Georgia Alternate Assessment

1. Georgia Alternate Assessment Fall Resources & Support Training Alignment & Documentation November 3, 2016

2. Today’s Presentation • Today’s presentation addresses: • Key Dates • Quick look at 2016-2017 Examiner’s Manual • Review of alignment and documentation • Ideas for submitting scorable entries • Audience: • All Teachers who administer the GAA • Peer Reviewers and Trainers • Special Education Directors and Coordinators • Test Coordinators • Building Administrators

3. Key Dates for GAA • Administration Window: • September 6, 2016– March 24, 2017 • Materials arrive: • Pre-ID Labels, Student Demographic Information Forms • Blue - K, 3-8 • Orange – HS • Return Kits • February 2 – 6, 2017 • Systems return materials to Questar for Scoring: • March 6 – 10, 2017 (early returns) • March 13 – 24, 2017 • Systems receive GAA Score Reports: • June 5-9, 2017

4. GAA Examiner’s Manual Quick-Glance Index (p. iii) Key Dates (p. 1) Updates for 2016 – 2017 (p. 2) Participation Guidelines (pp. 7-10) Portfolio Components (pp. 9, 11) Alignment (pp. 5, 10, 12, 65, 74) Blueprint (pp. 93-103) Standards (pp. 107-208) Glossary (pp. 73-78) Tips and Tools (pp. 42-57)

5. Assessment Tasks It is inappropriate to pre-determine score points. Assessment tasks should be meaningful, purposeful and challenging for the individual student. Think of the student first when deciding appropriate tasks and skills through which progress will be determined. Plan the type of evidence that best documents the student’s participation and performance of that task (e.g., captioned photos, data sheets, work samples). Refer to the Student Sample Resources Guide (SSRG) to ensure that the work submitted represents an accepted type of evidence.

6. Nonscorable Categories Missing Entry (ME) Off Grade (OG) Ineligible Standard (IS) Entry Sheet Errors (ES) Insufficient Time (IT) Not Aligned (NA) Insufficient Evidence (IE)

7. Alignment and Nonscorables Not Aligned (NA) • Tasks are not aligned to standard and/or indicator • All 4 assessment tasks in each entry must show a connection between the tasks and the standard and element/indicator. Not all standards have elements or indicators. • GAA tasks must be assessment tasks, not instructional tasks. (What was the student asked to do?)

8. Alignment and Nonscorables Not Aligned (NA) • Science entries must show evidence of the Characteristic of Science (CoS). • All 4 Science tasks in each Science entry must align to the standard and element and at least one of the Science tasks must exemplify the co-requisite CoS. • If the CoS is “uses scientific tools,” then the student must use a scientific tool (litmus paper, thermometer, barometer, microscope, scale, or some other scientific tool) in at least one of the assessment tasks. • The CoS must be recorded on the Entry Sheet.

9. Alignment to State-Mandated Content Standards Assessment tasks may align at an access level, but they must be clearly connected to the grade-level standard. All students are assessed on grade-level standards. All 4 assessment tasks must connect to the intent of the standard and element/indicator.

10. Alignment–Identifying the Skills • Some of the state-mandated standards are quite broad and encompass more than one skill, while others are very specific. • For many GAA students, it is most appropriate to choose a single skill around which to design the 4 assessment tasks. It is not necessary for assessment tasks to encompass everything mentioned in the standard. • The same skill(s) must be demonstrated in both collection periods. • Additional skills can be added in the second collection period. • Tasks which align to standards of one grade level may not align to standards of different grade levels.

11. Nonscorable Entries If the evidence, which includes the student’s task and the teacher’s annotation, does not clearly demonstrate alignment to the content standard, then it may not be possible to score an entry. If a scorer cannot find a connection between the student’s evidence and the grade-level standard, then the entry is referred to a Team Leader, Scoring Director, and/or GaDOE representative to determine whether it can be scored. Only a Team Leader, Scoring Director, or Project Manager can assign nonscorable codes.

12. Insufficient Evidence and Nonscorables Insufficient Evidence (IE) • Primary Evidence does not meet evidence requirements or is missing from the portfolio • Only Secondary Evidence is included • Fewer than 2 captioned photos are included. • Media were submitted without a script.

13. Insufficient Evidence and Nonscorables Insufficient Evidence (IE) • Secondary Evidence does not meet evidence requirements or is missing from portfolio • Observation or Interview Sheet cannot be scored because of the absence of proper documentation. • A data sheet is submitted with fewer than 3 dates on which evidence of student performance was collected.

14. Insufficient Evidence and Nonscorables Insufficient Evidence (IE) • Secondary Evidence may not redocumentPrimary Evidence • Secondary Evidence must represent a separate and distinct event, different materials must be used, and/or the student must perform a different activity. • A task that takes multiple days to complete is still considered a single task. Please do not submit each day’s work as a separate task. • A work sample (Primary Evidence) and an observation (Secondary Evidence) of the student completing that same work sample is an example of redocumentation.

