1. California Educational Research Association Conference
Learning Wins: The Evolution of Assessment in California
December 2, 2015
Michelle Center, Director, Assessment Development and Administration Division
Deborah Baumgartner, Consultant, Assessment Development and Administration Division
Keith Smith, Consultant, Interim Assessments & Digital Library Office
Lily Roberts, Administrator, English Language Proficiency Assessments Office
Good afternoon. Thank you for joining us.
Now that we are well into the second year of the new CAASPP system – this is an ideal opportunity to take a deeper look at how California’s assessment is evolving, and look at the tools and resources CDE and its partners are making available to schools and districts as we continue the transition to a system of assessments focused on improving teaching and learning.
I’m happy to be joined today by three of my CDE colleagues. After I provide a brief overview, I’ll be turning things over to Deborah Baumgartner, who will discuss the formative assessment process, and then to Keith Smith, who will walk us all through the use of the digital library, and then finally to Lily Roberts, who will be discussing development of the new assessment for English language proficiency.

2. STAR to SBAC: From Accountability Focus to Learning Focus Michelle Center, Director Assessment Development and Administration Division
When we talk about the transition going on in California’s assessment system, there’s a tendency to focus on how – replacing paper and pencil with computer based assessments -- and what – assessments aligned with the goals for deeper learning in our content standards – but a lot less emphasis on why. So let’s start there…

3. 1998: A STAR was born
Valid and reliable measurement across a large and diverse state.
Central role in state and federal accountability systems.
Steady increases in proficiency.
Results spoke for students who otherwise could have been overlooked.
For a lot of us involved in assessments in California, STAR was like Old Faithful – it was always there.
Like any assessment, it had its strengths and weaknesses, but it was very good at doing what policymakers at the time asked for – providing a valid, reliable assessment that could be used in an accountability system centered on test scores.
And whether you were a fan of the STAR system or not, it provided California with some real benefits over time.
California saw steady increases in proficiency rates associated with STAR assessments.
And I think it’s important to note that STAR results brought needed attention to issues related to the performance of both individual schools and to subgroups of students.
That’s not to say that everyone was a huge fan of STAR….

4. Some thought we called it STAR for another reason…
Fairly or not, STAR became linked to the state and federal accountability systems that relied upon STAR results – in particular, those associated with No Child Left Behind.

5. Rethinking the Role of Assessment
Accountability alone was no longer enough.
Policymakers wanted more than alignment with new standards and use of technology.
“It is the intent of the Legislature…to provide a system of assessment that has the primary purpose of assisting teachers, administrators, and pupils and their parents to improve teaching and learning.” – AB 484
So it’s not at all surprising that when California re-examined its assessment system – some major changes were in order.
And while this shift was brought about in part by the adoption of Common Core State Standards, it’s also important to recognize that policymakers – the Legislature, Governor and State Superintendent – went beyond simply asking for new assessments reflecting the new standards -- they also changed the core purpose of assessments themselves.
So while providing results for accountability purposes remains a part of our job – it’s no longer our primary purpose. Now, our most important goal is to help educators improve teaching and learning.

6. Beyond Once-a-Year Measurement
Focusing on growth over time
Providing check ins throughout the year
Building assessment literacy
Ongoing formative assessment process as a teaching tool.
That’s quite a change in direction – and quite frankly, it’s one that is not yet fully understood by parents, or even by many of those working in our education system itself.
In many ways, while the format of our assessments has changed, and the content of them has changed as well – understanding of our new goals for assessments is – at best – a work in progress.
Yet understanding this shift in objectives – and it’s implications – is crucial, because it requires changes in thinking that are every bit as fundamental as the changes we’ve made in testing formats and content.

7. A New System with a New PurposeTO
FROM
Assessment for Teaching and Learning
Multi-faceted system
Embedded in the instructional cycle
Focus on continuous improvement
Tools for teachers
Testing for Accountability
Once a year
The first of these is a shift away from focusing on a single end-of-year summative assessment and the scores that go with it.
Instead, our focus has become the development of a multi-faceted system that is integrated with instruction throughout the year, and that provides educators with tools that help students learn.

8. A Year-Round System
Summative assessments are now meant to be just one component of a complete system – far less frequent than the ongoing process of formative assessment, and less frequent than interim and benchmark tests given throughout the year.

9. Benefits of Baseline Scores
A valid, reliable measure of student performance in all tested grades.
For incoming seniors, a valuable reading of readiness for college-level coursework.
Summative assessments still matter. And there are some very tangible benefits to these first baseline scores.
First, obviously, they provide a valid and reliable measure of student performance against the academic standards California has in place for English language arts and mathematics.
I like to remind people that the state adopted the common core standards more than five years ago – but these new assessments provided our very first statewide look at where students are in their progress toward meeting them. That’s very important.
The scores also provide some very specific and very important information to 11th grade students and their families about college readiness. We worked closely with California’s higher education institutions –– so that the 11th-grade results would provide all students with a measure of their readiness for college coursework.

