CBA Information

• Seattle Public Schools will implement Social Studies CBAs in grades 3-12. 
• State required Civics CBAs will be implemented in grades 5 ( You Decide), 7 ( Constitutional Issues), and 12 ( Constitutional Issues). 
• CBAs are designed to be embedded within existing Social Studies and History units. 
• Teachers may assign a topic, supply texts, and use High Leverage Teaching Practices and Balanced Literacy Strategies to scaffold student learning for success on CBAs. 
• Students can be assigned a topic and informational text or receive support in choosing a topic and researching information. They can collaborate in small groups or whole class learning experiences as they research the CBA topic.
  
• Students must complete an individual Classroom Based Assessment product which will be scored using the CBA rubric. This will be the score reported to the district and OSPI.

Frequently Asked Questions: Social Studies CBAs in Seattle Public Schools

1. Are the Social Studies CBAs different than a WASL test?
   Yes. CBAs in Social Studies engage students in authentic intellectual work that requires them to develop background knowledge and use research, reading, writing, and critical thinking skills to create a product.
   
   "Authentic intellectual work," engages students in "construction of knowledge, through the use of disciplined inquiry, to produce discourse, products, or performances that have value beyond school." King, Newman & Carmichael, 2007 http://www.thedlcteam.com/DLC/AIW_Books.html

2. What grade levels are required by state law to implement CBAs?
   The new state law (RCW 28A.230. 095) requires that "…school districts shall require students in the fourth or fifth grade, seventh or eighth grade and the eleventh or twelfth grade to each complete at least one classroom-based assessment in civics." Seattle Public Schools has chosen 5th grade (You Decide CBA), 7th grade (Constitutional Issues CBA), and 12th grade (Constitutional Issues CBA).
   
   
3. What is the Seattle Public Schools requirement for the implementation of CBAs at other grade levels?
   Seattle Public Schools will require that all students in grades 3 through 12 engage in CBAs. Other than the civics requirements in grades 5, 7 and 12, teachers may choose from a number of CBAs that focus on History, Geography, Economics, and Civics.
   
   
4. Is the CBA an individual or group assessment?
   Each student must complete their Social Studies CBA individually.  They can participate in group learning experiences that help them build background knowledge to be successful on their written product, but they cannot get help with their writing.  The CBA should be completed in class, and students may be given more than one class period to complete their CBA.

5. Can students respond to the CBA prompt in a format other than a paper?
   Yes. The OSPI wording on each CBA document is that it may be a "paper or presentation". "Students may do a paper or presentation in response to the CBA provided that for either format, there is documentation of this response that someone outside their classroom could easily understand and review using the rubric (e.g., a videotaped presentation, an electronic written document)."
   
   
6. How do the CBAs get scored?
   Individual teachers or teams of teachers at each school can score the CBAs. It is recommended that teachers attend a scoring training with OSPI, but if that is not possible, SPS will be providing periodic training in scoring CBAs.
   
   
7. How do we report our scores, and who sees the results?
   CBA scores will be reported electronically through Seattle Public Schools. Presently, OSPI will just want to know the number of students in grades 5, 7, and 12 who are taking the CBA, but Seattle Public Schools will require that we also document student scores.
   
   
8. Are CBAs in Social Studies meant to be formative or summative assessments?
   Ideally, in the process of engaging in authentic intellectual work, students will be assessed both "for" and "of" their learning. Teachers will scaffold skills and the development of schema through a series of learning experiences in a focused context so that students can be successful on their final paper or presentation.

Seattle Public Schools Schedule for Required * and Recommended Washington State Classroom Based Assessments in Social Studies:

* (in bold) These are required by state law (RCW 28A.230.095)

** These examples of CBAs are recommended by the state, and Seattle Public Schools will implement these for all students beginning in the 2008-09 school year.  Teachers may choose from a list available on the OSPI website.