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5/22/2012
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SBAC - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
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This FAQ will provide you with easy access to key questions
related to the work of the Smarter Balanced Assessment
Consortium (SBAC). Feel free to adapt this power point to
provide questions and answers that are most relevant to your
school district.
This FAQ was produced by the CDE and can be found at the web
site below. It is updated frequently.
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sa/sbac-faqs.asp#prepare
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SBAC FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
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1. What is the SMARTER Balanced Assessment
Consortium (SBAC)?
2. What is California’s role in SBAC?
3. What does California's role as a “governing” state
involve?
4. What will the SBAC provide?
5. What are summative assessments?
SBAC FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
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6. What types of items/questions will be on the SBAC
summative assessment?
7. What are performance task items?
8. What are interim assessments?
9. Will there be a cost for the optional SBAC interim
assessments?
10.Will there be SBAC formative processes and tools
available?
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SBAC FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
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11.Will students below grade three be assessed?
12.How does the National Assessment of Educational
Progress (NAEP) compare to SBAC?
13.How will SBAC contribute to student success?
14.How many assessment consortia were awarded
funds?
15.What is SBAC computer adaptive testing?
SBAC FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
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16. Will there be a performance component to the new
assessment?
17. Why is the CDE switching to a computer adaptive test for
grades three through eight?
18. How will we get school infrastructure/technology ready for
the proposed assessments?
19. Are there consortium funds to upgrade district computers to
handle computer adaptive assessments?
20. What time of year will the new assessments be
administered?
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SBAC FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
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21.How long will it take a student to complete the
summative assessment?
22.What is the timeline for implementation?
23.How would a longitudinal academic growth model
relate to the assessment development work under
SBAC?
24.How will SBAC results be reported?
25.When will schools receive SBAC results?
SBAC FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
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26. Will the SBAC pilot and field test be in addition to the STAR Program?
27. Will California test performance-based questions before the official test
launch 2014?
28. Will the new assessments replace the California High School Exit
Examination (CAHSEE)?
29. If there are two pathways to higher-level mathematics, what is the plan
for assessing grade eight students not enrolled in Algebra I or Geometry?
30. Will SBAC assessments be appropriate for students with severe cognitive
disabilities (also known as the 1% population) currently taking the
California Alternate Performance Assessment (CAPA)?
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SBAC FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
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31.How can I prepare my students for the new assessment?
32.How can I get further information and updates regarding
SBAC?
33.Is there a paper and pencil test option?
34.Will SBAC allow the use of calculators on the summative and
interim assessments?
35.Why is SBAC creating performance tasks for grades 9 and 10
when the summative assessment will only be administered
in grade 11?
SBAC FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
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36. How will school districts be chosen to participate in the pilot test?
37. When will SMARTER Balanced assessments be implemented in schools?
38. Will the SBAC interim assessments be compatible with existing
curriculum and instruction system platforms?
39. How will teachers be selected to participate in the training cadres for
formative assessment starting in 2012-13?
40. Will the results from the SBAC summative assessment include both a
scale score and a performance category, such as “advanced” or “basic”?
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SBAC FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
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41. Twenty states are working to develop next-generation science standards.
42. Will science be incorporated into SBAC’s assessments? How will scores
on the SBAC assessment support differentiating student performance for
the purpose of placement?
43. How are teachers involved in creating the SBAC assessment system?
44. How can educators get involved in the development and review of
items/tasks?
45. How will scores on the summative assessment be comparable if some
students take it at the beginning of the 12-week administration window,
while others are tested at the end?
SBAC FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
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46.Has SBAC decided what proportion of time or number of
points will be devoted to performance tasks on the
summative assessment?
47.How is SBAC defining college and career readiness?
48.How flexible—in terms of timing and content—will the
optional interim assessments be?
49.When will schools and districts know which existing
computers will be eligible to be used on the SBAC
assessments in 2014-15?
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Q1: WHAT IS THE SMARTER BALANCED ASSESSMENT
CONSORTIUM (SBAC)?
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A. "SMARTER" stands for "Summative Multi-state
Assessment Resources for Teachers and Educational
Researchers". SBAC is a national consortium of thirty
states as of November 14, 2011, that have been
working collaboratively to develop a student
assessment system aligned to a common core of
academic content standards.
Return to Questions
Q2: WHAT IS CALIFORNIA’S ROLE IN SBAC?
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Return to Questions
A. On June 9, 2011, California joined SBAC as a
governing state. Out of the 27 states participating in
SBAC, California is one of the 20 governing states,
which are allowed decision-making participation. The
remaining 7 states are advisory states.
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Q3: WHAT DOES CALIFORNIA'S ROLE AS A “GOVERNING”
STATE INVOLVE?
