Background: The Smarter Balanced assessments are a key part of implementing the Common Core and preparing all students for success in college and careers. Administered online, these new assessments provide an academic check-up and are designed to give teachers and parents better information to help students succeed. Scores from the new assessments represent a realistic baseline that provides a more accurate indicator for teachers, students, and parents as they work to meet the rigorous demands of college and career readiness. As partners in our students education, the Berkeley Research Evaluation and Assessment (BREA) department will continue to gather questions, feedback and suggestions to inform the implementation of this state assessment both at the local and at the State and Federal levels. To give your input or to ask questions, go to SBA@berkeley.net recommendations will be compiled into an evaluation and delivered to the California Department of Education (CDE), Educational Testing Service (ETS and the CDE vendor) and the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC).
Q: When will the Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA) occur? The SBA will be conducted in Berkeley between April 8th and June 8th, 2015. As during the spring 2014 Field Test, to assure that each school has enough Chromebooks and support, schools will assess students within a shorter window within this date range. Your site administrator will inform you of the classroom testing window and will work with you on the specific days you are testing. (See Schedule at the end of the document for Specific Site Testing Windows).
Q: What grade levels are participating in the Smarter Balanced Assessments? Students in grades 3–8 and 11 participate in Smarter Balanced Assessments (SBA) in English Language Arts/literacy (ELA) and mathematics.
Q: What are the components of the Smarter Balanced Assessments? The Smarter Balanced Assessments comprise two components per subject area: a performance task (PT), which is comprised of a Classroom Activity with an individually administered, computer-generated performance task; and computer adaptive testing (CAT) items.
Q: What are performance tasks (PTs)? A PT is a portion of the Smarter Balanced Assessment that requires students to answer a set of questions that are centered on a common theme or problem. Prior to the PT, teachers or instructional staff will conduct a Classroom Activity for all students in the class to ensure that the context of the task does not interfere with a student’s ability to address the content of the task. The PT is in two parts for ELA and one prt for Math.
Q: What is the Classroom Activity? The Classroom Activity precedes the scored individual component of the PT. The main purpose of the Classroom Activity is to ensure that all students have a common understanding, at a minimal level, of the contextual elements of a PT, so they are not disadvantaged in demonstrating the skills the task intends to assess. Contextual elements may include: an understanding of the setting or situation in which the task is placed, potentially unfamiliar concepts that are associated with the scenario (e.g., how stocks are traded on the stock market or how fines are calculated for speeding tickets), and key terms or vocabulary students will need to understand in order to meaningfully engage with and complete the performance task. Key terms are identified based on an analysis of vocabulary and/or concepts central to the performance tasks within a given topic in order to determine whether they meet one of the following criteria:
- Are on the upper end of grade-level appropriateness; or
- Are unique to the context of the topic and may be unfamiliar based on a student’s background.
Q: Will students be able to use their notes from the Classroom Activity when they take the PT? No; all notes taken during the Classroom Activity must be collected and securely stored or destroyed before students move on to the PT.
Q: Will there be time limits for CAASPP assessments? While all CAASPP assessments are untimed, the estimated amount of time individual students need depends on the grade, content area, and type of items. This time estimate does not include additional time for the “set-up” of the Chromebooks or login time for teachers. Estimated testing times are Listed on Table A.
Table A: Smarter Balanced Assessment Estimated Time Table
| Area | Gr | CAT hrs : mins |
Activity (prior to the PT)* hrs : mins |
(PT) hrs : mins |
Total hrs : mins |
Total hrs : mins |
| English Language Arts/Literacy | 3–5 | 1:30 | :30 | 2:00 | 3:30 | 4:00 |
| 6–8 | 1:30 | :30 | 2:00 | 3:30 | 4:00 | |
| HS | 2:00 | :30 | 2:00 | 4:00 | 4:30 | |
| Mathematics | 3–5 | 1:30 | :30 | 1:00 | 2:30 | 3:00 |
| 6–8 | 2:00 | :30 | 1:00 | 3:00 | 3:30 | |
| HS | 2:00 | :30 | 1:30 | 3:30 | 4:00 |
Q: How should schools sequence and schedule the components of the Smarter Balanced assessments? Smarter Balanced recommends that students take the PT and the computer adaptive testing (CAT) portions on separate days. Smarter Balanced also recommends that students begin with the CAT portion, followed by the Classroom Activity, and then the PT. Schools may opt to administer in a different order if needed; however, the Classroom Activity, which is designed to introduce the PT, must occur prior to the PT.
