1. Summative Assessment Information Little Rock School District november 2015
Subtitle

2. AGENDA ACT ASPIRE PURPOSE & DEVELOPMENT ITEM TYPES SCORE REPORT 1

3. Overview
ACT ASPIRE
IS A VERTICALLY SCALED BATTERY OF ACHIEVEMENT TESTS DESIGNED TO MEASURE STUDENT GROWTH IN A LONGITUDINAL SYSTEM FOR GRADES 3-10 IN ENGLISH, READING, WRITING, MATHEMATICS, AND SCIENCE
IS DESIGNED TO MEASURE STUDENTS’ PROGRESS TOWARD COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS

4. Testing window and times
Act aspire will be given from April 11 – may 13
The five content areas tested will total approximately 4 hours
GRADE
ENGLISH
MINUTES
WRITING
READING
MATH
SCIENCE
TOTAL 3 30 60 55
230 4 5

5. Scheduling Computer Based Testing
No more than three subject tests per day
There is no order in which the subject tests have to be administered
Grade cohorts in a school must test on the same day, or as close together as possible
Scheduling Paper Based Testing
ADE will set the schedule

6. Test development
ACT ASPIRE ASSESSMENTS AND ITEMS WERE DESIGNED TO ELICIT EVIDENCE ACROSS THE CONSTRUCT AND ACROSS THE LEARNING TRAJECTORY
SAMPLING CONSTRUCTS ACROSS GRADES OCCURS IN ALL THE ASSESSMENTS
SOME ITEMS ARE FOUNDATION ITEMS—DESIGNED TO COLLECT EVIDENCE ABOUT A CONCEPT THAT WAS INTRODUCED IN A PREVIOUS YEAR BUT THAT THE STUDENT MUST NOW APPLY IN A MORE ADVANCED CONTEXT

7. Test development
ACT ASPIRE ASSESSMENTS ARE DESIGNED TO BE DEVELOPMENTALLY AND CONCEPTUALLY LINKED ACROSS GRADE LEVELS
ASSESSMENT NAMES ARE THE SAME ACROSS ALL LEVELS
SCORES ARE ON THE SAME VERTICAL SCORE SCALE
GRADE 9 & 10 SCORES ARE DIRECTLY CONNECTED WITH ACT

8. Item types ACT ASPIRE USED MULTIPLE ITEM TYPES
SELECTED-RESPONSE—RELIABLE WAY TO SAMPLE A WIDE RANGE OF CONTENT SKILLS AND UNDERSTANDINGS
CONSTRUCTED-RESPONSE—REQUIRES STUDENTS TO EXPLAIN, JUSTIFY, CRITIQUE, CREATE, PROPOSE, PRODUCE, DESIGN, OR OTHERWISE DEMONSTRATE KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
SOMETIMES CONTEXT IS PROVIDED TO REINFORCE APPLICATION
TECHNOLOGY-ENHANCED—INNOVATIVE, FRESH USE OF CONVENTIONAL QUESTIONS AND SCENARIOS

9. Depth of knowledge (dok)
LEVEL OF COMPLEXITY
KEY VERBS
LEVEL 1
RECALL/REPRODUCTION
BLOOM
KNOW/REMEMBER
COMPREHEND/UNDERSTAND
ARRANGE, DEFINE, DESCRIBE, DRAW, EXPLAIN, GIVE EXAMPLES, IDENTIFY, LABEL, LIST, MATCH, RECALL
LEVEL 2
SKILL/CONCEPT
APPLY
APPLY, COMPUTE, CLASSIFY, COMPARE, CONSTRUCT, SHOW, ORGANIZE
LEVEL 3
STRATEGIC THINKING
ANALYZE
EVALUATE
ASSESS, CHECK, DEFEND, DISTINGUISH, DIFFERENTIATE, DEVELOP, CRITIQUE
LEVEL 4
EXTENDED THINKING
SYNTHESIZE
CREATE, DESIGN, CONNECT, JUDGE, PROVE

10. Depth of knowledge (dok)
Act aspire items and tasks require the sampling of different levels of cognitive complexity
Dok values of 1 to 3

11. ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS ENGLISH 30 MINUTES

12. ASSESSMENT CONTENT DESCRIPTIONS: english
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
ENGLISH
STUDENTS WILL REVISE AND EDIT, DEMONSTRATE SKILLS IN ERROR- FREE COMMUNICATION
AREAS OF CONCENTRATION
CONVENTIONS OF STANDARD ENGLISH—APPLY UNDERSTANDING OF GRAMMAR, USAGE, AND MECHANICS TO REVISE AND EDIT TEXT
PUNCTUATION AND USAGE CONVENTIONS—EDIT TEXT TO CONFORM TO ENGLISH PUNCTUATION AND USAGE
SENTENCE STRUCTURE AND FORMATION—UNDERSTAND RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN AND AMONG CLAUSES, PLACEMENT OF MODIFIERS, AND SHIFTS IN CONSTRUCTION

13. ASSESSMENT CONTENT DESCRIPTIONS: english
AREAS OF CONCENTRATION
PRODUCTION OF WRITING—UNDERSTANDING OF THE RHETORICAL PURPOSE AND FOCUS OF A PIECE OF WRITING, DEVELOP A TOPIC EFFECTIVELY, USE VARIOUS STRATEGIES FOR ORGANIZATION, UNITY, AND COHESION
TOPIC DEVELOPMENT—UNDERSTAND AND CONTROL RHETORICAL TEXTS, IDENTIFY PURPOSES OF PARTS OF TEXTS, DETERMINE THE TEXT GOAL, AND EVALUATE THE RELEVANCE OF MATERIALS IN TERMS OF A TEXT’S FOCUS
ORGANIZATION, UNITY, AND COHESION—USE VARIOUS STRATEGIES TO ENSURE TEXT IS LOGICALLY ORGANIZED, FLOWS SMOOTHLY, EFFECTIVE INTRODUCTION AND CONCLUSION
KNOWLEDGE OF LANGUAGE—DEMONSTRATE EFFECTIVE LANGUAGE USE, ENSURING PRECISION, CONCISION IN WORD CHOICE, MAINTAINING CONSISTENCY IN STYLE AND TONE

14. English: Item type table
GRADES 3 4 5
MINUTES 30
TOTAL POINTS/ ITEMS
25/25 MC
21-22 TE
3-4
ITEM & PERCENTAGE OF DOK
DOK 1 %
DOK 2 %
DOK 3 %
TOTAL CONTENT POINTS
PRODUCTION OF WRITING
9-11
6-8
KNOWLEDGE OF LANGUAGE
2-4
CONVENTIONS OF STANDARD ENGLISH
14-16

15. ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
READING
60 MINUTES

16. ASSESSMENT CONTENT DESCRIPTIONS: reading
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
READING
MEASURE STUDENTS’ ABILITY TO DERIVE MEANING FROM AND REASON LOGICALLY ABOUT TEXT PASSAGES
LITERARY NARRATIVES—PROSE FICTION, MEMOIRS, PERSONAL ESSAYS
INFORMATIONAL TEXTS—NATURAL SCIENCES AND SOCIAL STUDIES
AREAS OF CONCENTRATION
KEY IDEAS AND DETAILS—READ TEXTS CLOSELY; DETERMINE CENTRAL IDEAS AND THEMES, AND SUMMARIZE INFORMATION AND IDEAS ACCURATELY; UNDERSTAND SEQUENTIAL, COMPARATIVE, AND CAUSE- EFFECT RELATIONSHIPS AND PROVIDE SUPPORT AND SPECIFIC DETAILS FROM TEXT
CRAFT AND STRUCTURE—DETERMINE WORD AND PHRASE MEANINGS AND TO ANALYZE AN AUTHOR’S WORD CHOICE RHETORICALLY, INFLUENCES ON ENGLISH LANGUAGE; ANALYZE TEXT STRUCTURE; UNDERSTAND PURPOSE AND POINT OF VIEW

17. ASSESSMENT CONTENT DESCRIPTIONS: reading
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
READING
AREAS OF CONCENTRATION
INTEGRATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND IDEAS— UNDERSTAND HOW ARGUMENTS ARE CONSTRUCTED, MAKE CONNECTIONS TO PRIOR KNOWLEDGE BETWEEN AND AMONG TEXTS