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Return to Questions
A. As a governing state, California:
1. Has an active role in all SBAC policy decision making
2. Provides a representative to serve on the Steering Committee
3. Provides state educational agency (SEA) representatives to serve on
work groups which include assessment design,
item writing, pilot testing, field testing, research, evaluation, technology
development, governance, project management, and communications
4. Approves the Steering Committee members and the Executive
Committee members
5. Participates in the final decision making regarding changes in
governance and other official documents, specific design elements, and
other issues that may arise
Q4: WHAT WILL SBAC PROVIDE?
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Return to Questions
A. Over the course of the four-year grand period, SBAC will develop an assessment
system with the following major deliverables:
1. Online computer adaptive summative assessments that give a snapshot of student performance without
a "one size fits all approach." This type of assessment can be used to describe student achievement and
growth of student learning as part of program evaluation and school, district, and state accountability
systems. It will measure English-language arts and mathematics in grades three through eight and grade
eleven across the full range of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).
2. Optional interim and formative assessments that help teachers identify the specific needs of each
student so they can help students progress toward being college and career ready.
3. Teacher involvement at all stages of item and test development, including item writing, scoring, and
design of reporting systems. This will ensure that the system works well and that teachers have the
opportunity to learn from national experts and from each other as they evaluate students' performance.
4. An online tailored reporting system that provide educators access to information about students' progress
toward college and career readiness as well as students' specific strengths and weaknesses along the
way.
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Q5: WHAT ARE SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS?
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Return to Questions
A. An assessment conducted at the end of a certain
time period to measure how much learning has
occurred during that set time period. Summative
assessments provide judgments about student
performance and often are used to produce grades or
scores. Examples of summative assessments include
unit tests, final exams, exit exams, performance tasks,
and high-stakes state tests.
Q6: WHAT TYPES OF ITEMS/QUESTIONS WILL BE ON THE
SBAC SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT?
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Return to Questions
A. The SBAC summative assessment will include
selected response, constructed response, technology
enhanced, and performance task items.
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Q7: WHAT ARE PERFORMANCE TASK ITEMS?
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A. Performance tasks provide an opportunity to challenge students to apply
their knowledge and skills to respond to complex, real-world problems. They
can best be described as collections of questions and tasks that are
coherently connected to a single theme or scenario. For example, a student
may be presented with reading material on a given topic, and then asked
questions about the reading. That may be followed by reading on the same
topic, but from a different perspective, with questions on that reading plus
some compare/contrast questions. Finally, the student may be provided
additional readings on the same, or an associated topic, and then asked to
take a position on or provide an argument in favor of or opposing a
particular perspective, using the provided texts as reference.
Return to Questions
Q8: WHAT ARE INTERIM ASSESSMENTS?
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A. Interim assessments (also known as benchmark
assessments) include medium-scale diagnostic and/or
progress monitoring assessments that evaluate students'
knowledge and skills relative to a specific set of academic goals
within a limited time frame. These types of assessments are
designed to provide multiple data points across time and can
inform decisions at both the classroom and the school levels or
at the district level. Benchmark assessments generally occur
between units of instruction.
Return to Questions
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Q9: WILL THERE BE A COST FOR THE OPTIONAL SBAC
INTERIM ASSESSMENTS?
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Return to Questions
A. At the current time, yes, the optional interim
assessments are estimated to cost $7.50 per student.
However, this cost is still under consideration by SBAC
and member states.
Q10: WILL THERE BE SBAC FORMATIVE PROCESSES AND
TOOLS AVAILABLE?
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Return to Questions
A. Yes, SBAC will provide on-demand tools and strategies aimed
at improving teaching, increasing student learning, and
enabling differentiation of instruction. The formative
professional development materials available to educators will
include model units of instruction, publicly released
assessment items, formative strategies, and materials for
professional development.
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Q11: WILL STUDENTS BELOW GRADE THREE BE ASSESSED?
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Return to Questions
A. SBAC has no plan to assess students below grade
three. However, SBAC will develop resources for
formative assessment procedures and materials that
will be useful at all grade levels and particularly
appropriate for instruction for younger students
Q12: HOW DOES THE NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF
EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS (NAEP) COMPARE TO SBAC?
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Return to Questions
A.SBAC provides a "next generation" assessment system designed to measure
student performance on the Common Core State Standards starting in 2014. The
SBAC assessments and results that are comparable across states at the student
level, meet internationally rigorous benchmarks, and allow valid measures of student
longitudinal growth.
NAEP is a nationally representative and continuing assessment that measures
student progress in various subject areas over a long period of time. Assessments are
conducted periodically in mathematics, reading, science, writing, the arts, civics,
economics, geography, and U.S. history. NAEP does not provide scores for individual
students or schools. NAEP results are based on representative samples of students in
grades four, eight, and twelve for the main assessments, or samples of students at
ages nine, thirteen, or seventeen years for the long-term trend assessments.
