1. DISTRICT STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SBA January 2015

2. Agenda  Overview  Technology  Scheduling  Training  Test Coordination and Support  Wrap Up Note: Many thanks to Edmunds School District!!!

3. Overview -- Planning Three key components of planning:  High-level support  Teamwork  Communication

4. Overview -- High-Level Support Essential Partners -- Board of Directors Superintendent Administrators Teachers Classified Parents  To provide support and resources as needed, recognizing that students are the beneficiaries when staff at all levels have the resources needed for a smooth-running assessment program.

5. Overview -- Teamwork Critical members of SBA planning and implementation team:  District staff, including: Assessment Office staff Technology Department staff Community Relations staff Instructional Coaches/Content Coordinators (TOSA’s)  Building Administrators  Building Test Coordinators  Teachers

6. Overview – Teamwork – District Roles Assessment Office staff:  Oversee ongoing coordination among all players  Provide professional development  Assist buildings with scheduling  Coordinate communication Technology Department staff:  Assess and support hardware needs  Ensure all student computers are test compatible  Ensure all student computers have proper testing software

7. Overview – Teamwork – District Roles Community Relations staff:  Help develop and coordinate district communication plan about SBA Content Coordinators (TOSA’s):  Provide professional development to principals and teachers about Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and SBA  Help teachers understand and implement CCSS in preparation for SBA

8. Overview – Teamwork – School Roles Building Administrators  Learn about CCSS and SBA expectations  Provide support and resources for teachers to learn about CCSS and SBA  Work with teacher leaders to build online test schedules Building Test Coordinators  See posted handout outlining staff responsibilities (TBD) Teachers  Learn about CCSS and SBA  Embed the use of SBA sample items and practice tests into instruction

9. Overview -- Communication Provide appropriate communication about SBA to:  Board of Directors  District and Building Administrators  Teachers  Students  Families: Letter to homes (translated as needed) Parent information evening meeting School newsletters District Community newsletter SBA information section on district website

10. TECHNOLOGY  Key Players  Plan Used in 2013-14  Outcomes -- Lessons Learned  Plan for 2014-15

11. Technology – 2014-15 Tech Plan Highlights  Assess and support hardware needs  Ensure all student computers are test compatible  Ensure all student computers have proper testing software  Headphones  Real-Time Support Techs at every building when testing begins Phone extension _____?????

12. SCHEDULING  Key Players  Lessons Learned  Scheduling Plan for 14-15

13. Scheduling – Key Players  District level staff Assessment Office Technology Department  School level staff Principal Building Test Coordinator Teachers

14. Scheduling – Plan to be Used in 14 -15 Assessment staff will ask schools:  Did they have preference for when in test window to test?  Did they have conflicts on certain dates?

15. Scheduling – Plan to be Used in 14 -15 Assessment staff will develop template for school staff to plan and inform us of dates/times/locations for:  SBA training tests  Each SBA component for ELA and Math: CAT (“non-performance task”) Class Activity (CA) Performance Task (PT)  MSP Science Also asked what technology to be used each day, and location of testing each day, so Tech staff could properly prepare all testing computers.

16. Scheduling – Plan to be Used in 14 -15 Scheduling Template  See posted handout for details.

17. Scheduling – Plan to be Used in 14 -15  Schools submit their testing schedules by January 30.  District Assessment Director will check all schools’ schedules for meeting test guidelines, and Tech staff will check for tech requirements.  Final schedule will be published at our next meeting.

18. Scheduling – Lessons Learned What We LearnedWhat We Will Do This Year 1.Scheduling the Class Activity (CA) on a day prior to the PT caused issues when students were absent on the day of the CA. 1.Have schools give CA same day as PT for both ELA and Math. 2.We need to start the process of scheduling earlier in the year. 2.Will start the scheduling discussion in January of this year.

19. Scheduling – Lessons Learned Factors that impact amount of time needed for testing:  Some classes engage in more discussion than others during the Class Activity (preceding the Performance Task).Teachers should try to keep the activity to no more than 30 minutes.  We suggested that students who have difficulty composing online use their scratch paper for composing and then type their essays online.This takes more time.  Some students treated the ELA essay (Question 4 on PT) as just another short answer item.They need to be told that this is an extended essay and should be taking considerable time to work on it.

