1

Apr 3 2013 1:32PM

ODE is recruiting new members for the English Language Proficiency Assessment Content Panel. This advisory panel will review items to be field tested in 2013-14 and also calibrate items that were field tested this year. ODE is looking for experienced...

2

Mar 14 2013 9:16AM

Technology Clarification to the Field During the first year of the operational Smarter Balanced testing (which will be spring of the 2014-15 school year) districts will need to have headphones for each student during the English Language Arts/Litera...

3

Feb 6 2013 5:20PM

The revised Smarter Balanced Initial Achievement Level Descriptors (ALDs) for both Math and English language arts/literacy, which include the draft college content-readiness definition and policy framework, are now posted for review. ALDs descri...

4

Jan 30 2013 5:03PM

In mid-December 2012, ODE received the initial list of schools from Oregon that were randomly selected to participate in the scientific sample of the Smarter Balanced Pilot Test. Data Recognition Corporation (DRC) has been recruiting schools since th...

5

Jan 30 2013 4:55PM

The Scientific Sample Pilot testing will take place between February 20 and May 10, 2013. Tests at different grade levels and content areas will be available during different specific testing windows within this broader window and this will determine...

6

Jan 23 2013 1:16PM

The Accessibility and Accommodation Guidelines for the Smarter Balanced Pilot Tests are now posted to the Smarter Balanced portal. They are under “Additional Resources” on the Resources and Documentation page: http://sbac.portal.airast.org/Pilot...

7

Dec 19 2012 5:06PM

The Oregon Department of Education would like to share the following update from Smarter Balanced regarding a progress update about the data reports that will be developed for the assessment. Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium WestEd ...

8

Dec 19 2012 1:49PM

The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (Smarter) will administer a pilot of the Smarter assessments from February 20 - May 10, 2013. As the start of the Pilot approaches, many districts from across the consortium have submitted questions to Smart...

9

Dec 12 2012 3:57PM

On September 7 and November 15, Student Achievement Partners’ Jason Zimba and Smarter Balanced Director of Mathematics Shelbi Cole presented an informational webinar about the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) to the Consortium. The...

10

Dec 12 2012 3:14PM

Smarter Balanced is working its way through 945 cognitive-lab sessions in about a dozen states nationwide (including Oregon). As part of SBAC’s item-development contract with the test-vendor CTB/McGraw-Hill, experts from the American Institutes for R...

11

Dec 12 2012 2:50PM

The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium will be working with schools from partner states around the country to pilot test items this spring. Smarter Balanced will be conducting both a scientific pilot and a broader, non-scientific pilot. The Orego...

12

Nov 28 2012 2:06PM

The scientific sample of schools to participate in the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (Smarter) Pilot test in Oregon have been identified, and schools that were selected to participate will be notified by ODE on November 30, 2012 via email (S...

13

Nov 28 2012 2:00PM

The Consortium released draft initial achievement level descriptors (ALDs) for feedback and review through January 15, 2013. The initial ALDs describe levels of student performance in English language arts/literacy and mathematics on the Smarter Bala...

14

Nov 26 2012 9:57AM

In spring 2013, the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (Smarter) will conduct a pilot of the Smarter mathematics and English language arts assessments with students in grades 3 - 11. The attached flyer contains an overview of the pilot and infor...

15

Nov 8 2012 1:09PM

The Oregon Department of Education (ODE)'s current contract for the delivery of the OAKS and ELPA assessments expires at the close of the 2013-14 school year. On Monday, November 5, 2012 ODE posted a request for proposals to the Oregon Procurement In...

16

Oct 18 2012 3:08PM

On September 7, Student Achievement Partners’ Jason Zimba and Smarter Balanced Director of Mathematics Shelbi Cole presented an informational webinar about the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) to the Consortium. The webinar provide...

17

Oct 10 2012 11:36AM

Today Smarter Balanced released sample items and performance tasks to help teachers, administrators, and policymakers implement the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and prepare for next-generation assessments. The Smarter assessments are being des...

18

Oct 4 2012 2:52PM

Educators and experts will help draft achievement level descriptors (ALDs) during a workshop October 1-5 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Smarter Balanced work group members, grade level and content experts, K-12 teachers, and higher education faculty will par...

19

Oct 4 2012 2:46PM

Sample Smarter Balanced English Language Arts/Literacy and Math Items and Performance Tasks will be released to the public on October 9, 2012. The samples illustrate the rigor and complexity of the ELA/Literacy and Math items and performance tasks s...

20

Oct 4 2012 1:40PM

On September 7, Student Achievement Partners’ Jason Zimba and Smarter Balanced Director of Mathematics Shelbi Cole presented an informational webinar about the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) to the Consortium. The webinar provide...

