which reviewed the math cut score recommendations. The participants of the vertical articulation meeting consisted of table leaders from each of the standard setting committees, selected prior to the standard setting meeting. The focus of the vertical articulation meeting was to review the cut score recommendations from the standard setting meeting along with impact data to consider whether and to what extent adjustments to the recommended cut scores might be warranted based on both content and policy. The adjustments to the recommendations made by the vertical articulation committees were influenced by a desire to honor the content-based recommendations of the standard setting process, maintain high expectations for achievement across the MCAS assessments, and ensure the relationship among standards was coherent and defensible. Tables 4 and 5 present the results from the vertical articulation meeting for ELA and math, respectively. Table 4. Vertical Articulation Recommendations for ELA Tests (Grades 3-8) Grade Achievement Level Not Meeting Expectations Partially Meeting Expectations Meeting Expectations Exceeding Expectations Raw Score Range % in Raw Range % in Raw Score Range % in Level Raw Score Range % in 3 0 to 10 6 11 to 23 44 24 to 33 44 34 to 42 6 4 0 to 12 5 13 to 27 39 28 to 37 51 38 to 42 5 5 0 to 13 5 14 to 29 41 30 to 39 47 40 to 46 7 6 0 to 10 7 11 to 27 42 28 to 39 43 40 to 49 8 7 0 to 13 8 14 to 29 37 30 to 41 47 42 to 49 8 8 0 to 15 8 16 to 31 41 32 to 41 43 42 to 49 8 Table 5. Vertical Articulation Recommendations for Mathematics Tests (Grades 3-8) Grade Achievement Level Not Meeting Expectations Partially Meeting Expectations Meeting Expectations Exceeding Expectations Raw Score Range % in Level Raw Score Range % in Raw Range % in Level Raw Score Range % in Level 3 0 to 11 9 12 to 28 40 29 to 42 43 43 to 48 8 4 0 to 13 8 14 to 32 41 33 to 47 43 48 to 54 8 5 0 to 11 6 12 to 30 46 31 to 47 41 48 to 54 7 6 0 to 7 7 8 to 27 45 28 to 44 39 45 to 54 9 7 0 to 7 7 8 to 24 47 25 to 42 37 43 to 54 9 8 0 to 10 5 11 to 30 48 31 to 45 36 46 to 54 11 Figure 2 presents the impact data from the final recommendations from the vertical articulation meeting as stacked bar graphs.
Writing Produces basic writing with limited selection and explanation of evidence and details related to grade-appropriate texts, topics, or subject areas Produces writing with little development of a central idea or sequenced events, limited organization, and expression of ideas Exhibits partial awareness of task, purpose, and audience Produces solid writing with appropriate selection and explanation of evidence and details related to grade-appropriate texts, topics, or subject areas Produces writing with appropriate development of a central idea or sequenced events, moderate organization, and adequate expression of ideas Exhibits sufficient awareness of task, purpose, and audience Produces clear writing with skillful selection and explanation of evidence and details related to grade-appropriate texts, topics, or subject areas Produces writing with full development of a central idea or sequenced events, effective organization, and clear expression of ideas Exhibits full awareness of task, purpose, and audience Language Demonstrates limited reading vocabulary of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in grade-appropriate texts Demonstrates limited understanding of unfamiliar words in text and shows partial understanding of word parts and word relationships in word meanings Demonstrates little control of the standard English conventions of sentence structure, grammar, and mechanics Demonstrates reading vocabulary of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in grade-appropriate texts Demonstrates understanding of unfamiliar words in text and shows sufficient understanding of word parts and word relationships in word meanings Demonstrates mostly consistent control of the standard English conventions of sentence structure, grammar, usage, and mechanics Demonstrates comprehensive reading vocabulary of general academic and domain-specific and phrases in texts Demonstrates comprehensive understanding of unfamiliar words in text and shows full understanding of word parts and word relationships in word meanings Demonstrates consistent control of the standard English conventions of sentence structure, grammar, usage, and mechanics MCAS Next Generation Achievement Descriptors English Language Arts Grade 3 appropriate
Expressions and Equations Uses properties of operations to add and subtract linear expressions Solves simple mathematical problems numerical and algebraic expressions and equations Identifies simple arithmetic and geometric sequences from tables, graphs, words and expressions. Extends patterns in simple arithmetic and geometric sequences from tables, graphs, words and expressions. Uses properties of operations to expand linear expressions Uses properties of operations to factor linear expressions Given a real-world problem, rewrites expressions in different forms to show understanding of the problem Interprets the solution of an inequality in a problem Solves multi-step mathematical and real-world problems using numerical and algebraic expressions and equations Fluently converts between different forms Create equations and inequalities to solve problems Graphs the solutions of an inequality Uses properties of operations to factor linear expressions and interprets the result in the context of a problem Justifies solutions to multi-step problems Analyzes patterns and determines expressions for simple arithmetic and geometric sequences tables, graphs, words and expressions Geometry Draws triangles with given conditions Applies the formulas to find the circumference of circles Applies the formulas to find the area of two-dimensional figures, including circles Recognizes attributes of angles (supplementary, complementary, vertical, adjacent) Constructs triangles with given conditions and describes some of their attributes Describes the shape of the two-dimensional face of the figure that results from slicing figures. Solves problems involving the relationship between area and circumference of circles Solves problems involving the surface area and volume of three-dimensional shapes Solves mathematical problems involving scale drawings Solves multi-step problems using attributes of angles (supplementary, complementary, vertical, adjacent) Finds unknown supplementary, complementary, vertical, and adjacent angles by solving equations Statistics and Probability Makes inferences about a population by examining the sample population Visually compares two populations on measures of center and variability Differentiates between representative and samples Indentifies probability as a number between 0 and 1 Finds probabilities of simple events Uses random sampling to draw inferences about a population Recognizes the probabilities of 0 through 1 as likely, unlikely, or neither. Develops probability models and uses it to find probabilities of events Finds probabilities for compound events using organized lists, tables, and tree diagrams Evaluates probability models Designs and uses a simulation to generate frequencies for compound events Computes the differences of the centers as a multiple of the measure of variability for two populations
Appendix B – Recommended Cut Scores on IRT Scale and Scaling Constants Subject Grade Cut (IRT) Scaling Constants Partially Meeting Expectations Meeting Expectations Exceeding Expectations A B ELA 3 0.011395 1.603829 499.78533 ELA 4 -1.56114 0.030745 1.622634 18.84554 ELA 5 0.03758 1.733879 499.33538 ELA 6 -1.59094 -0.01066 1.569615 18.98401 500.20242 ELA 7 -1.55993 0.010925 1.581776 19.09793 499.79136 ELA 8 -1.45633 0.051195 1.558718 498.98121 Math 3 -1.37722 0.02747 1.432156 21.35708 499.41332 Math 4 0.054015 1.486789 20.93841 Math 5 -1.55075 0.024933 1.600619 499.52530 Math 6 -1.51808 -0.00828 1.501518 19.87021 Math 7 -1.41406 0.031158 1.476376 20.75810 499.35323 Math 8 -1.49566 -0.00844 20.17180 500.17015