Smarter Balanced Pilot Test

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Smarter Balanced Pilot Test

• February 2013

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Purpose of the Scientific Pilot

• Provide an opportunity for students to interact
  with new, innovative test items that will be part
  of future Smarter Balanced assessments.
• Gather data about the implementation of the
  Online Testing System, the functioning of the
  items and their technical quality, and survey
  administration procedures.
• Identify and inform areas of improvement prior to
  the 2014 Field Test and 2015 operational
  administrations.
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Smarter Balanced Key Milestones
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Design of the Scientific Pilot

• Pilot Window and Participation
• Pilot testing will take place between February 20
  and May 24, 2013.
• Schools will administer the Pilot during a
  specified two-week period.
• The Pilot will include a sample of approximately
  1 million students in about 6,000 schools in the
  Smarter Balanced governing states. The sample
  represents approximately 10 of the schools in
  each state.
• School selection for the scientific sample was
  based on demographic sampling parameters (such as
  district/school size, race, gender, urban/rural
  population) to ensure that the Pilot data
  collected are representative of the Consortium
  states.

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Design of the Scientific Pilot

• Pilot Window and Participation
• Sample schools will be contacted by recruitment
  staff between December and February. Schools will
  be notified of their test window and the grades,
  content areas, and item types they have been
  assigned to administer. Additional schools may be
  contacted if more participants are needed to
  fulfill the sampling requirements.
• Schools not selected as part of the scientific
  sample may volunteer by March 27 to participate
  in another format of the Pilot by completing an
  online survey at https//www.surveymonkey.com/s/S
  marterBalancedPilot. Schools that were
  scientifically selected may also fill out this
  registration and volunteer to test additional
  grades. Volunteers will have the opportunity to
  test using a separate form of items that will be
  available beginning of April.

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Design of the Scientific Pilot

• Pilot Assessment Design
• Computer-administered tests in English Language
  Arts (Reading and Writing) and Mathematics in
  grades 311.
• Items include selected-response items,
  constructed-response items, technology-enhanced
  items, and performance tasks.
• Selected grades and content areas may take one of
  the three following assessment types
• 1. Computer-administered test items
• 2. Computer-administered test items plus one
  performance task
• 3. Computer-administered test items plus one
  performance task with a classroom activity

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Design of the Scientific Pilot

• Pilot Assessment Design
• Samples of these items and content specifications
  may be viewed at http//www.smarterbalanced.org/.
• Pilot Test items are representative of the item
  types intended for use on Smarter Balanced
  assessments however, the Pilot Test forms will
  not be administered adaptively, thus will not be
  a full representation of the operational test
  forms slated for use in 20142015.
• The Pilot Test is not timed, but we estimate that
  most students will take approximately two to
  three hours to complete the test. Some schools
  will be assigned a test that includes a
  classroom-based performance task. This will add
  approximately one half hour to the estimated
  testing time. The test may be administered over
  multiple sessions and multiple days.

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Preparing for the Pilot

• Participate in training opportunities
• Take the training test accessible through the
  Smarter Balanced Portal (http//sbac.portal.airast
  .org/).
• Review the five self-paced online training
  modules posted on the Smarter Balanced Portal.
• Review the Test Administration Manual, Test
  Coordinator Manual, TIDE and Test Administrator
  User Guides, FAQs, and other relevant Pilot
  materials in the Resources and Documentation tab
  on the Smarter Balanced Portal.

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Sample Test Layout
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Online Resources

• Pilot Test Smarter Balanced web page
• http//www.smarterbalanced.org/pilot-test/
• Overview
• Pilot Test participation details
• Frequently asked questions
• Pilot Test flyer for schools
• Secure Scientific Sample Portal
• http//sbac.portal.airast.org/
• Secure browser
• TIDE
• Training Test