WERA Conference November, 2017

State Science Assessment Updates

▪Who is with us today?

Welcome!

▪General e-mail account ▪ science@k12.wa.us

▪Dawn Cope — Science Assessment Lead ▪ dawn.cope@k12.wa.us

▪ Amy Viveiros—Science Assessment Specialist ▪ amy.viveiros@k12.wa.us

▪ Jessica Cole—Administrative Assistant

▪ jessica.cole@k12.wa.us ▪ Anton Jackson-Director of Assessment Development

▪ anton.jackson@k12.wa.us

Science Assessment Office Staff

Today’s Topics

▪Current Assessments

▪ Assessment Resources

▪WCAS Development ▪NGSS 101 ▪WCAS Design and Features

Current Assessments

Why do we have state assessments?

▪ The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and state law require that we give a state science assessment once each in elementary, middle, and high school for the purpose of school and district accountability.

▪ The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) continues those same requirements.

• Every Student Succeeds Act

Every Student Succeeds Act

Science K-12 Learning Standards

Grade 5 Grade 8 Grade 11

3-5 band Middle School band High School band

Washington State 2013 K-12 Science Learning Standards Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (WCAS)

▪ Providing flexibility in high school graduation requirements and supporting student success during the transition to a federal Every Student Succeeds Act-compliant accountability system ▪ Revises high school graduation assessment requirements in science,

english language arts, mathematics, and provisions governing alternative assessment options

▪ Discontinues the Collection of Evidence alternative assessment options ▪ Establishes an appeals process for waiving requirements for Certificates

of Academic Achievement or Certificates of Individual Achievement for certain students (ELA and Math only)

▪ Addresses student interventions and academic supports ▪ Establishes new provisions for High School and Beyond plans. Revises

or repeals certain accountability-related duties of the State Board of Education

House Bill 2224

▪Delays the high school graduation requirement until the class of 2021

▪Biology EOC is discontinued

▪Graduation alternatives ▪Biology Collection of Evidence is discontinued

▪Other graduation alternatives are delayed until the class of 2021 ▪ACT science score ▪AP, IB test scores ▪GPA Comparison

▪New graduation alternatives for the class of 2021? ▪ Locally Administered Assessment

For High School Science…

The MSPs and the Biology EOC will no longer be administered.

Grade in 17-18

Class of…Science Assessment 2017-2018

Science Assessment 2018-2019 and beyond

12 2018 N/A N/A

11 2019WCAS for accountability

N/A

10 2020 N/AWCAS for accountability in 11th grade (2019)

9 2021 N/AWCAS for accountability in 11th grade (2020) and graduation

High School Science Assessment 2018+

Required for federal and state accountability

2018 Science Test Windows

Assessment Resources

Science Assessment Webpage

Science Assessment Webpage

Test and Item Specifications• Describe how item clusters (stimuli and items) and standalone items for the WCAS are developed

to assess the NGSS • Contents

▫ Structure of the test ▫ Item Types ▫ Test organization ▫ Overview of NGSS ▫ Item specifications that Describe how students can demonstrate understanding of the PEs on the state test.

• The initial test and item specifications documents will be released in December: ▫ Grade 5 Front matter + 6 G5 PEs ▫ Grade 8 Front matter + 6 G8 PEs ▫ Grade 11 Front matter + 6 G11 PEs

• The PEs will be distributed across domains and grade bands for each grade level.

• An additional 55-60 individual PE item specifications will be released later this school year, distributed across grade levels and domains.

• The remainder of the PEs will be released in school year 2018-2019.

• The Item Specifications will be updated annually based on WA educator feedback.

• Future item specifications drafts will include modification logs that will be updated at each subsequent publication, based on input from Washington educators.

