Understanding Accommodations for the Smarter Balanced State Pilot Testing

Robin Smay, M.A.Program Specialistrsmay@edcoe.org

Statewide Testing Changes

• The California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) is the new state testing system put in place in January by Assembly Bill 484.

• CAASPP is replacing the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) testing program (CST, CMA)

• The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) pilot tests will be used by California in 2014 as one element of CAASPP testing.

• Smarter Balanced testing aligns with the new Common Core State Standards being adopted and implemented in California.

• Individual student results will not be reported for the 2014 administration

Pilot Tests for 2013-2014

SBAC for English Language Arts (ELA) & Math

• All students grades 3-8 participate

• Limited students in grades 9-11 participate

• Testing will include one performance task & classroom activity in either ELA or math

• CAPA remains for students grades 2-11

STAR continues for Science Testing

• Students grades 5, 8, and 10 will participate

• STAR tests will include

• CST

• CMA

• CAPA

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Two Types of Supports: Embedded & Non-embedded

• Embedded: the universal tool, designated support, or accommodation exists within the test administration system and is provided digitally to the student by the computer administrated test itself.

• Non-Embedded: provided at the local levelthrough means other than the test delivery system.

Universal Tools and Designated Supports

• Universal tools are available to all students.

• Examples include spell-check, highlighter, embedded ruler, strikethrough, and English dictionary.

• Designated supports are available to all students, (including English learners, struggling readers, and students with attention deficits) for whom the need has been indicated by an educator or team of educators.

• Examples include color-contrast text, the blocking of distracting content, stacked translations and bilingual dictionary.

Embedded Designated Supports: A Sample

Below is an example of a test item with color contrast (black on rose) and masking:

Accommodations

Accommodations are available to students with an individualized education program or a 504 plan that specifies the need for such an accommodation.

Accommodations: Examples

• Embedded examples include: closed captioning, Braille, American Sign Language, speech-to-text.

• Non-embedded examples include: abacus, calculator, alternate response format, assistive technology devices, scribe, multiplication table, print-on-demand, read aloud.

• If you look back at the chart on slide 5, you’ll see that some supports are listed under more than one category (such as scribe).

Resources: Smarter BalancedPractice Tests and Training Tests• Practice Tests

• Provide students with grade-specific testing experience similar in format and structure to the Smarter Balanced Field Test, including available supports.

• Training Tests• Allow teachers and students to experience the features, functionality,

and item types in computer-based testing.• A training test is available for each of three grade bands (3–5, 6–8, and

high school) and contains approximately 6–9 items per band, per content area.

• Note: Smarter Balanced Practice Tests and Training Tests are available at http://sbac.portal.airast.org/practice-test/. There is a training video module available through CDE that offers a deeper review of accessibility and accommodations at:

http://smarterbalanced.articulate-online.com/p/7753269018/DocumentViewRouter.ashx?Cust=77532&DocumentID=3d28a842-e6df-4267-8449-bc1afb4cba72&Popped=True&v=5&InitialPage=presentation.html

Resources

• AB 484 statewide testing legislation explanation is available at the CDE website: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sa/ab484qa.asp

• Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium: Usability, Accessibility, and Accommodations Guidelines can be found at: http://www.smarterbalanced.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SmarterBalanced_Guidelines_091113.pdf

• Smarter Balanced Accessibility FAQs can be found at: http://www.smarterbalanced.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/SmarterBalanced_Guidelines_FAQ.pdf

• A new matrix that describes the universal tools, designated supports, and accommodations available for the CAASPP assessments is now available at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/ai/

Questions?