Q: Can students from multiple grade levels be assessed during the same test session? Yes. Students from multiple grade levels can be assessed concurrently in the same room as all teachers / proctors will use a computer to monitor the progress of students who are testing.
Q: What item types will the SBA include? The SBA will engage students in both a computer-adaptive test (CAT) and performance task (PT) components. Item types in the CAT will include: multiple-choice, selected-response, matching, fill-in tables, drag and drop, graphing, short text, and long essay (1-2 paragraphs maximum). Each subject area will include a performance task (PT) and an associated classroom activity. English Language Arts / Literacy will have two parts, part one is considered research and gives students a chance to prepare for the second part by completing three research questions. The second part is the full write in which students produce an on-demand response using the completed research from part one. Math will have one part that has students answer questions requiring deeper understanding of real-world tasks.
Q: What will the adaptive test look like? To create an adaptive test, each test item must have an established difficulty value. The Field Test helped to collect the statistics necessary to establish these values. The 2015 adaptive engine will provide students with questions selected adaptively based on their responses. (e.g. An easier question for a student having difficulty and a more advanced question for a student answering all questions correctly.) In addition to adapting the test questions, the scoring of answers will be technology driven. A fact sheet regarding creating a Computer Adaptive Tests can be found at: Computer Adaptive Testing
Accountability / Participation
Q: Will my school also need to administer the California Standards Test (CST) or California Modified Assessment (CMA) or the California Alternative Performance Assessment (CAPA)? In California, the Smarter Balanced Assessment takes the place of the ELA and Math CST and CMA; Students that used to take the California Alternative Performance Assessment (CAPA) will not take the SBA and will take a field-test for the National Center and State Collaborative (NCSC) in Grades 2-11. More information can be found about the Alternate Assessments at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/ca/altassessment.asp In addition, students in grades 5, 8 and 10 will take the CST or CMA in Science until such a time that there is a new Next Generation Science Standard (NGSS) online assessment modeled to measure the NGSS. More information about the NGSS can be found at: http://www.cde.ca.gov/pd/ca/sc/ngssstandards.asp
Q: Does a parent / guardian have the right to “opt out” their student? If yes, what is the procedure for doing so? Yes, per Title 5 Regulations, the legal guardian of the student has the right to request that their student NOT take the SBA or any section of the SBA. Title 5 also states that staff of the Local Education Agency (LEA or “District) may inform but may NOT encourage participation of students. To request that a student not participate in the SBA, the parent needs to write a letter to the Principal of the school specifying which sections they are requesting the student not participate in; the Principal then informs the District CAASPP coordinator and the student will be given an alternate local assessment so that the teacher is able to gauge the students’ knowledge of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Principals will need to inform the District Help Line to assure that the “opt out” choice is properly marked in the data system. If a family “opts out”, they will not receive a score report unless there was only a portion of the assessment that they were not to participate in. The participation rate of the school will be negatively affected.
Q: What “counts” as participation? It has been proposed by the Consortium that a student counts as a participant and is assigned the lowest achievement level if, at minimum, the student logs on to the computer adaptive test (CAT) and performance task (PT).
