September 15

Giving Students More Authority in Classroom Discussions

STUDENT ENGAGEMENT

Giving Students More Authority in Classroom Discussions

When teachers act as facilitators of class discussion rather than leaders, students see themselves as valuable contributors to their own learning.

September 8, 2021
High school students participate in classroom discussion
PhotoAlto / Alamy Stock Photo

We all can agree that one of the most rewarding experiences in teaching is helping that one student find their voice and take a commanding role to contribute to the classroom learning experience. Allowing students the opportunity to engage in discourse that involves externalizing, elaborating on their thinking, and receiving feedback will lead to construction of their knowledge and understanding of a topic. However, these discussions require students to have authority and command over their own thinking to reconstruct ideas and concepts based on their previous knowledge and existing schemas.

With traditional power dynamics in the classroom, the teacher is the authority. In order to engage in meaningful student talk, we need to break this hierarchy. Otherwise, students may only regurgitate ideas or express concepts that they perceive to be favorable or correct. Assimilating new knowledge with their previous experiences and knowledge allows them to reconstruct new neural networks that lead to long-term understanding and sustained learning. In other words, the new knowledge is personal and relevant.

AVOIDING THE BOOMERANG EFFECT

The teacher plays a powerful role in changing this dynamic of authority in the classroom. It requires the teacher to ignore the intuitive behaviors of a good conversationalist in everyday situations. A typical classroom discussion may have the following pattern:

Teacher talks—Student One talks—Teacher talks—Student Two talks—Teacher talks—Student Three talks. This continues with more students talking but always alternates between a student and a teacher.

In the above pattern, perhaps all students talk at some point in the discussion, but the teacher is always the central figure. A boomerang effect bounces the conversation back to the teacher after a student talks. To clarify, we are describing “talk” as any significant contribution of thought, ideas, or concepts.

Many different students are participating. However, it’s a teacher-centered conversation. Perhaps the teacher is the only one answering questions, or it’s evident that students are not listening to each other and repeating responses. The teacher is the authority of the conversation, and socialization of learning is not yet at a community level.

In order to increase authority and enhance student construction of knowledge, the teacher’s primary role is to facilitate and guide the discussion, only choosing to contribute when absolutely necessary. The goal is to avoid the boomerang effect. In order to get students to respond to each other, it’s not enough for individual students to feel empowered in their own voice; they must see other students as valuable contributors and listen to their voices as much as they would the teacher.

3 STRATEGIES TO INCREASE STUDENT AUTHORITY IN CLASS DISCUSSIONS

1. Map out the discussion. Prior to the discussion, meticulously think about the desired flow for the development of ideas. Begin with open-ended questions to allow for inclusion of all ideas, and then prepare some follow-up questions and prompts to guide the discussion in the necessary direction. These should also address inaccurate ideas and missing information. Also plan on the exit strategy, or how the discussion will end with a clear and concise summary of concepts.

2. Allow for wait time. Wait time is a great tool to increase authority in our students as well, not just to allow them space to think. When a student asks a question of a teacher, the teacher takes a step back and waits, modeling thinking and processing of the question, making it clear that it’s safe for anyone to respond. This moment of silence gives time and space for students to process the question and offer a response.

Students know the rules of conversations just like we do—a person talks and then another responds. Wait time allows an opportunity for a student to take advantage of this innate rule of conversation. It reinforces that the teacher is not the authority of the classroom community learning experience. It also prevents students from turning off their attention when another student talks because the expectation is for everyone to think and process.

3. Utilize prompts strategically. Teachers can avoid the boomerang effect through the use of prompts that do not add a significant value by contributing an authoritative response, but redirect and facilitate to support a student to respond in an authoritative manner. This approach reinforces the idea that students have authority and students should listen to each other. It also reinforces the community learning experience that sees the teacher as the guide-on-the-side and models conversation skills that students can use outside of class.

You may want to try a few different types of prompts. Here are some simple prompts to engage students:

  • What do others think about that idea?
  • Let’s hear someone else provide additional evidence.
  • What are some alternative ways to think about this?
  • Let’s have someone restate the question/idea in different words.
  • How could we add, revise, rephrase, build on this idea?

