A BALANCED APPROACH:PREPARING FOR SMARTER BALANCED ELA ASSESSMENTS

Ken Hermens, Oregon Department of Education

Regional ESD Workshops, Updated 2015

GETTING ACQUAINTED

What, in your experience, are the valued learning outcomes in the Common Core State Standards (CCSS)? What have you and your school site done to transition to the Common Core?

FOUR CORNERS

1. Common Core instructional shifts

2. Smarter Balanced in general

3. Smarter Balanced claims, targets, and rubrics

4. Smarter Balanced performance tasks

HISTORY

o State Board of Education adopts the Common Core State Standards for ELA and Math in October 2010

o Standards reflect the expectations of college and career readiness by the end of high school

o Development led by CCSSO and NGA, included teachers, parents, administrators, and content experts from across the country

o Smarter Balanced Assessment System adopted by the State Board of Education in May 2013

SMARTER BALANCED MEMBERSHIP

MOVING FORWARD

2013-14 2014-15 and beyond

OAKS Reading and Writing Smarter Balanced ELA

OAKS Math Smarter Balanced Math

OAKS Science and Social Sciences

OAKS Science and Social Sciences

Extended Assessment Extended Assessment

ELPA ELPA

Kindergarten Assessment Kindergarten Assessment

New Portal Address for OAKS: http://oaksportal.org

TESTING WINDOWS

**Testing shall not begin until at least 66% of a school’s annual instructional days have been completed in grades 3-8, and 80% of annual instructional days in High School

Smarter Balanced Math March 10th to June 12th**

Smarter Balanced ELA March 10th to June 12th**

Science and Social Sciences

January 6th to May 28th

12th Grade Retest Math and Reading

January 6th to May 28th

12th Grade Retest Writing January 6th to March 13th

ELPA January 6th to April 15th

Kindergarten Assessment August 11th to October 23rd

HOW DO THE CCSS DEFINE COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS?

The Common Core State Standards: Are aligned with college and career

expectations Include rigorous content and application of

knowledge through higher order skills Build upon strengths and lessons of current

state standards Are informed by top-performing countries, so

that all students are prepared to succeed in our global economy and society

Are evidence- and/or research-based

HANDOUT: WHAT A COLLEGE-AND-CAREER-READY STUDENT LOOKS LIKE

Skim the handout on college and career readiness. As you read, think about:

the major shifts in instruction the learning opportunities that

students will need in order to meet these shifts

COLLEGE AND CAREER READY

They demonstrate independence They build strong content knowledge. They respond based on audience, task,

purpose. They comprehend as well as critique. They value evidence. They use technology/digital media

strategically and capably. They understand other perspectives and

cultures.

OREGON COMMON CORE SHIFTS

1. Increased reading of Informational Texts2. Increased emphasis on Text Complexity3. Academic Vocabulary4. Text-based Answers5. Increase of Writing from Sources6. Literacy Instruction in all Content Areas

Oregon CCSS Toolkithttp://www.ode.state.or.us/go/CommonCoreCommon Core State Standards—ELA & Literacy Resources

http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?id=3359

DEVELOPMENT TIMELINE

SMARTER BALANCED ASSESSMENTS

SMARTER BALANCED TEST DOCUMENTS

Test Blueprints Number of items Score points (weighting) Depth of knowledge

Content Specifications List of all Assessment Targets Identify which CCSS each Target assesses

Item Specifications Broken out by grade level, Claim, and Target Contains Task Models Appropriate Stems

COMPONENTS OF THE SMARTER BALANCED SUMMATIVE TEST

o CAT Test (Computer Adaptive Test)o Item Types:

o Selected Response (Multiple Choice)

o Technology-Enhanced/Enabled Itemso Short Constructed Response

o Performance Tasko Two-day Evento Classroom Activityo Short Answer to provide scaffoldingo Multiple Resources

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

SMARTER BALANCED TEST TIMES

SMARTER BALANCED ASSESSMENTS

The overall claim for grades 3-8:

“Students can demonstrate progress toward college and career readiness in English language arts and literacy.”

The overall claim for grade 11: “Students can demonstrate college and career

readiness in English language arts and literacy.”

CLAIMS, TARGETS, AND STANDARDS

Overall Claim: Students can demonstrate progress toward

college and career readiness in English language arts and literacy.

CLAIM 1: Students can read closely and analytically to comprehend a range of increasingly complex

literary and informational texts.

Content CategoryReading: Literary Texts

Target 1. KEY DETAILS: Use explicit details and

information from the text to support answers or basic

inferences.

3.RL.01 Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the

answers.

