Implications of the Smarter Balanced Assessment for College Readiness and Math Placement William S. Moore, Ph.D., Policy Associate, SBCTC Director, Core to College Alignment & Transition Mathematics Project bmoore@sbctc.edu What do you know about the Common Core State Standards & the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium? How has your program or department been involved in these efforts up to now?

Common Core State Standards Clear, consistent, rigorous standards in English language arts/literacy and mathematics Knowledge and skills needed for college and career success Developed voluntarily and cooperatively by states with input from teachers and college faculty Clear College-Readiness. This initiative presents an opportunity to level the field and clearly define the foundation of academic standards by which all students should know and be able to do during their K-12 experience. Consistent. Prior to the CCSS, 50 state had 50 difference set of academic standards, with 50 different means for assessment. Cost-effective: States are pooling resources and expertise to implement the standards. In addition to the opportunities it presents for aligned instructional resources, and consistency for mobile students and teachers, the CCSS provides great opportunity to leverage and align resources to support implementation. Source: www.corestandards.org

What You Probably Didn’t Know… “Obama Core is a comprehensive plan to dumb down schoolchildren so they will be obedient servants of the government and probably to indoctrinate them to accept the leftwing view of America and its history.” Phyllis Schafly, October 2012, cited by Benjamin Riley, New Schools Venture Fund, “Common Core-spiracy”

Major Shifts in the CCSS: “Fewer, Higher, Clearer, Deeper” Focus: Focus strongly where the standards focus. Coherence: Think across grades and link to major topics. Rigor: In major topics, pursue conceptual understanding, procedural skill and fluency, and application. Rigor of HS coursework best single predictor of postsecondary performance Major shifts based on expert disciplinary advice and latest learning research Away from “mile wide, inch deep” approach in math These are not only things I’m (we’re) telling you, these are things I’m (we’re) asking you to tell other people. These are what you need to be fighting for. These are what you need to be thinking about when a speaker at a workshop or a publisher or even members of your district tell you about CCSS – you can test their message against these things. You can test anyone’s message against these touchstones. They are meant to be succinct, and easy to remember; we’ll discuss them each in turn.

Traditional U.S. Approach K 12 Number and Operations Measurement and Geometry Algebra and Functions Statistics and Probability This slide represents another visualization of how U.S standards used to be arranged, giving equal importance to all four areas - like “shopping aisles.” Each grade goes up and down the aisles, tossing topics into the cart, losing focus. There is no disagreement, for example, that the most critical area of mathematics in K-2 is numbers and operations. However, whether looking at typical state standards or typical curriculum that followed, numbers and operations was just one concept among many that was included. The Common Core State Standards is a set of standards that allow teachers to do what they know they need to in order to support the further development of their students: concentrate on fewer, powerful concepts and then build on those.

Focusing Attention Within Number and Operations Operations and Algebraic Thinking Expressions and Equations Algebra → Number and Operations— Base Ten The Number System Number and Operations—Fractions K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 High School The CCSS takes the first strand from the last slide (Number and Operations) and expands it to show the relevance and progression of number and operations from K-12. You can see that the one "shopping aisle" or strand of Number and Operations from previous states standards is now split into 5 domains across the K-8 grade span, communicating exactly what is being learned at each grade and clarifying how that learning prepares the students for future studies. Number and Operations

Standards for Mathematical Practices Bill McCallum, U of AZ

Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium GOVERNANCE: A state-led consortium with equal representation across member states ECONOMIES OF SCALE: High-quality assessments beyond what any single state can afford APPLES-to-APPLES: Equivalent levels of rigor across all member states STATE FLEXIBILITY: Different packages of “core” and “optional” services available to meet state needs 25 member states (21 governing 4 advisory) Washington is fiscal agent WestEd provides project management services

A Balanced Assessment System Summative assessments Benchmarked to college and career readiness Teachers and schools have information and tools they need to improve teaching and learning Common Core State Standards specify K-12 expectations for college and career readiness All students leave high school college and career ready Rigorous assessments of progress toward “college and career readiness” Information about grade-level achievement and growth Administered online, using multiple item formats (paper/pencil option for 3 years) Valid, reliable, and fair for all students (except those with “significant cognitive disabilities”) Fully operational in 2014-15 school year Teacher resources for formative assessment practices to improve instruction Interim assessments Flexible, open, used for actionable feedback

OSPI Proposal… Summative Assessments in 2014–15 and beyond English/LA Mathematics Science (no change) Grade 3 SBAC Grade 4 Grade 5 MSP Grade 6 Grade 7 Grade 8 Grades10 Comprehensive exit exam EOC Year 1 EOC Biology Grade 11 SBAC=SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium MSP= Measurements of Student Progress EOC= End of Course exams Decision still pending in Legislature grade 11 “pass rates” will plummet if SB is used as HS grad requirement; would need separate, lower cut score

