Transition to Smarter Assessment January 2015

Why did Delaware need new academic standards?

What do the Common Core Standards do? 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

What are the Common Core State Standards? A single set of clear standards for English language arts and mathematics A tool to help students and parents set clear and realistic goals for success A first step in providing young people with the high-quality education that will prepare them for success in college and careers

For every 100 Delaware ninth graders… 75 graduate from high school on time 37 enter college the next fall 30 still enrolled by sophomore year Why does this matter? Because it’s what our students need

What are the new assessments? Smarter ELA and Smarter Mathematics – Replaces DCAS Reading, Mathematics – Field tested in Spring 2014 – First statewide administration in Spring 2015 – Taken once a year (spring)

What are the new assessments? Smarter assessments go beyond multiple- choice questions and include short constructed response, extended constructed response, and performance tasks that allow students to complete an in-depth project that demonstrate analytical skills and real-world problem solving.

What are the new assessments? Accommodations for students with disabilities and English language learners are built into the system so that the progress of students can be accurately measured.

What are the new assessments? The online reporting system provides clear, easy-to-understand data on student achievement and growth. These reports give parents and educators information they can use to help students make even greater progress.

Why change to the Smarter assessments? All students deserve an education that prepares them for their next step in life— whether that’s going on to postsecondary education or starting a career.

Why change to the Smarter assessments? The Smarter assessments will give parents and students accurate information about whether students are on track to graduate high school ready for college and the workplace.

Why change to the Smarter assessments? Teachers also are provided with resources to tailor instruction to student needs through a digital library of instructional best practices.

Why change to the Smarter assessments? Importantly, educators and parents easily can compare student achievement between schools, districts, and states to ensure that students are making progress.

How will the tests be different?

Other important information Testing window is March 6 -June 4 for grades 3 to 8 and April 18 - June 4 for grade 11 Schools select when their students will test Schools have the option to provide interim assessments beginning in January (this includes shorter blocks as well as a full assessment)

Other important information Because the tests require hand-scoring, students will not receive immediate results as they did after taking the DCAS Families will receive student reports in July Statewide scores will be released in August

Other important information The new assessment will have higher expectations for students than previous state assessments The new baseline will mean that fewer students will meet the expectation in the first year

Other important information We are confident our students and schools will improve and meet the higher expectations This does not indicate students, teachers or schools suddenly are performing worse but rather reflects the more rigorous demands of the tests

Thank you For more information, visit