21

Sep 20 2012 12:20PM

In preparation for its 2012–13 pilot tests, the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (Smarter) will be conducting Small Scale Trials of innovative test items from October 15 to November 2, 2012. The Small Scale Trials will be computer-administered...

22

Sep 20 2012 12:05PM

Students will have an opportunity to participate in a field test of prompts for Oregon’s Writing Assessment this November and December. ODE’s Office of Assessment is seeking students in Grades 11 and 12 to complete essays on prompts under development...

23

Sep 12 2012 8:04AM

The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) would like to share this important announcement from the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (Smarter). On September 6, 2012, Smarter awarded the contract to develop an online, computer-adaptive test delive...

24

Sep 6 2012 10:32AM

Answering Open Questions Each week we will address a question or two on the minds of Consortium members. Send your questions to sbac@wested.org . Will Smarter Balanced assessments be translated into other languages? As part of the Race to th...

25

Sep 6 2012 10:29AM

Smarter Balanced Announces Advisory Committees on English Language Learners and Students with Disabilities National experts provide guidance to ensure assessments meet the needs of all students OLYMPIA, Wash. - August 29, 2012 - The Smarter B...

26

Aug 23 2012 6:28PM

Smarter Balanced has contracted development of the test items for the spring 2013 pilot assessment. Currently the pilot item development has been contracted to CTB McGraw Hill, American Institutes for Research and Council for Aid to Education; they a...

27

Jul 13 2012 10:01AM

This is the Assessment & Accountability Update for July 12, 2012. You can access this and past issues of the A & A Update on the ODE website. In This Issue: Test Administration - OAKS Online, ELPA & Writing Training Requirements for ST...

28

Jul 13 2012 9:52AM

The Oregon Department of Education (ODE)'s current contract for the delivery of the OAKS and ELPA assessments expires at the close of the 2013-14 school year. ODE will be looking for a vendor experienced in web-based student assessment test delivery,...

29

Jun 28 2012 5:51PM

Each month, Smarter News provides updates on the development of the Smarter Balanced Assessment System and activities in member states. Their goal is not only to provide information about progress, but also to create a forum to share knowledge and re...

30

Jun 14 2012 3:03PM

Oregon’s 2012-2014 Mathematics, Reading & Literature, Science, and Social Sciences Test Specifications and Blueprints have been updated and are now posted on the ODE website at: www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?id=496. Many more Mathematics s...

31

Jun 7 2012 4:14PM

The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium has begun the process of developing the first set of items and performance tasks which are scheduled to be piloted in spring 2013. Six Oregon educators have been selected by the Consortium to participate in ...

32

May 24 2012 11:25AM

In response to district concerns about graduation rates and essential skill requirements, ODE has adopted a policy, effective now, to allow districts increased flexibility when assigning a cohort year to a student entering their district who was prev...

33

May 24 2012 11:07AM

District test coordinators should be sure to assign test administration codes, if applicable, to assessment test records to reflect special testing conditions for students. Use the Student Centered Staging application to add the test administration ...

34

May 24 2012 10:46AM

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is currently recruiting schools for the 2012 administration of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). PISA is conducted internationally under the auspices of the Organization for ...

35

May 24 2012 10:37AM

On Tuesday, May 22, ODE staff presented a WebEx with updates on the Smarter Balanced assessment system. The WebEx covered policy updates, information about the transition, and updates about the consortium’s progress in developing the Smarter Balanced...

36

May 10 2012 12:01PM

Beginning with the 2014-2015 school year, Oregon will administer the Smarter Balanced Common Assessments for English Language Arts and Mathematics based on the Common Core State Standards. Oregon is part of the collaborative consortium of states deve...

37

May 3 2012 4:55PM

Each month, beginning in May 2012, Smarter News will provide updates on the development of the Smarter Balanced Assessment System and activities in member states. Their goal is not only to provide information about progress, but also to create a foru...

38

Apr 26 2012 1:49PM

This is one of a series of WebEx meetings being sponsored by Oregon Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Stewardship Team and Oregon Department of Education staff throughout the 2011-2012 school year. In this WebEx, ODE staff and guest Tony Alpert (Sma...

39

Apr 19 2012 10:51AM

On Thursday, May 8, ODE staff will facilitate a webinar on the status of the Development of the Common Assessment from 2:30 to 3:30. This is one of a series of webinars being sponsored by Oregon Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Stewardship Team an...

