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 Research (AIR) are looking for individual student feedback on sample test items. Many of the questions at the heart of the Smarter Balanced cognitive labs focus on the interaction of students with technology (desktop computer vs. tablets), since the group’s tests will be computer-based and computer-adaptive. “We want to make significant changes in the way assessment items look, and we don’t want to make those changes without actually seeing how items function when they’re put in front of kids,” said Shelbi Cole, SBAC’s director of math. “This helps us know earlier in the process so we don’t develop a bunch of items that don’t measure the new standards (CCSS) the way we want.” The full article is available at:
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/12/07/14labs_ep.h32.html?tkn=YMUFIITJ2ninvBiwXUcxErD5Fn8ntcigQUuy&cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS1.
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