15. Insufficient Evidence and Nonscorables Insufficient Evidence (IE) • Cannot determine the correctness of student response on one or more pieces of evidence • If there is no score or answer key, then it is not possible for a scorer to determine if the student’s responses are correct. • Example: The student is measuring objects in the classroom, but the work is not graded and no answer key is provided. • Example: The annotation states that the student completed the task, but the work is not graded and there is no statement regarding its correctness.

16. Insufficient Evidence and NonscorablesExample of Redocumentation Redocumentation

17. Seven Steps to Effective Documentation 1. The assessment tasks must align to the standard and element/indicator. • The task should focus on the standards-based skill chosen by the teacher. • The connection between the task and the standard should be clearly described in the annotation. • What was the student asked to do and how does the student’s task connect to the standard and element/indicator?

18. Seven Steps to Effective Documentation • What kind of question – multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, ordering sentence strips, short answer…? • Is the student writing by choosing and placing pictures, symbols, words or sentences on the page? • How difficult is the question–matching vs. identifying vs. describing vs. interpreting…? • How many questions/steps/actions were asked of the student? • Which questions did the student answer correctly? Incorrectly? 2. The specific questions asked of the student and the student’s responses should be clearly described.

19. Seven Steps to Effective Documentation • The depth of knowledge the student demonstrated should be described. • What level of understanding of the content standard and element/indicator has the student demonstrated in each of the 4 tasks? • Can the student answer true-false or multiple choice questions? Short-answer questions? Open-ended questions? • Can the student choose between two or more options presented by the teacher? • Did the student use color-coded materials and/or a word bank in Collection Period 1 but not in Collection Period 2? • Is the student performing tasks at or approaching basic grade level, or is the student working at an access level?

20. Seven Steps to Effective Documentation • The correctness of the student’s responses must be documented. • The criteria on which the student is being graded should be clear. • Student work must be graded; the number and/or percentage of correct answers must be noted. • Accuracy and prompting should be documented separately.

21. Seven Steps to Effective Documentation Type of Prompting Frequency of Prompting • Continuous • Frequent • Limited • Independent (no prompting) • Physical • Model • Gestural • Verbal • Independent (no prompting) The student’s level of independence must be documented. What type and frequency of prompting were required for the student to respond?

22. Seven Steps to Effective Documentation • Interactions that occurred during the assessment tasks must be documented. With whom did the student work during the assessment tasks? • The interaction must occur during the assessment task and it must be related to the performance of the task. Saying hello to a classmate while performing a math task alone is not an interaction. Working together with a classmate on math problems is an interaction. • Please do not provide a list of all the people who were in the room with the student. Please do mention all of the people who worked with the student on the assessment task. “Working together” does not mean a peer buddy provided the answers to the student who is being assessed. • The peer may assist with manipulating materials, recording answers generated by the student, reading questions, and prompting the student to stay on task.

23. Seven Steps to Effective Documentation • Settings where the student performed each assessment task must be documented. • The setting in which the task was completed should be purposeful to the task. • All settings where assessment tasks took place are considered in the calculation of the Generalization score. • Acronyms and locations specific to a school should be defined.

24. Electronic Entry Sheet • The Electronic Entry Sheet and instructions can be found on the Resources page of the GaDOE Web site at: http://www.gadoe.org/Curriculum-Instruction-and-Assessment/Assessment/Pages/GAA-Resources.aspx • A brief review of the instructions and electronic entry sheet

25. Tasks in This Presentation ELA 1 (Reading Informational) RI.2 Slides 26-27 ELA 2 (Writing) W.2.b Slides 28-29 ELA 2 (Writing) W.2.f Slides 30-31 ELA 2 (Writing) W.3.a Slide 32 Writing guidance Slides 33-34 ELA 2 (Speaking and Listening) SL.1.c Slides 35-37 Math 1 (Operations and Algebraic Thinking) OA.5 Slides 38-40 Math 1 (Numbers and Operations in Base Ten) NBT.2 Slides 41-42 Math 1 (Numbers and Operations-Fractions) NF.2Slides 43-45 Math 2(Statistics and Probability) SP.4 Slides 46-48 Math 2 (Geometry ) G.5Slides 49-52 Math 2 (Algebra Connections to Statistics and Probability) S.ID.1Slides 53-55 Science (Life Science) S5L1 Slides 56-58 Science (Physical Science) S5P2 Slides 59-60 Science (Physical Science) S8P1 Slides 61-63 Science 1 (Biology) SB4b Slides 64-65 Social Studies 1 (US History) H22bSlides 66-67

26. Sample Task ELA 1 – Reading Informational Grade 5 • Tasks which align to this standard will involve: • determining the main idea of the text and/or • citing key details which support the main idea and/or • summarizing the text • A student may perform assessment tasks which align only to part of the standard. All four of the assessment tasks must align to the same part of the standard. • The reading text does not need to be included in the student’s portfolio. It is enough to cite the title of the text in the teacher’s annotation.