Q: What role will the SBA play in meeting the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), Academic Performance Index (API) or other state or federal accountability requirements? The achievement data resulting from the SBA will not be factored into any state or federal accountability calculations. On January 15, 2015, the State Board of Education (SBE) made recommendations regarding the accountability requirements for the 2015 Operational Assessment. The full meeting can be found at: http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/ag/ag/yr15/documents/jan15item02.doc
The key findings are as follows: “In 2015, AYP reports will be produced using the results of the first operational Smarter Balanced assessments. California Education Code Section 52052(e)(2)(F) prohibits the comparison of Smarter Balanced results to STAR Program results. Therefore, safe harbor (a growth measure) cannot be used as an alternative method for meeting AMO targets. Without safe harbor, schools and Districts will not have an opportunity to meet the AMO targets. The CDE recommends that for the 2015 AYP only, the AMOs be reported, but not used to make AYP determinations. Schools and Districts would only be responsible for meeting the participation rate and the additional indicator. In 2016, safe harbor will be available for schools and Districts to demonstrate growth from one year to the next and they will be held responsible for meeting AMO targets.” Translated, this means that proficiency will not be counted for the 2015-16 Adequate Yearly Progress but participation rate (95% participants or greater) will count towards Program Improvement (PI) Status.
Q: How will proficiency rates impact the schools and district specifically? The SBE Recommendation made in January is part of a Federal Waiver application. Pending this waiver, if a school or a district is receiving Title One funding and has an SBA participation rate lower than 95%, that school’s Program Improvement Status may increase by one level. The recommendation from the SBE to the US Department of Education is that new sites are not entered into PI or exited out of PI. This waiver is pending at the Federal Level. The Program Improvement actions are listed on Table B and the District MUST report which action they have chosen for PI Years 3, 4 and 5.
| PI Year 1 | PI Year 2 | PI Year 3 | PI Year 4 | PI Year 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| School Improvement | School Improvement | Corrective Action | Restructuring | Restructuring |
| District provide technical assistance to PI school. Notify parents of PI status of school and school choice. Establish peer review process to review revised school plan.Reserve and spend no less than 10% of the District’s Title I, Part A allocation for high-quality professional development. School Revise school plan within 3 months to cover 2-year period. Reserve and spend 10% of Title I school funds for staff professional development. Implement plan promptly. Notify parents of non-highly qualified teacher status. |
District Continue to: *Provide technical assistance. *Notify parent of PI status of school, school choice, and supplemental educational services (SES). *Provide professional development. *Provide school choice. *Provide SES to all eligible students. School Continue to: *Implement Revised Plan. *Reserve and spend 10% of Title I school funds for staff professional development. *Notify parents of non-highly qualified teacher (HQT) status. |
District – Informs stakeholders of corrective action. *May provide technical assistance to site councils in developing single school plans. *District identifies school for corrective action and does at least one of the following: – Replace school staff. – Implement curriculum. – Decrease management authority at school level. – Appoint outside expert. – Extend school yr or day. – Restructure internal organization of school. District Continue to: provide technical assistance. *Notify parent of PI status of school, school choice, and SES. *Provide professional development. *Provide SES and school choice. School Continue to: *Provide professional development (recomm). *Collaborate with district to improve student achievement. *Notify parents of Non-HQT status. |
District/School provides notice to parents and teachers and allows comment. *Prepare plan for alternative governance of school. Select one of the following: – Reopen school as a charter. – Replace all or most staff including principal.- Contract with outside entity to manage school. – Any other major restructuring. – State take over (not an option in California). District Continue to provide technical assistance. *Notify parent of PI status of school, school choice, and SES. *Provide professional development. *Provide SES and school choice. School Continue to: *Provide professional development (recommended). *Collaborate with district to improve student achievement. *Notify parents of Non-HQT status |
District/ School Implement alternative governance plan developed in Year 4. *School continues in PI, and District offers choice and supplemental services until school makes AYP for two consecutive years. School exits PI after two consecutive years of making AYP.District Continue to: *Provide technical assistance. *Notify parent of PI status of school, school choice, and SES. *Provide professional development. *Provide SES and school choice. School Continue to: *Provide professional development (recommended). *Collaborate with district to improve student achievement. *Notify parents of non-highly qualified teacher status. |
