CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Tom Torlakson, State Superintendent of Public Instruction California Educational Research Association (CERA) December 5, 2014 Gina Koency Senior Assessment Fellow Introduction to Performance Tasks

TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Purpose To familiarize participants with the purpose, content, format, and use of Performance Tasks (PTs).

TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Small Group Activity/Discussion Why are PTs important? How would you define a PT? Write your definition.

TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction PTs Component of California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) System:  Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments [English-language arts (ELA)/literacy and mathematics]  Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments (ELA/literacy and mathematics)  California Alternate Performance Assessment (CAPA) for science

TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction PTs Component of forthcoming assessments:  Alternate assessments for ELA and mathematics  Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Extended PTs available through the Smarter Balanced Digital Library.

TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction PTs Key to informing instruction:  Give teachers insight into student thinking and reasoning.  Provide information about student learning while it is happening (formative assessment).

TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction PTs Key to informing instruction:  Demonstrate student ability to use and integrate learned information.  Engage students in real-world situations.  Are models for high-quality instruction.

TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Small Group Activity/Discussion Smarter Balanced Sample Items and Performance Tasks Frequently Asked Questions Find and highlight the Smarter Balanced PT definition. How does this definition compare with the one you wrote earlier?

TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction PTs PTs are extended activities that measure a student’s ability to integrate knowledge and skills across multiple standards – a key component of college and career readiness. PTs are better measures of capacities such as depth of understanding, research skills, and complex analysis, which cannot be adequately assessed with selected or constructed-response items.

TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Small Group Activity/Discussion “General Guidelines for the Development of Performance Tasks” (pages 2 and 3) of Smarter Balanced Performance Task Specifications Carefully review the characteristics of PTs. What are the most important ideas reflected in this list of characteristics?

TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Smarter Balanced PT Resources rter-balanced-assessments/ Content Specifications  Provide clear and rigorous assessment targets  Drive item and task specifications and the blueprints

TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Claim #2: Problem Solving  Target A: Apply mathematics to solve well-posed problems in pure mathematics and those arising in everyday life, society, and the workplace.  Target B: Select and use appropriate tools strategically.

TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Smarter Balanced PT Resources rter-balanced-assessments/ Item and Task Specifications  Guidance to translate Content Specifications into assessment items  General, ELA/literacy, and mathematics specific documents

TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Smarter Balanced PT Resources rter-balanced-assessments/ Guidelines  Accessibility Guidelines  Calculator by Grade  Scoring Guides  Style Guide & more

TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Small Group Activity/Discussion Use the characteristics of PTs and apply them to Yellowstone’s Changing Ecosystem, Middle School Performance Task. How well does this PT meet each of these characteristics? How would you revise this PT?

TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Types of PTs Smarter Balanced – PTs are stand-alone tasks designed to take up to 120 minutes to complete. PTs include curriculum-embedded tasks and projects that can take up to a full semester to complete.

Source: SCALE Designing for Deeper Learning: How to Develop Performance Tasks for the Common Core

TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Smarter Balanced PT Performance Task Overview (18 minute online module)  What is a PT?  What is a Classroom Activity?  What does a PT for mathematics and ELA/literacy look like?  Includes sample test administration schedules ml

TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Smarter Balanced PT  PT preceded by Classroom Activity  Classroom Activity – schedule 30 minutes  PT– untimed, schedule 1 to 1:30 hours for mathematics; 2 hours for ELA/literacy  PT expire 10 calendar days of when student initiates PT

TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Classroom Activity  Purpose: Ensure all students have a common understanding of the contextual elements of the PT.  Contextual elements include the setting or situation of the PT; potential concepts associated with the PT (e.g., how fines calculated for speeding tickets); and key terms or vocabulary.

TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction English Learners, Students with Disabilities, and Both Consider Smarter Balanced Universal Tools, Designated Supports, and Accommodations. Integrate these into the PTs and classroom instruction and assessment practices. Ensure consistency in the use of accessibility supports across all assessment experiences for identified students.

TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction PT Rubrics and Scoring Consider Smarter Balanced rubrics and scoring guidelines. Build in time for teachers to develop rubrics and score PTs. Build in time for teachers to discuss the results of their scoring and determine next steps. Interim Assessment PTs will be locally scored.

TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Classroom Practices More critical thinking (e.g., model thinking; reasoning vs. procedures; improve explanations) More collaboration (e.g., pairs, small group) More communication (e.g., write, share, use technology) More creativity (e.g., multiple ways to solve problems)

TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction PT Online Resources Illustrative Mathematics Los Angeles Unified School District lePerfTsks.pdf Smarter Balanced “Scoring Guide for ELA Full Writes” content/uploads/2014/11/Smarter-Balanced- Scoring-Guide-for-ELA-Full-Writes.pdf

TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction PT Online Resources Smarter Balanced “Scoring Guide for Selected Short-Text Mathematics Items” s/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Smarter- Balanced-Scoring-Guide-for-Selected- Short-Text-Mathematics-Items.pdf

TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction PT Online Resources NAEP x/ NovoEd Achieve the Core

TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction PT Online Resources Smarter Balanced Digital Library Next Generation Science Standards – Sample Classroom Assessment Tasks Digital Chalkboard

TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Possible Next Steps Begin to build understanding of the features of high-quality PTs. Begin to develop a local community of teachers committed to using PTs to inform instruction and develop student knowledge and skills.