I was recently selected by the
National Education Association (NEA) to participate in the Teacher Ambassadors Project. This initiative is a partnership among the Smarter Balanced Assessment
Consortium (Smarter Balanced), the NEA, the American Federation of Teachers
(AFT), and WestEd, and is generously funded by the Leona M. and Harry B.
Helmsley Charitable Trust. Teacher Ambassadors from across the nation will
learn how the Smarter Balanced Assessment System, including the formative
assessment process, can be used to implement the Common Core State Standards.
This project is the first formal partnership among Smarter Balanced, the NEA,
and the AFT.
I am personally very excited to
be part of this project, since it ties in all the work I have been doing with my
colleagues at my school district and across the state (with the CTA Teacher
Leadership Cohort). Almost two years ago, I was selected to be part of the
Smarter Balanced Consortium. As an assessment writer, I received all my
training through webinars and literature that was provided by Smarter Balanced.
This training was unique in the sense that I was able to meet with them
face-to-face. It was insightful to be with a room of teachers across the nation
and listen to their questions, concerns, and perception of what is occurring in
their state, thus far in implementation of the Common Core Standards. This
component of the training was invaluable. It expanded my knowledge (especially
the Q & A with Joe Willhoft, the executive director for the Smarter
Balanced Assessment Consortium) of the Assessment System Components.
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| Me, Joe Willhoft (Executive Director for Smarter Balanced), and Julie Webb (fellow CTA Leadership Cohort Participant) |
Julie Webb and I met this summer at the CTA Leadership Cohort Training. She is also knowledgeable in CCSS and has a great blog with tons of resources. Please check it out: blog.litcentric.com
Here are just some of the topics
we covered (I attached some links to the topics):
- Overview of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium and Summative Assessment Development
- Mathematics Instructional Shifts in Smarter Balanced Item Design and Development
- Deep Dives into Math and ELA Evidence
- Lesson Design
- Performance Task Test Stimulus Specifications
- Computer Adaptive Testing (CAT)
- Smarter Balanced Preliminary Summative Assessment Blueprints
- English Language Arts/ Literacy Content Specifications Appendix B: Grade Level Tables for All Claims and Assessment Targets and Item Types
- Performance Tasks Specifications
- Scoring Reporting and Estimated Testing Times
- Formative Assessment Work Plan
It was two days filled with information and tons of resources that I am excited to share with the teachers that participate in the Common Core Cafe. I posted below some of our posters that we worked on during the trainings.
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