Questions Being Addressed by the Core to College Project Do the Common Core State Standards and Smarter Balanced assessment represent a definition of college- and career-readiness that works for higher education? Specifically, how will the 11th grade assessment results be used? 11 states: Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington Serve as models for other states, showing how to foster long-term collaborations between state higher education and K-12 entities Expected to align work with implementation plans for the Common Core State Standards and either the PARCC or SMARTER Balanced assessments Why should higher ed be involved? Common Core State Standards anchored in expectations for college readiness Opportunity to improve college readiness, reduce remediation, and boost completion Formal agreement when states applied for federal grant with goal of recognizing Grade 11 exam as evidence of college readiness

1. Definition of College Readiness Faculty Review Group consensus (both math and English): Standards generally reflect a clear and solid notion of college readiness for entry-level courses in their disciplines Preliminary review of Smarter Balanced details and sample items encouraging, but need to see full assessment Math and English faculty, both CTC and baccalaureate reps plus some K-12 experts in Common Core Met several times in person and via the web, meeting again next week to discuss latest updates in terms of policy framework, resources for teachers, etc.

2. Use of the 11th Grade Assessment Strengthen 12th Grade “Launch Year” Encourage Dual Credit courses for students who are college-ready Provide targeted curriculum for students who are not yet college-ready Serve as College Readiness Indicator Full or conditional exemption from developmental course work when entering college Considered as another possible “data point” in admissions review Incorporated into minimum admission standards?

Policy Framework for Grade 11 Assessment Results Not Yet Content-Ready - Substantial Support Needed K-12 & higher education may offer interventions Level 1 Not Yet Content-Ready – Support Needed Transition courses or other supports for Grade 12, retesting option Level 2 Conditionally Content-Ready/Exempt from Developmental In each state, K-12 and higher ed jointly develop Grade 12 requirements to earn exemption Level 3 Content-Ready/Exempt from Developmental In each state, K-12 and higher education may jointly set Grade 12 requirements to retain exemption Level 4 Note: Applies only to students who matriculate directly from high school to college.

Responding to the Policy Framework What evidence would you need to see about the assessment to give you confidence about its value as a college readiness indicator? Assuming the assessment is valuable, what would be a reasonable expectation of evidence of continued learning in grade 12 for level 3 students to earn an exemption from precollege math?

Key Clarifications of Proposed Framework Support for Emerging Approaches to Developmental Ed: Colleges are free to permit students who score below the college content-readiness standard to enroll in credit-bearing courses Multiple Measures of Content-Readiness: Fully supports the use of multiple measures to determine student course placement Recommended “Cut Scores”: To be set summer 2014 after pilot and field testing Participation agreement: No later than January 2015 Score Expiration: Scores only valid for students who matriculate directly from high school to college Limitations: which courses qualify for exemption/placement Admissions: (institutions could choose to include the Smarter Balanced score in their admission evaluations) Cut scores: K-12 and higher education representatives will jointly determine recommended cut-scores for each achievement level on the Grade 11 assessments Participation agreement: in time for First full official administration: spring 2015

Higher Education After Smarter Balanced: What Won’t Change? High school graduation requirements Admission standards Most course placement (especially STEM students) Developmental education reform Some states may use the Smarter Balanced assessment items—with a lower performance standard—for high school exit, but no states currently plan to use the college content-readiness standard for this purpose. Colleges will continue to admit students according to their current standards and practices – the college content-readiness policy applies only to admitted students. While honoring the exemption from developmental education for students who have earned it, colleges may use tests (and/or other means) to determine appropriate course placement, especially STEM: Colleges will need to assess additional evidence for students seeking to enter more advanced mathematics courses. Colleges can continue to place any student into credit-bearing courses. Grades-only placement policies are unaffected.

Core to College Timetable Refine parameters based on pilot test College and system group engagement (Fall 2013-Winter 2014) Cross-sector summit gathering (Spring 2014) Confirm SB participation commitment (January 2015) Review and endorse proposal Develop specific proposal for SB use in higher education System and institutional review (Fall 2014) Summit: presidents, provosts, school superintendents Core to College Timetable

Resources www.achievethecore.org www.illustrativemathematics.org commoncoretools.me www.corestandards.org http://parcconline.org/parcc-content- frameworks http://www.smarterbalanced.org/k-12- education/common-core-state- standards-tools-resources/

Questions? For more details about Core to College in Washington, see https://sites.google.com/site/wacoretocollege/ Slides and handouts available at http://tinyurl.com/mathconf13moore