27. ELA 1 – Grade 5 (continued)

28. Sample Task English Language Arts 2 – Writing Grade 5 • Tasks which align to this standard and indicator will involve writing a text which develops a topic using: • facts and/or • definitions and/or • details and/or • quotations and/or • other information or examples • A student may perform assessment tasks which involve only one part of the indicator. All four of the assessment tasks must align to the same part of the indicator.

29. ELA 2 – Grade 5 (continued)

30. Sample Task ELA 2 – Writing Grade 6 Tasks which align to this standard and indicator will involve writing a concluding statement which follows logically from the context of passage. Students must write a conclusion. Answering multiple choice questions (see next slide) is not a Writing task.

31. ELA 2 – Grade 6 (continued) Do not use. Answering multiple choice questions is not a Writing task.

32. Sample Tasks – scorable and not scorable English Language Arts 2 (Writing) Grade 6 Nonscorable Scorable “Why did one student receive a numeric score while another student, who performed similar activities, receive a nonscorable code?” Here is evidence from two students who had the same teacher and were given very similar tasks. In each entry (both used W.3.a which is engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically) the student is given tasks involving the logical sequence of events. However, the student whose evidence is on the right was asked to number sentences, which is not a Writing task.

33. Some notes on Writing tasks in all grades • All Writing tasks in all grades must involve the production of some form of “written” product by the student. A student’s writing must be a visual product that can be interpreted by the reader when the student is not present. • Writing is: • Typing, writing or printing words, phrases or sentences • Dictating words, phrases or sentences which are scribed by another person • Using a computer or speech-to-text assistive technology to produce readable text • Completing a “written” phrase to convey information with a phrase, word, communication symbol(s), pictures or objects in logical order • Telling a story or giving information by appropriately placing phrases, words, sentences, communication symbols, pictures or objects in logical order • Organizing information to be communicated on a graphic organizer such as an outline or Venn diagram • Writing is not completing a worksheet by: • Matching activities • Selecting answers to multiple choice questions • Numbering sentences • Circling words, phrases or sentences

34. Some notes on Writing tasks in all grades In Writing entries in all grades, students must produce a permanent product which another person can read and understand, whether or not the writer is present. A written permanent product is defined as a sentence, paragraph, essay handwritten or typed by the student, dictation to a scribe, symbols, picture or object representation. It is not necessary for a student to be able to print, handwrite or use a keyboard. A student with extremely severe cognitive or physical disabilities may utilize words, picture icons, Boardmaker symbols, or sentence strips when writing a response.  A teacher or peer buddy may then paste the student-selected items on the page in accordance with the student’s direction. Students may dictate their writing verbally, by using American Sign Language (ASL), or by using an augmentative communication device. Another person may act as a student’s scribe and type or print the student’s work. Writing a recipe or daily schedule by indicating the information that is to be included and in the correct order is one way for a student to write. Using pictures, with or without text, to write a story is also acceptable. It is not acceptable to put numbers in front of sentences (e.g., 2,4,5,1,3) to show the order of sentences in a paragraph. Matching and multiple choice tasks are also considered not to be writing tasks.

35. Sample Task English Language Arts 2 (Speaking and Listening) Grade 7 Tasks which align to this standard and element involve reciprocal verbal communication between the student and at least one other person. In all Speaking and Listening tasks in all grades (not only in the Grade 7 example shown here) the student must “speak” in all 4 assessment tasks. Speaking includes verbal exchanges between the student and others AND it can also include communication via nodding, pointing, gesturing, eye gazing, signing with American Sign Language (ASL), and/or communicating with an augmentative device. A student’s verbal responses may be scribed by another person. The student’s reciprocal verbal interactions should be documented on the evidence.

36. ELA 2 Speaking and Listening – Grade 7 (continued) Do not use – answering multiple choice questions is not a Speaking and Listening task. The student’s task is to answer multiple choice questions. This task does not align to the Speaking and Listening standard and indicator because the student is not engaged in any kind of reciprocal verbal interaction. In this task, the student is completing a worksheet but there is no evidence of any conversation related to the assessment task between the student and another person. The annotation does describe some incidental conversation the student and teacher had (e.g., the student asked to have some answer choices reread) but the actual task was to respond by circling answers to multiple choice questions. The student was not asked to respond verbally as part of the assessment task so, therefore, this task does not align.

37. ELA 2 Speaking and Listening – Grade 7 (continued) The teacher’s annotations on the Annotation Sheet and on the student’s worksheet clearly indicate that the student was speaking to the teacher and to a general education peer during the assessment task. The student’s task was to respond verbally to the teacher and general education peer, while the teacher scribed the student’s verbal responses. This task is aligned to the Speaking and Listening standard and indicator.

