1. Georgia’s Changing Assessment Landscape
Melissa Fincher
Associate Superintendent for Assessment and Accountability
Georgia Department for Education
GACIS Fall Conference – September 2013

2. What’s Next Given PARCC Withdrawal?

3. Federal Requirements for High Quality Assessments
College & Career Ready standards and expectations
Assessments in grades 3 – 8 and high school
capable of measuring student growth over the course of the academic year
accessible for all students, including SWD and EL
ELP standards that correspond to CCR standards
Administer no later than 2014 – 2015
Annually report college-going and college-credit accumulation rates for all students and student subgroups at district and high school levels

4. Georgia’s Plan New design – not a redesign
Comprehensive – single program
Coherent – consistent signals about student achievement both within system and with external measures (e.g., NAEP; PSAT; SAT; ACT)
Rigorous – position Georgia students to compete nationally
Accessible – allow all students to show what they know and can do
Balanced – both formative & summative
Inform effectiveness measures

5. Georgia’s Plan To accomplish this, Georgia must:
continue strong partnership between K – 12 and post-secondary (USG and TCSG);
include a variety of item types – more than just multiple choice;
increase expectations for student learning and achievement; and
continue to – and accelerate – transition to online administration

6. Georgia’s New Assessments
As we begin to build new assessments, they:
will be aligned to the language arts and mathematics CCGPS;
will be of high-quality and rigorous;
will be developed for students in grades 3 through 8 and high school;
will be reviewed by Georgia teachers;
will be offered in both computer- and paper-based formats; and
will include a variety of item types, such as performance-based and multiple-choice items.
As a state, we have to prepare for a significant increase in rigor.

7. CRCT Readiness Indicators
A Step Towards Positioning Georgia’s Students for Success

8. CRCT Readiness Indicators: Reading, ELA, Mathematics
Indicators are designed to send a signal to stakeholders about where students are relative to the expectations in the standards
Indicators provide feedback about our preparedness for the increase in rigor and expectation for student achievement that is on the horizon
Feedback consists of the percent of students who achieved each readiness level – state , district, and school levels – for instructional planning purposes

9. CRCT Readiness Indicators: Reading, ELA, Mathematics
For instructional planning and decision making:
Needs Additional Support: The student has demonstrated that his or her command of the knowledge and skills described in the CCGPS warrants additional instructional supports.
On Track: The student has demonstrated that his or her command of the knowledge and skills described in the CCGPS is sufficient; the student is on track for success at the next level.
Commendable: The student has demonstrated that his or her command of the knowledge and skills described in the CCGPS is exemplary.

10. CRCT Readiness Indicators: Reading, ELA, Mathematics
For accountability purposes - at the student (promotion/retention), school, district, and state levels (CCRPI) - we will continue to use 800 and 850. 
It is strongly advised, however, that schools use the scale scores associated with the Readiness Indicators as targets - we need to be working actively to get students to these levels because we know the new tests will be more in line with those expectations than the 800 / 850.
The readiness indicators will be provided during the interim as additional feedback to districts and schools so they have "better" information about where students are in relation to where they need to be in (with the increased rigor). 
Bottom line: shooting for 800 isn't going to be sufficient in future years. 

11. Assessment Literacy Professional Learning Benchmark Assessments
Formative Assessment Initiatives Bringing a Balanced Assessment Focus to the Classroom
Online Assessment System (OAS)
Formative Instructional Practices (FIP)
Assessment Literacy Professional Learning
Benchmark Assessments
Formative Item Bank
NAEP Item Tool: Released items; rubrics; exemplars; Georgia data
February 2014
Fall 2014

12. FIP Learning Modules Introduction to Formative Instructional Practices
Clear Learning Targets*
Collecting and Documenting Evidence of Student Learning*
Analyzing Evidence and Providing Effective Feedback
Student Ownership of Learning: Peer Feedback, Self-Assessment, and More
Leading Formative Instructional Practices (for district and/or school leaders)
Coaching Formative Instructional Practices (for instructional coaches and/or teacher leaders)
* Direct support for Student Learning
Objectives (SLOs)

13. Questions?