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Q13: HOW WILL SBAC CONTRIBUTE TO STUDENT SUCCESS?
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Return to Questions
A. The work of SBAC is guided by the belief that student learning will result
when a high-quality assessment system provides support for ongoing
improvements in instruction and learning. This “high-quality assessment
system” includes the valid assessment of deep disciplinary understanding
and higher-order thinking skills. These rigorous, internationally benchmarked
assessments will report on how each student has been progressing toward
and is currently performing on a pathway to college and career readiness.
The test scores also may be used to help identify professional development
needs of teachers and principals.
Q14: HOW MANY ASSESSMENT CONSORTIA WERE
AWARDED FUNDS?
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Return to Questions
A. Two assessment consortia were awarded funds. SBAC was
awarded $160 million. The Partnership for Assessment of
Readiness for College and Career (PARCC) was awarded $170
million. An additional $15.9 million was awarded to each
consortium for the purpose of helping all participating states
with the transition to common core and next generation
assessments.
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Q15: WHAT IS SBAC COMPUTER ADAPTIVE TESTING?
(ALSO SEE FOLLOWING 3 SLIDES)
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Return to Questions
A.This type of testing is a form of computer based testing that adapts to the student’s ability
level. The SBAC summative assessments are being developed for use with technology known as
computer adaptive testing (CAT). The CAT assessment "engine" begins by delivering a short
series of moderately difficult grade-level test items to the student, and then, depending on the
student’s initial performance, delivers items that are either more or less difficult. This process
continues until the student’s level of proficiency is determined.
With CAT, every student essentially receives a unique assessment, eliminating the need to test
all students at one time. Schools will be able to group and assess students in a configuration
that matches their specific capacity. CAT also permits a much longer assessment window to run
all the students through the assessment. This will allow California to move into the next
generation of computer-delivered assessments without causing disadvantages to some schools
because of limited bandwidth or computers-to-students ratio.
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Adaptive Structure
Phonemic Awareness Winter, First Grade
More
challenging
Less
challenging
Vowel Sound
Rhyming Blending
Syllable Counting
Phonemic Addition
Final Sound
How does a computer adaptive
test work?
More information:
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sa/smarterbalanced.asp
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Adaptive Structure
Phonemic Awareness Winter, First Grade
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incorrect
correct
correct w/ hint
Vowel Sound
Rhyming Blending
Syllable Counting
Phonemic Addition
Final Sound
More
challenging
Less
challenging
Adaptive Structure
Phonemic Awareness Winter, First Grade
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Vowel Sound
Rhyming Blending
Syllable Counting
Phonemic Addition
Final Sound
incorrect
correct
correct w/ hint
More
challenging
Less
challenging
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Q16: WILL THERE BE A PERFORMANCE COMPONENT TO THE
NEW ASSESSMENT?
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Return to Questions
A. Yes. At this point, SBAC is designing one
performance task for reading, one for writing, and two
for mathematics in each of grades three through eight
and eleven. The performance tasks are delivered by
computer but are not computer adaptive. Any of the
performance tasks could take more than one sitting of
45–60 minutes to complete.
Q17: WHY IS THE CDE SWITCHING TO A COMPUTER ADAPTIVE
TEST FOR GRADES THREE THROUGH EIGHT AND ELEVEN?
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Return to Questions
A. One of the advantages of computer adaptive testing is that it is more efficient than
fixed-form testing, requiring fewer questions to accurately determine each student’s
achievement level. An adaptive assessment provides information about the full range
of learning. A paper and pencil test is confined to the content within the printed
document. Student results are likewise confined to the grade level tested. In contrast,
an adaptive assessment provides information that goes into more depth within the
grade level as well as information outside of the grade level. This type of information
is important for classroom educators to plan teaching and learning opportunities.
Because the adaptive assessment provides information both deeper within and
outside of grade level, the precision of the scores is more accurate. An adaptive
assessment also offers faster results, with the turnaround time of weeks rather
months.
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Q18: HOW WILL WE GET THE
INFRASTRUCTURE/TECHNOLOGY READY FOR THE
PROPOSED ASSESSMENTS?
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Return to Questions
A. An online dynamic and interactive technology readiness tool
to support transitions and implementation has been developed
on behalf of the assessment consortia. This tool will help
member SEAs and local educational agencies (LEAs) as they
evaluate their current infrastructure and technology in terms of
readiness for implementing the SBAC assessment system and
identify strategies updating their technology on the basis of
gaps identified. The tool went live in spring 2012.
Q19: ARE THERE CONSORTIUM FUNDS TO UPGRADE
DISTRICT COMPUTERS TO HANDLE COMPUTER ADAPTIVE
ASSESSMENTS?
