DISTRICT STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SBA

January 2015

Agenda

OverviewTechnologySchedulingTrainingTest Coordination and SupportWrap Up

Note: Many thanks to Edmunds School District!!!

Overview -- Planning

Three key components of planning:

High-level support

Teamwork

Communication

Overview -- High-Level SupportEssential Partners --

Board of Directors

SuperintendentAdministratorsTeachersClassifiedParents

To provide support and resources as needed, recognizing that students are the beneficiaries when staff at all levels have the resources needed for a smooth-running assessment program.

Overview -- Teamwork

Critical members of SBA planning and implementation team:

District staff, including:Assessment Office staff

Technology Department staff

Community Relations staff

Instructional Coaches/Content Coordinators (TOSA’s)

Building Administrators Building Test Coordinators Teachers

Overview – Teamwork – District Roles

Assessment Office staff: Oversee ongoing coordination among all players Provide professional development Assist buildings with scheduling Coordinate communication

Technology Department staff: Assess and support hardware needs Ensure all student computers are test compatible Ensure all student computers have proper testing

software

Overview – Teamwork – District Roles

Community Relations staff: Help develop and coordinate district communication plan

about SBA

Content Coordinators (TOSA’s): Provide professional development to principals and

teachers about Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and SBA

Help teachers understand and implement CCSS in preparation for SBA

Overview – Teamwork – School Roles

Building Administrators Learn about CCSS and SBA expectations Provide support and resources for teachers to learn about

CCSS and SBA Work with teacher leaders to build online test schedules

Building Test Coordinators See posted handout outlining staff responsibilities (TBD)

Teachers Learn about CCSS and SBA Embed the use of SBA sample items and practice

tests into instruction

Overview -- Communication

Provide appropriate communication about SBA to: Board of Directors District and Building Administrators Teachers Students Families:

Letter to homes (translated as needed)

Parent information evening meeting

School newsletters

District Community newsletter

SBA information section on district website

TECHNOLOGY Key Players Plan Used in 2013-14 Outcomes -- Lessons Learned Plan for 2014-15

Technology – 2014-15 Tech Plan Highlights

Assess and support hardware needs Ensure all student computers are test compatible Ensure all student computers have proper testing

software Headphones Real-Time Support

Techs at every building when testing beginsPhone extension _____?????

SCHEDULING Key Players Lessons Learned Scheduling Plan for 14-15

Scheduling – Key PlayersDistrict level staffAssessment Office

Technology Department

School level staffPrincipal

Building Test Coordinator

Teachers

Scheduling – Plan to be Used in 14 -15Assessment staff will ask schools:

Did they have preference for when in test window to test?

Did they have conflicts on certain dates?

Scheduling – Plan to be Used in 14 -15Assessment staff will develop template for school staff to plan and inform us of dates/times/locations for: SBA training tests Each SBA component for ELA and Math:

CAT (“non-performance task”)

Class Activity (CA)

Performance Task (PT)

MSP Science• Also asked what technology to be used each day, and

location of testing each day, so Tech staff could properly prepare all testing computers.

Scheduling – Plan to be Used in 14 -15Scheduling Template See posted handout for details.

Scheduling – Plan to be Used in 14 -15 Schools submit their testing schedules by January

30. District Assessment Director will check all schools’

schedules for meeting test guidelines, and Tech staff will check for tech requirements.

Final schedule will be published at our next meeting.

Scheduling – Lessons LearnedWhat We Learned What We Will Do This Year

1. Scheduling the Class Activity (CA) on a day prior to the PT caused issues when students were absent on the day of the CA.

1. Have schools give CA same day as PT for both ELA and Math.

2. We need to start the process of scheduling earlier in the year.

2. Will start the scheduling discussion in January of this year.

Scheduling – Lessons Learned•Factors that impact amount of time needed for testing:

Some classes engage in more discussion than others during the Class Activity (preceding the Performance Task). Teachers should try to keep the activity to no more than 30 minutes.

We suggested that students who have difficulty composing online use their scratch paper for composing and then type their essays online. This takes more time.

Some students treated the ELA essay (Question 4 on PT) as just another short answer item. They need to be told that this is an extended essay and should be taking considerable time to work on it.

