Smarter Balanced Interim Assessment Blocks
The Smarter Balanced Interim Assessment Blocks (IABs) are one of two distinct types of interim assessments being made available by the Consortium; the other type is the Interim Comprehensive Assessments (ICAs). IABs are short, focused sets of items that measure one or more assessment targets. Results of these assessments provide information about a student’s strengths or needs in relation to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and therefore generate more detailed information for instructional purposes than use of the ICAs alone.
The IABs are available either as fixed forms or with the use of a computer-adaptive algorithm. Initially they will be available as fixed forms as item counts support and then, when item counts adequately support the algorithm, they will also be adaptive. Both the fixed and computer-adaptive forms are administered online, using the same delivery software as the summative assessments.
This blueprint presents the specific blocks that are available by grade level for English Language Arts/literacy or mathematics beginning at grade 3 and continuing through high school. Each block-level blueprint contains information about the claim(s), assessment target(s), and depth of knowledge level(s) addressed by the items in that block, as well as the numbers of items allocated to each of those categories.
Other more subjectspecific information is also included. For example, the English Language Arts/literacy blueprint incorporates details on passage length and scoring of responses, while the mathematics blueprint specifies to what extent the relevant task models are represented in each block. The blueprint can be used by teachers and others who wish to gain insight into the composition of the IABs in order to use those assessments effectively in the classroom or to better understand results that are reported. Users of the blueprint can become familiar with the number of IABs for each grade level, the general focus of each IAB, which assessment targets are addressed in a specific IAB, and the emphasis of each target relative to the other targets in the block (as indicated by the numbers of items allocated to each target). A fifth-grade English Language Arts/literacy teacher, for example, may wish to determine what types of practice to give students in writing informational texts. The teacher would see that there is a block on editing and revising texts composed of eighteen machined-scored items across three assessment targets—revising narrative, informational, and opinion texts—and a writing block requiring hand-scoring, also across all three purposes for writing. A third option would be to administer a performance task that deals solely with informational writing and research and is also hand scored. Given the differences in class time required and in the amount of time needed to score the block, the teacher would decide which blocks best meet the instructional needs of the class, as well as where they fit in the schedule. A seventh-grade mathematics teacher who is planning a unit of instruction on topics in statistics and probability might consult the Grade 7 Statistics and Probability IAB blueprint and see that there are three assessment targets. The teacher can then use random sampling to draw inferences about a population, draw informal comparative inferences about two populations, and investigate chance processes and develop, use, and evaluate probability models. This information could then be used to help inform instructional and assessment planning for the unit, including when this particular IAB might be incorporated as a part of that plan. Finally, this blueprint can be used by teachers and others in conjunction with the summative and ICA blueprints to sup
The Smarter Balanced Interim Assessment Blocks (IABs) are one of two distinct types of interim assessments being made available by the Consortium; the other type is the Interim Comprehensive Assessments (ICAs). IABs are short, focused sets of items that measure one or more assessment targets. Results of these assessments provide information about a student’s strengths or needs in relation to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and therefore generate more detailed information for instructional purposes than use of the ICAs alone.
The IABs are available either as fixed forms or with the use of a computer-adaptive algorithm. Initially they will be available as fixed forms as item counts support and then, when item counts adequately support the algorithm, they will also be adaptive. Both the fixed and computer-adaptive forms are administered online, using the same delivery software as the summative assessments.
This blueprint presents the specific blocks that are available by grade level for English Language Arts/literacy or mathematics beginning at grade 3 and continuing through high school. Each block-level blueprint contains information about the claim(s), assessment target(s), and depth of knowledge level(s) addressed by the items in that block, as well as the numbers of items allocated to each of those categories.
Other more subjectspecific information is also included. For example, the English Language Arts/literacy blueprint incorporates details on passage length and scoring of responses, while the mathematics blueprint specifies to what extent the relevant task models are represented in each block. The blueprint can be used by teachers and others who wish to gain insight into the composition of the IABs in order to use those assessments effectively in the classroom or to better understand results that are reported. Users of the blueprint can become familiar with the number of IABs for each grade level, the general focus of each IAB, which assessment targets are addressed in a specific IAB, and the emphasis of each target relative to the other targets in the block (as indicated by the numbers of items allocated to each target). A fifth-grade English Language Arts/literacy teacher, for example, may wish to determine what types of practice to give students in writing informational texts. The teacher would see that there is a block on editing and revising texts composed of eighteen machined-scored items across three assessment targets—revising narrative, informational, and opinion texts—and a writing block requiring hand-scoring, also across all three purposes for writing. A third option would be to administer a performance task that deals solely with informational writing and research and is also hand scored. Given the differences in class time required and in the amount of time needed to score the block, the teacher would decide which blocks best meet the instructional needs of the class, as well as where they fit in the schedule. A seventh-grade mathematics teacher who is planning a unit of instruction on topics in statistics and probability might consult the Grade 7 Statistics and Probability IAB blueprint and see that there are three assessment targets. The teacher can then use random sampling to draw inferences about a population, draw informal comparative inferences about two populations, and investigate chance processes and develop, use, and evaluate probability models. This information could then be used to help inform instructional and assessment planning for the unit, including when this particular IAB might be incorporated as a part of that plan. Finally, this blueprint can be used by teachers and others in conjunction with the summative and ICA blueprints to sup
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