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Return to Questions
A. No. SBAC was funded by the U.S. Department of Education to
develop assessments that “ . . . are valid, support and inform
instruction, provide accurate information about what students
know and can do, and measure student achievement against
standards designed to ensure that all students gain the
knowledge and skills needed to succeed in college and the
workplace.” None of the consortium funds may be used for SEA
or LEA technology upgrades or purchases
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Q20: WHAT TIME OF YEAR WILL THE NEW ASSESSMENTS BE
ADMINISTERED?
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Return to Questions
A. The summative assessment will be given at the end of the school year. The details
of the exact length of the testing window have yet to be determined. It is anticipated
that each student will have up to two opportunities to test in order to demonstrate
proficiency. This allows schools to plan testing around a schedule that works for them,
given available computer resources. The adaptive nature of the online assessment
components (not including performance tasks) allows for flexibility in the testing
window. Interim (benchmark) assessments will be available online throughout the
school year. Formative tools and resources for informal classroom assessment will be
available for educators–from an online digital library—to use as needed to inform
classroom-level planning and improve individual student outcomes.
Q21: HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE A STUDENT TO COMPLETE THE
SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT?
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Return to Questions
A. The end-of-year summative assessment that is used for
accountability purposes consists of two parts: (1) a computer
adaptive portion and (2) performance tasks in reading, writing,
and mathematics. It is anticipated that the computer adaptive
test will be similar in length or shorter than the current
summative tests, which take about an hour for each content
area. The exact test length will be determined by member
states, educators, and technical advisors over the next year.
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Q22: WHAT IS THE TIMELINE FOR IMPLEMENTATION?
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Return to Questions
A. Initial analysis of the content and structure of the CCSS was
conducted from December 2010 to February 2011. Assessment
design and item writing will be conducted through 2012. Field
test development and pilot testing will take place in 2012–13.
Field testing will take place 2013–14. Beginning with the 2014–
15 school year, the SBAC ’s tests will be operational and ready
to use as federal accountability assessments.
Q23: HOW WOULD A LONGITUDINAL ACADEMIC GROWTH
MODEL RELATE TO THE ASSESSMENT DEVELOPMENT WORK
UNDER SBAC?
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Return to Questions
A. Reporting student growth is a priority for SBAC. SBAC's objective is to produce a uniform
growth measure for all assessments that will describe a student‘s relative growth and the
magnitude of growth expected, given the student’s prior achievement; compare a student's
growth relative to that of his or her academic peers, provide information about the degree to
which students are on track toward college and career readiness; and accurately measure
growth across the full performance distribution.
SBAC has not determined a particular scale or analytic approach. Rather, in designing and
developing the assessment system, SBAC will ensure that the components necessary for
measuring growth are in place (e.g., identified learning progressions, vertically articulated
performance standards, a process to decide whether to measure growth from year to year or
within years). SBAC will review existing state growth measures, such as the student growth
percentile method or vertical scale used in some member states.
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Q24: HOW WILL SBAC RESULTS BE REPORTED?
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Return to Questions
A. Details about how results will be reported are yet to be
determined, but growth and attainment both will be reported for
the summative assessment. The benchmark assessment likely
will report both attainment and growth information as well. The
formative processes and tools being developed will be
classroom strategies and will not provide formal results; rather,
they will provide information for educators to consider when
making decisions about instruction.
Q25: WHEN WILL SCHOOLS RECEIVE SBAC RESULTS?
40
Return to Questions
A. The final summative score from the SBAC assessment system
will combine CAT results with results from two or three
performance assessments administered at designated intervals
throughout the school year. That score will be released in late
spring. However, CAT technology provides a summary score
almost immediately, and because teachers will be involved in
the scoring of performance tasks, those results will be available
very soon after the assessment is completed.
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Q26: WILL THE SBAC PILOT AND FIELD TEST BE IN ADDITION
TO THE STAR PROGRAM?
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Return to Questions
A. Yes, the SBAC pilot and field testing will be in
addition to the STAR Program, which currently is
authorized until July 1, 2014.
Q27: WILL CALIFORNIA TEST PERFORMANCE-BASED
QUESTIONS BEFORE THE OFFICIAL TEST LAUNCH 2014?
42
Return to Questions
A. As a governing state, California has committed to
participate in the pilot and field testing of all
assessment system components in 2012–13 and
2013–14.
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Q28: WILL THE NEW ASSESSMENTS REPLACE THE
CALIFORNIA HIGH SCHOOL EXIT EXAMINATION (CAHSEE)?