18. Reading: Item type table
GRADES 3 4 5
MINUTES 60
TOTAL POINTS/ ITEMS
28/28 MC
18-19 TE
2-3 CR
8/3
ITEM BY PASSAGE TYPE
LITERARY NARRATIVE
10-11
INFORMATIONAL TEXT
SOCIAL SCIENCE
5-6
NATURAL SCIENCE
TOTAL CONTENT POINTS
KEY IDEAS AND DETAILS
13-18
CRAFT AND STRUCTURE
6-11
INTEGRATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND IDEAS
3-6

19. READING: TEXT COMPLEXITY
ITEM & PERCENTAGE OF DOK 3 4 5
DOK 1 %
DOK 2 %
DOK 3 %
NUMBER OF PASSAGES BY TEXT COMPLEXITY
GRADES 3 4 5
TOTAL PASSAGES
BASIC 2 1
STRAIGHTFORWARD
SOMEWHAT CHALLENGING
MORE CHALLENGING
COMPLEX

20. ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
WRITING
30 MINUTES

21. ASSESSMENT CONTENT DESCRIPTIONS: writing
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
WRITING
DESIGNED TO MEASURE AN INTEGRATED CONTINUUM OF WRITING ABILITY THAT ADVANCES IN SKILL AND COMPLEXITY GRADE BY G4RADE, WITH COMPETENCE DEMONSTRATED IN GENERATING, DEVELOPING, SUSTAINING, ORGANIZING, AND COMMUNICATING IDEAS

22. ASSESSMENT CONTENT DESCRIPTIONS: Writing
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
WRITING
AREAS OF CONCENTRATION
GENERATING IDEAS—THINK OF SOMETHING TO SAY, EITHER THROUGH INVENTION OR IN RESPONSE TO A RHETORICAL SITUATION REQUIRING EXPLANATION, PERSUASION, OR NARRATION. MOST IMPORTANT IS THE DEGREE TO WHICH THE IDEAS LEAD TO ASTUTE JUDGMENT, INSIGHTFUL ANALYSIS, OR MEANINGFUL REFLECTION
DEVELOPING IDEAS—MAKE IDEAS CLEAR TO READERS BY EXPLAINING AND EXPLORING THE IDEAS, DISCUSSING IMPLICATIONS, OR ILLUSTRATING THEM THROUGH EXAMPLE. DEVELOPMENT IS THE MEANS BY WHICH THE STUDENT SUPPORTS THE THESIS, ARRIVES AT INSIGHTS INTO THE TOPIC, OR CONVEYS THE MEANING AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE NARRATIVE.

23. ASSESSMENT CONTENT DESCRIPTIONS: writing
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
WRITING
AREAS OF CONCENTRATION
SUSTAINING IDEAS—KEEP IDEAS IN FOCUS FROM BEGINNING TO END
ORGANIZING IDEAS—ORGANIZE IDEAS SUCCESSFULLY TO BUILD A LOGICAL ARGUMENT, PROVIDE A CLEAR EXPLANATION, OR RELAY A COHERENT SEQUENCE OF EVENTS TO CREATE UNITY AND ENHANCE THE PURPOSE IN THE ESSAY.
COMMUNICATING IDEAS—MAKE USE OF GRAMMAR, SYNTAX, WORD USAGE, AND MECHANICS; VARY SENTENCE STRUCTURE, USE PRECISE VOCABULARY, SHOW STYLE AND TONE

24. Writing rubric 4 DOMAINS DEVELOPMENT, ORGANIZATION, LANGUAGE USE
3 AT ALL GRADE LEVELS
REFLECTIVE NARRATIVE, ANALYSIS, OR ARGUMENT
4TH DEPENDS ON GRADE LEVEL
SCORES
5-POINT SCALE FOR GRADES 3-5
6-POINT SCALE FOR GRADES 6-10
4 IS “ADEQUATE” INDICATING ON TRACK FOR SUCCESS IN NEXT GRADE
5 IS “ADVANCING LEVEL” OF SKILL IN IDENTIFYING AND ADDRESSING THE COMPLEXITY OF THE TOPIC
6 IS “MORE ADVANCED” ABILITY IN IDENTIFYING AND ADDRESSING THE COMPLEXITY OF THE TOPIC
GRADES 6-10 ONLY