Teacher, Staff and Student Training
Q: How will teachers and staff be trained to administer the SBA? BREA and Technology Teacher Leaders and District Directors have been trained through modules throughout the past three years through the Pilot, Field and Operational web-based and live trainings at the Alameda County Office of Education and at the California Department of Education. The Site Administrators attended an 120 minute training on test administration and how to support the site during the test. The Site Administrators have then scheduled a second site-level training geared specifically for teachers and support staff who will be administering the test. Teachers will receive a Test-Site Administrator’s Guide and training will include topics such as:
- Test Proctor Training and Proctor Interface
- Student Interface and Tools for Student Use
- Test Site Security
- Introduction to the Smarter Balanced Assessment
- The Computer Adaptive and Performance Tasks
- Test Administration “Sampling” – Practice and Training Test
Q: Is there time before the test starts for students to practice the online test? The Test Administrator Practice and Training Site can be accessed through the CAASPP Portal. Through this Web site, TAs can practice administering Practice and Training Tests to students. While there are no requirements to practice the online test ahead of time, if time allows, it is recommended that students become used to the interface and the chromebooks so they are familiar with the technology. Many teachers have already tried the practice and training test with their students and will see these during the training session. The login for the practice test is: www.caaspp.org and then find the “Practice & Training Tests” button and click on it.
Q: What is the difference between the “practice tests” and the “training test” and which includes the tools all students can use? To assist students to become comfortable with these tools, the Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA) Consortium has now released “training tests” for students. These tests have 6-9 items given in Grade Spans (3-5, 6-8 and 9-11) that enable students to become familiar with the SBA interface. These will again be modeled at the teacher training with a guide on the “help keys” and universal tools. Teachers are welcome to explore these training tests before the teacher training. (See Questions 18-20 for more specifics about Universal Tools.) The “practice test” is a longer test that gives the student practice with the different kinds of questions students will be asked on the test.
Q: What are other ways that students can practice the types of questions asked? The Instructional Technology staff created this wonderful sheet of easy games (2nd grade level) that gives students a chance to practice each of the other types of questions on the test, you can find it at: bit.ly/berkeleykids The Director of Berkeley Research, Evaluation and Assessment is hosting drop-in hours from 4-5 pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Supports for Students – Universal Tools, Designated Supports, and Accommodations
Q: Where can I find guidelines related to Accessibility and Accommodations? Smarter Balanced has developed a set of Usability, Accessibility and Accommodations Guidelines (PDF), which applies to all students. The Guidelines provide information for classroom teachers, English development educators, special education teachers, and related services personnel to use in selecting and administering universal tools, designated supports, and accommodations for those students who need them. The guidelines are also intended for assessment staff and administrators who oversee the decisions that are made in instruction and assessment. In addition, there is a Usability, Accessibility, and Accommodations Guidelines Frequently Asked Questions (PDF) Web document. These frequently asked questions address common inquiries from schools and districts about the delivery of universal tools, designated supports, and accommodations.
Q: How will I know if my student(s) are receiving Universal Tools, Designated Supports, and Accommodations? As a parent, you will have been notified through your Individualized Education Plan (IEP), English Learner Plan (ELP), 504 document or through a Response to Intervention and Instruction (RTI2) meeting where you signed a permission slip noting the specific tools and supports for your child(ren). Site Administrators, site student support personnel (e.g. Literacy Coaches, Math Teacher Leaders, RTI2 teachers and / or English Learner teachers) and teachers will receive a list of students by grade level (and by teacher where possible). This will list the support the student is receiving. The deadline for identifying the students was Monday, April 13, 2015. Only students with exceptional circumstances will be hand-entered after this date.
Q: Who is able to set designated supports and accommodations for students in TOMS? Please have your Principal contact the District Test Site Coordinator at your site, they will then contact the District Help Desk to assure that the student is receiving the appropriate support based on the documentation provided.
Q: If a new student arrives from another district and they have already marked the students’ supports, does this have to be entered again? No; if a student’s test settings have been properly set in TOMS, they will move with the student to whichever District he or she is next enrolled.