The following are scaffolding prompts to address incorrect or missing information:

  • What needs to be revised to improve the accuracy of this idea?
  • What do we know that can help us solve this problem?
  • Where can we find more information?
  • How can we answer this question?
  • Let’s consider [concept]. How does that affect your thinking?

With all of the above prompts, the teacher responds only to transition to another student. It’s important to note that the teacher doesn’t offer praise or criticism directly. Often students are seeking teacher approval. These prompts do not reinforce the students’ seeking teacher approval; they reinforce the socialization of learning in the class community.

April 27

How to Teach Genre With Ms. B

 few years ago (maybe five or six) our state standards changed for reading, pretty dramatically. I know all of you who have been through the Common Core Craze can understand that.

I, however, am from Texas, where we do what we want *snap snap*, and Texas moved to genre-based standards several years back.

At that time, my reading program was based on the Reader’s Workshop model, with adjustments to suit me, and my shared reading three days a week was fiction. The other two days was informational text.

This was great for me (I love fiction, and I tied my informational articles to science, so double whammy), but it didn’t exactly address my new genre-based standards, which included literary genres: fiction, poetry, drama, literary nonfiction (biography), and informational genres: expository, persuasive, and procedural. I had some work to do to teach reading by genre.

One of the first things I did was take a look at my standards and figure out which standard was expected to be taught (and honestly, tested) in which genres. I used the document below to figure out where I had to teach different standards, like cause-and-effect, predicting, making inferences, and sequencing.

Then I chose some titles for each genre that I wanted to focus on as mentor texts for really understanding how that genre worked and how good readers approach that genre. My kids and I worked through a variety of texts, noticing the features of each genre and recording them, and other important characteristics (like author’s purpose, which is actually the essential reason genres are different), and charting them on some giant charts.

To help kids make the distinction, I divided them up onto literary and informational matrices.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Teaching-Reading-by-Genre-A-Teachers-Guide-Materials-1927458

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Teaching-Reading-by-Genre-A-Teachers-Guide-Materials-1927458

During the study of each genre, we examined several texts and isolated the essential elements and strategies to use to best comprehend that genre.

Poetry
Poetry was a struggle for many students. They didn’t really know how to start! To give them a handle on the main elements of poetry, we used an acronym that my colleague and I created: POETS. The chart below shows what students would look for in a poem. They marked evidence in different colors for each element, trying to put them together to make meaning out of the poem.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Teaching-Reading-by-Genre-A-Teachers-Guide-Materials-1927458

This chart shows how we read for the elements, whole-class, and mark our evidence.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Teaching-Reading-by-Genre-A-Teachers-Guide-Materials-1927458

I love reader’s notebooks. For each genre, we responded using different strategies. The strategy shown from my model notebook below was great for poetry. I honestly can’t remember the name, but this is how it works:

1. Read a poem aloud to students – each student has a copy to mark up as you read.
2. Read again, slowly, instructing students to find a spot to respond to. Students underline the line and put a star at the end of the line. They quickwrite in response to the poem.
3. Read the poem again, very slowly. As you get to the place where students responded, they jump in and read the response they wrote.

The first time we did this, my kids were a little uncomfortable and nervous. But you know, learning happens when we don’t quite know what’s going to happen! I did it again, with a poem called “Shelling Pecans,” and they seemed to have a better experience, because they expected to share. It was a very interesting strategy that I would use again!

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Teaching-Reading-by-Genre-A-Teachers-Guide-Materials-1927458

Other posts on teaching poetry

Fiction
When I introduced fiction, I made sure to introduce a variety of genres – I really spent some time here, choosing texts from each genre to make sure that students had a good understanding of the varieties of fiction they might enjoy reading. We read historical fiction (Nettie’s Trip South), and science fiction (Sector 7). We read myths and folktales! And at the end of the unit, one of the kids’ most interesting responses (I always ask for their input) was “I never knew there were different kinds of fiction.”

How rewarding is that?

