Smarter Balanced field tests run March 18-June 6
Governing to the Core fact sheet covers the basics
Published: March 4, 2014
As California makes the shift to new Common Core State Standards, local educational agencies throughout the state will be required to field test new computerized CCSS assessments in English-Arts and mathematics between March 18 and June 6.
To answer questions and help districts prepare to “test the test,” CSBA’s Policy and Programs has issued a new fact sheet on the Smarter Balanced field testing process. The fact sheet is the latest addition to the association’s Governing to the Core series that’s designed to help LEAs implement the Common Core. The series is posted on the CSBA website under the Governance and Policy tab, along with related resources that support the transition to the new standards and computerized tests that go with them.
The state has assigned each LEA a six-week window during which to test all students in grades 3-8; and those ninth- and 10th-graders who have been selected to be part of a scientific sample. Eleventh-graders chosen for the sample are also required to participate, but the state is encouraging all 11th-graders to take the tests, which will not generate individual student scores or have any impact on school performance evaluations for state or federal accountability calculations.
The field test will give test developers feedback from teachers and students about test content, and will familiarize students and teachers with what the state calls “the new performance tasks” and “innovative technology-enhanced items” in the tests. LEAs should also use field test as an opportunity to evaluate whether their computer systems are adequate to handle the requirements of the new tests.
School districts can set their own schedules within their respective state-assigned testing windows; the state estimates the field test will take about 3.5 hours per student, and requires that districts administer the tests over a series of 45-minute sessions.
The California Department of Education has posted more information about the field tests on its Smarter Balanced Assessment System Web page, which includes links to details on the spring 2014 field tests and to sample practice and training tests designed to prepare students and teachers.