#Together4MLs Twitter Chat Presented by the NCDPI ESL/Title III Team and Co-Moderated by the NCDPI ELA Team   Join us for a Twitter Chat Tuesday, October 25th at 7 pm!      Chat topic: Fostering Student Engagement Through Authentic and Relevant Literacy Experiences   Questions:   Q1. How do you communicate what engagement should look/sound like in the classroom? Q2. What strategies do you implement to engage students in setting, monitoring, achieving goals, and reflecting on their language learning/development? Q3. What are some instructional practices you use to actively engage students in the development of literacy skills? (add the image “Level of engagement” from the SCOOP) Q4. How do you incorporate authentic and relevant literacy experiences into standards-aligned instruction to engage students in the learning process?

North Carolina’s Unique Test Development Process and Assessment Literacy

How are test specifications developed?

• When new standards are adopted or a new assessment is created, NCDPI assembles a team of educators from across the state to collaborate on making a recommendation of what should appear on the new assessment.
• At a test specifications workshop, NC educators consider the following:
  • Which standards can be assessed on a standardized assessment?Not all standards in our North Carolina Standard Course of Study for reading or mathematics and North Carolina Essential Standards for science can be assessed on a standardized test. Some standards are best suited to in-class exploration and assessment.
  • Which standards should be prioritized?
  • How should the strands (for reading and science) and domains (for mathematics) be weighted? For an example from the math test specifications workshop for grades 3–5, see Table 1 below.
  • Which item types (multiple-choice, constructed response, technology-enhanced, numeric entry) are appropriate for each standard?
  • What is the appropriate level of cognitive complexity for these standards? For reading and mathematics, NC assessments use Webb’s Depth of Knowledge (DOK); for science, NC assessments use Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy (RBT).
    • More information about DOK
    • More information about RBT
  • For reading, how many literature, informational text, and poetry selections should be included?
  • For math, how many calculator inactive vs. calculator active items on each assessment? Standards that are computation-based are likely better suited to the calculator inactive section.
  • Once a committee of teachers agree on recommended test specifications, NCDPI content specialists and psychometricians review, make small adjustments if needed, and then finalize the specifications. Test specifications are released and posted to the specific assessment webpage.

Test Specifications

• NC Check-Ins
• End-of-Grade
• End-of-Course
• NCEXTEND1

Want to find out more?

• NC’s Test Development Process
• NCDPI Test Development

Ready to become a part of the process?

• Write for NC

LIS Learning Series Join the NCDPI Office of Academic Standards for a look at implementing the LIS across content areas.   The NCDPI Office of Academic Standards is offering state-wide professional learning with a focus on integrating the Literacy Instruction Standards (LIS) into standards-aligned content area instruction. These sessions are open to K-12 educators.   November 30 | 3:45 - 5:00 PM Literacy in ELA Registration   December 15 | 3:45 - 4:45 PM Literacy in Science Registration   January 25 | 3:45 - 5:15 PM Literacy in Math Registration   April 27 | 3:45 - 5:00 PM Literacy in Social Studies Registration   May 11 | 3:45 - 5:00 PM Literacy in ELD Registration To learn more about the LIS, view the DPI LIS webpage. To view LIS resources, visit the LIS Toolkit (LIST).