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Teaching-Reading-by-Genre-A-Teachers-Guide-Materials-1927458


An important part of a strong reader’s workshop program is independent reading. While it’s important for students to enjoy reading (really the most important thing), you have to find different ways of ensuring that students are applying their strategic thinking in their independent reading. One fun way is the question ring below.

I hole-punch the cards in the corner and put them on a binder ring. I hang them in the classroom library, and students can choose a question to respond to in their independent reading. There’s a ring for each genre. We practice using the rings to respond to our reading during our whole-group lessons, and then, as we practice with each genre, I add the rings to the library.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Teaching-Reading-by-Genre-A-Teachers-Guide-Materials-1927458

Other posts on teaching fiction

Drama

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Teaching-Reading-by-Genre-A-Teachers-Guide-Materials-1927458

Drama is a very unique genre as well. As we read dramas, we add to our chart of drama features. It’s important to do more than simply name the features. We need to help students understand the purpose of that feature, so they know how to use it. For example, students very readily point to words in brackets and pronounce, “stage directions!” But do they use those stage directions to understand how a character is feeling or acting? If not, then we have to teach them how to do that!

Other posts on drama

Expository
Expository text is very focused on pulling out important information. We practice my favorite summary strategy: providing each team with a sentence strip. They write the main idea of their paragraph and then we put them all together to build a super summary! You can read more about that here.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Teaching-Reading-by-Genre-A-Teachers-Guide-Materials-1927458

I also added my Expository question ring to the classroom library!

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Teaching-Reading-by-Genre-A-Teachers-Guide-Materials-1927458

Other posts about teaching Expository text

Persuasive
Persuasive text is a very specific type of informational text. It’s informational, but it’s tinged with someone’s bias and persuasive techniques. I used this persuasive cube in partners to help students think through a persuasive text and identify the persuasive techniques and arguments used by the author.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Teaching-Reading-by-Genre-A-Teachers-Guide-Materials-1927458

As I introduce new genres, it’s important for students to learn how to navigate between genres. I use these three questions to help students think about what genre they are reading. It’s so important for students to naturally think about texts differently to determine what’s important about each genre. Students who are fuzzy on this read each genre the same, usually like fiction, and studies show they are the least able to navigate those genres. So we spend a lot of time on it!

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Teaching-Reading-by-Genre-A-Teachers-Guide-Materials-1927458

The chart below helps kids remember to think differently on three major genres:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Teaching-Reading-by-Genre-A-Teachers-Guide-Materials-1927458

Genre bookmarks are a great way to help kids be independent in their identification and thought about genre during independent reading. If you provide them with each bookmark as you learn about each new genre, they can pull their set of bookmarks out during independent reading.

I copied them onto colored cardstock and provide them to students, one at a time. Students “grow” their set, and when they choose an independent reading book, they identify the genre, pull out the bookmark, and think about the questions or items under the “Look for” part of the bookmark.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Teaching-Reading-by-Genre-A-Teachers-Guide-Materials-1927458

And then there’s testing.

Dun-dun-DUNNNN!

I know, I hate it, too. But if we teach our children to be real readers and real writers, we can more easily teach them to navigate the test structures and be successful. When we focus only on testing, we neglect the real thought and rigor of the world of reading and writing. Instead, focus on real reading and writing, and then bridge it to the test. This is how I bridge genre instruction:

We reviewed each genre with a mini-selection. Each student had a copy and they practiced using the three questions to decide on their strategy for approaching the text (ex: Do I look for characters? conflicts? main ideas? arguments? stage directions?). We marked the essential elements, and decided on the author’s purpose. Then we brainstormed the kinds of questions we expected to see on the test and recorded them on our chart.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Teaching-Reading-by-Genre-A-Teachers-Guide-Materials-1927458

We repeated this for the most frequently tested genres.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Teaching-Reading-by-Genre-A-Teachers-Guide-Materials-1927458
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Teaching-Reading-by-Genre-A-Teachers-Guide-Materials-1927458
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Teaching-Reading-by-Genre-A-Teachers-Guide-Materials-1927458

And we built our test-genre wall!

