WA State: Science Assessment Update March 2015

Science Training Test for the Online Measurements of Student Progress (MSP)

The Science Training Test for the Grade 5 and the Grade 8 MSP is now available on the Washington State Comprehensive Assessment Program (WCAP) Portal.  The WCAP portal is the access point for the Washington assessment system tools and resources.

The 2015 spring online Science MSP will use the same test engine/platform as the Smarter Balanced Assessments for ELA and Mathematics. There are several features on the test engine that will be different from prior versions of the online science tests:

• There are no “click to enlarge” graphics, or bulleted lists in items.
• Short answer items will not appear over multiple screens.
• Items for a scenario will appear together on the right side of the screen, just like the ELA passages and items appear together on the Smarter Balanced test. 

Science Assessment Resources

Please visit the Science Assessment Educator Resources webpage to access a variety of documents intended to assist teachers, students, and parents in preparation for the Science MSP and Biology End-of-Course (EOC).

 Examples of resources include:

• Science Short-Answer Scoring Trainings
  Video presentations showing how student responses are scored using rubrics for the Biology EOC/COE and Science MSP.
• Science Assessment Updates
  These documents include: information about the science assessment system; sample items to familiarize teachers and students with the item types on the assessments; and scoring information for educators.
• Lessons Learned from Scoring Student Work
  The Science Assessment Team shares observations about student responses for the Measurements of Student Progress and the Biology End-of-Course exam pilot items.
• Science Short-Answer Item Templates
  Templates that can be edited for use in classroom practice by incorporating content from any unit in a science curriculum.

Science Assessment Development Update

WA State 2009 K-12 Science Learning Standards

Invitations to apply for summer Pilot Rangefinding and fall Data Review committees will be sent via GovDelivery in May. Information will be posted on the Science Assessment Professional Development Opportunities webpage.

WA State 2013 K-12 Science Learning Standards (NGSS)

Washington has joined a collaborative group of 13 states and 1 territory to begin the development of assessments based on the Next Generation Science Standards (known in Washington as the Washington State 2013 K-12 Science Learning Standards). The group work is being coordinated by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). This group met for the first time in February. We will keep you posted about the progress of the collaborative, and if there are opportunities for educator reviews of documents during the development stages we will be sure to let you know.

The first state assessments for the new standards are expected no earlier than spring 2018.