CCSS B CCSS C

3rd Grade ELA

CCSS

Target

ContentCategory

Claim

OverallClaim

SMARTER BALANCED CLAIMS• Students can read closely and

analytically to comprehend a range of increasingly complex literary and informational texts.

Claim 1Reading

• Students can produce effective and well-grounded writing for a range of purposes and audiences.

Claim 2 Writing

• Students can employ effective speaking and listening skills for a range of purposes and audiences.

Claim 3Speaking & Listening

• Students can engage in research/inquiry to investigate topics, and to analyze, integrate, and present information.

Claim 4Research

SB ITEM SPECIFICATIONS

o For each of the different Claims, Smarter Balanced has developed assessment Targets specifying the content of items that will be on the summative assessments.

o Targets are generally associated with one CCSS, but some Targets address more than one

o There are multiple models for each Targeto Models are scenarios or descriptions of what

an item or activity might look like to assess any given Target

SB TARGETS AND MODELS

Each Target has anywhere from two to six potential models; these are identified on the Item Specifications Tables

The Models each indicate the assigned item type (SR, CR, or TE) and DOK

For each item, item writers choose ONE of the Models and use the description provided to write the type of item that has been identified.

Generally, there is at least one Model for each Target that addresses SR items and at least one addressing CR items.

SAMPLE BLUEPRINT TABLE (GRADE 11)

TABLE ACTIVITY

Using the ELA Test Blueprints…

Familiarize yourself with the document Note where content categories are being

assessed: in the CAT portion, the PT portion, or both

Note the number and types of items for the different claims

What is DOK measuring? What is and is not measured in the PT?

TARGETS FOR CLAIM 1: READING

TARGETS FOR CLAIM 2: WRITING

TARGETS FOR CLAIM 3: LISTENING

TARGETS FOR CLAIM 4: RESEARCH

CLAIM #4—RESEARCH/INQUIRY

Why is a research claim called out separately from reading and writing?

What is the purpose of this claim?

Discuss with your group.

GRADEWORD COUNT RANGE

(short text)WORD COUNT RANGE

(long text)

3 200 – 487 488 – 650

4 450 – 562 563 – 750

5 450 – 562 563 – 750

6 650 – 712 713 – 950

7 650 – 712 713 – 950

8 650 – 712 713 – 950

11 800 – 825 826 – 1100

Grade “Stretch” Lexile Band

3 420 – 820

4 – 5 740 – 1010

6 – 8 925 – 1185

9 – 10 1050 – 1335

11 1185 – 1385

SB WORD COUNTS AND LEXILE TARGETS

SMARTER BALANCED ITEM TYPES

• Assess a broad range of content. • Scoring is objective, fast, and

inexpensive to score.• Difficult to understand a student’s

reasoning process and to assess higher-order thinking skills.

Selected Response

• Require the student to generate a response as opposed to selecting a response.

• Include both short and extended responses.

• Allow students to demonstrate their use of complex thinking skills consistent with the expectations for college and career readiness.

Constructed Response

• Require students to demonstrate ability to think and reason, and produce fully developed products.

• Measure complex “assessment targets.”• Provide evidence of college and career

readiness.

Performance Tasks

VARIATIONS ON SELECTED RESPONSE Multiple Choice, single correct

response Multiple Choice, multiple correct

response (4-8 options, 2-4 correct) Two-part Multiple Choice (Part A:

conclusion or inference, Part B: select evidence)

Hot Text, select text (“click on” number, line, sentence, paragraph)

Hot Text, re-order text (drag and drop) Matching Table

SAMPLE TWO-PART MULTIPLE CHOICEPart AClick on the statement that best describes what information in the first paragraph of Pong reveals about the author’s point of view. A. [The author appreciates advancements in technology.]B. [The author celebrates the revolutionary nature of Pong.]C. [The author prefers old style games like Pong over current video

games.]D. [The author questions the connection of current technology to

technology of the past.] 

Part BClick on the sentence from the text that best supports your answer in Part A. [On any smartphone you pick up, you will find some kind of video game.] [People have access to games so sophisticated that there are worldwide competitions to determine the best players.] [Game design is so advanced that the graphics look almost real.] [Long before any of this, however, people played a low-tech game that sported paddles made of short lines on the edges of the screen, a dotted centerline to mark opposing sides, and square dot designed to act like a ball.] [That game was I.] 