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Teaching-Reading-by-Genre-A-Teachers-Guide-Materials-1927458

We developed a strategy chant to remember what’s important about each genre! It goes to the tune of a cadence, like “Sound off- 1-2”. The first four stanzas are the verses, and the last stanza is the sound-off.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Teaching-Reading-by-Genre-A-Teachers-Guide-Materials-1927458

I cut up a million questions from the released tests, and students sorted them into different genres, based on the evidence they could find in the question and answer choices. It’s incredible how much they could infer, just from the questions and answers!

Teaching reading by genre is fun and purposeful with these anchor charts and activities! Each genre has its own special characteristics and structures. Help students apply reading strategies to each one, and encourage them to read in different reading genres with these minilesson ideas! #genreanchorchart #teachingreadinggenre
April 19

Pile of Words: Drive Deeper Engagement with Vocabulary at the Beginning of a Unit, Text, or Project

Each new unit, text, or project presents learners with vocabulary words that may be new and unfamiliar. So, how do we get students to think more deeply about vocabulary? How can we make learning new vocabulary more engaging and meaningful? Matthew Perini, Harvey Silver, and Jay McTighe propose a simple yet powerful strategy called “pile of words.”

I love the pile of words strategy because it positions the students at the center of learning. Instead of the teacher simply pre-teaching vocabulary or presenting a word bank or word wall of key terms, the pile of words strategy challenges students to engage in conversation, work collaboratively, and think critically about vocabulary.

Here is how it works!

Step 1: Think about the unit, text, or project you are about to start and create a list of vocabulary words and key terms.

Select a list of vocabulary words and terms central to the unit, text, or project you are about to begin with your students. When I piloted this strategy with my students, who are teacher candidates, I shared the following pile of words from a text we were about to begin.

The size of your pile of words should be large enough to allow for sorting and grouping without overwhelming learners. If you are working with younger learners, you may want to keep your pile of words smaller. A third-grade teacher might present students with six words, whereas a tenth-grade teacher might present 15-20 words. You are the best judge of how many words you think your students can handle for an exercise like this.

Step 2: Group students and give them time to discuss and define.

Give students time to discuss and define the words. Which words do they know? Which do they need to define using online resources? Encourage them to capture their definitions in their notes so they are easy to reference throughout the unit, text, or project.

If you are working with younger learners, you may want to provide resources they can use to look up unfamiliar words or even provide them with definitions after they have had the opportunity to discuss and define the words they do know.

Step 3: Group the words into categories by shared characteristics and label each category.

Once students have defined the words, they should work collaboratively with their group to create categories. Which words share common characteristics? What would you label this category of words to reflect their commonality? Put the words with shared characteristics together in a category and give that category a name or label.

My students worked in breakout rooms using a Jamboard to organize and label their words. I invited them to make as many categories as they needed to sort and group the words.

The categories students create and the labels they assign to each category provide insight into their thinking. This step provides informal data about what they know and what gaps or misconceptions exist.

Step 4: Ask students to make predictions about what they expect to learn based on the pile of words.

After sorting the words into categories and generating a label for each, ask them to take a few minutes to review the words, categories, and labels and make a prediction about what they expect to learn based on this pile of words. What big ideas would they expect to explore studying this unit, reading this text, or working through this project?

Step 5: As students progress through the unit, text, or project, ask them to revisit their predictions.

Prompt students to revisit these predictions as they make progress through this unit, text, or project. Were their predictions accurate? Do they need to be refined based on what students are learning? Are there additional vocabulary words or terms they want to add to their pile of words?

I modeled this strategy with my teacher candidates hoping that they will use it to drive deeper learning. I created the template below to support them in using this strategy online or in a blended learning environment. Although I included six possible groupings in the “group and label” section, it’s important to tell students that they can create as many groups or categories as they need and to feel free to customize the template.

Pile of Words Template

The beauty of this simple strategy is that it can be used at any grade level or in any subject area to drive deeper thinking about vocabulary.