Q: Where text-to-speech is not available, can the Test Administrator (TA) read the assessment aloud? Read-aloud is only permitted in the following limited circumstances: as a non-embedded designated support for mathematics items and English language arts/literacy (ELA) items, as a non-embedded accommodation for ELA passages in grades 6–8 and 11, and for students with visual impairments in grades 3–8 and 11 who do not yet have adequate braille skills. For more information see the Usability, Accessibility and Accommodations Guidelines (PDF).
Q: Are headphones needed for this assessment? Yes; headphones are required for all ELA listening items and performance tasks, and for all students who require text-to-speech. The Director of Technology and Site Administrator are responsible for ensuring that all students have headphones.
Q: Can the “Keyboard Commands for Students” be printed for students to use? Yes; the Keyboard Commands for Students Web document (PDF) provides keyboard commands that students can use to navigate between test elements, features, and tools. Test Administrators (TAs) can print this document out for students to use as a tool during testing.
Q: Will there be a paper-and-pencil version of the SBA? No, the Smarter Balanced Assessment in Berkeley is strictly a computer-based assessment.
Q: Will the use of scratch paper be allowed during the SBA? Yes. The use of scratch paper is permitted as a non-embedded universal tool. It is recommended that Grades 6-8 and 11 receive graph paper for the Math portion of the test.
Q: May scratch paper or graph paper be retained between sessions? Printed test items/stimuli, including embossed braille printouts, scratch paper, and graph paper must be collected and inventoried at the end of each test session and then immediately shredded. DO NOT keep printed test items/stimuli or scratch paper for future test sessions.
The only exception to this rule is when notes are used during the ELA and mathematics performance tasks. During the ELA PT, the notes on the embedded notepad (“Global Notes”) are retained from Part 1 to Part 2 so the student may go back to the notes even though the student is not able to go back to specific items in Part 1. While the embedded notepad is the preferred mode for note taking, students may use scratch paper to make notes. To ensure that students using scratch paper for notes have the same allowance as students using the online notes, TAs should ensure that students write their names (or some other personal identifier) on the scratch paper, collect students’ notes at the completion of Part 1 of the ELA PT, and then securely store the scratch paper. The scratch paper should be redistributed for students’ use during Part 2 of the ELA PT.
Q: May scratch paper or graph paper be retained between sessions? Similarly, the mathematics PT may extend beyond one testing session. In this situation, TAs should ensure that students have written their names (or some other personal identifier) on the scratch paper or graph paper, collect them at the end of the first session, and securely store them for students’ use in the subsequent testing session. The retention of scratch paper is only allowed for the PTs. Following the conclusion of the PT, all scratch paper and/or graph paper must be collected and securely destroyed to maintain test security.
Q: What are the Universal Tools any student can use?
Other tools that all students may use include:
Embedded (within the test interface) – These are included within the test on the Computer
- Breaks – The number of items per session can be designed by student need. Note: After 20 minutes,
previous sessions’ answers cannot be corrected/ - Digital Clock (for both teacher and student) to track time on the test
- Digital Notepad – For a student to take notes on the computer
- English or Spanish Glossary for construct-irrelevant terms via a pop-up window
- Expandable Passages to take up a larger portion of the screen
- Highlighter
- Keyboard Navigation – Navigation through text using a keyboard
- Mark for Review – allows a student to mark an answer and go back to it (limited by segment)
- Math Tools – such as a ruler and protractor to use for math-related items
- Spell Check – gives the student an indicator that a word is misspelled in ELA items. Math items are not scored for spelling.
- Strikethrough – allows a student to cross out wrong answers
- Writing Tools – Bold, Italic, Bullets and Undo / Redo are available for the student
- Zoom – To allow text or graphics to appear larger.