10. The Big Secret: It’s not all about summative scores
New assessments signal educational goals. New assessments model high-quality instruction.
Perhaps there’s a bit of hyperbole here – but there’s more than a little truth as well – it really isn’t all about the scores any more.
Because -- while the scores still attract all the attention – in and of themselves, they are a minimal benefit to advance teaching and learning.
But summative assessments do still have a vital role to play in California’s education system – by communicating educational goals, and by modeling high-quality instruction.

11. Signaling Educational Goals
Aligning assessments to Common Core State Standards encouraged:
Professional development
Technology acquisition
Changes in classroom instruction
First, let’s consider how assessments communicate educational goals.
It’s good to remember that California adopted the Common Core Standards in 2010 – but continued to administer the STAR program assessments through 2013.
As long as those assessments were in place – it would be difficult, if not impossible, for implementation of the new standards to become a priority.
We sometimes call this the Velveteen Rabbit effect. In the book, remember, the power of a child’s love brings a stuffed animal to life. Love makes it real.
In California’s case, changing our system took our new goals for education off the shelf and helped bring them to life in our schools. Testing made them real.

12. Modeling High-Quality Instruction
Performance tasks provide opportunities for students to demonstrate analytical and problem-solving skills.
Analytical writing provides opportunities to demonstrate communication and analytical skills.
We also recognized that assessments could provide schools and teachers with models for high-quality instruction.
We have taken the pitfalls of teaching to the test, and turned them on their head – in essence, we’ve tried to build tests worth teaching to.
Why? Because as educators become more familiar with the skills students must master to perform well -- problem-solving, critical thinking and analytical writing -- they will increasingly tailor classroom instruction to address these needs.
In the process, they will naturally work in greater alignment with California’s goals of career and college readiness for all students.

13. CAASPP Year One: Online and Opting In
More than 3.2 million students assessed
Less than 2,000 paper-based administrations
So we’re pleased with much of what has been accomplished so far.
This first operational year of the CAASPP was a real challenge for California’s education system – but we came through with flying colors.
More than 3 million students were assessed, nearly all of them by computer, and only a very small number of students – far less than one percent -- were exempted from testing by a parent or guardian.
Those successes came thanks to the hard work of hundreds of LEA administrators, site coordinators and teachers – along with all of us at CDE, ETS and our other partners.

14. Committed to ongoing improvements
Operational improvements planned for 2016.
Re-examination of reporting systems and timelines.
Ongoing analysis by CDE, ETS and UCLA CRESST.
Independent evaluation by HumRRO.
It’s important to recognize that this system is still in its infancy.
We are working with ETS, Smarter Balanced and others to make a number of significant improvements to the system, and we’ll be working in partnership with districts to do that – including re-examining the score reporting process to get useful information to educators more quickly.
There is already considerable work being done at CDE and by our partners to analyze the performance of every aspect of the new system – as well as an independent evaluation.

15. Still a long way to go…
Making sure results are ready to serve schools, teachers and students.
Improving online reporting, formative tools and interim assessments.
Improving understanding of long-term goals for assessments.
We know we still have a long way to go to achieve the ambitious goals policymakers have set for us.
Of course we all want to see scores rise – as a signal that the work schools are doing is paying off – and we certainly hope to see early signs of progress this school year.
But we also have work to do to improve the system itself – and by doing so, help to realize its potential for improving teaching and learning.
Certainly, that means reporting final summative scores as early as possible – but it also means expanding access to the online reporting system and encouraging districts to analyze and make use of preliminary results.
And it means expanding and focusing on the other parts of the system – the digital library and interim assessments.

16. CDE: Providing New Resources
CAASPP Institutes: Opportunity to set goals for instructional improvement.
Digital Library/Interim Assessment Clinics. Technical assistance in use, administration and scoring.
Online Parent and Teacher Guides resources for parents and educators.
We are putting a considerable emphasis this year on helping districts, schools and teachers take greater advantage of the components of the system beyond the summative assessments, including
CAASPP Institutes
Digital Library/Interim Assessment Clinics
And Interim Assessment Scoring Workshops
We are also working to provide a wider range of online resources, including CAASPP Parent and Teacher Guides to help teachers and parents understand what these new assessments are asking of students.
Of course, there’s much more to be done. But our progress is real – and with your help it will benefit California’s students for years to come.
So let’s take a deeper look at the tools we’re providing beyond summative assessments, starting with supporting the formative assessment process.
Deborah, why don’t you take it from here. Thank you all very much.