23 • 2:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. Eau Claire • Chippewa Valley Technical College, and • Wednesday, October 30 • 2:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.Wausau • NorthcentralTechnical College.

41. Chrystyna Mursky Education Consultant, Gifted and Talented and Advanced Placement Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction 608-267-9273 chrystyna.mursky@dpi.wi.gov