SAMPLE MATCHING TABLE

Argument/Claim Source 1 Source 2Both

SourcesNeither Source

Roundabouts save money

Roundabouts save lives

Roundabouts reduce accidents

Roundabouts are popular with locals

Roundabouts harm pedestrians

Roundabouts ease traffic congestion

Click on the boxes to reflect which source, if either, makes the following claims:

SAMPLE BRIEF RESPONSE READING ITEM

CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE

Brief Writes (both CAT and Performance Assessment Draft introductions, conclusions Add a topic sentence or descriptive detail Provide transitions, dialogue Revise to eliminate conventions errors

Full Writes (Performance Assessment) Short Text Constructed Response (CAT Test)

Identify themes, main ideas Analyze structures, characters Compare and contrast two versions

SMARTER BALANCED:TRAINING AND PRACTICE TESTS

Training Test Shorter Test Includes tutorials on item types Not intended to approximate content

coverage Reflects full range of supports and tools

Practice Test Somewhat longer than training test Shows more of the breadth of content Reflects full range of supports and tools

OREGON ACCESSIBILITY MANUAL

2. Qualitative measures – levels of meaning, structure, language conventionality and clarity, and knowledge demands often best measured by an attentive human reader.

3. Reader and Task considerations – background knowledge of reader, motivation, interests, and complexity generated by tasks assigned often best made by educators employing their professional judgment.

1. Quantitative measures – readability and other scores of text complexity often best measured by computer software.

DETERMINING TEXT COMPLEXITY

Text complexity is determined by:

Qua

litat

ive

Quantitative

Reader and Task

DETERMINING TEXT COMPLEXITY

Measures such as:• Word length• Word frequency• Word difficulty• Sentence length• Text length• Text cohesion

Step 1: Quantitative Measures

Qua

litat

ive

Quantitative

Reader and Task

Step 2: Qualitative Measures

Measures such as:• Levels of meaning• Levels of purpose• Structure• Organization• Language conventionality• Language clarity• Prior knowledge demands

DETERMINING TEXT COMPLEXITY

Qua

litat

ive

Quantitative

Reader and Task

Step 3: Reader and Task

Considerations such as:• Motivation• Knowledge and

experience• Purpose for reading• Complexity of task

assigned regarding text• Complexity of questions

asked regarding text

DETERMINING TEXT COMPLEXITY

Qua

litat

ive

Quantitative

Reader and Task

SMARTER BALANCED PERFORMANCE TASKS

o Require student-initiated planning, management of information and ideas, interaction with a variety of other materials.

o Require production of extended responses, such as oral presentations, exhibitions, and other scorable products, including more extended writing responses which might be revised and edited.

o Reflect a real-world task and/or scenario-based problem; tasks are multi-stepped and allow for reflection and revision.

SMARTER BALANCED PERFORMANCE TASKS

o Allow for multiple approaches to developing and organizing ideas

o Measure capacities such as depth of understanding, research skills, complex analysis, and identification/providing of relevant evidence

o Represent content that is relevant and meaningful to students

TABLE ACTIVITY: PERFORMANCE TASKS

At your table, look at the Smarter Balanced Performance Task packet, focusing on the one most appropriate for your grade level assignment.

After, individual exploration, discuss as a group what skills a student would need in order to successfully complete a Performance Task.

Select a recorder to capture the most critical skills on chart pack.

Report out to large group one or two skills you identified.

SMARTER BALANCED PERFORMANCE TASKS

Part 1: Consulting Resources and Scaffoldingo Read/review/reflect upon resources related to

the central topic; sources represent a variety of perspectives and viewpoints

o Students respond to several (usually 2 or 3) scaffolding questions relating to the research claim which can provide scaffolding for the culminating essay or “full write.”

o If time, students begin planning/drafting of the “full write” essay.

SMARTER BALANCED PERFORMANCE TASKS

Part 2: Final Essay or “Full Write”o Students have continued access to the

source materials through the writing process but NOT to their responses to the research questions.

o Although students are given a general topic or theme, they develop their own thesis or topic statement.

o Essays should be multi-paragraph and draw directly from at least two or more of the source materials. Source attributions should be made within the student work.

COMBINATION OF CLAIMS AND TARGETS ASSESSED BY GRADE

Grades 3-5Writing (Narrative, Informational/Explanatory,

Opinion)+ Research

+ Possibly Reading

Grade 11Writing (Informational/Explanatory, Argumentative)

+ Research+ Possibly Reading

Grades 6-8Writing (Narrative, Informational/Explanatory,

Argumentative)+ Research

+ Possibly Reading

Stimuli Used in a PT

Grade Span # of Sources*

3 2

4 – 5 3

6 – 8 3-4

11 4-5*each has 2-5 depending on grade level

Total Word Counts for PTs

Grade SpanMaximum

Word Count

3 1000

4 – 5 1400

6 – 8 2400

11 3400

SMARTER BALANCED PERFORMANCE TASKS

Three Attributes Purpose/Organization (4-point scale)Evidence/Elaboration (4-point scale)

Conventions (2-point scale)

Individual attribute scores contribute to the overall score on the summative assessment.