Non-Embedded (outside of the computer test administration)
- English Dictionary for ELA Performance task full-writes
- Thesaurus for ELA Performance task full-writes
Q: Will students be able to use a calculator during the SBA? The Smarter Balanced mathematics assessments for grades six and above allow students to access an embedded calculator appropriate to their grade level. Students in grade six will access a basic calculator, and students in grades seven and above will access a scientific calculator. The available Training Tests provide a mathematics band for grades six through eight. When accessing the Training Test, students should be sure to select their current grade so that they may experience the computer-based testing features and functions, including the calculator.
Technology and Supports
Q: Will we have more support on site when we are taking the tests? Yes, we will be scheduling a zone technician on-site / on-call to assist with technology issues and one teacher-leader to assist with login issues and the teacher interface.
Q: How will we assure that we have the necessary technology during our testing window? The Technology and Assessment Directors are working with the Site Principals to assure that we have scheduled the test so that chromebooks and headphones can be made available during the testing time. In addition, internet access will be prioritized to enable the necessary classrooms to be able to administer the test without freezing up. It is also essential that as much as possible, teachers seamlessly weave technology tools into ongoing lessons. As part of the 2014 Field Test, we analyzed the technology bandwith and interface and are very confident regarding the very small bandwith required by the Smarter Balanced Assessment.
Q: What kind of support can teachers provide for students who are struggling with the student testing-interface? Teachers can provide assistance by guiding students to the help tools within the system. They may not provide guidance on answers. More information will be provided at the follow-up teacher training.
Q: How can I prepare my students for the tech skills to navigate the SBA (and the online world)? As we add more chromebooks and other technology, we encourage teachers to incorporate technology into their curriculum. The Technology Teacher leaders are available and willing to assist you in this process. (See Support Staff)
- Have students use Berkeley.net accounts and use Google Drive to share, edit, and present.
- Give opportunities for reading online using the new ebooks in the school libraries.
- Have a typing station or club in your classroom or site.
- Build a word wall of technology-related vocabulary.
Q: How did the move to the operational test for 2014-2015 impact our technology plan? Our technology plan is being developed and proposed through Common-Core Funding to address both professional development and hardware needs. We will continue to add additional technology to each site and provide integrated technology support and professional development. The plan will include research on how to best teach students technology skills while recognizing the developmental progressions of learning.
Curriculum Supports
Q: How can I prepare my students for the SBA for English Language Arts and Mathematics? The Smarter Balanced Assessments are directly aligned to the Common Core State Standards and the Theory of Action (found at: SBA Theory of Action) embeds the formative assessment that currently occurs in your classroom as key indicators of success on the SBA. The items below are good teaching practices in general for implementation of the CCSS in English Language Arts / Literacy:
- Continue your transition to the use of Common Core Standards within your ELA instruction and Increase the number of minutes where students actively read grade level text and respond to it.
- Use CCSS aligned formative and summative assessments that include academic testing language.
- Assign on-demand writing assignments frequently.
- Practice having them do discreet writing tasks, such as “write a conclusion sentence for this paragraph.”
- Connect writing tasks directly to the texts they are reading. (citing evidence)
- Have them read multiple sources on the same topic.
- Mix up the length and timeframes you give students to write: paragraphs, sentences, essays, etc. 10 minutes, one period, extended time frames.
- Give frequent opportunities to read grade level or above texts- even if that is not their independent reading level.
- Continue the transition to the use of Common Core Standards within your mathematics instruction.
- Use CCSS formative and summative assessments that include literacy skill and strategies for reading in math, depth of knowledge within mathematics
- Use word walls that include academic vocabulary in mathematics
- Within your Math Instruction ensure that the Standards for Mathematical Practice are a part of your daily instruction in Mathematics. http://www.corestandards.org/Math/Practice/
Student Registration
Q: Are any students exempted from the SBA? Students who are taking the California Alternate Assessment (CAA) (previously the CAPA) are exempt from the SBA for all parts of the test. English Learners who are in the US less than 12 months are exempt from the ELA portion of the test.