TRAINING Principal Training Building Test Coordinator

Training

Proctor Training Student Training Tests

Training – for Principals Review principal responsibilities

Discuss district support and resources

Take principals through proctor training, stopping to discuss their leadership moves at appropriate times

Provide access to district web site

Q and A follow up http://

www.smarterbalanced.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/SmarterBalanced_Guidelines_FAQ.pdf

Training – for Building Test Coordinators

Included but not limited to: Equipment needed for

online testing Scheduling of training

tests and online tests

Checklist of tasks

Introduction to TIDE

Preparing students and Proctors for testing, including Proctor Training

Irregularities

Tech Troubleshooting Guide

Access to Resources and Documentation

Training – for Proctors•Included but not limited to:

Understanding SBA terminology

SBA Training Tests

Understanding the concepts related to Embedded Accommodations

Tools students may use (scratch paper, etc.)

How to use the TA Interface

Test tickets, possible login errors, and step-by-step what students see when they log in

Pausing and ending tests

Training – for Students From previous years, we learned that when teachers

do training tests interactively with students rather than letting students be independent, the experience is far more beneficial.

We will create a Training Test Guide for teachers to use:

Script for teachers to walk students through training tests

Emphasis on use of tools rather than on item content

Included Tools Checklist for students – did they see each tool on this list?

Training Staff – Lessons Learned Timing

Training is best if testing systems are up and running at time of training, so participants can experience the system hands-on – which unfortunately was not possible last spring.

District training needs to be early enough for schools to have time to thoroughly prepare staff before giving students the training test.

•TEST COORDINATION AND SUPPORT Communication with Staff Student Records and Test

Tickets Support during Testing

Test Coordination and Support

Communication with Staff

Find effective way to communicate a change of procedure to involved parties if system or procedure is not working as planned or if OSPI identifies a change to be made.

Document all of these subsequent communications and post on district staff website for reference.

Collect a list of FAQ’s and answers and post on district staff website.

Test Coordination and Support

Student Records and Test Tickets

Staggered creation of test tickets by school/test window so enrollment used would be as current as possible. Added new students to TIDE as needed.

• To identify new students, had to compare current enrollment to the enrollment on the files that OSPI used to upload to TIDE

• In-district Transfer students – had to add record under new school

Created blank test ticket template for generating test tickets on the fly.

Test Coordination and Support

Support during Testing

District Technology Help Desk (extension: _____)Computer, secure browser, wireless, and internet issues

SBAC Help Desk (extension: _____)Reset user passwords

Escalation of problems that could not be resolved locally

Test Ticket problems

Test Coordination – Lessons Learned The “Directions for Administration” was less scripted

than what we’re used to seeing. Students can be in one room, with one proctor, and

can be taking different tests. During Field Test, moving students to another room

mid- test caused some difficulties.

Process of moving students who required additional time to another room seemed to work properly if original test session was ended by the proctor.

But if student was moved while session was still in progress, we could not get student back into test as part of another test session with a different proctor.

Wrap Up – Overall Advice Begin planning early!

Be proactive; anticipate possible issues (e.g., be prepared for lower performance on SBA compared to MSP/HSPE, similar to first year of WASL).

Include all key stakeholders in communication plan.

Technology staff need to consider how their decisionsimpact students and student learning.

Wrap Up – Overall Advice

District staff need to help remove barriers whenever possible to support school preferences.

Seek input and listen to feedback from schools on a regular and frequent basis, and be responsive to their needs.

Questions?

57

Next Steps• Next meeting: February 5

• Schools provide schedules by January 30

• Assessment provides an overview of technology available for SBA testing at every building

• Schools begin to talk about accommodations• Some key points regarding Usability, Accessibility and Accommodations:

• “Recognizing Access Needs in All Students”• Universal Tools• Designated Supports• Accommodation

• Scheduling• Time• Space

• Goalview (IEP writing platform)• SBA additions

• Digital Library has been introduced in every building…

Web Sites

• District Testing • http://nkschools.org/Domain/31

• SBA• http://www.smarterbalanced.org/

• WCAP• http://wa.portal.airast.org/

• Digital Library• https://www.smarterbalancedlibrary.org

• Practice Tests• http://sbac.portal.airast.org/practice-test/