40

Jan 18 2012 3:06PM

Downloadable Sample Tests Translated to Spanish: http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?=441 These tests are aligned to the Oregon 2007/2009 Mathematics Content Standards and are in the same format as OAKS Online assessments, with Spanish abov...

41

Dec 22 2011 9:00AM

On Wednesday, January 4, 2012, the Office of Assessment and Accountability will host its quarterly DTC WebEx from 9:00 – 10:00 am. District Test Coordinators and other school and district staff are invited to attend this WebEx, where ODE staff will p...

42

Nov 2 2011 5:12PM

In a move to prepare students for the increased rigors of the new Common Core State Standards and the Oregon Diploma, last May the Oregon State Board of Education increased reading achievement standards for grades 3-8, effective for the 2011-12 schoo...

43

Oct 24 2011 12:00AM

In a move to ensure that OAKS Online Science addresses the increased rigors of the 2009 Science Content Standards, the Oregon State Board of Education voted Thursday October 20, 2011 (link to: http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?=3450 to increase s...

44

Sep 14 2011 9:07AM

The 2011-12 Test Specifications and Blueprints for OAKS Mathematics, Reading, Science, and Social Sciences are currently available at http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?id=496. These documents contain sample items, achievement level descriptors ...

45

Sep 8 2011 1:52PM

The OAKS Mathematics Test Specifications and Blueprints have been updated for 2011-2012 and are posted at http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?id=496. These documents contain sample items, the mathematics achievement level descriptors and achievem...

46

Jun 2 2011 11:13AM

The Oregon Department of Education’s Office of Assessment and Information Services is seeking new members to serve on the Sensitivity Panel. The role of the Sensitivity Panel is to ensure that Oregon statewide assessments are free from bias and ster...

47

May 5 2011 11:01AM

ODE is recruiting for the English Language Proficiency Assessment Content Panel. This panel will review items to be field tested in 2011-12 and also calibrate items that were field tested this year on the ELPA test. ODE is looking for experienced ELD...

48

Jan 26 2011 11:55AM

This is the Assessment & Accountability Update for January 26, 2011. You can access this and past issues of the A & A Update on the ODE website. In This Issue: SMARTER Receives $15.8 Million Supplemental Budget Reading Achievement Stan...

49

Jan 26 2011 11:00AM

The SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) announced that it has received approval for $15.8 million in supplemental funds from the U.S. Department of Education. The 31-state consortium was awarded a four-year, $160 million grant in September ...

50

Jan 20 2011 12:24PM

The SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) has received approval for $15.8 million in supplemental funds from the U.S. Department of Education. Oregon is a governing state in the consortium. The 31-state consortium was awarded a four-year...

51

Jan 6 2011 1:39PM

This is the Assessment & Accountability Update for January 6, 2011. You can access this and past issues of the A & A Update on the ODE website. In This Issue: Numbered Memo Released for Math Standards Class Size Data Collection Opens ...

52

Jan 6 2011 10:36AM

The Oregon Department of Education is enhancing the OAKS Online test delivery system for the 2011-12 school year to allow students with visual impairments who previously took the paper-based Braille version of OAKS to access Braille through the OAKS ...

53

Apr 12 2010 1:39PM

The Office of Student Learning & Partnerships is currently in the process of recruiting panel members for two upcoming opportunities in support of our Extended Assessment development efforts. Click here for the complete announcement. Panel Memb...

54

Feb 19 2010 8:16AM

As previously communicated, new item types will be field tested starting April 19. Please ensure that you pass on information about these new item types to TAs in your districts so that TAs can work with students to ensure everyone is ready for th...

55

Feb 10 2010 4:11PM

Reminder: Starting April 19, 2010, ODE will field test new types of test items. New item types will include multiple choice items with 3 or 5 answer options as opposed to the standard 4 answer items. In addition, there will be new interactive te...

56

Jan 29 2010 9:04AM

ODE will begin field testing new item types starting April 19, 2010. These new item types will include 3 and 5 response multiple choice items, short answer items, and constructed response items. A practice test of these items will be available starti...

57

Jan 14 2010 9:30AM

After spring break, ODE will field test a new type of interactive test item designed to assess different types of student knowledge that are typically not assessed using multiple choice questions. Instead of selecting answers from multiple cho...

58

Jan 14 2010 9:11AM

On January 4, 2010, ODE began field testing new items in OAKS Reading/Literature, Mathematics, Science, and Social Sciences. Each student can expect to see 5-8 field test items in each test, although students will not know which items are operatio...

59

Sep 4 2009 9:54AM

This summer, American Institutes for Research (AIR) has been collecting feedback from educators on their use of assessment data. We would like to thank those of you who have already responded to the online survey and provided information on your...