Q: What other training resources are available? For staff interested in further training on the Smarter Balanced Assessment. There are a variety of online resources available to help teachers, parents and students prepare for the 2014–15 CAASPP assessments. They can be found at: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/ca/
Q: Are scoring guides or blueprints available for the Training, Practice Test and the Smarter Balanced Assessments? This page provides resources for each of these assessments: http://www.caaspp.org/ta-resources/index.html
The blueprints and achievement level descriptors for the Smarter Balanced Assessment are available at: http://www.smarterbalanced.org/smarter-balanced-assessments/
Q: Are there resources for parents/guardians? If so, are these resources translated into any additional languages? Yes; please refer to the California Department of Education (CDE) California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) System Web page. Resources for Families are also available at: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/ca/
Test Administration
Q: Where can I find documentation on test security? Please refer to California’s Emergency Test Regulations about maintaining test security on the CDE CAASPP Regulations Web page.
Q: Can administrators review test questions while students are completing the CAASPP assessments? No, as the test is adaptive, each test will look different. Staff wishing to become familiar with the types of items to be administered may review the Practice Test and Training Test. Items on the CAASPP assessments are secure test materials.
Q: Where can I find information about administering a Classroom Activity? Classroom activities can be found at: http://www.caaspp.org/ta-resources/practice-training.html
Q: Will all students in a grade level at a school receive the same Classroom Activity and performance task? Yes; all students in a grade level at a school will have the same Classroom Activity and performance task topic, although not necessarily the same performance task questions.
Q: A student begins testing in District/School A and then moves to District/School B before completing the test. Can the test be moved to District/School B for the student to complete? Yes; if a student starts a test event in one District/school and then moves to a different District/school, the test engine system will retain that test for that student. Remember, however, that the Classroom Activity is assigned to a specific grade and school. Therefore, if a student participates in the Classroom Activity in School A and then moves to a new School B before starting the PT section, the student will need instruction in the Classroom Activity assigned to the grade in School B before completing the PT portion of the test.
Q: When will the Classroom Activity assignments be known?
Teachers will receive their Classroom Activity on their school training day.
Q: Can Classroom Activities be administered more than one time? Yes; the Classroom Activity can be administered as many times as necessary to ensure that every student received the Classroom Activity once. Keep in mind that every student needs to get the Classroom Activity before starting the performance task and that the ideal setting for the Classroom Activity is with a group of students in a classroom environment. Classroom Activity assignments are grade-specific at each school, but students from other grades that may be in the same class (combo classes) need not be excluded.
Q: Can more than one grade level test in the same room? Yes; students in different grade levels can test in the same room in a single test session. The Test Administrator (TA) must remember to select each grade and test within the TA Interface that he or she intends to administer during that session.
Q: Can Teachers help students use the test tools during testing? The directions for administration in the Online, Summative, Test Administration Manual specify the guidance TAs can and cannot provide to students during testing. However, students do have the ability to view tutorials that are embedded in the test delivery system at any time during testing. An example of this is asking the student to “re-read” the section.
Q: Can students return to items that were flagged for review even after the segment is complete? The students may return to items flagged as review ONLY during the testing segment or if the segment is put on pause for less than 20 minutes. Once a student completes a test segment, he or she cannot return to the items within that segment.
Related Content
- Assembly Bill 484 Questions and Answers – Questions and answers regarding Assembly Bill (AB) 484, which establishes California’s new statewide student assessment system. AB 484 was signed into law on October 2, 2013.
- Spring 2014 Smarter Balanced Field Test – Information on the Smarter Balanced Field Test that will be administered in the spring 2014.
- Common Core State Standards – Information on the Common Core State Standards.
Smarter Balanced Assessment Testing and Training Contact Information:
The purpose of this document is to provide school sites and district staff the testing windows assigned to sites. Sites will also provide staff and families with their classroom-specific schedule including the dates and times by class.
