Regional Assessment Network (RAN)

Update

Chun-Wu Li, Ph.D.

Assessment and Accountability Services

Division of Educational Services

May 16, 2014

Accountability Update

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In April 2014, a letter was sent to county/district superintendents and charter school administrators stating that the California Education Code requiring Academic Performance Index (API) ranking was repealed, and as a result, the statewide and similar schools ranks were not going to be produced for 2013 and beyond. However, based on input from local education agencies (LEAs) that producing ranks for 2013 would be beneficial for local purposes, a decision was made to produce a final set of ranks based on the 2013 Growth API data.

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2013 API Ranks

Statewide and Similar Schools

Assembly Bill (AB) 484 amended California Education Code (EC) sections 52052(2)(F) and 52052(4)(B) to state that schools that do not have an API calculated in 2013-14 and 2014-15 shall use one of the following to meet legislative and/or programmatic requirements:

The most recent API calculation.

An average of the three most recent annual API calculations. or

Alternative measures that show increases in pupil academic achievement for all groups of pupils schoolwide and among significant groups.

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AB 484

The CDE will be producing a 3-Year Average API Report which will include weighted and non-weighted 3-year

average APIs for schools only. This report is scheduled to be released sometime this month. Note that the 3-

year Average API Report will not be produced for districts, county offices of education, and the state.

The CDE will produce this one-time 3-Year Average API Report for a school, if the following criteria are met:

The school must have a valid API (i.e., the school received an API report) in each of the last three

consecutive years.

The school had 11 or more valid scores in each of the last three consecutive years. (A valid score is when

a student’s assessment results are included in the calculation of the API.)

If the above criteria are met, the 3-Year Average API Report will also include any student group(s) that had

11 or more valid scores in each of the last three consecutive years.

The formulas to calculate the two types of average are:

Non-weighted average:

2011 API + 2012 API + 2013 API

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Weighted average:

(2011 API x 2011 Valid Scores) + (2012 API x 2012 Valid Scores) + (2013 API x 2013 Valid Scores)

2011 Valid Scores + 2012 Valid Scores + 2013 Valid Scores 5

3-Year Average API Report

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2013 API Sample Report

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2013 API Sample Report

(continued)

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2013 API Sample Report

(continued)

The College and Career Indicator (CCI), as well as any other indicator (such as graduation

data), will need to be added to the high school API by 2015-16.

To assist the Public Schools Accountability Act (PSAA) Committee with their

recommendation on which college and career measures should be included in the CCI, the

CDE has contracted with Educational Policy Improvement Center (EPIC) to have them

research potential measures and provide literature reviews on select topics. The PSAA

Committee has requested the following literature review topics:

SAT and ACT (college entrance exams).

Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) participation and

achievement.

Career readiness assessments and CTE certifications/credentials.

Innovative measures (e.g., non-cognitive, performance tasks).

Course taking/pathways/a-g requirements (clusters of courses).

To be determined at the June 17, 2014, PSAA Advisory Committee Meeting.

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API College and Career Indicator

In April 2014, accountability coordinators were sent a letter detailing changes to the 2013-14

Title III Accountability Reports based on the approved federal waiver.

California will continue to calculate the 2013-14 AYP for the English learner (EL) student

group solely for high school Local Education Agency (LEAs). The 2013-14 Title III

Accountability reports will display AMAO 3 results, based on 2013-14 AYP AMOs for the EL

student group, for the following types of Title III-funded LEAs:

High school districts serving only students in grades nine through twelve.

Direct-funded charter schools serving only high school students in grades nine through

twelve.

Consortia with only schools and districts that serve only students in grades nine through

twelve.

The 2013–14 Title III Accountability reports will display AMAO 3 results, based on 2012–13

AYP AMOs for the EL student group, for the rest of LEAs.

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2013-14 Title III Accountability Reports

California Assessment of Student

Performance and Progress (CAASPP)

Update

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A new Appeal Guidance document has been posted to the California Smarter Balanced Field Test resources and documentation Web page at http://sbac.portal.airast.org/ca/field-test-ca/resources/.

The Smarter Balanced Practice Tests will be updated on May 19, 2014. The current Practice and Training Tests will be replaced by refreshed Practice Tests that more closely mirror the operational assessments. The tests will include new questions and performance tasks. Enhancements also include additional embedded universal tools, designated supports, and accommodations.

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SBAC Update

This fall, K–12 educators, postsecondary educators, parents, and business/community leaders from Smarter Balanced governing states will collaborate to develop common achievement levels that are rigorous, fair, and accurate for each of the Smarter Balanced assessments. Smarter Balanced is recruiting for participants who will contribute to this process of determining proficiency levels. Both the Online and In-Person Panels will participate in activities scheduled for October. Panelists will designate grade level and content area expertise to participate in targeted feedback for specific tests.

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Achievement Level Setting Update

The “Online Panel” will be open to the public and allow for broad participation by parents, teachers, school and district

administrators, college faculty and administrators, and business/community leaders. The Online Panel will allow a broad

spectrum of stakeholders to participate in the process of setting achievement levels. An FAQ and other information are

available online for those who register to participate in the Online Panel. The time commitment for each participant is 3

hours. The registration deadline is September 19, and is available at

http://smarterbalanced.measinc.com/EventCode/100614.

