Moving Forward With Assessment and Accountability August 2011 High School

Thinking About Assessment and Accountability

Student Assessment-SB1 A new assessment system, based on the revised content standards, will be adopted by the KBE and implemented beginning in This new system will replace the current Commonwealth Assessment Testing System (CATS). KBE will adopt an interim assessment system for (three school years). The new assessment system will be used to measure students, schools and districts achievement in all content areas, through student tests and program reviews and audits. The new tests will be valid and reliable to measure individual student achievement, providing diagnostic and longitudinal information about each student. Test results will allow comparisons to national norms and other states. Writing, the arts and humanities, and practical living and career studies will be assessed through local and state program reviews and program audits. Tests will take place during the last 14 days of school and take no more than five days. Results reported no later than 75 days following the first day of assessment. KBE must adopt regulations prohibiting inappropriate test prep activities. KBE must study alignment of NRTs with the revised content standards. If they are aligned, KBE may reduce CRTs

K-PREP “The New Assessment” The new assessments in Grades 3-8 will be called Kentucky Rating for Educational Progress Test. K-PREP

High Schools High school readiness exam in English, reading, math and science in grade 8 or 9 CRTs in math, reading and science once in high school, to measure standards not assessed via the ACT CRT in social studies, augmented by an NRT On-demand writing twice in high school Multiple choice and constructed response assessment of editing and writing mechanics once each in elementary and middle school grades College readiness exam in grade 10 ACT in grade 11 KBE may adopt end-of-course exams in lieu of CRTs

What EOC Assessments Are Required? ACT QualityCore English II Algebra II Biology U.S. History  These courses are graduation requirements.

ACT QualityCore ACT, Inc. will provide the EOC assessments for Kentucky The ACT QualityCore program is:  Syllabus-driven with curriculum and instruction support materials.  Based on research in high-performing classrooms that focus on the essential standards for college and career readiness; and  Connected to PLAN and ACT.

End-of-Course Examinations (H.S.) Kentucky has selected ACT QualityCore as the vendor for EOC examinations KDE will provide information on how educators may access the instructional support materials in coming weeks. EOC assessments will be administered throughout the year as students earn credits in each course. Students in grades 10 and 11 will also complete writing assessments provided by NCS Pearson.

What is the EOC Test Format? The EOC tests include both multiple-choice and constructed-response items. Each section has multiple choice items that can be administered in two, 45-minute sessions or one 90- minute session. The constructed-response session will consist of 1 to 3 questions and can be administered in 45 minutes. On-demand writing is required twice and editing and mechanics is required once in high school. (Pearson)

EOC Results and Student Grades End-of-course test results may be used for a percentage of a students final grade in the course, as outlined in local policy. It that percentage is less than 20%, school districts will submit reports to KDE providing justification.

With the purchase of QualityCore®, Kentucky educators receive access to a variety of resources including course syllabi, objectives, formative item banks and benchmark assessments. All of the resources help define the course rigor and expectations that will be sampled during administration of the QualityCore® EOC exams.

Standard Correlations High correlation exists between: Kentucky's Core Academic Standards for English and Mathematics, Kentucky's Program of Studies(POS), Core Content 4.1 for Science and Social Studies and the College Readiness Standards incorporated in QualityCore®. The KCAS and POS/Core Content 4.1 contain some areas not covered by QualityCore®, and the QualityCore® educator resources purchased by Kentucky may contain some content not included in KCAS and POS. KDE staff will work to identify the areas of difference. KDE staff have drafted course frameworks for Algebra II and English II.

While Kentucky requires students to take the QualityCore® EOC exams, the Commonwealth does not require teachers to use the QualityCore® educator resources. These resources are available to support teachers as they implement KCAS and local curriculum. The QualityCore® resources for Algebra II, English II, Biology and U.S. History may provide an important supplement for the four required courses. The four sets of QualityCore® educator resources do not provide a complete coverage of the depth and breadth of the Kentucky’s curriculum standards (i.e., KCAS).

Alternate Assessment Alternate Assessment Plan (standards and assessment design) was released on May 16 through a Special Alternate Assessment sent to district assessment coordinators. Alternate Assessment teachers encouraged to access the 6 standards for reading, math, and writing and incorporate them into instruction beginning Fall of Standards assessed in science and social studies will continue to follow core content 4.1

ACCOMMODATION DISCUSSIONS Changes recommended include: eliminate readers on the reading test, prohibit prompting/cueing for all students, and remove assistive technology and student- generated glossaries for English learners. The Kentucky Board of Education is expected to discuss this topic in October 2011.

ACCOMMODATION DISCUSSIONS Changes recommended include: eliminate readers on the reading test, prohibit prompting/cueing for all students, and remove assistive technology and student- generated glossaries for English learners. The Kentucky Board of Education is expected to discuss this topic in October 2011.

Program Review 16 technical assistance sessions provided across the state by KDE. KVEC Regional Group formed and in process of developing tools. State-wide work underway includes Rubric refinement and feedback Implementation Timeline Implementation for accountability Survey (Would it make more sense to pilot PR in all schools in 2011/2012 and include in accountability in 2012/2013)

Program Review Update Program Reviews will be included in the accountability system through field testing and public reporting of results. Full accountability for Program Reviews will begin in the school year. Schools will implement Program Reviews in the upcoming school year to get a baseline measure of where they stand.

Currently proposed Under current proposal, schools would receive up to 100 points for each of the three Program Reviews. Each score would be multiplied by 33.3 percent. Program Reviews in world language and elementary primary programs will be implemented in coming Schools will likely will have four Program Reviews, as elementary schools likely will not have world language Program Reviews and middle and high schools will not have primary Program Reviews.

Program Review All Program Reviews will be weighted equally. In the regulation that proposes an overall accountability score for schools and districts, direction was given to increase the percentage that program reviews would count from 20% to 30% in a 100-point overall score. This indicates the board’s viewpoint that these content areas are critical to effective teaching and learning. These decisions are pending final approval at the August 3-4 KBE meeting.

Timelines for Deployment of Program Reviews Phase 1 ( _ Pilot Phase 2 ( ) Voluntary Implementation 48 Schools piloted. Feedback collected. Revisions made to tools and process School/districts were encouraged to use Program Reviews. Additional data were collected. Revisions made to tools and process. Phase 3 ( ) Field Test Phase 4 ( ) Implementation Mandatory implementation in all schools. Professional development provided by KDE and partner organizations. Feedback collected. Rubrics revised to validate. Results publicly reported for accountability Statewide implementation Full accountability in spring 2013.

Continuous Instructional Improvement Technology System (CIITS) Every teacher in Kentucky will have access to this tool prior to the school year. Fully realized System will provide access to: Exemplary lesson/unit plans Podcasts from master teachers on key concepts Social networking promoting professional dialogue Student learning data.

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