Presented by Heather P. Wright Lake County School District Community of Practice May 23, 2012 MEETING THE CHALLENGES OF THE STUDENT SUCCESS ACT THROUGH INTER-DISTRICT COLLABORATION

The Challenge: Florida State Statute (8) (a) Measurement of the learning gains of students in all subjects and grade levels other than subjects and grade levels required for the state student achievement testing program is the responsibility of the school districts. (b) Beginning with the school year, each school district shall administer for each course offered in the district a student assessment that measures mastery of the content, as described in the state-adopted course description, at the necessary level of rigor for the course. Such assessments may include: 1. Statewide assessments. 2. Other standardized assessments, including nationally recognized standardized assessments. 3. Industry certification examinations. 4. District-developed or district-selected end-of-course assessments.

Part 1 GAP ANALYSIS

Statewide Gap Analysis: Master Assessment Plan As of 2011, 2882 total courses offered K-12 statewide 636 with planned or existing statewide standardized assessments, FL Interim Assessments, District-developed Hard to Measure assessments, or other assessments (AP, IB, AICE, etc.) 2246 “gap” courses

District Gap Analysis Focus on 9-12 courses Lake County: 91 “gap” courses grades 9-12 with enrollments >50

Central Florida Assessment Collaborative “Gap” Courses Identified Physical Science (R&H) Anatomy & Physiology (R&H) Marine Science 1 & 2 (R&H) Integrated Science 1 & 2 Environmental Science Forensic ScienceZoologyGeneticsIntensive Math*Pre-Calculus* Liberal Arts Math*Informal Geometry* Analysis of Functions* Adv Alg w/ Fin Applications* Analytic Geometry* Math for College Readiness Trigonometry*Calculus*Probability & Statistics* Anthropology* World Cultural Geography Psychology 1 & 2*Sociology*Law StudiesAmerican Economic Experience: Scarcity & Choice Civics (HS)Digital Design 1*Computers for College & Careers Creative Writing 1-5 Journalism 1-5* Chinese 1-4Japanese 1-4Russian 1-2Arabic 1-4

Part 2 CENTRAL FLORIDA ASSESSMENT COLLABORATIVE

Organizational Structure Bi-monthly meetings from August 2011 – Present Partnering Districts:

Organizational Structure Three Tiers of Leadership Executive Leadership Team Representatives from 5 districts 2 Co-Chairpersons, 1 Assessment Director, 1 Executive Advisor, 1 Budget Manager Provide oversight of the assessment process, monitor timeline, schedule meetings, ensure all actions meet state requirements Steering Task Force One representative from each partnering district Provide guidance on the assessment development process Vote on changes to policies & procedures Provide leadership as part of a Subject Area Leadership Team Subject Area Leadership Teams Members of the Steering Task Force for each subject area Guide item specification training & development Guide item writing training & development Adhere to established deadlines for assessment development stages

Requirements: Partnership with CFAC Open to all Florida public school districts District-level representative to serve on Steering Task Force and Subject Area Leadership Team Minimum of 1-2 item specification developers for each of the 6 content area projects Teachers serving as item writers & item reviewers (commitment proportionate to district size/resources/project demands)

Benefits: Partnership with CFAC Online training provided for all item specification developers, item writers & item reviewers Access to CFAC-created item bank Access to CFAC-created assessments Shared expertise: Diverse item writers & reviewers Experienced test development staff Item performance statistics based on field testing done in multiple districts District-developed teacher evaluation models– teams of district evaluation & compensation analysts

Compensation for Participants CFAC Recommended compensation guidelines: $750/item specification developer $25/accepted item Final compensation decision at district discretion Funded by individual districts: RTTT funds Professional development funds General fund

Part 3 PROCESS FOR ASSESSMENT CREATION

Assessment Creation Process: Steering Task Force Develops & approves the initial project structure & design Nominates item writers & reviewers & item specification developers Subject Area Leadership Team & Item Specification Developers Determine the NGSSS/CCSS to be assessed and develop item specifications Collaborate with FLDOE to ensure quality of item specifications Align any existing test items with the NGSSS or CCSS Approve selection of writers & reviewers Develop test blueprints Subject Area Leadership Team Train & direct item writers & reviewers Item Writers & Reviewers Complete online training on item specifications & item writing/review process Review & revise any pre- existing test items for validity to NGSSS/CCSS and item specifications

Item Writers: Write & develop new test items for specified courses based on item specifications Item Reviewers: Review new test items against the item specifications; accept, reject, or request revision. Send reviews back to Item Writers. Item Writers: Review Comments of the Item Reviewers. Revise the test items & provide rationale for revision. Subject Area Leadership Team & Item Specification Developers: Reviews revised items to determine if the items adequately follow the project design, requirements, and structure. Items may be returned to the Writing Team for more revisions or additions.

Executive Leadership Team Final review & recommendation for field testing Steering Task Force Develops test forms for administration of field testing Selection of representative sample of Florida’s students in schools from partnering districts for field test Administration of field test Subject Area Leadership Team & Steering Task Force Thorough item analysis is conducted, including difficulty level, discrimination indices, point- biserial correlations, and distractor effectiveness Repeat cycle on previous slide as needed, to replace discarded items

Part 4 CHALLENGES & SUCCESSES

Challenges Online-only training Attrition rate Funding!!!

Challenges: Standards

Online Demonstration

Contact Information: Heather Wright QUESTIONS?

Photo Attributions Slide 3, Yum9me, Flickr Creative Commons license Slide 12, 401k, Flickr Creative Commons license Slide 19, Exfordy, Flickr Creative Commons license