25. Writing: content category
GRADES 3 4 5
MINUTES 30
TOTAL POINTS 20
IDEAS AND ANALYSIS
DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORT
ORGANIZATION
LANGUAGE USE AND CONVENTIONS
WRITING MODE
REFLECTIVE NARRATIVE
ANALYTICAL EXPOSITORY
PERSUASIVE/
ARGUMENTATIVE
DOK

26. MATHEMATICS 55 MINUTES

27. ASSESSMENT CONTENT DESCRIPTIONS: MATHEMATICS
DEVELOPED TO REFLECT STUDENTS’ KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS ACCUMULATED OVER TIME, WITHIN AND ACROSS GRADES
SKILLS WILL BE MEASURED USING CONTEXT RANGING FROM:
NUMBERS AND OPERATIONS TO NUMBER MODELS, INCLUDING NUMBER LINE
GEOMETRIC SHAPES
STATISTICAL CHARTS
SPECIFICALLY FOR HIGHER GRADES:
ALGEBRAIC EXPRESSIONS
COORDINATE GRAPHS
FUNCTIONS
PROBABILITY

28. ASSESSMENT CONTENT DESCRIPTIONS: MATHEMATICS
Areas OF CONCENTRATION
Numbers and operations in base 10
Number and operations—fractions
The number system
Number and quantity
Operations & algebraic thinking
Expressions and equations
Ratios and proportional relationships
Algebra
Functions
Measurement and data
Geometry
Statistics and probability
JUSTIFICATION AND EXPLANATION FOR MATHEMATICAL REASONING THROUGH CONSTRUCTED RESPONSES

29. ASSESSMENT CONTENT DESCRIPTIONS: MATHEMATICS
FORMULAS
SOME MATHEMATIC ITEMS WILL GIVE STUDENTS THE FORMULA THEY NEED
TO ENSURE USE OF APPROPRIATE FORMULA
SOME MATHEMATIC ITEMS WILL NOT GIVE STUDENTS THE FORMULA
TO ALLOW STUDENTS TO COME UP WITH THE RELATION NEEDED TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM
CALCULATORS
GRADES 3-5 MAY NOT USE CALCULATORS
Grades 6-10
ACT-approved personal calculator OR Online calculator tool

30. Mathematics: content category
GRADES 3 4 5
TOTAL POINTS 37
BASE 10
5-7
3-5
FRACTIONS
2-4
4-6
OPERATIONS & ALGEBRAIC THINKING
GEOMETRY
MEASUREMENT & DATA
JUSTIFICATION & EXPLANATION 16
GRADE LEVEL PROGESS—THE CONTENT IS NEW TO THIS GRADE.
FOUNDATION/GRADE LEVEL PROGRESS—THE CONTENT IS FOUND IN LOWER GRADES AND IN THE CURRENT GRADE.

31. Mathematics: Item Type
GRADES 3 4 5
MINUTES 55
TOTAL POINTS/ ITEMS
37/25 MC
15-16 TE
5-6
JE (CR)
16/4
ITEM BY SCORING
FOUNDATION 8
MC & TE / JE
6 / 2
GRADE LEVEL 17
MC & TE / JE
15 / 2
DOK 1
4 GL
DOK 2
4 F / 8 GL
DOK 3
2 F / 3 GL / 4 JE
SELECTED RESPONSE (MC/TE)
CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE (JE)
57% / 43%
Mathematics: Item Type

32. SCIENCE 55 MINUTES

33. ASSESSMENT CONTENT DESCRIPTIONS: Science
SCENARIOS
UPPER-GRADES—STUDENT INVESTIGATIONS, FORMAL SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH, FORMAL SCIENTIFIC DATA FROM REFERENCES, STUDENTS, OR SCIENTISTS PROVIDING COMPETING EXPLANATIONS FOR REAL SCIENTIFIC PHENOMENA
LOWER-GRADES—FOCUS ON EVERYDAY STUDENT “BACKYARD INVESTIGATION” RATHER THAN FORMAL SCIENCE
CONTENT AREAS OF FOCUS
FOCUS ON THREE DOMAINS/ AREAS ASSESSED
INTERPRETATION OF DATA
SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION
EVALUATION OF MODELS, INFERENCES, AND EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
BIOLOGY, CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS, EARTH/SPACE SCIENCES
BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE IN FOCUS AREAS IS NECESSARY FOR UPPER-GRADES

