In this issue:

• Countdown to Test Operations Management System (TOMS) Downtime

• Digital Library Spotlight Webinars and Forums Series—Supporting Students with Disabilities and Illustrative Mathematics

• Interim Assessment Hand Scoring Workshops

 

Countdown to Test Operations Management System (TOMS) Downtime

TOMS will be offline October 1–14. During this downtime, LEAs will not be able to access the following features:

• Interim Assessment Test Delivery System
• Interim Assessment Hand Scoring System
• Summative assessment downloadable student data files, student score report PDFs, and aggregate report files
• Online Reporting System, including viewing score reports and completion status
• Update users (i.e., add/delete) in TOMS 

TOMS is scheduled to be back online Thursday, October 15, offering new system enhancements that will make the 2015–16 version of TOMS easier to use. 

 

Digital Library Spotlight Webinars and Forums Series—Supporting Students with Disabilities and Illustrative Mathematics

On September 30, 2015, Smarter Balanced will begin a “Supporting Students with Disabilities” spotlight Webinar and forum series through the Digital Library. This series, which will take place over approximately four months, will highlight three Digital Library resources for supporting students with disabilities. For each highlighted resource in the series, a Webinar will be conducted to provide an overview of the resource materials and highlight formative assessment strategies that can be used to support teaching and learning. A forum will follow each Webinar to provide viewers with the opportunity to share their experiences. Each Webinar and forum will be facilitated by the resource author. The first resource to be highlighted in this series is titled Maximizing Access to Instruction and Testing for Students with Disabilities to Improve Achievement and will be facilitated by resource author Stephen N. Elliott, Ph.D. A second spotlight Webinar and forum series titled “Illustrative Mathematics” is already under way and follows the same format.

All Webinars are recorded and available through the Digital Library. Further information about both series is available on the CDE Spotlight Webinars and Forums Series Web page. Registration is required.

 

Interim Assessment Hand Scoring Workshops for Teachers

In October, the CDE, through its CAASPP contract with ETS, will provide eight workshops on the hand scoring of interim assessments. These half-day workshops will be conducted throughout the state and will focus on processes and materials for hand scoring constructed response-items from Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments. The workshops are divided into English language arts/literacy and mathematics sessions; attendees must choose which content area they wish to attend.

The target audience for the workshops is teachers. Other educators will be placed on a wait list and notified if space is available. Each workshop will begin at 1 p.m. and conclude at 4:15 p.m. Registration is available on the CAASPP Web site.