ELA PERFORMANCE TASKS: SMARTER BALANCED RUBRICS

SMARTER BALANCED RUBRICS:PURPOSE/ORGANIZATION

Key Elements:

Strong main idea or claim, and focus is maintained appropriate to audience and purpose

Variety of transitions used to clarify relationships between and among ideas

Introduction and conclusion are present Logical progression with strong connections;

“syntactic variety” For argumentative mode, opposing arguments

are acknowledged or addressed

SMARTER BALANCED RUBRIC: EVIDENCE/ELABORATION

Key Elements:

Effective use of sources, facts and details as support for ideas or claims

Effective elaboration of ideas using precise language (elaboration may include the use of personal experiences relevant to the main idea)

References to sources are relevant and specific and effectively integrated into the essay

Vocabulary is appropriate for the audience and purpose

Style enhances content

SMARTER BALANCED RUBRICS: CONVENTIONS

Key Elements: Correct sentence formation Correct capitalization Correct grammar/usage Correct spelling

Scoring is affected by: Variety or range of errors Severity of errors (Basic errors are more

heavily weighted than higher-level errors) Density of errors (Proportion of errors to the

amount of writing/length of the essay)

SKILLS FOR SUCCESSCiting: Using evidence within a text to

support a claim, explain a concept, justify an analysis)

Quoting: Knowing when to insert direct quotations for maximum impact and effect

Attributing: Giving credit for ideas or information taken from source materials either formally or informally

SKILLS FOR SUCCESSParaphrasing: Putting information

into your own words, complete with attribution

Integrating: Inserting information from sources seamlessly into the paper

Transitioning: Moving smoothly from idea to idea within and between paragraphs

SKILLS FOR SUCCESSCountering: Addressing counter

claims in Argumentative Writing to acknowledge they exist; refute them or minimize their significance

Synthesizing: Pulling together material from multiple sources, drawing comparisons, noting contrasts in style, content, and point of view.

Highlighting: Regularly engage students in highlighting text for different purposes (e.g., main ideas, descriptive details, unfamiliar vocabulary, etc.)

SKILLS FOR SUCCESSElaborating:

Narrative: Include details, description and dialogue

Explanatory: Include examples, explanations, definitions, statistics, factual details

Argumentative: Include a stated claim that is maintained, integrated source material, logical reasoning, problem solving, counter claims.

TABLE ACTIVITY: SKILLS FOR SUCCESS

Each table will be given a card with a critical skill or skills listed.

Brainstorm as a group lessons or activities you could structure to address the skills on your table’s card to facilitate student success.

Capture your ideas/strategies on chart pack.

Report out to large group.

STUDENT PERSPECTIVES“Typing was hard but I thought it [test] was more different and cool. Writing is good because I can write down my thoughts. I have good explanations that I want someone to hear.” –Jacklyn, 5th Grade

“Tell them they need to prepare for not just clicking an answer but wording it [responses] in a way that makes sense…work on typing and work on how to answer in words.” –Sicily, 6th Grade

“Practice typing.” –Darbi, 5th Grade

“…Good to teach us [students] how to go more in-depth with essay, paragraph, and sentence structure.” –Ella, 6th Grade

“Practice typing because there’s a lot of typing, and practice essays…how to do them…how to write them.” –Van, 4th Grade

STRATEGIES FOR CLASSROOM PRACTICE

Close ReadingTake the Practice Test

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

Practice Performance TasksCreate “cousin items” (e.g., Matching Tables)http://www.smarterbalanced.org/smarter-balanced-assessments/

CLOSE READING1. Number the stanzas or paragraphs

(helpful when calling attention to specific information)

2. Chunk the text (Draw lines to separate logical divisions in the text, e.g. ¶ 1-3, 4-6, 7-9. Do it for them at first, later have them do it themselves)

3. Underline and circle…with a purpose (Identify what you want them to do: underline the claims or main idea, circle unfamiliar vocabulary, circle examples of figurative language.

CLOSE READING

Margin Notes

3. Left margin: Summarize what the author is saying in 10 words or less.

4. Right margin: Dig deeper into the text; use “power verbs” to describe what the author is doing (describing _______, illustrating_________, arguing_________, comparing__________). Be complete!

LINKS TO RESOURCESSmarter Balanced Assessments

http://www.smarterbalanced.org/

Text Complexity

http://www.ccsso.org/Navigating_Text_Complexity.html

http://achievethecore.org/page/642/text-complexity-collection

Room for Debate: New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate

Close Reading

http://iteachicoachiblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/five-simple-close-reading-strategies.html