Looking for simple yet powerful strategies designed to drive deeper learning? Check out Jay McTighe and Harvey Silver’s book Teaching for Deeper Learning!

February 22

PLEASE READ ISIP and ISAT Assessment Updates Please Read

Fall 2021 Istation Enhancements

Beginning in fall 2021, the IStation application will move to the web

  • Web Assembly, or Wasm
  • Allow Chromebook users to access Istation through a URL
  • Improve Istation’s capabilities

Power Path

  • New user experience
  • Simplified Menu
  • Visit the IUG to watch an informational video and learn more

Reminders

A quick reminder that in October 2019, the Idaho State Board of Education approved the rule to require science ISAT administration at the following grades:

  • Elementary ISAT Science: Grade 5
  • Middle School ISAT Science: Grade 8 NEW
  • High School ISAT Science: Grade 11 NEW

The biology and chemistry end-of-course assessment have been replaced with the grade 11 science ISAT.

No make-up testing (from SY19-20) will take place for the science ISAT. Therefore, only this school year’s fifth, eight, and eleventh graders are required to take the science ISAT.

Plans for Spring 2021

The spring 2021 science ISATs will be an independent science field test.

Student participation in this independent field is an important step in the development of the assessment, therefore all grade 5, grade 8 and grade 11 students will be required to participate.

No paper/pencil form will be available for the science ISAT in spring 2021.No individual student reports (ISRs) or scores will be reported from the spring 2021 administration.

For the spring 2021 science ISAT, the SDE is enabling remote testing for students who cannot test in person. While the expectation is that most students will continue to test in person, districts will be able to apply to enable the remote option for students if needed.

If your district has applied to participate in remote testing, or plans to do so in the future, we wanted to let you know that the window for remote testing may be delayed as we continue to work through last minute technical challenges to ensure a valid and secure test experience. This delay would only apply to students participating in the remote assessment. In-person testing would not be affected. We will provide additional information as soon as it is available. In the meantime, we recommend that districts schedule any remote assessments for later in the window.

Interim and Sample Tests

Interim Tests

The science interim testing window closes on Wednesday, March 10, 2021.

After 3/10/21, the interims will only be accessible through the Assessment Viewing Application (AVA).

  • Science Interim Blueprints are on the ISAT Portal
  • Science Interim Answer Keys are in TIDE under that General Resources tab

o   Remember that all interim test material should be securely handled.

Accessibility Features and the Science IFT

We are using the Smarter Balanced Usability, Accessibility, and Accommodations Guidelines (UAAG) as the standard for accessibility features on the ISAT Science this spring.  However, there are three accommodations that will not be available this spring because the ISAT Science is an independent field test (IFT):  paper test forms, printed braille test forms, and refreshable braille.  However, the expectation is that students who use these accommodations will participate in the ISAT Science IFT.

ISAT Science Accessibility for Braille Learners

Braille learners will access the ISAT Science IFT using the text-to-speech, read-aloud, and/or scribe accommodations. There are some items on the ISAT Science with graphics that do not include audio descriptions because an audio description would give the student the answer.  For this spring 2021 IFT administration only, the teacher or test proctor may describe any graphics that do not have audio descriptions, hence the need for the read-aloud accommodation. Describing graphics without audio descriptions is considered a non-standard or special accommodation that requires permission.  See the article entitled Requests for Non-Standard Accommodations in the ISAT Section of this Newsletter for more information about requesting this special accommodation.  When explaining why a student needs the describing graphics without audio descriptions special accommodation, simply state that braille tests forms are not available for the ISAT Science ITF.  Braille learners will also need to take their ISAT Science IFT in-person because the read-aloud accommodation cannot be provided during a remote test administration.

Teachers will need to work with test coordinators to code the text-to-speech, read-aloud, and/or scribe test accommodations in TIDE for braille learners taking the ISAT IFT.  IEP teams will need to ensure that the text-to-speech, read-aloud, and/or scribe accommodations are documented in the student’s IEP.  IEP teams can use the written notice to document that Braille is not available for ISAT Science IFT this year.  Parents should clearly understand how their braille learner will be accommodated on the ISAT science IFT.  Please contact Karren Streagle at streagle@sde.idaho.gov or 208-332-6824 if you have questions or need assistance.