60

May 4 2009 12:43PM

Five practice Reading Performance Assessments have been posted on the ODE website for download and use by high school teachers and students. The purpose of the Reading Performance Assessment is to provide an alternate assessment for students who...

61

Apr 8 2009 12:00PM

ODE is looking for high school classes to take a reading performance field test between April 27 and May 8. This performance assessment is designed for students to demonstrate proficiency in the essential skill of reading for the purposes of future d...

62

Feb 18 2009 1:30PM

Math items found in the OAKS online assessments are based on the 2002 content standards. Recently, ODE added field test items to the pool of operational questions that students see while taking the Math online assessment. This year’s field test ite...

63

Feb 18 2009 1:23PM

This is the Assessment & Accountability Update for February 18, 2009. This issue contains important information about OAKS Online Mathematics Field Test items, ODE's Official Scoring Guides, and the winter Writing Assessment window.

64

Feb 11 2009 4:20PM

Draft 2 of the scoring guide for local reading performance assessment is available on the Oregon Department of Education website. This scoring guide is designed for use with high school students who need to demonstrate proficiency in the Essential Sk...

65

Oct 9 2008 10:06AM

Teachers needed: ODE is recruiting members for an ELPA Content Panel. This panel will review test items to be field tested this year. ODE is looking for experienced ELD teachers who are familiar with Oregon’s English Language Proficiency Standar...

66

Oct 9 2008 9:18AM

Here is the Assessment and Accountability Update for October 8, 2008. This issue contains important information about the OAKS Online Testing, Final Report Cards, Mathematics Assessment of New Content Standards, ELPA Improvements, Local Assessment ...

67

Oct 8 2008 3:37PM

A committee of Oregon English Language Arts educators has been appointed to guide the work around development of a local assessment option for reading. Students in the Class of 2012, this year’s 9th graders, will have to pass assessments in read...

68

Sep 24 2008 2:24PM

There have been two meetings scheduled for the Assessment of Essential Skills Review Panel. The first meeting will be on October 13 and 14 from 9:00 to 4:00 at the State Library in room 103. The second meeting will be on December 8 and 9 from 9:00 ...

69

Sep 15 2008 4:52PM

Qualified Trainer's Re-Training sessions will take place on November 6, 12, 13, and 20, 2008. For information about what Districts will need to know and for locations of the trainings, click on this link. What Districts Need to Know

70

Sep 10 2008 1:00PM

Dear Educator, In 2007 Oregon began development on an Alternate Assessment based on Modified Achievement Standards (AA-MAS). This assessment is sometimes referred to as the 2% assessment and is being developed, for a population of students who—in gen...

71

Sep 3 2008 1:24PM

Students will have an opportunity to participate in a field test of prompts for Oregon’s Writing Assessment this October and November. ODE’s Office of Assessment is seeking students in Grades 5, 8, 10, and 11 to complete essays on prompts under devel...

72

Jul 18 2008 11:19AM

The State Board of Education established the Assessment of Essential Skills Review Panel (AESRP) by adopting OAR 581-022-0615. The goal of the AESRP is to help create a system that has as high a degree of technical adequacy and equivalent rigor between...

73

Jun 18 2008 1:21PM

ODE is asking DTC’s and test administrators to participate in an OAKS Online survey. This survey will help ODE evaluate the testing year and set goals for next year. To participate, please visit http://library.state.or.us/services/surveys/survey.ph...

74

Jun 18 2008 1:15PM

OAKS Online high school assessments in mathematics and reading - plus the writing performance assessment -- will have an additional purpose next year. Each of these assessments will be available for 9th graders ready to see if they can yet demonstra...

75

May 5 2008 4:39PM

The Offices of Assessment and Student Learning and Partnerships are asking the help of District Test Coordinators in identifying individuals who would be good candidates for the Alternate Standard Setting Panel. Mindful of resource and travel constrain...

76

May 5 2008 9:51AM

This is the Assessment & Accountability Update - Retrospective Edition. This edition contains important reminders and key dates from news published during the past few months.

77

Apr 21 2008 2:08PM

This is the Assessment & Accountability Update for April 21, 2008. This edition contains information about the High School Diploma, Spring Student Membership Collection, Winter Writing scores, and Extended Assessments.

78

Apr 21 2008 1:40PM

Educators willing to assist with setting the standards for the Extended Assessment are needed. Meetings will occur May 27 and June 2-3. Information and an application form can be found at http://www.ode.state.or.us/news/announcements/announcement.aspx?...

