Tuesday, February 7, 2012

SMARTER Balanced Item Specifications review and feedback opportunity



To: Local Education Agencies staff and teachers
Subject: SMARTER Balanced Item Specifications review and feedback opportunity
Sent on behalf of Measured Progress
Local Education Agencies (LEAs) staff, teachers, and content organizations are invited to review the drafts of the SBAC item specifications and guidelines. The feedback will be captured via a survey hosted by SurveyMonkey.
A significant milestone in the assessment development process for the SMARTER Balanced assessment program is the development of Item Specifications and Guidelines. This is the next logical step in the process after the development of content specifications. The item specifications provide specific guidance to item writers on how to translate the Common Core Standards (as articulated through the SMARTER Balanced Content Specifications) into actual assessment items.
On Thursday, January 26, our contractor Measured Progress and ETS held a webinar to describe the item specifications documents that require state review. This is an iterative process. SMARTER Balanced work group members and K-12 member state leads did an earlier round of review this month and we are now enlarging the circle to include teachers, LEA staff, the vendor community, and others. The revised documents are available currently at http://www.k12.wa.us/SMARTER/Resources.aspx. (Under the SBAC 04 Showcase 2 header)
We are seeking feedback through an online survey, also available at
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SBACItemTaskSpecsSurvey. Feedback on these documents will be due February 9.
As you will see, this is a large collection of information. Here are suggestions for who might be best to review these documents:
  • SBAC-04 Accessibility & Accommodations Specifications (PDF): Directors of Offices for Students with Disabilities or special education specialists; Specialists on English Language Learners or administrators who run programs for these students.
  • SBAC ELA Specifications (PDF): ELA Specialists, coaches, teachers SBAC Math Specifications (PDF): Mathematics Specialists, coaches, teachers.
  • SBAC Performance Task Specifications (PDF): Both ELA and Mathematics Specialists, coaches, teachers.
  • SBAC Stimulus Specifications (PDF): Both ELA and Mathematics Specialists, coaches, teachers.
  • SBAC-04 Style Guide (PDF): Academic specialists in educational measurement (detailed guidance on language use for item writers).
  • SBAC-04 Technology-Enhanced Item Specifications (PDF): Technical audience Showcase 2 Slide Deck (PPT): Provides useful background on the development process for specifications and an introduction to the showcase documents listed above.
  • Showcase 2 Recording (streaming video): A recording of the presentation of the showcase materials.
  • Survey Link (online SurveyMonkey): A survey designed to collect feedback from LEA personnel, teachers, vendors, and others.
Thank you in advance for your efforts to ensure that these assessments benefitfrom the perspectives and expertise of a wide range of individuals. If you have any questions, please contact Linda Bobst at bobst.linda@measuredprogress.org.
Thank you,
SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium
Sent on behalf of Measured Progress
WestEd - Project Management Partner

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