If you have questions, please contact ISAT Science Coordinator, Kevin Chandler at kchandler@sde.idaho.gov or 208-332-6988.

Spring 2021 Summative Testing

Required Summative Testing

·         Grades 3 – 8 and 10 (grades 9 and 11 optional) for ELA/L & Mathematics

·         No make-up testing for last year

·         At this time, U.S. Dept. of Education has not waived the requirement for summative testing

Remote Administration

For the spring 2021 ELA/L and Mathematics ISAT, the SDE is enabling remote testing for students who cannot test in person.

While the expectation is that most students will continue to test in school, districts will be able to apply to enable the remote option for students if needed.

If your district has applied to participate in remote testing, or plans to do so in the future, we wanted to let you know that the window for remote testing may be delayed as we continue to work through last minute technical challenges to ensure a valid and secure test experience. This delay would only apply to students participating in the remote assessment. In-person testing would not be affected. We will provide additional information as soon as it is available. In the meantime, we recommend that districts schedule any remote assessments for later in the window.

Summative Testing Window

The spring 2021 ELA/L and Mathematics ISAT summative in-person test window has been extended.

  • Summative In-Person Test Window: Monday, March 15 – Friday, May 28, 2021
  • Summative Paper/Pencil Test Window: Monday, April 5 – Friday, May 21, 2021

For remote testing, we wanted to let you know that the window for remote testing may be delayed as we continue to work through last minute technical challenges to ensure a valid and secure test experience. This delay would only apply to students participating in the remote assessment. In-person testing would not be affected.

Summative Test – Adjusted Form

The spring 2021 ELA/L and Mathematics ISAT summative tests will consist of an Adjusted Form. These adjusted forms will still have a CAT portion, and a PT portion. However, the SDE is estimating that the average student will take about 30-40 fewer minutes on the CAT portion of the adjusted form.

  • These adjusted forms will be used in all required ISAT grades.
  • Time estimates to complete the adjusted forms (by grade) will be included in an FAQ and will be included in an SY20-21 TAM.
  • Blueprints for the adjusted forms will also be published.
  • A student will still receive an Individual Student Report (ISR) what has an overall scale score. However, only groups of students will receive Claim level performance data from the Adjusted Form.

Applying for Remote Administration

School Districts (LEAs) will apply for the ability to remotely administer summative tests. Again, the expectation is that most students will test in school. Applications must be submitted on or before March 1st, 2021.

Remote Administration Resources

The SDE is working very closely with our testing vendor Cambium Assessment, Inc. (CAI) to develop several resources to support and train districts on remote administration. These resources will be published on the ISAT Portal. Under the “Resources” tab, is the “Remote Administration” folder. Here are a few of the resources we are working on:

  • FAQ
  • Videos for Parents & Students
  • Training PowerPoints
  • Quick Guides
  • Infographics
  • Checklist

Preparing for Summative Testing

Districts should work in TIDE (Test Information Distribution Engine) to prepare for spring 2021 testing

  • Assign staff User Roles (use CAI User Role Chart)
  • Upload students
  • Create rosters (groups) of students for Reporting
  • User Guide and Quick Guides on ISAT Portal

Staff should complete the TA (test administrator) certification course

  • Required for administration of in-person interim or summative ISAT’s
  • Takes ~30 minutes

(NEW) A separate Remote Administration TA Certification Course (NEW) will also be required. This Remote Administration TA Certification Course (NEW) will be published in the coming weeks.

  • Required for remote administration of summative ISAT’s
  • Takes ~45 minutes

(NEW) TIDE will be updated SOON to document two important aspects of remote summative testing:

  • Remote TA Certification Course
  • Parental Consent for A/V Monitoring

Test administrators that will be administering remote test sessions will need to take and pass the Remote TA Certification Course, prior to administering the remote test session. TIDE will be updated to document that additional TA Certification.