20. TRAINING  Principal Training  Building Test Coordinator Training  Proctor Training  Student Training Tests

21. Training – for Principals  Review principal responsibilities  Discuss district support and resources  Take principals through proctor training, stopping to discuss their leadership moves at appropriate times  Provide access to district web site  Q and A follow up  http://www.smarterbalanced.org/wordpress/wp- content/uploads/2013/12/SmarterBalanced_Guidelin es_FAQ.pdf http://www.smarterbalanced.org/wordpress/wp- content/uploads/2013/12/SmarterBalanced_Guidelin es_FAQ.pdf

22. Training – for Building Test Coordinators Included but not limited to:  Equipment needed for online testing  Scheduling of training tests and online tests  Checklist of tasks  Introduction to TIDE  Preparing students and Proctors for testing, including Proctor Training  Irregularities  Tech Troubleshooting Guide  Access to Resources and Documentation

23. Training – for Proctors Included but not limited to:  Understanding SBA terminology  SBA Training Tests  Understanding the concepts related to Embedded Accommodations  Tools students may use (scratch paper, etc.)  How to use the TA Interface  Test tickets, possible login errors, and step-by-step what students see when they log in  Pausing and ending tests

24. Training – for Students  From previous years, we learned that when teachers do training tests interactively with students rather than letting students be independent, the experience is far more beneficial.  We will create a Training Test Guide for teachers to use: Script for teachers to walk students through training tests Emphasis on use of tools rather than on item content Included Tools Checklist for students – did they see each tool on this list?

25. Training Staff – Lessons Learned  Timing Training is best if testing systems are up and running at time of training, so participants can experience the system hands-on – which unfortunately was not possible last spring. District training needs to be early enough for schools to have time to thoroughly prepare staff before giving students the training test.

26. TEST COORDINATION AND SUPPORT  Communication with Staff  Student Records and Test Tickets  Support during Testing

27. Test Coordination and Support Communication with Staff  Find effective way to communicate a change of procedure to involved parties if system or procedure is not working as planned or if OSPI identifies a change to be made.  Document all of these subsequent communications and post on district staff website for reference.  Collect a list of FAQ’s and answers and post on district staff website.

28. Test Coordination and Support Student Records and Test Tickets  Staggered creation of test tickets by school/test window so enrollment used would be as current as possible. Added new students to TIDE as needed. To identify new students, had to compare current enrollment to the enrollment on the files that OSPI used to upload to TIDE In-district Transfer students – had to add record under new school  Created blank test ticket template for generating test tickets on the fly.

29. Test Coordination and Support Support during Testing  District Technology Help Desk (extension: _____) Computer, secure browser, wireless, and internet issues  SBAC Help Desk (extension: _____) Reset user passwords Escalation of problems that could not be resolved locally Test Ticket problems

30. Test Coordination – Lessons Learned  The “Directions for Administration” was less scripted than what we’re used to seeing.  Students can be in one room, with one proctor, and can be taking different tests.  During Field Test, moving students to another room mid- test caused some difficulties. Process of moving students who required additional time to another room seemed to work properly if original test session was ended by the proctor. But if student was moved while session was still in progress, we could not get student back into test as part of another test session with a different proctor.

31. Wrap Up – Overall Advice  Begin planning early!  Be proactive; anticipate possible issues (e.g., be prepared for lower performance on SBA compared to MSP/HSPE, similar to first year of WASL).  Include all key stakeholders in communication plan.  Technology staff need to consider how their decisions impact students and student learning.

32. Wrap Up – Overall Advice  District staff need to help remove barriers whenever possible to support school preferences.  Seek input and listen to feedback from schools on a regular and frequent basis, and be responsive to their needs.  Questions? 57

33. Next Steps Next meeting: February 5 Schools provide schedules by January 30 Assessment provides an overview of technology available for SBA testing at every building Schools begin to talk about accommodations Some key points regarding Usability, Accessibility and Accommodations: “Recognizing Access Needs in All Students” Universal Tools Designated Supports Accommodation Scheduling Time Space Goalview (IEP writing platform) SBA additions Digital Library has been introduced in every building…

34. Web Sites District Testing http://nkschools.org/Domain/31 SBA http://www.smarterbalanced.org/ WCAP http://wa.portal.airast.org/ Digital Library https://www.smarterbalancedlibrary.org Practice Tests http://sbac.portal.airast.org/practice-test/