1. Preparing Tennessee for PARCC: Preparing Educators, Guiding Students, and Transitioning the TCAP Writing Assessment to the Common Core State Standards CCSSO National Conference on Student Assessment June 20, 2013

2. 1 The transition to Common Core Standards is central to strengthening Tennessee’s competitiveness Source: “Projections of Jobs and Education Requirements Through 2018” (The Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce), 2011 NCES NAEP data, ACT Tennessee’s Competitiveness 21% of adults in TN have a college degree TN ranks 46 th in 4 th grade math and 41 st in 4 th grade reading nationally 54% of new jobs will require post- secondary education 16% of high school seniors in TN are college ready

3. 2 Our goal is to be the fastest improving state This will be measured by our results on: NAEP ACT PARCC TN currently ranks 19 th among PARCC states (on NAEP.) Our goal, during the first year of PARCC, is to come in 12 th.

4. 3 We believe there are three legs to the stool in our implementation plan Assessment alignment and transparency Instructional materials and curriculum Quality training & meaningful support Effective communication about the standards, importance, and potential Alignment of accountability structure for LEA’s, schools, teachers, and vendors Student achievement

5. 4 Assessment Transition Approach PARCC 2011-20122012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015 Narrow official assessments Expand no-stakes assessments reflecting PARCC

6. 5 PARCC is coming… 3 Parts ELA & Literacy Research Simulation Literary analysis Narrative writing 2 Parts Math Short and extended response questions Focus on conceptual knowledge and skill and modeling and reasoning standards PBA 2 Parts ELA & Literacy 4-5 texts (literary and informational including social science, scientific, and technical texts at grades 6-11) Short-answer comprehension and vocabulary questions 2 Parts Math short-answer focusing on conceptual knowledge, skills, and understandings EOY

7. 6 Writing Assessment Previous Writing Exams 5 th, 8 th, 11 th Open Ended Prompts Narrative, Expository, Persuasive Paper Based 2012-2013 Writing Still 5 th, 8 th and 11th Text Based Prompts Same genre structure 8th and 11th Grade Online, 5th Grade optional online 2013-2014 Writing Still 5 th, 8 th and 11 th Offered as district option to all grades 3-11 Text Based Prompts Could be any genre, any grade

8. 7 3 directives 1.Move closer to the format and expectations of PARCC, to the best of our knowledge of it 2.Get examples into the field ASAP to inform instruction 3.Where possible, involve teacher scoring to help educators understand the expectations of the standards

9. 8 Assessment Development Paradigm Shift Old Development: –Instruction drives assessment New Development –Assessment drives instruction All Development –Development best practices

10. 9 Assessment Development Two driving documents: Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects from the “Common Core State Standards Initiative: Preparing America’s Students for College and Career” PARCC “Draft Model Content Frameworks for English Language Arts/Literacy”

11. 10 Assessment Development: Process Identify appropriate stimulus material Grade level Readability Bias Complexity/richness Focus on Informational Texts

12. 11 Assessment Development: Process (cont’d) Stimulus material chosen, reviewed by TN Educators, and prompts developed by MI. Review of prompts/stimulus material by TN educators. Layout of test forms for pilot test. 2012 TCAP/WA Pilot Test administration, scoring, and analysis

13. 12 Assessment Development: Process (cont’d) 2013 Operational Test prompt selection, one per grade 2013 Operational Test administration

14. 13 Assessment Development: Lessons Learned Passage selection –Copyright vs. public domain –Text appropriateness and complexity –Informational vs. Literary Prompt development –KISS –CCSS alignment Mode mixture –Narrative, Informational/Explanatory, and Opinion/Argument

15. 14 Assessment Evolution: 2012 TCAP/WA Prompt

16. 15 Assessment Evolution: 2013 TCAP/WA Text

17. 16 Assessment Evolution: 2013 TCAP/WA Prompt

18. 17 Rubric Development Review of trait- based rubrics used on other assessments Development of three mode- specific rubrics Inclusion of trait expectations and language present in the CCSS for Writing

19. 18 Rubric Evolution: 2012 TCAP/WA Rubric

20. 19 Rubric Evolution: 2013 TCAP/WA Informational/Explanatory Rubric

21. 20 Online Administration Logistics Technology Readiness Surveys performed on all online testing schools months prior to test dates. Potential capacity issues communicated to online-testing schools. –2012 Pilot Test & 2013 Operational Test –Bandwidth, hardware, software, networking, etc. Online testing platform downloaded by approved testing schools one week prior to test dates 8:30-5:00 technical support available via e-mail and phone before, during, and after testing window