34. Science: item type GRADES 3 4 5 MINUTES 55 TOTAL/ITEMS 36/28 MC 18-19
3-4 CR
14/6
TOTAL POINTS FOR DOMAIN 36
INTERPRETATION OF DATA
18-22
SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION
7-9
EVALUATION OF MODELS, INFERENCES, AND EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
DOK 1 %
DOK 2 %
DOK 3 %

35. Science: stimulus formats
STIMULUS FORMATS USED TO GET STUDENTS TO RESPOND
DATA PRESENTATION—PASSAGE, 60 WORDS OR LESS, AT EARLIER GRADES—3-5, MORE RELATED TO EVERYDAY LIFE
SCIENCE INVESTIGATION—PASSAGE, FEWER THAN 200 WORDS, AT EARLIER GRADES—3-7, MORE STUDENT- CENTERED EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES ALONG WITH GRAPHS, TABLES, AND/OR DIAGRAMS FOR EXPERIMENTAL SETUP AND RESULTS

36. Science: stimulus formats
GRADES 3 4 5
Passages
DP--Data presentation
description for graphs, tables, etc. must analyze and draw conclusions from data 2
SI--Science investigation
student centered, experimental design & procedures must analyze and draw conclusions from data

37. Test scores & reporting

38. Test scores & reporting
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
READING SCORE—FROM ENGLISH, READING, & WRITING
TEXT COMPLEXITY PROGRESS MEASURE—FROM STUDENT PERFORMANCE ON LEVELS OF COMPLEXITY IN READING PASSAGES
CONSTRUCTS & PRACTICES CONSISTENT WITH COLLEGE & CAREER READINESS STANDARDS
MATHEMATICS
MATHEMATICS SCORE—FROM VARIOUS MATHEMATICS CATEGORIES (LISTED IN THE MATHEMATICS CONTENT SLIDES)
FUNDAMENTAL SKILLS & GRADE LEVEL PROGRESS
JUSTIFICATION & EXPLANATION—FROM STUDENT REASONING AND UNDERSTANDING IN CONSTRUCTED RESPONSES

39. Test scores & reporting
SCIENCE
SCIENCE SCORE—FROM VARIOUS SCIENCE CATEGORIES (LISTED IN THE SCIENCE CONTENT SLIDES)
ADDITIONAL SCORES
COMBINED ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS SCORE—FROM ENGLISH, READING, & WRITING
STEM SCORE—FROM MATHEMATICS & SCIENCE ASSESSMENTS

40. Test scores & reporting
SCORE REPORTS DESCRIBE THE PERCENT & NUMBER OF POINTS STUDENTS EARN OUT OF THE TOTAL NUMBER OF POINTS POSSIBLE IN EACH REPORTING CATEGORY.
TABLES IN THE PREVIOUS CONTENT SLIDES SHOWED THE NUMBER OF POINTS POSSIBLE

41. Accessibility support

42. Accessibility support
SUPPORT LEVEL 1: EMBEDDED DEFAULT SYSTEM TOOLS
AVAILABLE TO ALL STUDENTS WITHOUT ADVANCE REQUEST
SUPPORT LEVEL 2: OPEN ACCESS TOOLS (PNP required)
AVAILABLE TO ALL STUDENTS BUT MUST BE IDENTIFIED IN ADVANCE, PLANNED FOR, AND SELECTED FROM THE PULL-DOWN MENU INSIDE THE TEST TO ACTIVATE THEM
SUPPORT LEVEL 3: ACCOMMODATIONS (PNP required)
AVAILABLE TO VERY FEW STUDENTS AND AN IEP, 504, OR LPAC PLAN MUST BE IN PLACE, MUST BE IDENTIFIED IN ADVANCE
PNP—Personal Needs Profile

43. ACT ASPIRE TECHNOLOGY SAMPLE TESTS for How to Take Test
PDF exemplars for Practice Questions

44. ACT ASPIRE RESOURCES
ACT COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS STANDARDS ACT CALCULATOR POLICY SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT TECHNICAL BULLETIN #1 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES MAY BE FOUND AT DEPARTMENT OF TESTING AND EVALUATION PAGE ON THE LRSD WEBSITE