79

Feb 19 2008 12:42PM

This is the Assessment & Accountability Update for February 19, 2008. This edition includes information about the suspension of the second OAKS Online/TESA opportunity, student instructions for Spanish/English tests, field test items on OAKS Online/TE...

80

Feb 19 2008 12:30PM

Some District Test Coordinators recently reported that students were encountering more test questions on OAKS Online/TESA than they had received in fall testing. Beginning in January, the OAKS Online/TESA system began presenting new passages and tes...

81

Oct 23 2007 9:36AM

This is a 2 Day workshop for educators, prevention specialists, ESDs, etc., facilitated by ODE-DHS Healthy Kids Learn Better Cadre. This training will take place in Bend, Oregon, November 1-2, 2007. You may register for this training on the event regi...

82

Oct 23 2007 12:00AM

The new OAKS Online/TESA system opened on October 15 and is available for student testing, subject to the conditions explained below. We ask for your patience given that your district staff did not have advanced access to training materials or the s...

83

Oct 11 2007 12:00AM

The secure browsers (Windows, Mac, Linux) are available for download on the OAKS Online portal, www.oaks.k12.or.us. If you encounter any issues during download/installation, please contact your Regional Assessment Support Partner (http://www.ode.state....

84

Oct 10 2007 12:00AM

The secure browsers (Windows, Mac, Linux) will be available for download Thursday morning on the OAKS Online portal, www.oaks.k12.or.us. District Test Coordinators will receive an email from ODE when the browsers are available Thursday morning. In a...

85

Oct 4 2007 3:08PM

Today, ODE received additional improvements to the four secure browsers: Windows, Linux, Mac OS 9, and Mac OS X. ODE is now conducting internal testing of the improvements, and will send an update to District Test Coordinators by Noon on Monday, Octobe...

86

Sep 19 2007 3:17PM

This is the Assessment Update for September 19, 2007. This edition includes information on the simplification of ODE's assessment web pages, field testing of writing prompts, and TESA for 2007-08.

87

Sep 4 2007 3:05PM

This is the Assessment Update for September 4, 2007. This edition includes a request to identify your District Test Coordinator, and information about the upcoming ELPA Development Workshop, Regional ESD Partners, and Key Dates for Continued Data Mana...

88

Sep 4 2007 12:00AM

On September 13 and 14, ODE will host a workshop to identify passages to be used as a basis for later item development for our English Language Proficiency Assessment (ELPA). The workshop will be led by staff from Language Learning Systems (LLS) based ...

89

Aug 6 2007 12:00AM

Teachers from throughout Oregon, representing all geographic regions of the state, collaborated with the Department of Education in July to develop new test items for Reading, Math and Science. These new items now begin the process of item review in an...

90

Aug 6 2007 12:00AM

The review of items for inclusion in the new OAKS (Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) TESA is underway and will be completed by August 15. This phase of the project will prepare the way for the use of these items during the coming school year i...

91

Jul 2 2007 12:00AM

Revised test specifications and blueprints in mathematics have been posted on the ODE website at http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?id=496 along with those for science, reading and literature, and writing. These documents provide a basis for the d...

92

Jun 5 2007 8:51AM

This is the Assessment Update for June 4, 2007. This edition includes information about upcoming item writing workshops and ODE's progress in processing assessment data.

93

May 21 2007 12:00AM

ODE is accepting applications until June 1 for this summer’s item writing professional development opportunity. About 25 applications have been received for Reading/Literature (July 9-13); Science (July 16-20); and Mathematics (July 23-27). Professiona...

94

May 21 2007 12:00AM

ODE has contracted with American Institutes for Research (AIR) to provide online tests for the coming school year. Preparation has already begun and will soon involved educators from across the state in: Focus Groups. The AIR team will conduct 2 or ...

95

May 9 2007 11:11AM

View full study here State Finds TESA Scores Comparable to Paper-and-Pencil Results SALEM - State Schools Superintendent Susan Castillo announced today the results of a comparability study of Oregon’s computer-based (Technology Enhanced Studen...

96

May 7 2007 12:00AM

Oregon Department of Education staff invite educators in K-12, community college and universities involved in reading/literature, mathematics or science to apply for this professional development opportunity. This is a chance for educators to be in on ...

97

Jul 10 2006 12:00AM

Click on this link to view the latest "Assessment Update"! PDF

98

Jan 23 2006 3:07PM

Click on this link to read the latest "Assessment Update!" PDF

99

Nov 28 2005 9:32AM

Click on this link to read the latest "Assessment Update"! PDF

100

Oct 10 2005 6:00PM

Click on this link to read the latest Assessment news! PDF

101

Sep 12 2005 5:05PM

Click on this link to read the latest Assessment news! PDF