What’s New in Smarter Balanced?

2017 OPI Assessment and Data Conference

Gail Pagano, Deputy Director of Member ServicesVitaliy Shyyan, Director of Student Supports

January 12-13 and February 1-2, 2017

Assessment System

What’s New for the Interim

Assessments?

What’s New?

• Over the past year, educators from across the country submitted feedback regarding how to improve the assessments. Based on these recommendations, the 2016–17 interim assessments will:

– Include more unique items across the ICA and IABs

– Include more IABs to measure a greater breadth of content

– Include some revised IABs to measure the content with more specificity

• The blueprints for the 2016–17 mathematics and ELA IABs provide information on the claims and targets assessed within each block, the types of items, and the Depth of Knowledge for the items.

• Interim Blueprints on the Smarter Balanced Website:– https://www.smarterbalanced.org/assessments/#interim

Interim BlocksThree Year Plan

Considerations

• Develop blocks to address content not already present in IABs

• Develop additional and more granular IABs – Granular blocks may have fewer or singular

targets being assessed

Mathematics – Current Blocks

Gaps exist in grades 3, 8 and high school.

Proposed High School Blocks 17-18

• With high school spanning 3 years of content, the proposal is to add 5 new blocks to support instruction.

• The goal is to have about* 3 blocks aligned to content in each of the 3 years of high school math.

*May vary depending on a traditional vs. integrated pathway.

High School Year

Algebra and Functions I – Linear Functions, Equations, and Inequalities Year 1

Algebra and Functions II – Quadratic Functions, Equations, and Inequalities Year 3

Geometry and Right Triangle Trigonometry Year 2

Statistics and Probability* Year 3

Mathematics Performance Task Year 2/3

Number and Quantity Year 1

Seeing Structure in Expressions/Polynomial Expressions Year 1

Interpreting and Building Functions Year 3

Geometry Congruence Year 2

Geometry Circles, Properties, Measurement, Modeling Year 2

Proposed Changes to Blocks for 18-19

Priority 1

• Split the two Algebra and Functions Blocks into revised blocks more closely connected to domain (which will make refreshing the blocks and building connections documents more feasible)

• Proposed Blocks – Algebra Creating Equations and Reasoning (aligned

to Year 3 content)

– Interpreting Functions I (aligned to Year 1 content)

Proposed Changes to Blocks for 18-19

Priority 2

• Split the High School Statistics Block into 2 blocks – Interpreting Data

– Probability

• Grade 8– Create a separate Probability/Statistics Block

– Create one Expressions & Equations Block

ELA/Literacy - Current Blocks

ELA/Literacy

• 2017-2018– Address urgent priorities

• Remove remaining non-Copyright Clearance Center permissioned stimuli for IAB Reading blocks; ICAs and Performance Task (~4)

• Refresh items on other blocks (~10 items)

• Build Grade 8 Revision block to align with other grades

ELA/Literacy

• 2018-2019– Address Brief Writes blocks

• Refresh Brief Write blocks that require significant hand scoring with more machine scored items

• Restructure the Revision, Language and Vocabulary Use, and Brief Writes blocks to address writing by purpose

• Build 2-3 brief write blocks per grade based on accepted data review items and current items to provide a balance of machine and hand scored items

Math and ELA/Literacy

• 2019-2020– Refresh Performance Task Blocks

– Eliminate all non-Copyright Clearance Center permissioned stimuli

– Eliminate all overlap between IABs and ICAs

• 2020-2021– Provide additional Performance Task Blocks

Using Interim Assessments to

Inform Instruction

Discussion

• How are interim assessments being used in your district/school?

• What are your professional development needs related to Smarter Balanced interim assessments?

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Hand-Scoring = Professional Development

• Most of the interim assessment items are machine scored, however, some require hand-scoring

• Hand-scoring of the interim assessments is a local responsibility

• Educators use the same scoring protocols used for the summative assessment

• Training is essential to provide optimal levels of reliability and validity when interpreting test results

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The Digital Library

The Formative Assessment Process

Formative assessment is a

deliberate process used by

teachers and students during

instruction that provides

actionable feedback used to

adjust ongoing teaching and

learning strategies to improve

students’ attainment of

curricular learning goals.

There are four attributes in the

Formative Assessment

Process, represented

graphically as a clover.

What’s New for the Digital

Library?

Digital Library Enhancements: SY16-17

Improved Collaboration Features

Personal Collections

State/District Forums

User Notifications

Group Goal-Setting and Tracking

December 2016 Early 2017 Spring 2017November 2016 Summer 2017

Foundational Enhancements

Improved Search Speed

Introduction to User Goal-Setting and

Tracking

New Resource Type: Playlists

Improved Access

User “Self-Registration”

Feature Launched

Management Updates

Analytics and Reports

Forum Management and Moderation

User Settings

Tagging and Search

New Search Interface

Assessment Target Tagging

TIMELINE Digital Library Enhancements (2016 – 2017)

Digital Library Enhancements: SY16-17

Digital Library Self-Registration Now

Available

Here’s What It Looks Like…

Connections Playlists

• Created by expert educators in collaboration with Smarter Balanced, Digital Library Connections Playlists link student performance on the IABs to resources in the Digital Library.

