Index of archived SBAC e-mail updates
SBAC CDE News
- Sample Items and Performance Tasks Released on October 9
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.
- Sample Items and Performance Tasks Released — The Smarter Balanced sample items and performance tasks were released on Tuesday, October 9. In less than a week, more than 45,000 people visited the website. Public interest has been high, as indicated by numerous articles, blog posts, and a high volume of social-media activity. The sample assessment items and performance tasks
can be viewed on the Smarter Balanced website. Help-desk support will be provided through November 2, between the hours of 7:00 a.m. eastern time and 8:00 p.m. eastern time, Monday through Friday.
The sample items and performance tasks illustrate the rigor and complexity of the English language arts (ELA)/literacy and mathematics items and performance tasks students will encounter on the SBAC assessments. They also signal to educators the shifts in instruction that will be required to help students meet the demands of the Common Core and the new assessments. It is important to note that the sample items and tasks will be presented in an online portal that does not include accessibility tools and accommodations options under development for the operational assessment system in the 2014-15 school year. Over the next several months — guided by the SBAC’s Accessibility and Accommodations Work Group and advisory committees for English language learners and students with disabilities — SBAC will finalize the accessibility tools and accommodations options available through the test delivery system.
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.
- New Resources and Webinars on Standards and Assessments—Student Achievement
Partners released ready-to-use professional development modules to assist educators in the implementation of
the Common Core State Standards. These modules contain resources for educators,
including research, discussion topics, activities, web and video tools, and
more.
- California Districts Selected for SBAC Small Scale Trials — California districts that were randomly selected for SBAC Small Scale Trial are posted on the CDE Web site.
SBAC Question/Answer of the Week
Q. How long will it take students to complete the Smarter Balanced summative assessment?
A: The length of the summative assessment has not yet been decided. This fall, Governing States will be asked to review and approve the summative assessment design, which encompasses test length, reporting categories, and the test blueprint. Test length is influenced by several factors, including the amount of content that the test assesses. The Common Core ELA/literacy standards cover writing and speaking and listening. This represents a much broader range of content than most statewide reading assessments cover today. Smarter Balanced will assess the depth and breadth of the Common Core to provIn addition, the summative assessment is made up of the computer adaptive test (CAT) and performance tasks that are delivered by computer but are not adaptive. Computer adaptive testing is more efficient than fixed-form tests, requiring fewer questions to produce a more accurate picture of a student’s strengths and weaknesses. Performance tasks—which may require one to two class periods to complete—will be used to better measure capacities such as depth of understanding, research skills, and complex analysis, which cannot be adequately assessed with selected- or constructed-response items. The length of both of these components will determine the overall test length.