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Return to Questions
A. Current law states that students must pass the CAHSEE to receive a high school
diploma, and that requirement cannot change without a change in law. However,
Assembly Bill 250 (2011, Brownley), recently signed by the Governor, requires the
State Superintendent to develop recommendations, to be reported to the fiscal and
appropriate policy committees of both houses of the legislature, on or before
November 1, 2012. The bill defines “high-quality assessment,” lists specific
stakeholder groups the CDE must consult with in developing the recommendations,
and lists 16 areas the recommendations shall consider. One of the areas to be
considered is minimizing testing time while not jeopardizing the validity, reliability,
fairness, or instructional usefulness of the assessment results.
Q29: IF THERE ARE TWO PATHWAYS TO HIGHER-LEVEL
MATHEMATICS, WHAT IS THE PLAN FOR ASSESSING GRADE
EIGHT STUDENTS NOT ENROLLED IN ALGEBRA I OR
GEOMETRY?
44
Return to Questions
A. SBAC is developing an assessment that is aligned to the
grade eight CCSS. It would not prohibit a student from taking an
Algebra course or a Geometry course, but there will not
necessarily be a corresponding SBAC assessment for that
course.
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Q30: WILL SBAC ASSESSMENTS BE APPROPRIATE FOR
STUDENTS WITH SEVERE COGNITIVE DISABILITIES (ALSO
KNOWN AS THE 1% POPULATION) CURRENTLY TAKING THE
CALIFORNIA ALTERNATE PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT
(CAPA)?
45
Return to Questions
A. Students with significant cognitive disabilities (1%) will not be
assessed with the SBAC assessments and will still take the
California Alternate Performance Assessment. However, the
CAPA, as the alternate assessment for the California Standards
Tests, will be reviewed in the transition to the next generation of
assessments.
Q31: HOW CAN I PREPARE MY STUDENTS FOR THE NEW
ASSESSMENT?
46
Return to Questions
A. The best way to prepare students for the new assessment is
to provide them with a robust curriculum of instructional units
specifically articulated to the CCSS. Educators should discuss
curricula with staff in grade levels above and below them to
ensure that students are receiving a fluent learning transition
from grade to grade.
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Q32: HOW CAN I GET FURTHER INFORMATION AND
UPDATES REGARDING SBAC?
47
Return to Questions
A. SBAC updates will be available on the CDE SBAC Web page.
The CDE also maintains an electronic mailing list found on the
CDE SBAC Web page. If you prefer to receive more frequent
SBAC updates, bookmark the SBAC Web site (Outside source),
which is updated regularly. To receive press releases and other
announcements from SBAC, please e-mail
Q33: IS THERE A PAPER AND PENCIL TEST OPTION?
48
Return to Questions
A: Yes. SBAC will make a paper-and-pencil administration option for the summative assessment available to
states for three years following the launch of the assessment system (through 2016-17). The paper-and-pencil
option is designed to help bridge the transition to online assessments for states where access to computers
for test administration remains a challenge in 2014-15.
Consistent with the SBAC application to the U.S. Department of Education, any additional costs with the
administration of the paper-and-pencil assessment will be borne by states electing to use this option. Both
turnaround time for results and administration costs depend on several as yet unknown factors, including
how much hand-scoring will be necessary. For example, costs would likely be lower—and turnaround faster—if
constructed-response items can reliably be converted to a digital format and scored using the automated
scoring engine. SBAC will continue to keep states informed of the expected cost of the paper-and-pencil
administration as the summative assessment is developed and field tested.
Regarding comparability, many states have used paper-and-pencil and online assessments side by side with
little difference in the scaling of scores. The paper-and-pencil and CAT assessments both will adhere to the
same blueprint, and SBAC will verify the validity and comparability of the two tests during standard setting.
While it is true that the CAT will assess a broader range of skills than the paper-and-pencil test, SBAC fully
expects that the overall scores will be comparable.
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Q34: WILL SBAC ALLOW THE USE OF CALCULATORS ON THE
SUMMATIVE AND INTERIM ASSESSMENTS?
49
Return to Questions
A. A decision has yet to be made on the use of calculators with the assessment
system. SBAC intends to work with member states, the Technical Advisory
Committee, and such partners as the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics to
inform its policy on the use of calculators. This is a complex issue. One of the core
tenets of the CCSS for mathematics is that students must develop mathematical
fluency—speed and accuracy with simple calculations. On the other hand, the
standards encourage students to use appropriate tools—including calculators—
strategically when solving problems. Fortunately, balancing these priorities is aided
by the use of CAT. SBAC will be able to provide tools (or no tools, as the case may be)
at the item level through the online interface. This not only ensures that tools are
appropriate to the task, it also levels the playing field so that students are not
advantaged or disadvantaged by virtue of the sophistication of their calculators.
Q35: WHY IS SBAC CREATING PERFORMANCE TASKS FOR
GRADES NINE AND TEN WHEN THE SUMMATIVE
ASSESSMENT WILL BE ADMINISTERED ONLY IN GRADE
ELEVEN?
