Ensuring State Assessments Match the Rigor, Depth and Breadth of College- and Career- Ready Standards National Conference on Student Assessment New Orleans, June 2014

Panelists  Scott Norton, CCSSO  Michael Russell, The Center for Assessment  Jennifer Dean, Student Achievement Partners  Jason Zimba, Student Achievement Partners  Michael Briscoe, Student Achievement Partners  Michele Walker, Indiana Department of Education

Background / Purpose  CCSSO’s Criteria for Procuring and Evaluating High Quality Assessments (March 2014), builds on the earlier High Quality Assessment Principles (October 2013)  States are committing to new assessments  These assessments will align to internationally benchmarked CCR standards and the evidence on which they are based, report annually on each student’s progress toward readiness, adhere to best test administration practices, and be accessible to all students.  The criteria give more detail, and also outline sample evidence that states could ask for to ensure high quality.  Finding the criteria:  Google: “CCSSO Criteria for Evaluating High Quality Assessments”  Or, CCSSO.org -- What we Do -- Standards, Assessments, Accountability -- Assessments

Structure of the Criteria A.Meet Overall Assessment Goals and Ensure Technical Quality B.Align to Standards – English Language Arts/Literacy C.Align to Standards – Mathematics D.Yield Valuable Reports on Student Progress and Performance E.Adhere to Best Practices in Test Administration F.State Specific Criteria (as desired)

Criteria and Evidence (sample) Criteria Evidence A.6. Ensuring transparency of test design and expectations: Assessment design documents (e.g., item and test specifications) and sample test questions are made publicly available so that all stakeholders understand the purposes, expectations, and uses of the college- and career- ready assessments.  Evidence is provided, including test blueprints, showing the range of state standards covered, reporting categories, and percentage of assessment items and score points by reporting category.  Evidence is provided, including a release plan, showing the extent to which a representative sample of items will be released on a regular basis (e.g., annually) across every grade level and content area.  Sample items with annotations and answer rationales are provided. ... A. Meet Overall Assessment Goals and Ensure Technical Quality