Science Training Tests

• Help students become familiar with the features and tools of online tests. • Available on the WCAP portal in December 2017. • Grades 5, 8, and high school ▫ One cluster (stimuli and items) and one standalone

item at each grade ▫ All three training tests should be used at each grade

level to experience most online item types • Classroom instruction should align to the Washington

State K–12 Science Learning Standards (NGSS) , not the WCAS.

Formative Assessment Resources• Formative assessment resources are available that can help you and

your students measure progress toward learning the Science K-12 Learning Standards as assessed on the WCAS • STEM Teaching Tools website ▫ Includes tools that can help teach science, technology, engineering and math

(STEM) and is currently focused on supporting the teaching of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Each tool is focused on a specific issue and leverages the best knowledge from research and practice.

• Recommended tools: ▫ Prompts for Integrating Crosscutting Concepts Into Assessment and

Instruction ▫ Integrating Science Practices Into Assessment Tasks ▫ How can formative assessment support culturally responsive argumentation in

a classroom community? ▫ How can assessments be designed to engage students in the range of

science and engineering practices? ▫ Steps to Designing a Three Dimensional Assessment

WCAS Development

Goals for WCAS▪ Design an assessment that reflects how science content

is taught and tested in the classroom. ▪ Use WA educators in assessment development. ▪ Develop high quality item clusters and standalone items

that achieve alignment to the SEPs, DCIs, CCCs represented in a PE or PE bundle. ▪ Design an assessment that allows for valid and reliable

inferences to be drawn from the results.

▪ Design an assessment that ensures the fair and accurate assessment of students in special populations.

Science Assessment Development Cycle

▪ (2) Item Cluster Writing Workgroup: Teams of 2-3 educators write stimuli, items, and rubrics designed to validly measure student understanding of the NGSS.

▪ (4) Content Review Workgroup: Educators review the products of the Item Cluster Writing Workgroup to ensure that every stimulus, item, and rubric is scientifically accurate and gathers appropriate evidence about student skill with the NGSS. At the same time, a separate committee of community members reviews the items and stimuli for any bias and sensitivity issues. Recommendations from the Bias/Sensitivity Review Workgroup are considered by the Content Review Workgroup.

▪ (6) Field Test Rangefinding and Rubric Validation Workgroups: Educators look at a range of student responses to each item and decide how to score each response. This educator workgroup refines scoring rubrics and produces the materials that will be used to score the field test items.

▪ (8) Content Review with Data Workgroup: Educators use item performance data, as well as members’ science content knowledge, to decide whether each item should advance into the item bank.

Educator Work Group Descriptions

Science test scores will be released slightly later than usual in fall 2018 due to Achievement Level Setting.

Event Timing

Item Cluster Writing* Spring 2018

Content Review* Summer 2018

Field Test Range Finding and Rubric Validation* Summer 2018

Content Review with Data* Fall 2018

Achievement Level Descriptor Development* November 2017

Contrasting Groups Study* Early Spring 2018

Alignment Study* Spring 2018

Achievement Level Setting* August 2018*

Upcoming Professional Development Opportunities

▪ Sign up for GovDelivery messages

▪ Go to the Subscribe page for GovDelivery. Enter your email address. On the Subscriptions page, select

Content Areas > Science, then select the grade band(s) for which you would like to receive information.

▪ Check calendar posted at: Professional Development calendar

Stay informed and get involved

NGSS 101

▪Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) ▪NGSS Appendices ▪ The K–12 Framework for Science Education

NGSS Resources

Each Performance Expectation (PE) includes a Science and Engineering Practice, a Disciplinary Core Idea, and a Cross-cutting Concept

Performance Expectations per Grade Band

NGSS Performance Expectation

Science and Engineering Practices Disciplinary Core Ideas

Crosscutting Concepts

1. Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering)

2. Developing and using models 3. Planning and carrying out

investigations 4. Analyzing and interpreting data 5. Using mathematics and

computational thinking 6. Constructing explanations (for

science) and designing solutions (for engineering)

