Index of archived SBAC e-mail updates
SBAC CDE News
- New Accessibility and Accommodations Materials Available Soon
- Development of Comprehensive Research Agenda Underway
- Schools Will Participate in the Pilot Test
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.
- New Accessibility and Accommodations Materials Available Soon—Two new documents produced as part of SBAC Contract-06 Accessibility and Accommodations Policies and Materials will soon be available. Literature Review of Testing Accommodations and Accessibility Tools for Students with Disabilities and Summary of Literature on Empirical Studies of the Validity and Effectiveness of Test Accommodations for English Language Learners: 2005–2012 were developed to guide SBAC’s accessibility and accommodations policy development. The documents will be posted publicly on the SBAC Web site
shortly. - Development of Comprehensive Research Agenda Underway—SBAC contracted with Stephen Sireci, Ph.D. (of the University of Massachusetts), to develop a comprehensive research agenda and validation plan for the Consortium. Dr. Sireci will develop a validity framework that will inform Consortium decision-making about key assessment issues and ensure that system components are valid for their intended purposes. The comprehensive plan will include proposed process and outcome validation activities. More detailed information to come.
- Schools Will Participate in the Pilot Test—Participation in the Pilot Test of the assessment system in February and March 2013 will be open to classrooms across the Consortium. Additional information will be provided this fall by the contractor for RFP-19 Test Administration.
CDE Opportunity to Provide Feedback
- Reauthorization of the California Pupil Assessment System—
As part of the process in developing recommendations to the Legislature for the reauthorization of the California pupil assessment system, State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SSPI) Tom Torlakson, is seeking your help. All Californians have a unique opportunity to provide thoughts on and suggestions for what they think should be included in this system. Several opportunities exist for you to provide feedback. You may:- Complete a brief survey:
- You may access the English version of the survey
online. - You may access the Spanish version of the survey online.
- You may access the English version of the survey
- Send comments by e-mail to reauthorization@cde.ca.gov.
- Attend the Statewide Assessment Reauthorization Work Group meetings, which are open to the public.
- Complete a brief survey:
- To access the schedule of Work Group meetings and learn more about the statewide assessment reauthorization process, please visit the AB 250 Statewide Pupil Assessment Web page.
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 showcases the SBAC work and provides frequent updates on activities, milestones, and events.
- Smarter News, the SBAC's monthly eNewsletter —Smarter Balanced provides monthly updates on the development of the Smarter Balanced assessment system and activities in member states.
- SBAC is on Twitter—Follow @SmarterBalanced to get resources and links to the latest SBAC news.
- National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) Presentation—This recorded webinar was shared by the NAESP and presented an overview of the SBAC system design, timeline, and progress as of June 2012. To view this webinar and other webinars detailing the SBAC work to-date, visit the SBAC Webinars Web page .
Common Assessment Resources
- Consortia Provide Preview of Common Assessments, by Catherine Gewertz—As teachers begin shaping lessons for the common standards, many are wondering how to prepare their students for tests that won’t be ready for at least two years. But sample items being drafted for those exams offer early ideas of what lies ahead. Two large groups of states are using federal Race to the Top money to create new suites of exams for the Common Core State Standards. Those consortia have recently begun work with private vendors to develop items—questions and tasks—for the tests. But each group has produced a range of sample test items to help those vendors get an idea of what the states want, and experts say they offer valuable insight into the tests that are expected to emerge in 2014-15. Education Week
.
- A Glimpse of What to Expect From the Common Assessments in Curriculum Matters by Catherine Gewertz—If everything I heard in interviews and travel for my job these days could be condensed into a frequently-asked-questions document, probably the top item would be this: What kinds of questions and tasks can we anticipate on the common assessments in 2014-15? Poking around for answers, I discovered that there was actually a lot more floating around out there than I—and many educators who ask me this question all the time—had realized. In recent months, the two federally funded assessment consortia have been drafting sample items to give their contracted vendors an idea of the sorts of things they want to see on the exams. These examples aren't easy to find, which explains why many of the folks most eagerly awaiting them don't have any clue that they're out there. They've been making the rounds at conferences and such, and circulating among member states for feedback. I've rounded up a few of the documents that contain lots of these sample items, and I report some feedback on them from the field, in a new story just posted on our website. Education Week
.
SBAC Question/Answer of the Week
Q:
How will SBAC engage K-12 and higher education in the development of achievement level descriptors?
A: SBAC has developed a collaborative process for drafting initial achievement level descriptors (ALDs) in collaboration with K-12 teachers, higher education faculty, and content experts. Governing States will nominate four K-12 educators—two for English Language Arts (ELA)/literacy and two for mathematics at various grade spans—to participate in an ALD drafting workshop in October. In addition, Higher Education Leads will nominate two faculty members (one with experience in ELA/literacy and one with experience in mathematics). From this group, a total of 53 representatives will be selected for the October workshop. Every Governing State will have at least one K-12 and one higher education representative participating in the workshop. Those not selected will have an early opportunity to review the draft ALDs. Just as important as reaching consensus among member states on the ALDs is reaching consensus within states between K-12 and higher education. A two-month period from mid-November through mid-January will allow states to vet the ALDs with stakeholders at all levels.
