Five Things to Get Excited About!

Add It Up1. Literacy is a shared responsibility.

SAGE: ELA and Literacy

Summative and Interim• Reports for literacy in all disciplines

o History/Social Studieso Scienceso Technical Subjects

Literacy is a shared responsibility!

Add It Up1. Literacy is a shared responsibility.2. Teachers, students, and parents get

useful information.

What is SAGE?Student Assessment of Growth and

ExcellenceUtah’s summative, interim, and formative assessment system aligned to Utah’s Core State Standards for students in grades K-12

• Includes the required end-of-year summative adaptive assessments for English language arts, math, and science(SAGE Summative Grades 3-11)

• Includes optional interim adaptive assessments(SAGE Interim Grades 3-11) (coming 2014-15 school-year)

• Includes a formative assessment system (SAGE Formative Grades K-12)

SAGE Summative• Required end-of-year summative adaptive

assessments o ELA and Literacy: Grades 3-11o Mathematics: Grades 3-8, Secondary I,

Secondary II, Secondary IIIo Science: Grades 4-8, Earth Science, Biology,

Chemistry, Physics

SAGE Interim• Available Fall 2014

oFull blueprint of SAGE summativeoFully adaptiveo Predictive of SAGE summative

performanceoEach content test may be given up to

twice a year

SAGE Formative

• Accessible by teachers, students, and parents

• Learning activities, tests, items, quizzes, aligned to the Utah Core

• Not adaptive• Online and in person training available• Information available from your LEA

Assessment Director

Fall Spring Fall Spring Fall Spring …

2013 2014 2015 2016

SAGE Formative

SAGE Summative (Operational Field Test)

SAGE InterimImmediate Online Reporting

SAGE SummativeFully Operational, Immediate Online Reporting

SAGE Implementation

Add It Up1. Literacy is a shared responsibility.2. Teachers, students, and parents get

useful information.3. Students’ time is not wasted.

What is an adaptive test?

Background: The general idea behind adaptive

testing

All students will answer approximately 50% of the items correctly.

What about kids above or below grade level?

Standards-Based Adaptive Testing: Our Algorithm

• Every student is tested on the full range and depth of content, but at different levels of difficultyo Difficulty is determined by actual student performance

• Every student has the chance to demonstrate the same range of cognitive skillso Utilizes grade level contento Science Example:

• 4th weather, 5th chemical reactions, 6th solar system• A 5th grade student will not receive questions about the solar

system– but full ability range on chemical reactions

• Item difficulty, not cognitive complexity, adjusts to student performance

Add It Up1. Literacy is a shared responsibility.2. Teachers, students, and parents get

useful information.3. Students’ time is not wasted.4. Students get to think.

Cognitive Complexity

Cognitive complexity refers to the cognitive demand associated with an item.

• Low Complexity: items require students to recall, observe, question, or represent basic facts.

• Moderate Complexity: items require two steps: identification and subsequent processing of that information.

• High Complexity: items make heavy demands on student thinking.

DOK 1. Recall/Reproduction – Recall a fact, information, or procedure; process information on a low level

DOK 2. Skill/Concept – Use information or conceptual knowledge, two or more steps

DOK 3. Strategic Thinking – Requires reasoning, developing a plan or a sequence of steps, more than one reasonable approach

DOK 4. Extended Thinking – Requires connections and extensions, high cognitive demands and complex reasoning

Depth of Knowledge (DOK)/Cognitive Complexity

Difficulty vs. Cognitive

Complexity/DOKDifficulty is a statistical concept.• Test adaptation is based on difficulty.

Cognitive Complexity/DOK is based on the type of thinking the student must do to answer the question.• DOK is blueprinted.

SAGE adapts based on difficulty, not DOK

Depth of Knowledgevs. Difficulty

What animal is this?A. BeeB. DeerC. HorseD. Wolf

What species is this?A. Apis melliferaB. Canis lupusC. Equus ferus caballusD. Odocoileus virginianus

DOK: 1Difficulty: Easy

DOK: 1Difficulty: Hard

DOK is NOT difficulty!