- Directors – Debbi D’Angelo (DD) and Jay Nitschke (JN)
- BREA Full-Time – Aaron Jorgensen (AJ), Dana Gray (DG), Kathryn Mapps (KM)
- BREA Part-Time – (L/H) Lina Andersen** (M-W per diem) and Heidi Boley (Th-F); Dave Stevens (BHS – ALL Days)
Zone Techs:
- Anne Robert, Jack Coglizer, Roland Anderson, Scott Cockrell
- Instructional Technology Full-Time – Wally Gutierrez (WG)
- Instructional Technology Part-Time – Allison Krasnow (AK) and Robin Harley (RH)
Back-end Communication / Help Desk, ETS, Uploads from SEIS and English Learners Accommodations
- Help Desk #1 – Juliet Bonczkowski@ 486-9362
- Help Desk #2 – Vivian Wiggins @ 644-6959
- Help Desk #3 – Debbi D’Angelo @ 644-7785
- Help Desk #4 (Th / Fr) – Heidi Boley @ 466-9342 –(only Principal, Coordinator or Assigned Staff may call)
Berkeley Unified School District Testing Window by Site:
All Staff PLEASE use the Help Desk Emails: Test Issues: sba@berkeley.net or Tech Issues: http://helpdesk.berkeley.net
| Testing Dates – Site | Training Date (Principal led) | Trainers | Staff on site/call during testing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4/8-4/24 – Oxford | Done | Done by Beth, Robin | Robin Harley, BREA 4/8-4/24 |
| 4/27-5/5 – Willard | Done | Done by Debbie, Aaron | Aaron J. thru 5/1; Lina/Heidi on call 5/1-5/5 |
| 4/27-5/5 – T.Oaks | Done | Done by Jen C / Kathryn | Kathryn Mapps 4/27-5/5; Lina/Heidi on call 5/6 |
| 4/28 – 5/8 – Malcolm X | Done | Done by Alex / Dana Gray | Dana Gray 4/28; Wally G. and Allison K. 4/29-5/4 |
| 4/27-6/5 – BHS | Monday, April 13 | Daniel / Dave S. / Aaron | Dave S. 4/27-6/5 |
| 4/29-5/8 – Longfellow | Wednesday, April 15 | Marie / Dana Gray | Dana Gray 4/29-5/7 |
| 5/4 – 5/11 – Jefferson | Wednesday, April 15 | Debbi D’A/Sonya | Aaron, Thru 5/6; Wally 5/6-11 |
| 5/5-5/13 – Emerson | Wednesday, April 15 | Susan / Wally | Wally 5/5; Allison 5/6,7,13; 5/8-12 Dana Gray |
| 5/5-5/14 – BAM | Wednesday, April 15 | Rene / Kathryn / Lina | Kathryn (w/ support) 5/5-5/14 |
| 5/7-5/22 – Muir | Wednesday, April 15 | Audrey / Aaron | Aaron J. 5/7-5/22 |
| 5/11-5/20 – Rosa | Wednesday, April 22 | Paco / Robin | Robin 5/11-5/20 (or as needed) |
| 5/12-5/21 – Washington | Wednesday, April 22 | Mel / Joal / Wally | Wally 5/12-5/21 |
| 5/3-5/29 – King | Wednesday, April 29 | Leslie S. / Aaron | Dana Gray 5/13-22; Aaron J. 5/23-29 |
| 5/19-5/29 – LeConte | Wednesday, April 22 | Veronica/Kathryn /Dana B. | Kathryn (w/ support) 5/19-5/29 |
| 5/26-6/5 – Cragmont | Wednesday, April 22 | Hazelle / Dana Gray | Dana Gray 5/26-6/5 (w/support), will be audited due to prior part. |
| 5/26-6/5 – BIS / BTA* | Wednesday, May 20 | Aaron | Aaron (BIS) Kathryn (BTA) 5/26-6/5 5/2 |
*training for BIS and BTA will be together following the posting of the LCAP Survey and Evaluation
** Lina Andersen to be paid per diem on non-workdays during the Month of April / May for assistance on SBA. ***Oxford has volunteered to be our “first site” ^Malcolm X will have one teacher testing – 4/20-4/24 (Dana Gray)