Idaho SDE will approve districts for remote administration capabilities. DAs/ DCs will work with school personnel that were approved for remote administration. School personnel will send the Parent Confidentiality and Video Agreement (on the ISAT Portal) to the parents/guardians to read, sign and return. This agreement will document the parents’/guardians’ agreement to have their child participate in remote administration and the use of the webcam during remote administration. School personnel will keep these signed agreements on file at the school.

School personnel will also document Parental Consent for A/V Monitoring in a new TIDE attribute.

Smarter Balanced Information

Idaho Homepage

Direct links to all the Smarter Balance Tools designed to support instruction and assessment. Check out these tools and them visit the Idaho ISAT portal to learn more about how they support assessment and instruction in Idaho.

Interim Assessment Resources

The English Language Arts/ Literacy and Mathematics ICAs, SICAs, IABs, and FIABs are now available for the SY20-21.

  • The ELA/L and Math interim testing window closes on Wednesday, March 10, 2021.
  • After 3/10/21, the interims will only be accessible through the Assessment Viewing Application (AVA).
  • ELA/ and Math interim answer keys are in TIDE under that General Resources tab

o   Remember that all interim test material should be securely handled.

o   2020-2021 Test Administrator User Guide is available on the ISAT Portal.

o   2020-2021 AVA User Guide is also available on the ISAT Portal.

Nuts & Bolts of Interim Assessments

Five vignettes covering a wide range of topics concerning the interim assessment have been published. Check out these vignettes for more information on how to use the interim assessments.

  1. Organizing Principles of Interim Assessments
  2. What is on the Interims
  3. Administering the Interims
  4. Using Interim Data
  5. Resources for Instruction

Practice & Training Tests

ELA/L and Math Practice & Training Tests are available via the ISAT Portal.

These practice and training tests can be accessed as many times as needed by a Guest User (educator, principal, student, parent, grandparent, guardian) to become more familiar with the Test Delivery System, and to learn about the types of items that will appear on the ELA and Math ISATs.

Answer keys are also available on the ISAT Portal.

Remote Testing Accommodations

Most IEP testing accommodations will be available to students testing remotely.  However, we have received some emails from the field with concerns that some IEP testing accommodations will not work during a remote test administration.  Messaging from the State Department of Education regarding remote administration of ISATs has always recognized that there are some accommodations that cannot be administered remotely.  We identified early on that the print-on-demand, read-aloud, and scribe testing accommodations would require in-person testing.  It will be up to the school to work with parents to make mutually agreeable arrangements to administer the ISATs in-person to students needing the print-on-demand, read-aloud, and/or scribe accommodations.

Requests for Non-Standard Accommodations

There are rare occasions when a student may need a non-standard or special accommodation on a state-wide assessment.  A non-standard or special accommodation is a testing accommodation that is not usually allowed or is different from the accommodations allowed on the state-wide assessment.  The use of any non-standard or special accommodations must be pre-approved by State Department of Education staff.

The link to the Non-Standard Accommodation Request Form is under the Accessibility and Accommodations Resource on the ISAT Portal.  When you click the Non-Standard Accommodation Request Form hyperlink, the form opens in a new window and is called the Special Accommodations Request Form, as illustrated in the image below.

Most of the form is self-explanatory.   Be prepared to answer the following questions:

  • How does the requested special accommodation appear on the student’s program/plan?
  • Describe the accommodation requested in detail.
  • How does the student use this accommodation during classroom instruction?
  • Why is this special accommodation needed?

The form is submitted to and reviewed by staff in the Assessment & Accountability and Special Education Departments.   We must ensure that the requested non-standard or special accommodation does not change the construct of the test or give a student an unfair advantage.  For example, we will likely not approve the use of the read-aloud accommodation for passages on ISAT ELA/Literacy assessment because this test assesses reading comprehension, except under very unusual circumstances.  Below is an image of an alternate multiplication chart that was approved for use on the grade 5 ISAT Math assessment a few years ago.

Please contact Karren Streagle at kstreagle@sde.idaho.gov or 208-332-6824 if y

 

Teresa Jones
Director of Elementary Programs
Twin Falls School District

208-733-6900