CAST Interim Assessments (IAs)

The new CAST Interim Assessments (IAs) most closely align with Smarter Balanced Interim Assessment Blocks (IABs). As noted in What’s New in 2023–24 and table 1 below, feature availability in CERS will be gradually phased in between late October 2023 and late July 2024. For the late October 2023 release of the CAST Interim Assessments in CERS and this iteration of the user guide, CAST Interim Assessments may be referred to and displayed as IAs or IABs/IAs in the user interface (UI). There are several ways to view student CAST IA results in CERS.

IAB/IA Dashboard

The IAB/IA Dashboard provides a summary of interim assessments (e.g., CAST IAs, ELPAC IAs, Smarter Balanced ELA IABs, Smarter Balanced Math IABs, etc.) taken over the course of a school year for a group of students, including any off-grade assessments taken by a student(s) in the student group. The dashboard also provides an easy way to select these assessments to generate a detailed assessment report. Selecting the [View IAB/IA Dashboard] button on the Assigned Groups panel shown in figure 1 displays this dashboard, shown in figure 2.

Figure 1. View IAB/IA Dashboard button

Figure 2. IAB/IA Dashboard

The IAB/IA Dashboard displays a summary of results based on the drop-downs provided. It identifies the total number of students from the selected group, how many participated in each IAB/IA, and basic performance statistics for each assessment. One or more of these assessments can then be selected and used to generate more detailed reports.

1. Group drop-down: Contains all the groups from the Assigned Groups and My Groups panels. This drop-down defaults to a group belonging to the panel from which the [View IAB/IA Dashboard] button was selected. It may be changed to any group from either Assigned Groups or My Groups.
2. School Year drop-down: Allows a user to select from available school years
3. Subject drop-down: Can be set to limit the displayed IABs/IAs to a single content area or set to All
4. IAB/IA selection indicator: A checkmark indicates that the IAB/IA card is selected. Multiple IABs/IAs may be selected at the same time.
5. [View Assessments] button: Selecting this button generates assessment reports for all the selected IABs/IAs. It is disabled until at least one IAB/IA is selected.

IA Results in Group View

The group view provides an aggregate and individual display of a selected assessment for an assigned group, a custom group, or a school. Refer to the View Student Assessment Results by School and Grade section or the View Student Group Assessment Results section for details.

Once a user selects a CAST IA to display in the group view, the Results panel for the selected CAST interim assessment will appear (as shown in figure 3).

Figure 3. CAST IA Results in Group View

Each CAST IA Results page displays the following information and elements:

1. Name and grade of the assessment
2. Group Aggregate panel displays aggregate data for the selected groups of students
3. Select a results view drop-down menu offers the following options for display results:
   1. [Results by Student] (default view)
   2. [Results by Item]
   3. [Key/Distractor Analysis] (for selected-response items)
4. Results View table
5. [Instructional Resources] button that links to the Smarter Balanced Tools for Teachers Homepage and/or a user’s LEA-provided resources, if available
6. Display value as field: Contains toggles allowing a user to change the display to show the student score distribution in percentages or numbers of students in each reporting category
7. [Collapse All] button: Hides the Results View table for all the displayed assessments and toggles to an [Expand All] button that displays the results again
8. [Export CSV] button: Gives the option to download the results in CSV format

IA Group Aggregate Results

The CAST IAs report one overall performance score. For Overall scores, the Student Score Distribution reports three reporting categories. For CAST IAs, the reporting categories are Above Standard, Near Standard, and Below Standard.

Figure 4. Overall Group Results for a CAST IA

The Group Aggregate panel for IAs displays the following information and elements:

1. Average Scale Score: Average scale score for the selected group of students and an error band based on the Standard Error of the Mean
2. Number of student test results from which the scores are calculated
3. Student Score Distribution: Score distribution for the performance levels of the overall score
4. [Show Results] button: Displays the Results View table for the displayed assessment and toggles to a [Hide Results] button that can hide the table

IA Results by Student

When the Results by Student view is active, the CAST IA results page shows a table with each row displaying a student’s assessment results. The table has sortable columns and additional information icons, as shown in figure 5:

Figure 5. CAST IA Results by Student

The table includes the following information for each student:

1. Student: Student’s full name with a Context Menu three-dot icon [] allows a user to access a pop-up menu that allows further selections of student details to be made (refer to IA Student Options section).
2. Date: Date student completed the assessment
3. Session: Testing session identifier
4. Enrolled Grade: Student’s enrolled grade at the time of the assessment
5. School: Student’s assigned school at the time of the assessment
6. Status: The assessment status, which includes whether the assessment administration was Standardized or Nonstandardized (Manner of Administration), or if the assessment was marked Partially or Complete (Completeness).
7. Reporting Category: The score reporting category, which is Below Standard, Near Standard, or Above Standard as well as a link, indicated with the [Instructional Resources] book icon [], to Smarter Balanced Tools for Teachers Homepage and/or a user’s LEA-provided resources, if available.
8. Scale Score/Error Band: The student’s scale score on the assessment and the error band based on the Standard Error of Measurement (SEM) associated with that student’s score.

