Revised Recommendations: System Agreement for the Use of Smarter Balanced 11 th Grade Assessment in Washington Higher Education Placement Process April 2014

Major Shifts in the Common Core State Standards: “Fewer, Higher, Clearer, Deeper” MATH Focus strongly where the standards focus Coherence: Think across grades and link to major topics within grades Rigor: Require conceptual understanding, fluency, and application ELA Building content knowledge through content-rich nonfiction Reading, writing, and speaking grounded in evidence from text, both literary and informational Regular practice with complex text and its academic language

Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium 26 states & territories (22 governing, 3 advisory, 1 affiliate) K-12 & Higher Education Leads in each state

Describe Explain Interpret Level One (Recall) Level Three (Strategic Thinking) (Extended Thinking) Level Two (Skill/ Concept) Design Synthesize Connect Apply Concepts Critique Analyze Create Prove Arrange Calculate Draw Repeat Tabulate Recognize Memorize Identify Who, What, When, Where, Why List Name Use Illustrate Measure Define Recall Match Graph Classify Cause/Effect Estimate Compare Relate Infer Categorize Organize Interpret Predict Modify Summarize Show Construct Develop a Logical Argument AssessRevise Apprise Hypothesize Investigate Critique Compare Formulate Draw Conclusions Explain Differentiate Use Concepts to Solve Non-Routine Problems Level Four Source: Webb, Norman L. and others, “Web Alignment Tool” 24 July Wisconsin Center of Educational Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2 Feb Assessing the Common Core Smarter Balanced assessments move beyond basic skills and recall to assess critical thinking and problem solving

Why is Higher Education Involved?  Common Core State Standards anchored in expectations for college readiness  Opportunity to improve college readiness, reduce remediation, and boost completion  Making K-16 “alignment” meaningful adapted from Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium

Case for Supporting Common Core State Standards Common Core State Standards “Fewer, higher, clearer” expectations Framework for meaningful K-16 “alignment” Opportunity to address equity issues in college preparation and readiness Case for Incorporating Smarter Balanced Assessment into Placement Process Smarter Balanced Assessment Improvement over existing tools (cost, item variety and range, …) Transparency and ownership Opportunity to create incentive for more students to get “college-ready” in high school

Core to College System Policy Timetable System policy work group (Fall 2013) Cross- sector summit gathering (Fall 2014) Confirm SB participation commitment (before January 2015) Develop specific proposal for SB use in higher education Review and endorse proposal Showcase local school/ college partnerships System group and institutional review (Winter Spring 2014)

SMARTER BALANCED SCORE POTENTIAL IMPLICATIONS FOR 12 TH GRADE POSTSECONDARY PLACEMENT OPTIONS BASED ON SCORE District option: Senior year college readiness/transition course (or some other intensive academic support), then opportunity for re-testing Taking the statewide math senior year college readiness/transition course Expected and advised to earn college credits  An entry college-level terminal math course not on the calculus pathway  An entry-level calculus pathway math course, contingent on a B or better in a calculus pathway class as a senior LEVEL 4 (college-ready) Any entry college-level math course through pre-calculus I LEVEL 1 LEVEL 3 (college-ready) LEVEL 2 An entry college-level terminal math course not on the calculus pathway, contingent on a B or better in the statewide math college readiness/transition course  Encouraged to consider appropriate advanced college credit courses  Taking a calculus pathway class SMARTER BALANCED RECOMMENDATIONS: MATH Additional placement information, determined by local institutional processes (transcript, high school GPA, additional testing, etc.), needed for all entry-level courses

SMARTER BALANCED SCORE POTENTIAL IMPLICATIONS FOR 12 TH GRADE POSTSECONDARY PLACEMENT OPTIONS BASED ON SCORE District option: Senior year college readiness/transition course (or some other intensive academic support), then opportunity for re-testing Taking a statewide English senior year college readiness/transition course  An entry college-level English course (including but not limited to English Composition or its equivalent) LEVEL 4 (college-ready) An entry college-level English course (including but not limited to English Composition or its equivalent) LEVEL 1 LEVEL 3 (college-ready) LEVEL 2 An entry college-level English course (including but not limited to English Composition or its equivalent), contingent on a B or better in a statewide English senior year college readiness/transition course Encouraged to consider opportunities for earning college credit Additional placement information, determined by local institutional processes (transcript, high school GPA, additional testing, etc.), needed for all entry-level courses SMARTER BALANCED RECOMMENDATIONS: ENGLISH Expected and advised to earn college credits

Key Points about the Agreement What It Does Supports implementation of Common Core Provides motivation for some students to improve readiness for college Complements system efforts toward multiple, alternative placement measures What It Doesn’t Do Replace or address directly issues with current placement tests Apply to admissions decisions for 4-year programs Extend beyond Class of 2018 without review process based on performance data

Class of 2016 Take SB spring 2015 Enter higher education fall 2016 Class of 2017 Take SB spring 2016 Enter higher education fall 2017 Class of 2018 Take SB spring 2017 Enter higher education fall 2018 Agreement Timeframe Review agreement in winter 2018 and consider revision/renewal for class of 2019

Comments & Questions? Core to College website Bill Moore