38. Sample Task Mathematics 1 Grade 4 These tasks were completed on the same day. Please be cautious; tasks must be clearly distinct from one another when conducted on the same day. Primary Evidence may be collected after Secondary Evidence. Notice the continued focus on the skill needed to complete number patterns. Because there is a consistent skill across both collection periods, it is possible to assess the student’s Achievement/Progress from one collection period to the next. If skills are inconsistent across collection periods, the Achievement Progress score will be a “1.”

39. Mathematics 1 – Grade 4 (continued) Only Collection Period 1 Primary Evidence is shown in this presentation. The student was not prompted in this task, but he was verbally prompted in Collection Period 2. The increase in prompting mitigates the student’s Achievement/Progress, but he did demonstrate greater accuracy and the complexity of his tasks also increased.

40. Sample Task Mathematics 1 Grade 4 • Tasks which align to this standard will involve writing whole numbers in at least one of three ways. Examples are in parentheses: • base-ten numerals (14) • number names (fourteen) • expanded form (10 + 4) • Tasks which align to the second sentence of the standard will involve comparing two numbers using the three signs which represent greater than, equal to and less than (>, =, and <). • It is acceptable to choose assessment tasks which align only to part of the standard. In that case, all 4 assessment tasks should involve the same part of the standard. • It is also acceptable to add additional skills in Collection Period 2, so long as the skills assessed in Collection Period 1 are also seen again in Collection Period 2.

41. Mathematics 1 – Grade 4 (continued) The student’s Collection Period 1 tasks involve writing the number name of the base ten numerals. In Collection Period 2, the student writes number names again but is also asked to write the expanded form of each number. There is a common skill (writing number names) which is seen in both Collection Periods and the addition of another skill (writing the expanded form) in the Collection Period 2 tasks.

42. Mathematics 1 – Grade 4 (continued)

43. Sample Task Mathematics 1 Grade 5 Tasks which align to this standard will involve solving word problems involving the addition and/or subtraction of fractions. The tasks may involve unlike denominators, but that is not required. The second sentence in the standard refers to judging the reasonableness of answers by relying on “benchmark fractions” and/or “number sense.” The student work in this entry involves the addition of fractions in Collection Period 1 and the subtraction of fractions in Collection Period 2. All 4 tasks align to the standard but, since there is no common skill seen in both collection periods, this entry received a “1” in the scoring dimension of Achievement / Progress.

44. Mathematics 1 – Grade 5 (continued) Both Collection Period 1 tasks involve the addition of fractions.

45. Mathematics 1 – Grade 5 (continued) Both Collection Period 2 tasks involve the subtraction of fractions.

46. Sample Task Mathematics 2 Grade 6 Tasks which align to this standard involve the student in plotting numerical, not categorical, data on a number line. Students may gather data themselves, but that is not required by the standard. It is the plotting of numerical data which is the essence of this standard. If a student is given a number line and is then asked interpretation questions about it, that task will not align to the standard.

47. Mathematics 2 – Grade 6 (continued) Tasks which align to this Grade 6 Math 2 standard will always involve the student plotting numerical (not categorical) data on a number line. The data may be displayed in dot plots, as seen here, or in histograms or box plots. Students may gather data themselves or they may use data given to them.

48. Mathematics 2 – Grade 6 (continued) The student was given a dot plot and was asked questions about it. This task does not align because the student is interpreting the graph but is not plotting data. Do not use – not aligned. The student did not plot categorical data.

49. Sample Task Mathematics 2 Grade 8 Tasks which align to this standard will involve the student in demonstrating the facts about angle sum (angles sum to 180 degrees) and exterior angle of triangles (exterior angles sum to 360 degrees), and/or angles created when parallel lines are cut by a transversal (vertical pairs are congruent, supplementary pairs sum to 180 degrees) and/or the angle-angle criterion for similarity of triangles (AAA: the three angles are equal, SSS: the three sides are proportional, SAS: one pair of corresponding sides are proportional and the included angles are equal). The student’s Collection Period 1 tasks do not align to the standard, while the Collection Period 2 tasks align to the “angle sum” part of the standard. The student is asked to demonstrate that she understands that angles on one side of a straight line sum to 180 degrees.

50. The Collection Period 1 tasks involve labeling angles, which are not aligned tasks because identifying and labeling are not part of the standard. These tasks are useful instructional tasks which could precede assessment. The Collection Period 2 tasks do align to the standard. The standard refers to establishing “facts about the angle sum…” which the student does do. In the Primary Evidence the student establishes the sum of angles formed by a straight line is 180 degrees. In the Secondary Evidence the student is given the measure of one supplementary angle and is asked to calculate the measure of the other.