22. 21 Online Administration Success Perception: –Early predictions of negative outcomes for systems, schools, and students Reality –All but one school was approved for online testing for the operational test. –Very few technical issues (loss of connectivity/student work, inability to use testing platform, etc.) –Many reports of increased student engagement during testing

23. 22 The 3-12 ELA CCSS Pilot Context: districts eager to jump the gun on CCSS for ELA before full statewide implementation in 2013-14 Purpose: –To convene districts interested in early implementation of CCSS for ELA and facilitate sharing of promising practices –To encourage districts to incorporate instructional shifts in advance of full standards implementation –Expose teachers and students to shifted assessments in a low-stakes manner –Learn from leading districts through conversations and data collection to inform upcoming TDOE training and content offerings

24. 23 The 3-12 ELA CCSS Pilot Four key elements: 1.Quarterly Grand Division consortium meetings 2.Teacher completion of professional learning modules 3.Administration and scoring of four practice writing prompts 4.Periodic feedback to the TDOE through surveys and scoring data

25. 24 ELA Pilot Scoring Material Development 2012 ELA Pilot form selection and administration. Rangefinding with TDOE and TN stakeholders. Training material and video development. Scoring e-mail helpline implementation.

26. 25 ELA Pilot Scoring Material Development (cont’d) Lessons Learned Video training differs from in-person training –Full-blown scripts are essential in video training creation –Scoring staff creating scripts must be comfortable enough with technology to communicate with technical staff and ensure content and form work together as expected –KISS: viewers cannot ask questions during training Video creation, editing, and production takes a long time Teachers want anchor papers and scoring resources early

27. 26 Evaluating the 3-12 ELA Pilot Surveys given at all four consortium meetings Two teacher surveys and one principal survey Data used to determine effectiveness of pilot and inform content of summer training

28. 27 ELA pilot district leadership team survey results from final meeting % A (6s)% SA (7s) % A/SA (6s and 7s) The practice scoring exercise at the beginning of this meeting increased my understanding of the expectations of the rubric. 54.33185.3 The anchor papers for each prompt and score point are helpful in establishing a common understanding of the rubric expectations. 5034.584.5 My school and/or district’s participation in the ELA Pilot allowed our teachers to better prepare students for the new format of the TCAP Writing Assessment given in February. 39.144.483.5

29. 28 ELA Pilot teacher survey results from April 2013 Of the scoring resources we provided, teachers found the scoring guides (with anchor papers) to be the most helpful, followed by scoring practice training sets and, last, videos explaining the scoring guides

30. 29 2013 TCAP Writing Assessment results GradeF/OS/EL/SC 52.442.462.632.59 82.462.092.572.69 112.742.022.882.96 Average Scores Per Grade and Trait

31. 30 2013 trait progressions by grade

32. 31 2013 TCAP Writing Assessment results Key observations: Only 1.4% of 8 th Graders and 0.9% of 11 th Graders received a score of 4 in Support/Elaboration. Significant increase in condition code scores between 2012 and 2013: Grade2012*2013** 5 842,683 8 304,660 11 33219 TOTAL 1477,562 *2012: 0B = Insufficient to score or illegible **2013: 0D = Too limited to evaluate

33. 32 Writing Assessment Previous Writing Exams 5 th, 8 th, 11 th Open Ended Prompts Narrative, Expository, Persuasive Paper Based 2012-2013 Writing Still 5 th, 8 th and 11th Text Based Prompts Same genre structure 8th and 11th Grade Online, 5th Grade optional online 2013-2014 Writing Still 5 th, 8 th and 11 th Offered as district option to all grades 3-11 Text Based Prompts Could be any genre, any grade

34. 33 Next steps Available to all grades 3-11, optional beyond 5, 8, 11 Online only 3 passages – more closely reflect RST For more information, visit www.tncore.orgwww.tncore.org

35. 34 Questions

36. Thank you! Lior Klirs Coordinator of English Language Arts Content and Resources Tennessee Department of Education lior.klirs@tn.gov lior.klirs@tn.gov Emily Barton Assistant Commissioner of Curriculum and Instruction Tennessee Department of Education lior.klirs@tn.gov lior.klirs@tn.gov Katie Gerhardt Program Manager: TCAP Writing and Constructed Response Assessments Measurement Incorporated kgerhardt@measinc.com kgerhardt@measinc.com