The “In-Person Panel” will allow for a group of more than 500 participants, nominated by Smarter Balanced governing

states, to engage in a comprehensive review of questions on the assessments and make recommendations for

operationalizing common expectations. For grades 3–8, the panel will be composed primarily of content specialists and

educators. The high school panels will include higher education faculty in addition to K–12 educators. The California

Department of Education is contacting key representatives in Education Associations to provide a list of nominees to be

submitted by May 23, 2014. Selected participants will be assigned to a specific segment depending on their content area

expertise, experience, and/or grade levels taught. Participants and alternates will receive notification regarding their status

of participation by the end of June.

A “Vertical Articulation Committee” composed of 60 panelists selected from those participating in the in-person workshop

will review data and results from both panels and make achievement level recommendations. This step will help ensure a

balanced view of achievement and proficiency levels for test-takers from grade 3 through high school.

Finally, recommendations from the Online Panel, the In-Person Panel, and the Vertical Articulation Committee will be

presented to the chief school officers in Smarter Balanced governing states for their consideration and endorsement, in

order to establish a common set of achievement levels for mathematics and English language arts/Literacy across grades

3–8 and high school.

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Achievement Level Setting Update

(Continued)

Smarter Balanced invites California LEAs and school staff to preview the

Digital Library from June 3 through September 30, 2014. During the

preview, educators can become acquainted with the functionality of the

Digital Library and view a limited set of initial resources that will help them

understand the future utility of the Digital Library.

Complete instructions for LEAs and a template for user registration for the

preview will be made available to LEAs in mid-May. Any questions about

the Digital Library preview can be directed to sbac@wested.org.

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Digital Library

Two-types of interim Assessments – Comprehensive and Assessment Blocks.

Smarter Balanced is planning to have a fixed-length Comprehensive Interim Assessment (CIA) in fall 2014 and Smarter Balanced will also be adding a Computer-Adaptive Testing (CAT) for CIA after analysis of field test is completed.

Interim Assessment Block (IAB) is topical grouping of items where teachers can select one or more IAB to assess students. Smarter Balanced will release of the IAB after the release of the CIA in 2014 or early 2015. The initial IAB will be fixed-length with Smarter Balanced also adding CAT after the analysis of the field test is completed.

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Interim Assessments

NCSC Phase I Pilot Purpose

Collect data about how students interact with the items.

Gather information about how items function.

Examine test administration conditions.

Review item scoring processes.

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NCSC Phase I Pilot: Sample

National Sample

• 23 of 24 NCSC states participating.

• Nearly 18,000 students.

California Sample

• 177 LEAs registered to participate.

Nearly 450 schools.

Approximately 7,200 students.

• Students also will take the CAPA.

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NCSC Grant Next Steps

Phase II Pilot Timeline

• Registration begins in May 2014.

• Administration begins October through mid-November 2014.

Phase II Pilot Purpose

• Test additional items, including writing.

• Test adaptive engine.

Operational Assessment

• Administration begins spring 2015.

• Includes student level data reporting.

• Achievement Level Setting will be conducted in summer 2015.

• Technical Reports will be produced in fall 2015.

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Future Steps for California’s Alternate Assessment

State Board of Education must adopt a successor assessment to the CAPA that is aligned to the California CCSS in ELA and mathematics and new science standards.

Options for selecting a successor to the CAPA include: 1. Independently design an alternate assessment based on the work

produced by NCSC.

2. Participate in a multi-state consortium, based on the work of the NCSC grant, for the development and administration of future alternate assessments.

3. Consider the work products of other consortia in the development of an alternate assessment for English language arts (ELA), mathematics, and/or science.

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Alternate Assessment Resources

CCSS and CDE Special Education Web site can be found at http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/se/cc/

NCSC grant Web site can be found at http://www.ncscpartners.org

Frequently Asked Questions for the NCSC Phase I Pilot can be found at http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/se/cc/ncscphase1faq.asp

Coming soon CDE Alternate Assessment Web site

• CAPA Administration

• NCSC Phase I Pilot

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The passage of AB 484 removed grade two assessments from the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) system, Student Bill (SB) 247 requires the CDE to identify a list of grade two diagnostic assessments that are aligned with the Common Core State Standards and are valid measures for classroom teachers to use to identify skills students need to develop in math and ELA. This work will begin this month with a survey of educators.

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Grade Two Diagnostic Assessments

High School Equivalency Tests and

California High School Proficiency

Examination (CHSPE)

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High School Equivalency Tests California has approved the use of three high school equivalency tests

(General Educational Development (GED), HiSET, and TASC) for students 18 years old and older (and 17 years old in some instances) for the purpose of receiving a California High School Equivalency Certificate. The GED is provided by GED Testing Service; the HiSET is provided by Educational Testing Service; and the HiSET is provided by CTB/McGraw-Hill.

A GED test conference is being planned for the future, and dates and location for the conference will be announced as soon as they are finalized. Watch for more information as it becomes available on the CDE Web site.

California High School Proficiency Examination In 2015–16, the California High School Proficiency Examination (CHSPE) will possibly be aligned

with the CCSS.

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High School Equivalency Tests and California High School Proficiency Examination