1. TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Tom Torlakson, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Transitioning California to a Balanced Assessment System August 15, 2014 State and Federal Program Directors’ Diane Hernandez, Director Assessment Development and Administration Division

2. TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Objectives Implementation of College and Career Readiness Smarter Balanced Assessment System ‾Summative assessment ‾Formative tools ‾Interim assessment Smarter Balanced Field Test Update 2014–15 Assessments Smarter Balanced Supports Computer-Adaptive Testing 2013–14 Reporting 2014–15 Reporting 2

3. 3 Journey Towards the Implementation of College and Career- Readiness Supt. Torlakson conducts outreach to develop recommendations for new assessment system (required by AB 250 March 2012) 2001 2010 2011 2014 TODAY: California prepares for a next generation, world-class system ▪ Developing new curriculum frameworks ▪ Building new professional development modules ▪ Adopting new instructional materials ▪ Conducted Smarter Balanced Field Test ▪ Developing formative tools and interim assessments 1997 Achievement levels established to signal college and career readiness CA aligns assessments to standards STAR sunsets (July 2014) – AB 484 - STAR replaced by CAASPP California joins Smarter Balanced as a governing state 2012 2013 2015 CA develops rigorous content standards Pilot test Smarter Balanced summative assessment Field test Smarter Balanced summative assessment California adopts Common Core State Standards authorized through SB15X legislation CDE releases Common Core implementation plan Transitioning to a New Assessment System Report released by Supt. Torlakson Smarter Balanced formative tools Smarter Balanced interim assessment Operational test Smarter Balanced summative assessment 2016…

4. TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Smarter Balanced Assessment System Common Core State Standards specify K-12 expectations for college and career readiness Common Core State Standards specify K-12 expectations for college and career readiness All students leave high school college and career ready Teachers and schools have information and tools they need to improve teaching and learning Summative: College and career readiness assessments for accountability Interim: Flexible and open assessments, used for actionable feedback Formative tools: Supporting classroom-based assessments to improve instruction 4

5. TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Smarter Balanced Field Test Update About 3.2 million California students were anticipated to participate in the Field Test Approximately 3.19 million students completed testing Accounts for more than 73% of all Smarter Balanced testing 5

6. TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Smarter Balanced Field Test Update (cont.) Concurrent users –California was prepared for 500,000 concurrent test takers –184,000 users represented the peak on April 29 th Technical Assistance Center (CalTAC) –The average number of daily contacts: 549 –CalTAC contact requests: Resetting passwords General test administration questions 6

7. TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Smarter Balanced Field Test Feedback Mid-testing Surveys for LEA Coordinators –Testing Window One 102 respondents –Testing Windows Two and Three 344 respondents Post-testing Survey –Released June 27, 2014 –Designed for LEA coordinators, technology coordinators, and teachers and administrators 7

8. TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Mid-Testing Survey Feedback “We chunked each week by grade level district- wide, and it seems to be working well. It regulates the number of students online, and gives each school a manageable target per week.” “Overall 99% positive…students have been doing fine, teachers were a bit more stressed. Kids are engaged and excited about it…get antsy if they don’t get started on time and are sitting around waiting. Kids were using scratch paper. Having a tech person at site helped. Staggered start time and dates was very helpful.” 8

9. TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Mid-Testing Survey Feedback (cont.) “...Our training sessions have paid off. Coordinators and TAs are able to start test sessions and students are logging in and using our ID cards we provided all sites. Students are terrific! We’ve had some access problems. By far, our biggest headache…has been password resets.” 9

10. TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Smarter Balanced Field Test Feedback Focus Groups designed to gather input from participants regarding their experience with the Field Test will held in July and August 2014. –LEA Coordinators and Test Administrators –Parents and students 10

11. TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Smarter Balanced Summative Assessment 2014–15 Grades 3–8 and 11 Grade 11 used for Early Assessment Program (EAP) purposes Test windows: –Grades 3–8; students will have received 66% of instructional days –Grade 11; students will have received 80% of instructional days 11

12. TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Example of Smarter Balanced Testing Window 2014–15 Middle School grades 7–8 180 Instructional Day School Year First day of testing window is on the 121 st instructional day (66%) First day of school: August 25, 2014 Holidays: 26 days (August – June) First Day of Testing: March 9, 2015 Last Day of Testing: June 5, 2015 12

13. TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Additional CAASPP Assessments Testing Window Information 2014–15 Testing window: 25 days that includes 12 days before and after completion of 85 percent of instructional days CST, CMA, & CAPA –Science* –Grades: 5, 8 &10 Alternate Assessment to replace CAPA –ELA and mathematics –Grades: 3–8 & 11 –Testing window: TBD STS –Reading Language Arts* –Grades 2–11 * Paper-pencil only 13

14. TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Achievement Level Setting Panels for Smarter Balanced Assessments This fall, educators, parents, and business/community members will participate in online and in-person panels to provide recommendations for setting achievement levels for the Smarter Balanced summative and interim assessments. –In-person panel; October 13–19 –Online panel; registration deadline- September 19 http://smarterbalanced.measinc.com/EventCode/100614 http://smarterbalanced.measinc.com/EventCode/100614 –Comments taken October 5–17 14

15. TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Smarter Balanced Practice Tests and Training Tests Practice Tests –Provide students with grade-specific testing experience similar in format and structure to the Field Test, including available supports. Training Tests –Allow teachers and students to experience the features, functionality, and item types in computer- based testing. –A training test is available for each of three grade bands (3–5, 6–8, and high school) and contains approximately 6–9 items per band, per content area. Practice tests and training tests are available at http://sbac.portal.airast.org/practice-test/. http://sbac.portal.airast.org/practice-test/ 15

16. Comparison of Training Tests and Practice Tests Training TestsPractice Tests Purpose Provide students with an opportunity to quickly become familiar with the software and interface features Provide students with a grade specific testing experience that is similar in structure and format to the Field Test Grade Levels 3 grade bands 3–5 6–8 High school Each grade 3–8, 11 Number and Types of Items Approximately 15 items per grade band (6 in ELA and 8–9 in math) No performance task Approximately 30 items in ELA and 30 items in math per grade level Includes 1 ELA performance task and 1 math performance task per grade level Universal Tools, Designated Supports, and Accommodations All that are included on the Field Test are included on the Training Test Most included Refresh scheduled later in the year Scoring Items are not scoredItems are not scored; however, answer keys and scoring rubrics are available

17. TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Smarter Balanced Formative Assessment Tools- Digital Library This is an optional component that the State is making available to LEAs. The library is comprised of exemplar resources for instructional practices and professional learning. Resources can assist teachers in using the formative assessment process. 17

18. TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Smarter Balanced Digital Library (cont.) Formative assessment is a deliberate process used by teachers during instruction that provides actionable feedback that is used to adjust teaching and learning strategies to improve students’ attainment of learning targets/goals. Includes four attributes: 1. clarify intended learning 2. elicit evidence 3. interpret evidence, and 4. act on evidence 18

19. TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Smarter Balanced Digital Library (cont.) Digital Library Preview –June 3 through September 30, 2014 –Test the initial software application –Provide users access to an initial set of resources that will grow –LEAs register users for access during the preview period –Link to Digital Library: https://www.smarterbalancedlibrary.org (This link is for registered users) 19

20. TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Interim Assessments Will consist of comprehensive assessments and item assessment blocks. Will launch in Fall 2014/Winter 2015 Will be created from test items deemed valid, reliable, and fair from the Smarter Balanced field test. Will build out over time. 20

21. TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Interim Assessments (cont.) Two types of interim assessments will be available: –Interim comprehensive assessment (ICA), similar to the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessment –Interim assessment blocks (IAB), groups of test items that will assess certain aspects of a topic or standard(s) Both will begin as fixed-form tests, and computer adaptive tests (CAT) will be added. 21

22. Computer Adaptive Technology for Summative and Interim Assessments Turnaround in weeks compared to months today Faster results Fewer questions compared to fixed form tests Shorter test length Provides accurate measurements of student growth over time Increased precision Item difficulty based on student responses Tailored to student ability Larger item banks mean that not all students receive the same questions Greater security GMAT, GRE, COMPASS (ACT), Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Mature technology

23. TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Reporting Results 2013–14 CST, CMA, & CAPA –Science –Grades: 5, 8 &10 CAPA –ELA and mathematics –Grades: 2–11 STS –Reading Language Arts –Grades 2–11 23

24. TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction CAASPP Reporting Results 2014–15 Reported at the state, county, LEA, site and grade levels Paper reports at the aggregate and student level will be provided Score reports will be redesigned to include Smarter Balanced ELA and mathematics Redesigning Web reporting site 24

25. TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction CAASPP Reporting Results 2014–15 Smarter Balanced –ELA and mathematics –Grades 3–8 & 11 CST, CMA, & CAPA –Science* –Grades: 5, 8 &10 STS –Reading Language Arts* –Grades 2–11 *Paper-pencil only 25

26. TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Smarter Balanced Reporting Results 2014–15 26 Smarter Balanced Reports –Interactive online for Interim Assessments –Aggregate score data: TBD at the local level –Custom subset filters by gender and demographic data –Downloadable as PDF files

27. TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction For Further Information CDE CAASPP Office http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/ca/ caaspp@cde.ca.gov 916-445-8765 CDE Smarter Balanced Web Page http://www.cde.ca.gov/smarter/ CDE Testing and Accountability Web Page http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ 27