Depth of Knowledgevs. Difficulty

Write a paragraph comparing and contrasting the physical appearance of a wolf and a fox.

Write a paragraph comparing and contrasting the endocrine system of a wolf and a fox.

DOK: 2Difficulty: Easy

DOK: 2Difficulty: Hard

DOK is NOT difficulty!

Depth of Knowledgevs. Difficulty

Choose a behavioral trait of the wolf that you feel is its most important adaptation to its environment. In a paragraph, explain and justify your choice.

Choose the sequence in the wolf genome that you believe best exemplifies its phenotypical adaptation to its environment. In a paragraph, explain and justify your decision.

DOK: 3Difficulty: Easy

DOK: 3Difficulty: Hard

DOK is NOT difficulty!

Blueprint Example

Blueprints can be viewed at:

http://ut.portal.airast.org/resources/?section=1

ELA and LiteracyReading• Single and Paired Passages• Literary/Informational ratio follows Core

Listening• Short (1 min) passages: dialogue, discussion, etc.• Headphones

Language• Edit draft passage of student writing

Multiple ChoiceSingle Select

Multiple Choice: Items include a question followed by multiple options from which a student is directed to choose only one.

Key points• There is one and only one correct or best answer.• The other choices are plausible but incorrect.• The wording of each option is clearly

understandable.• The options are parallel in length and in

grammar.

Multiple ChoiceMultiple Select

Selected Response: Items include a question followed by multiple options from which a student is directed to choose all that are correct.

Key points• There are multiple correct or best answers.• The other choices are plausible but incorrect.• The wording of each option is clearly

understandable.• The options are parallel in length and in

grammar.

Constructed ResponseConstructed Response: Items that focus on a particular skill or concept. Students will produce their own work either in the form of a short or longer response.

Key points:• The rubric clearly indicates the number of points per

type of student response.• The rubric clearly indicates the expected student

response(s) for each score point.• The intended correct response answers the question

posed in the stem.

Technology Enhanced/Grid Items

Items that are technology enhanced and require the student to interact with the item to solve

• Constructed Response (Natural Language)

• Equation Response

• Graphic Response

• Hot Spot Response

• Drag and Drop Response

Key point:• The item should use the capabilities of the grid tool

effectively and purposefully. The item should have a good reason to be created as a grid item rather than another item type.

Add It Up1. Literacy is a shared responsibility.2. Teachers, students, and parents get

useful information.3. Students’ time is not wasted.4. Students get to think.5. Students get to write!

ELA and LiteracyWritingStudent writing will draw on information and evidence from passages

Two Compositions:• Informative/Explanatory W.2 (~shorter) • Opinion/Argument W.1 (~longer)

Machine scoring with human read-behind

Sample Writing Task:

Grade 10—Informative/Explanatory

EssayPrompt: Write an essay that explains why the light from a lighthouse can travel such long distances. Use information from the articles you have read in your essay.

Text Set:• Article and diagram comparing the distance light travels

from various manmade sources, including lighthouses, flashlights, car headlights, etc.

• Article (with illustrations) describing how lighthouses generate and focus light signals

• Textbook excerpt describing how lenses and prisms focus and bend light

Sample Writing Task:Grade 6—Argument Essay

Prompt: This is a claim made by a solar panel company:“Using solar panels for heating can save homeowners money.”Based on the readings, write an essay that supports this claim OR an opposing claim. Be sure to include evidence from the articles to support your claim.

Text Set:• Article with information about the cost of installing solar panels• Information and illustrations about the amount of energy

generated by solar panels on houses with full sun to shaded exposures

• Report on the amount of energy homeowners have to buy to supplement solar energy provided by panels

• Personal anecdote from a consumer who has purchased and uses solar panels for heating

How do I prepare my students?

• Teach the Standards• Academic Vocabulary• Read like a Writer—Write like a Reader• 4/1 Grading• Evidentiary Reasoning

Teach the Core, not the test!

Thank you!Daron Kennett

ELA Assessment SpecialistUtah State Office of Education

daron.kennett@schools.utah.gov 801-538-7819