1. Getting Students Ready to ACE the
August 4, 2014

2. Purpose and Agenda Overview of Georgia Milestones
Based on what we know about the new assessment, determine how to prepare our students to perform well.
Overview of Georgia Milestones
Strategy for getting students ready for new item types
Resources

4. Georgia Milestones
Georgia Milestones represents a significant change and importantly – an opportunity – for our state. This opportunity allows us to recalibrate, as a state, and refocus on teaching and learning as a primary emphasis with assessment and accountability serving a supporting role.

5. Blended: Criterion-Referenced and Norm-Referenced
Georgia Milestones
Blended: Criterion-Referenced and Norm-Referenced
Criterion-referenced performance information in the form of four performance levels, depicting students’ mastery of state standards
Norm-referenced performance information in the form of national percentiles, depicting how students’ achievement compares to peers nationally
Note: To provide norm-referenced information, some norm-referenced items may not align to Georgia’s content standards. Only aligned NRT items will contribute to proficiency designations.

6. Georgia Milestones Comprehensive Coherent Consolidated
Single program, not series of tests (e.g., CRCT; EOCT; writing assessment); formative assessment tools to complement summative
Coherent
Consistent expectations and rigor to position Georgia students to compete with peers nationally and internationally
Consistent signal about student preparedness for the next level, be it the next grade, course, or college/career
Consistent signal about student achievement both within system (across grades and courses) and with external measures (NAEP; PSAT; SAT; ACT)
Consolidated
Combine reading, language arts, and writing into a single measure to align to the standards

7. Georgia Milestones Grades 3 – 8: End of Grade (EOG)
High School: End of Course (EOC)
Language Arts
Mathematics
Science
Social Studies
9th Lit/Comp
American Lit/Comp
Coordinate Algebra
Analytic Geometry
Physical Science
Biology
U.S. History
Economics

8. Milestones features include …
Constructed-response items in ELA and mathematics, in addition to selected-response items
A writing component (in response to text) at every grade level and course within the ELA assessment;
Norm-referenced items in every grade and content area to complement the criterion-referenced information and to provide a national comparison; and
Transition to online administration over time, with online administration considered the primary mode of administration and paper-pencil back-up until transition is completed.
Addition of technology-enhanced items beginning in

9. Milestones item types Selected-Response in all content areas
Constructed-Response in ELA and mathematics
Extended-Response in ELA and mathematics
Technology Enhanced to begin in

10. Constructed response
Constructed response is a general term for assessment items that require the student to generate a response as opposed to selecting a response.

11. Extended response
Extended-response items require more elaborate answers and explanations of reasoning. They allow for multiple correct answers and/or varying methods of arriving at the correct answer. Writing prompts and performance tasks are examples of extended-response items.

12. Performance pitfalls
Students are not familiar with these types of items.
Many respond ‘dnk’ – as in ‘do not know’.
They don’t seem to understand the need to “show” their work, detail their thoughts, rationales, cite evidence to support their answer or claim.
Their tendency is to cite the answer only – as if a multiple-choice item.
Students don’t read carefully and answer all parts of the question/item.

13. Strategy for improving performance
A … Answer the problem. C … Compute your work. E … Explain how you got your answer.

14. Implementing ACE Introduce the ACE poster and concept to students
Go over poster,
hang in your
classroom.
Have students set
up their own folder.
Run through a
constructed
response.

17. Grade student work as a class
Give students a problem.
Have them brainstorm a solution as a group.
Work as a class to understand the solution and appropriate plans.
Give students copies of student work for the problem.
Have students sort the work into 0-4 points.
Discuss.

18. Answers most of the problem4
Answers
the
problem
Computes on
paper
Explains your
work
Shows insight 3
Answers most of the problem
Computes on paper
Explains your
work 2
Answers some
of the
problem
Computes
partially 1
Answers
the problem
minimally

19. THOROUGHLY
DEMONSTRATED
Has enough details to show you understood the problem.
Is organized and complete.
Completely explains your ideas and math thinking.
Has a correct answer.
CLEARLY
Has some details to show you understood the problem
Is mostly organized
Explains your ideas and math thinking
Has a correct answer
BASICALLY
Doesn’t have enough details to show you understood the problem.
Is unorganized and unclear.
Doesn’t clearly explain your ideas or math thinking.
Has an answer that’s almost right.
MINIMALLY
Only wrote the right answer with no computation or explanation … or …
Made lots of mistakes.
Just didn’t understand the problem.
INCORRECT OR
IRRELEVANT
Shows no details.
Doesn’t make sense.
Has no explanation of ideas or math thinking.
Has a wrong answer.

20. Assignment 1 2 3 4 My
Score
Peer
Evaluator
Teacher Score

21. Establish student baseline score
Teacher assigns a problem.
Students do it individually.
Teacher grades the problem using the ACE evaluation sheet.
Students (or teacher) graph the results.
Set a class goal.

22. Problem cycle Student tracks Students do a problem his/her progress
After 2 problems
Teacher collects & grades,
student tracks the data.
Students do a problem
Peer evaluation,
filling out the
check sheet
Student tracks
his/her progress
Scaffold the
answer sheets.

23. Tracking student work
Chart student data.
Celebrate!
Set a new goal.

24. Class progress GOAL: All students in our class will score a 3 or 4
on the math rubric by March 2015!

25. When one teaches, two learn.

26. Resources Available NOW
Content standards
Frameworks, formative lessons, PARCC evidence statements
Sample items
Formative items/benchmarks via georgia OAS→GOFAR;
Released items via PARCC, SBAC, other states (KY, NY), NAEP
Parent’s guide to Georgia’s new assessment developed by the National PTA [
CRCT Readiness Indicators

27. Resources Available SOON
Sample items specific to Georgia Milestones
Ancillary support resources, such as
Content Descriptions (test blueprints)
Student Study Guides
Technology Specifications
Accommodations Guidelines
Assessment for Learning Modules [types of items to elicit evidence of student learning]
Informational videos [parents & public / educators]
Focus on teaching and learning – eliciting evidence of student learning during instruction and adjusting as needed.

28. Resources Available SOON
Sample items specific to Georgia Milestones
Ancillary support resources, such as
Content Descriptions (test blueprints)
Student Study Guides
Technology Specifications
Accommodations Guidelines
Assessment for Learning Modules [types of items to elicit evidence of student learning]
Informational videos [parents & public / educators]

29. Demo of online platform
Access at 
Click on any one of the tests to open the sample test page.
Click on “Start the test” at the top of the web page.
Click on “Login”. No credentials are required.
Note – this demo was designed for the CRCT Retest in mind so the tests that you will see are for Grades 3, 5, and 8 in Reading and Math.

30. Georgia Milestones
Georgia Milestones represents a significant change and importantly – an opportunity – for our state. This opportunity allows us to recalibrate, as a state, and refocus on teaching and learning as a primary emphasis with assessment and accountability serving a supporting role.