50
Return to Questions
A. Included in SBAC’s proposal to the U.S. Department of Education is a commitment
to develop “up to six performance tasks by grade eleven for both ELA and
mathematics.” Governing states considered the possibility that at least some of those
performance tasks might need to be administered before grade eleven. SBAC
governing states agreed to the provision regarding performance tasks as one means
by which the CCSS might be covered, while minimizing the impact on students’ grade
eleven instructional time. Whether performance tasks will be administered in grades
nine and ten —and the particular way in which the performance tasks would roll out for
those grades nine and ten —is still in development and will require careful
consideration by several of SBAC’s work groups and the governing states. SBAC
anticipates that these issues will be resolved through the test specifications
development process, which began in early 2012.
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Q36: HOW WILL SCHOOL DISTRICTS BE CHOSEN TO
PARTICIPATE IN THE PILOT TEST?
51
Return to Questions
A. In early 2013, a pilot test of the assessment system will be
conducted in a sample of school districts to ensure technical
adequacy and fairness of items and tasks for all student
populations. The sampling plan for the pilot test will be
developed in collaboration with member states and the
contractor for Request for Proposals number nineteen test
administration, expected to be selected this spring. This
approach will identify schools that include a representative
sample of students and that have sufficient technology
resources to pilot the assessments.
Q37: WHEN WILL SBAC ASSESSMENTS BE IMPLEMENTED IN
SCHOOLS?
52
Return to Questions
A. In its grant application to the U.S. Department of Education, SBAC committed to a timeline
that would deliver the assessments to states by the 2014-15 school year. As SBAC began work,
specific steps were taken to ensure that this goal would be met. The SBAC summative
assessment Master Work Plan outlines the development of each component of the assessment
system. It is available on the SBAC Summative Assessment Master Work Plan Web page (Outside
Source) for download. SBAC updates the work plan regularly to reflect changes in the status of
contracts and decisions made by governing states. However, the SBAC overall timeline remains
the same, and SBAC is on track with the goal of providing a fully functioning assessment system
to schools for the 2014–15 school year.
Over the next two years, SBAC will conduct a pilot test (spring 2013) and a broader field test
(spring 2014) to prepare for the launch of the assessment system. Details about participation in
these tests are forthcoming. To keep up to date on opportunities for participating in SBAC pilot
and field testing, follow us on the CDE SBAC Web page.
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Q38: WILL THE SBAC INTERIM ASSESSMENTS BE
COMPATIBLE WITH EXISTING CURRICULUM AND
INSTRUCTION SYSTEM PLATFORMS?
53
Return to Questions
A. SBAC is committed to developing an assessment system that uses open-
source technology and standard protocols whenever possible to promote
compatibility with existing systems. Additional information about the IT
system architecture is available in the Assessment System Architecture and
Technology Phase 1 Report (Outside Source). However, SBAC has not yet
made a decision regarding how the interim assessments and formative
assessment practices will be made available after the system is implemented
in the 2014–15 school year. SBAC will work closely with member states as
these platforms are developed to ensure that the assessment system meets
the needs of schools and educators.
Q39: HOW WILL TEACHERS BE SELECTED TO PARTICIPATE IN
THE TRAINING CADRES FOR FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
STARTING IN 2012-13?
54
Return to Questions
A. SBAC is committed to involving teachers in the development and vetting of
formative assessment practices and professional learning opportunities that
are a critical component of a balanced assessment system focused on
improving teaching and learning. Beginning in the 2012-13 school year, SBAC
will support each state's convening of an average of 90 teachers for a total of
five days to participate in trainings on professional development modules
related to the assessment system, and to select formative practices and tools
for inclusion in the digital library. Detailed information regarding how
teachers may get involved will be forthcoming.
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Q40: WILL THE RESULTS FROM THE SBAC SUMMATIVE
ASSESSMENT INCLUDE BOTH A SCALE SCORE AND A
PERFORMANCE CATEGORY, SUCH AS “ADVANCED” OR
“BASIC”?
55
Return to Questions
A. Results from the SBAC assessment will include both a scale score that can be
used to assess year-to-year growth and an achievement level category. The results of
the grade eleven assessment will provide an indicator of college and career
readiness. The number and names of the achievement categories are SBAC-level
decisions that have not yet been determined; these decisions will be made by the
SBAC governing states. The SBAC proposal to the U.S. Department of Education also
set forth a procedure for establishing and validating achievement standards (cut
scores). Following the field test in spring 2014, SBAC will conduct standard setting for
the summative assessments in grades three through eight and grade eleven in
English-language arts/literacy and mathematics. These performance standards will
be validated in July/August 2015 using spring 2015 operational data.