7. Engaging in argument from evidence

8. Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information

Physical Sciences PS1 Matter and Its Interactions PS2 Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions PS3 Energy PS4 Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer Life Sciences LS1 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes LS2 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics LS3 Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits LS4 Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity Earth and Space Sciences ESS1 Earth’s Place in the Universe ESS2 Earth’s Systems ESS3 Earth and Human Activity Engineering, Technology, & Application of Science ETS1 Engineering Design

1. Patterns 2. Cause and effect 3. Scale, proportion, and

quantity 4. Systems and system

models 5. Energy and matter 6. Structure and function 7. Stability and change

Cluster Map

Stimulus Includes data sets, graphs,

tables, descriptive observations, models, and/or descriptions of

investigations that can be interspersed among items to add

information as needed.

Context Idea/setting/background/situation related to the phenomenon that can be further developed into a

stimulus

Phenomenon Observation that needs an

explanation

PE Bundle

WCAS Design and Features

Structure and Test Length▪ Structure

▪ Operational ▪ Grades 5 and 8: 5 Clusters and 6-12 Standalones ▪ High School: 6 Clusters and 6-12 standalones ▪ Counts toward a student’s score

▪ Field test items ▪ Embedded in the online administration ▪ One cluster and/or standalone items ▪ Does not count toward a student score

▪ All items are aligned to 2 or 3 dimensions of a PE

▪ Test Length ▪ Grade 5: 90 minutes ▪ Grade 8: 110 minutes ▪ Grade 11: 120 minutes

▪ Administration ▪ Can be administered in multiple sessions like the Smarter Balanced ELA and Math

assessments ▪ 1 to 3 sessions recommended

ETS PEs assessed but not included here.

Claim Grade 5 Grade 8 Grade 11

Application of Science and Engineering Practice

and Cross-Cutting Concepts in Physical

Sciences

17 Performance Expectations

40 %

~14 pts

19 Performance Expectations

35 %

~14 pts

24 Performance Expectations

36 %

~16 pts

Application of Science and Engineering Practice

and Cross-Cutting Concepts in Life Sciences

12 Performance Expectations

29 %

~10 pts

21 Performance Expectations

38 %

~15 pts

24 Performance Expectations

36 %

~16 pts

Application of Science and Engineering Practice

and Cross-Cutting Concepts in Earth and

Space Sciences

13 Performance Expectations

31 %

~11 pts

15 Performance Expectations

27 %

~11 pts

19 Performance Expectations

28 %

~13 pts

Total Points 35 40 45

WCAS Features▪ All online ▪ For clusters, one or more stimuli on left side of screen,

items on the right side ▪ Item Types: ▪ Selected Response—multiple choice, multiple select ▪ Constructed Response—short answer ▪ Technology enhanced—ex: drag and drop, drop-down choices,

simulations ▪ Multi-part items ▪ Parts labeled with letters A, B, and C. ▪ May have a mix of item types. Parts work together. May ask for evidence

to support answer in previous part of the item.

Sample Screenshot from the WA Smarter Balanced ELA 6-8 Training Test

▪ Collapsing stimuli ▪ First stimulus is hidden when second stimulus is provided. ▪ Both stimuli are available to the student.

▪ Locking items ▪ Student can answer the question only once. ▪ Allows subsequent questions to update with correct information. ▪ An “attention” box warns student that they won’t be able to change their answer.

New WCAS Features

Standalone Items

▪ Allow more PEs to be assessed on a test

▪ Must be 2 or 3 dimensional

▪ Can have multiple parts

▪ Computer scored item types only

▪Ellen Ebert, Director ▪Ellen.Ebert@k12.wa.us ▪Amber McCullough, K-12 Science Specialist

▪Amber.McCullough@k12.wa.us ▪Rochelle Gandoor-Rood, Program Supervisor Environmental and Sustainability Education ▪Rochelle.GandoorRood@k12.wa.us

Learning and Teaching Science

Thank you!