• One Connections Playlist is generated for each IAB.

• Educators can use these connections to find relevant and useful instructional supports that are aligned to students’ needs.

Procedure for Developing the

Connections Playlist Resource Lists

• Educators worked in subject- and grade-specific groups to

review items, and student data, from a particular IAB.

• Next, they produced descriptions of the skills and content

that students at each level are likely engaging in order to

answer the items.

• Educators then worked to develop recommendations for

instructional next-steps for students at each level.

• Last, educators searched the Digital Library for resources

that are cognitively accessible for students at each given

level and help to extend their understanding to the next

level.

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One Connections

document for per

IAB

Three levels (defined by

scale scores): Above, At or

Near, and Below Standard

Includes a description of the

skills students are engaging

at this level.

Ideas for instructional next-

steps, and direct hyperlinks

to useful Digital Library

resources.

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Cover Page for Making

Connections

Description of how Making

Connections are created.

Description of their

suggested use as well as

some cautions.

Brief descriptions of both

IABs and the Digital Library.

Available Connections Playlists

• Math

– Grade 5 – Fractions

– Grade 6 – Geometry (New!)

– Grade 7 – Ratio and Proportional Reasoning

– High School – Statistics and Probability

• ELA/Literacy

– Grade 4 – Revision (New!)

– Grade 7 – Read Literary Text

– Grade 8 – Research

– HS

• Brief Writes

• Revision

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Connections Playlists Coming Soon!

• Math– Grade 3 – Numbers & Operations – Base 10

• ELA/Literacy– Grade 4 – Revisions

Next Steps for Playlists

• Smarter Balanced will continue to produce Connections Playlists for each IAB over the next year. Efforts will focus on Summer 2017.

• Links to Digital Library resources will be included as an enhancement to the Smarter Balanced open-source online reporting system.

• Smarter Balanced is also working to develop additional assessment events that can help educators elicit evidence and act on students needs utilizing the formative assessment process.

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What’s New for Accessibility

Resources?

http://www.smarterbalanced.org/assessments/accessibility-and-accommodations/

Updated ISAAPIndividual Student Assessment Accessibility Profile

• Updated ISAAP is available at:– http://52.11.155.96/static/isaap/index.html

• Includes the following updates:– Newly available accessibility resources

(simplified test directions designated support; 100s number table accommodation)

– Current braille options

Discussion

• Each year the Smarter Balanced UAAG Committee reviews the guidelines and considers additional resources suggested by members. What resources are you currently using with your students that we should consider including in the future?

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Illustration Glossary Pilot

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Illustration Glossary

• Designated Support in Mathematics

• Functionality would mirror translated glossaries

• Based on work by Guillermo Solano-Flores

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Illustration Glossary Demonstration

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Unified English Braille Transition

Overview: Options for Students Testing

with Braille

• Practice/Training Tests

• Interim Assessments– ICAs and IABs are fully accessible

• Paper-based Summative Fixed Form

• Online Summative Fixed Form– Graphic supplement

• Summative Online Adaptive

Unified English Braille Transition

• Members are transitioning from English Braille American Edition (EBAE) and Nemeth Code for Math to Unified English Braille (UEB).

• Smarter Balanced is supporting members in the transition process by providing various braille options to include UEB by 2018-19.

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What Is Planned for the Future?

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Future Enhancements

• Sample Item Website

• Item Maps

• Content Specifications Explorer

Sample Item Website

• A web application that lets users browse through a collection of sample assessment items.

• Items appear the way students would see them and users can turn on and off accessibility features.

• Allows users to look directly at particular items and search by subject, item type, grade level, Claim, Target, and by other features.

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Item Mapping Project

• Purpose– Develop item maps that teachers can use to help

them understand the relationship between test scores and student skills

– Help educators better understand the Smarter Balanced scale scores

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The Item Mapping Project – Next Steps

The results of the item mapping workshops will be used to construct an interactive item mapping website that will link items and/or descriptors to the Smarter Balanced scale.

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Content Specifications Explorer

• Development of a database for storing achievement standards and assessments standards

– Content Standards

– Content Specifications

– Item and Task Specifications

– Blueprints

• Website for public interactive exploration of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Content Specifications

Resources

For Additional Information

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http://www.smarterbalanced.org/

For Additional Information

• Interim Assessments Overview and Blueprints

http://www.smarterbalanced.org/assessments/

• Digital Library Connections Playlists

https://www.smarterbalanced.org/assessments/

• Digital Library (log-in required)

https://www.smarterbalancedlibrary.org/

• Practice Tests (including scoring guides and anchor papers)

http://www.smarterbalanced.org/practice-test/

• Content and Item Specifications:

http://www.smarterbalanced.org/smarter-balanced-assessments/

• Accessibility and Accommodations Resources

http://www.smarterbalanced.org/assessments/accessibility-and-accommodations/

Questions