Q41: TWENTY STATES ARE WORKING TO DEVELOP NEXT-
GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS. WILL SCIENCE BE
INCORPORATED INTO SBAC’S ASSESSMENTS?
56
Return to Questions
A. SBAC will not include science assessments at the time of
implementation in 2014-15. However, it is likely that the online
test delivery options selected by states (or SBAC) will support
the delivery of online test science assessments in the future—
particularly in cases in which the science assessments are
composed of selected response items. SBAC will continue to
monitor the development and adoption of science standards.
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Q42: HOW WILL SCORES ON THE SBAC ASSESSMENT
SUPPORT DIFFERENTIATING STUDENT PERFORMANCE FOR
THE PURPOSE OF PLACEMENT?
57
Return to Questions
A. A primary feature of the SBAC system is the commitment by higher education
institutions to recognize an agreed-upon performance level on the grade eleven
summative assessment as one piece of evidence that students are ready for entry-
level, credit-bearing coursework in English and mathematics and can be exempted
from remedial or developmental coursework. If students score at the college-ready
level and wish to take more advanced courses, additional information would be
needed to make specific course placement decisions. Likewise, if students score
below the college-ready level, a placement test or diagnostic assessment may be
needed to determine their developmental needs.
Q43: HOW ARE TEACHERS INVOLVED IN CREATING THE SBAC
ASSESSMENT SYSTEM?
58
Return to Questions
A.SBAC is committed to engaging teachers over the next three years to design an
assessment system that provides resources and information to improve teaching and
learning. Teachers will contribute to the development of assessment items for the
pilot and field tests. Teams of teachers from each state will evaluate the formative
tools and resources that will be available through the assessment system. SBAC will
provide professional development for teams of teachers from member states for using
the assessments. Finally, teachers will score parts of the assessments, including
extended response and performance tasks.
More information about opportunities presented at the national level can be found on
the SBAC Web site (Outside Source). CDE also maintains an electronic mailing list
found on the CDE SBAC Web page. All notifications for opportunities for SBAC
involvement at the national level will be sent out through the CDE SBAC mailing list.
5/22/2012
30
Q44: HOW CAN EDUCATORS GET INVOLVED IN THE
DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW OF ITEMS/TASKS?
59
Return to Questions
A. In March 2012, SBAC awarded RFP-14 Pilot Item/Task/Stimulus Research,
Development, and Reviews to CTB/McGraw-Hill. Through this contract, SBAC will
research the performance of innovative items and tasks through cognitive labs and
limited field trials; develop the first 10,000 items and tasks (out of the total 47,000)
for pilot testing in spring 2013; and analyze the results. The contractor will hire and
train educators from SBAC states to write and review items and tasks for content,
bias, and sensitivity based on the guidelines being developed through RFP-04 Item
specifications. Details about how teachers can apply for item/task writing and
item/task review positions will be available shortly. Information about how schools
can volunteer to participate in the pilot testing in spring 2013 will be available in
summer 2012. SBAC will field test its full array of its 47,000 items and tasks in
spring 2014. Teacher recruitment for writing those items/tasks and for participation
in the field testing will occur in the 2013-14 school year.
Q45: HOW WILL SCORES ON THE SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT
BE COMPARABLE IF SOME STUDENTS TAKE IT AT THE
BEGINNING OF THE 12-WEEK ADMINISTRATION WINDOW,
WHILE OTHERS ARE TESTED AT THE END?
60
Return to Questions
A. The summative assessment will be administered during the last 12 weeks of the
school year. This administration window is designed to allow states and school
districts the flexibility they need to ensure that all students have access to the
technology resources required to administer the assessment. However, depending on
the school year calendar and technology capacity at the local level, it also means that
some students could take the summative assessment weeks earlier than others.
SBAC will continue to evaluate the impact of the summative assessment
administration window on student scores during the pilot test (early 2013) and the
field test (early 2014) to determine whether adjustments in scoring or administration
are necessary.
5/22/2012
31
Q46: HAS SBAC DECIDED THE PROPORTION OF TIME OR
NUMBER OF POINTS THAT WILL BE DEVOTED TO
PERFORMANCE TASKS ON THE SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT?
61
Return to Questions
A. SBAC is working with member states to ensure that the design of the summative
assessment provides adequate information about student achievement and growth in
meeting the English language arts/literacy and mathematics claims. Although it is still
too early in the test design process to make definitive statements, it looks as though
performance tasks could comprise about half of the time students spend taking the
summative assessment because these activities are meant to measure capacities
such as depth of understanding, writing and research skills, and complex analysis,
which cannot be adequately assessed with selected- or constructed-response items.
However, they will likely provide a somewhat smaller proportion of the total points for
the summative assessment
Q47: HOW IS SBAC DEFINING COLLEGE AND CAREER
READINESS?
