Index of archived SBAC e-mail updates
SBAC CDE News
- Technology Readiness Update
- RFP for Report System Development (RFP-15) Released to Vendors
- Item Authoring/Item Pool Application Contract Awarded
The SBAC CDE weekly update is an email sent each week to inform California educators and parents of new developments and upcoming events. Please feel free to share information in the update with those who are interested in the SBAC CDE’s work.
SBAC Announcements
- Technology Readiness Update — The California statewide Technology Readiness data collection window is now open and will close on June 14, 2012. This tool helps identify how ready schools are to support a system of online assessments. With the assistance of the CA Technology and Telecommunications Steering Committee and the CA Technology Assistance Project, CDE created a “district-admin” user for each district and has sent login information and links to resources to Technology Liaisons in each district across California. As districts and schools plan their approach to instruction and prepare for the transition to next-generation assessments in the 2014-15 school year, technology is often at the top of the list of concerns. The information gathered from the Technology Readiness Tool will provide SBAC and CDE baseline information about current capacity, with results expected this summer. SBAC recognizes that schools and districts make decisions annually about what types of hardware and software to purchase for instructional use, and they want to know if the computers they acquire over the next two years will be compatible with the new Smarter Balanced assessments. Note that the SBAC work is proceeding in parallel with several projects that will also inform minimum technology requirements. Hardware and software specifications will be informed by the contractor selected for Test Administration request for proposal (RFP), and bandwidth requirements will be determined in collaboration with the contractor selected for other SBAC RFPs.
- RFP for Report System Development (RFP-15) Released to Vendors — Proposals are due Wednesday, May 23, 2012, to build the reports and the technology applications to implement the reporting system for the summative and interim assessments. The RFP is available at the SBAC Jobs-Contracts Web page (Outside Source).
- Item Authoring/Item Pool Application Contract Awarded—SBAC has awarded Pacific Metrics the contract for Item Authoring and Item Pool Application. Pacific Metrics will work with the Technology Approach Work Group to develop the item authoring/item pool application. The item authoring/item pool application distinguishes features that the bank needs to support groups of items that have different purposes, different levels of security, and different users for the summative and interim assessments. The summative assessments are mandatory comprehensive accountability measures that include computer adaptive assessments and performance tasks, administered in the last 12 weeks of the school year in grades 3–8 and high school for English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics. The interim assessments are optional comprehensive and content-cluster measures that afford teachers and administrators the flexibility to administer these assessments at strategic points in the instructional year and use the results to better understand students’ strengths and limitations in relation to the standards. They are designed as item sets that can provide actionable information about student progress. Summative Assessment test items and tasks that have been exposed to the extent that they cannot be used for high stakes Summative Assessments can be re-purposed for Interim Assessments. Interim Assessment test items are publicly released items and tasks. For details, please review the Request for Proposal (Outside Source).
SBAC CDE Upcoming Events
- April 16–June 14, Statewide LEAS Data Collection: The statewide data collection window is now open and will close on June 14, 2012. Visit the SBAC CDE Web page to view materials related to the statewide Technology Readiness Tool rollout. The reporting system for the Technology Readiness Tool will include district reports and the submission status for each school where information has been submitted.
SBAC CDE Resources
- Join the SBAC CDE electronic mailing list by sending a blank e-mail to subscribe-sbac@mlist.cde.ca.gov.
- To receive Common Core State Standards CDE Updates via e-mail notification, subscribe to the from CDE listserv by sending a blank message to join-commoncore@mlist.cde.ca.gov.
- SBAC CDE Web site—The Smarter Balanced CDE Web site includes access to archived SBAC CDE Updates, resources, and presentations.
- SBAC External Web site—The Smarter Balanced external Web site (Outside Source) showcases the SBAC work and provides frequent updates on activities, milestones, and events.
- SBAC is on Twitter—Follow @SmarterBalanced to get resources and links to the latest SBAC news.
- Assembly Bill 250, signed into law on October 8, 2011, requires CDE to consult with specific stakeholders in developing recommendations for the reauthorization of the statewide pupil assessment system, which is to include a plan for transitioning to a system of high-quality assessments. Per the legislation, the Superintendent of Public Instruction will report recommendations to the fiscal and policy committees of both houses of the Legislature on or before November 1, 2012. The CDE created an e-mail account specifically for members of the public to provide their input and suggestions: reauthorization@cde.ca.gov. CDE invite members of the public to provide comments and suggestions on the reauthorization of the statewide pupil assessment system, and we welcome your perspective
- A survey of more than 10,000 teachers conducted by Scholastic and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation sheds new light on how teachers view key issues in education. Among the interesting findings: Nearly 4 in 5 teachers are aware of the Common Core State Standards. Teachers also report that they need tools and supports to effectively implement the standards, such as professional development, curriculum resources, and formative assessments. The full report is available at the Scholastic Primary Sources Web page (Outside Source).
- A list of the parameters collected by the SBAC Information Technology (IT) Readiness Tool for the spring 2012 data collection can be found on the CDE SBAC IT Readiness Tool Parameters Web page.
- The IT architecture and requirements are now available online at the SBAC Technology Web page (Outside Source; refer to section titled "IT Systems Architecture Reports and Resources").
SBAC Questions/Answers of the Week
Q: How flexible—in terms of timing and content—will the optional interim assessments be?
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 non-secure item bank. Timing and frequency of the interim assessments will be locally determined. 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.