IA Student Options

When the Context Menu three-dot icon [] next to a student’s name is selected, the Student Options pop-up menu, shown in figure 6, appears.

Figure 6. Student Options context menu

The menu options are:

[Student’s Responses]: This displays the student’s responses to each item on the assessment. Refer to the Student Responses section for details

[Student’s Test History]: This displays the test history of the student. Refer to the Student Test History Report sections for details

[Print Student’s Full IAB Report]: Although this (and Printable Reports) is selectable, individual student reports (ISRs) are currently in development. Selecting this report will produce an ISR that states "Under Construction" at this time for CAST IAs.

IA Results by Item

When the Results by Item view is active, the CAST IA results panel shows a results table with an aggregate view of how the students performed on each item. The table has sortable columns and additional information icons, as shown in figure 7:

Figure 7. CAST IA Results by Item

The data shown in the Results by Item view indicates how the students performed overall on each assessment item, as described next.

1. Item #: Number of the item in the order it was presented to the student
2. Item Difficulty: Item difficulty (easy, moderate, or difficult) based on the item's difficulty for students in a reference population
3. Standard: Content standard(s) that define what students should know, understand, and can do
4. Full Credit: Percentage or number of students in the selected group who earned the maximum number of points for the item
5. 0, 1, 2, 3, etc.: Percentage or number of students who earned each possible score-point level on the item

Users may sort by each of these categories of information to quickly identify items of interest. Additionally, an [Export] button is available to export the report results to a CSV file.

IA Results by Item Details

Selecting an assessment item’s drop-down arrow icon [] expands the row to reveal additional details about that item, as shown in figure 8.

Figure 8. CAST IA Results by Item additional details

Student Points and Responses

The [Student Points and Responses] tab lists each student in the selected session(s) and the points earned by the student for each item, as previously shown. It displays each student’s name, test date and session identifier, enrolled grade, and school. The report includes the number of points the student earned on the item, the maximum points available for the item, and the correctness of the student’s response, which is the ratio of the student’s points to the maximum points. For example, a student who earned 1 point out of a maximum of 2 would have a correctness value of 0.50.

Selecting the drop-down arrow icon [] next to a student’s name will display the assessment item the student viewed when the student took the assessment. An example is shown in figure 9. The item number is shown at the top-left for the item being viewed. This view is read-only; there are no user-editable fields.

Figure 9. Student Points and Responses tab

Item Viewer

The [Item Viewer] tab currently does not display the assessment item. This feature will be available at the end of January 2024. An example Item Viewer panel for a CAST IA item is shown in figure 10.

Figure 10. Item Viewer tab

Rubric and Exemplar

The [Rubric and Exemplar] tab displays the answer key, or an exemplar, and the rubric for the assessment item, as shown in figure 11. This feature is currently only available for selected response items on CAST IAs.

Figure 11. Rubric and Exemplar tab

The Exemplar panel provides the correct answer and, in some cases, multiple correct answers. For selected response test items (e.g., multiple-choice, multiple-select, or evidence-based selective response items), a Key (answer key) is shown.

Item Information

The [Item Information] tab displays a detailed description of the assessment item (figure 12).

Figure 12. Item Information tab

Elements shown in the Item Information view may include:

• Depth of Knowledge (DOK)/Performance Level Descriptor—Level of cognitive demand this test item requires; includes a link to the DOK description
• Item Difficulty—One of three possible values: Easy, Moderate, Difficult
• Standard—Content standard(s) that define what students should know, understand, and can do
• Calculator—For mathematics and science questions, whether or not a calculator was available to students completing this item
• Supporting Documentation—Link to the Interpretive Guide

Key/Distractor Analysis

The Key/Distractor Analysis view provides an answer key with a feature that allows the user to evaluate whether there may have been common areas of misunderstanding among students who chose incorrect answers, called “distractors.” This feature is only available for selected-response (multiple choice and multiple select) items.

When the Key/Distractor Analysis view is active, the Results panel shows an aggregate view similar to that of the Results by Item table, but with the percent distribution of student responses by answer option, as shown in figure 13.

Figure 13. Key/Distractor Analysis results

The Key/Distractor Analysis table appears as described in the IA Results by Item section, with the following difference:

1. [Item drop-down arrow] icon: Selecting an item’s down-arrow icon [] expands the row to reveal additional details. Refer to the IA Results by Item Details section.
2. Credit Columns: The columns indicating students’ score-point levels are replaced by columns that indicate the percentage or number of students who selected each answer choice. The correct answers are highlighted in green.
3. [Export] button: Exporting is available to export the results of the report to a CSV file