62
Return to Questions
A. SBAC is developing assessments aligned to the full depth and breadth of the CCSS. Through
its member states, and in consultation with the lead standards writers and other national
education experts, SBAC is translating the CCSS into assessment targets, test blueprints, and,
ultimately, assessment items and performance tasks. SBAC also will establish performance
benchmarks that define the level of content and skill mastery that marks students as college
and career ready. These performance benchmarks will be determined through a deliberative and
evidence-based standard-setting process, which will include input from K-12 educators and
college and university faculty. Setting performance standards will not occur until 2014, after
student data have been collected through pilot and field testing. SBAC has begun the process of
translating the standards into assessments, releasing content specifications in English-language
arts/literacy and mathematics, and approving the core claims about student knowledge and
skills that the assessments will seek to measure.
5/22/2012
32
Q48: HOW FLEXIBLE—IN TERMS OF TIMING AND CONTENT—
WILL THE OPTIONAL INTERIM ASSESSMENTS BE?
63
Return to Questions
A. The SBAC optional interim assessments are designed to provide
educators with actionable information about student progress
throughout the year. The interim assessments will include the same
types of items and performance tasks as the summative assessment,
drawn from a nonsecure item bank. The timing and frequency of the
interim assessments will be determined locally. In addition, teachers
will have the option of administering a comprehensive interim
assessment that mirrors the content of the summative assessment or
selecting one or more content clusters to assess specific elements of
the grade-level CCSS.
Q49: WHEN WILL SCHOOLS AND DISTRICTS KNOW WHICH
EXISTING COMPUTERS WILL BE ELIGIBLE TO BE USED ON
THE SBAC ASSESSMENTS IN 2014-15?
64
Return to Questions
A. The decision about legacy operating systems will be informed
by the data received from the Technology Readiness Tool. The
first data collection for the survey closes in June 2012. SBAC
expects to complete its analysis of the data by July 2012 and
will vet among the SBAC member states a comprehensive
approach to the use of legacy systems by mid-August 2012.
(See slides that follow)
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33
SBAC
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) READINESS TOOL
What is the Information Technology (IT) Readiness Tool?
The IT Readiness Tool assesses each school's current capacity and compares them to the technology that is expected to be required for new SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium assessments.
More information can be found at:
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sa/smarterbalanced.asp
65
SBAC
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) READINESS TOOL
What is the schedule for Implementation of the Information Technology (IT) Readiness Tool?
March 20 – April 9, Pilot Districts Test Data Collection: To facilitate the success of the data collection window, CDE will work with the pilot districts to test the system in order to provide feedback and suggestions for improving the experience with the tool.
April 9 – 16, Enhance Communications for the Technology Readiness Tool Survey: CDE will consider issues and challenges, solidify the state-specific frequently asked questions (FAQs), and help enhance Consortium FAQs; CDE will host a statewide Technology Readiness Webinar that will be archived.
April 16 – June 14, Begin Statewide LEAs Data Collection: Use both the lessons learned from the early implementers and the enhanced FAQs to support California’s statewide rollout.
More information can be found at:
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sa/smarterbalanced.asp
66
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34
SBAC
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) READINESS TOOL
What are the IT readiness tool parameters?
The IT Readiness Tool assesses each school's current capacity and compares them to the technology that is expected to be required for new SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium assessments. The tool collects information in four major areas or dimensions:
Devices (i.e. testing computers)
Device-to-tester Ratio
Network Infrastructure
Staff and Personnel Technology Readiness
More information can be found at:
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sa/smarterbalanced.asp
67
SBAC
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) READINESS TOOL
What are the Device Readiness parameters?
More information can be found at:
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sa/smarterbalanced.asp
68
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35
SBAC
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) READINESS TOOL
What are the Device to Tester Readiness parameters?
More information can be found at:
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sa/smarterbalanced.asp
69
SBAC
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) READINESS TOOL
What are the Network Infrastructure Readiness parameters?
More information can be found at:
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sa/smarterbalanced.asp
70
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36
SBAC
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) READINESS TOOL
What are the Network Infrastructure Readiness parameters?
More information can be found at:
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sa/smarterbalanced.asp
71
SBAC
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) READINESS TOOL
What are the Staff and Personnel Readiness parameters?
More information can be found at:
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sa/smarterbalanced.asp
72
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37
73
SBAC NEW HARDWARE PURCHASING
GUIDELINES APRIL 2012
Technology Guidance Approach
The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium has developed a two-part strategy
for providing guidance to school districts regarding bandwidth, hardware, and
operating system requirements for computers eligible to administer Smarter
Balanced assessments beginning in the 2014-15 school year.
Visit the web site below for specific recommendations:
http://www.smarterbalanced.org/wordpress/wp-
content/uploads/2011/12/SmarterBalanced_NewHardwareGuidelines.pdf