Connecticut is part of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC), a multistate consortium that created computerized standardized tests aligned with Common Core State Standards. Students in select grade levels will take the first operational SBAC tests in spring 2015. Prior to test administration, SBAC must establish cutoff scores for each achievement level of the test to determine whether a student has demonstrated proficiency in a subject area. Education Week describes how SBAC will use a two-phase process to establish such scores this fall.
For the first phase, SBAC invites anyone interested, even those who are not teachers and do not work in education, to participate in the standard-setting process. Over two days in October, registered participants will take part in an online, three-hour exercise. They will read through online test questions and answers for one subject and one grade level. Volunteers will only focus on achievement level three out of four: the “proficiency” level. They will review test items (multiple choice, short answer, and performance task) to determine which represent the bottom rung of “proficiency” performance and which represent the top. According to SBAC, this practice will help establish a range of acceptable answers to inform lower and upper score cutoffs.
In the second phase, SBAC states will choose a panel of 500 experts to meet in mid-October. They will discuss test items and appropriate cutoff scores for each of the four achievement levels, rather than just level three. Panels will convene by grade level and subject. Finally, about 60 of the 500 experts will review the recommended cutoff scores in mathematics and English Language Arts to ensure uniformity across grade levels. They will send their recommendations to the SBAC governing states for a vote later this fall.
