Classroom Diagnostic Tools

1. Classroom Diagnostic Tools

2. Pre-Formative Assessment of Current CDT Knowledge

3. We Need to Use the Data

4. PVAAS Pilot

5. PVAAS Pilot

6. PA Assessments

7. About the CDT • Administered using a computer-adaptive approach • What does this mean? The assessment will adjust items based on student responses. • Difficulty will either increase or decrease depending on if the student answers items correctly. • This is designed to minimize frustration and help in determining a student’s strengths and areas of need in the diagnostic categories.

8. The CDT Cycle Assess Reflect and Monitor Analyze Share Interpret Instruct

9. Impact on Instruction • Teachers will receive immediate and actionable data to be used for targeting instruction. • The CDT reports provide direct links to resources on the SAS site. • The reports also show the progress of students across test administrations.

10. Common Questions • How many times should the students sit for the assessments during a school year? • 3 times at a minimum of 5-6 weeks between administration • How many questions are there? • Students will be presented with 45-60 items regardless of current level. • How much time is required to finish the assessments? • Between 45 and 90 minutes.

11. Common Questions • Are the questions presented on grade level? • No. The questions allow for more advanced content or lower-level content depending on need. • Are there constructed response questions? • No. All questions are multiple choice. • Is the CDT a timed assessment? • No.

12. Scoring • Students’ scores are converted into scale scores rather than points correct or raw scores • Scale scores are transformed raw scores that allow for valid comparisons across students, grades, and administrations, but only within the same subject • Scales scores take into consideration the fact that some questions on the test are more difficult than others • CDT Minimum scale score of 400 • CDT Maximum scale score of 2000 Note: Item Response Theory (IRT), specifically the Rasch model, is used to determine the student’s raw score.

13. Research • Information about students is crucial to a teacher’s ability to calibrate tasks and lessons to students’ current understandings and skills (Adding It UP, National Research Council, Kilpatrick, Swafford, 2001, 349).

14. Classroom Diagnostic Tools https://pa.drcedirect.com/

15. Best Practices: English Department • Teachers individually reviewed their own class data for the assessment and shared the data with their students. • Teachers then discussed ways to address the areas of weakness with one another and then the data served as the springboard for instructional modifications.   • For instance, some courses are using more USATest Prep practice questions, more close reading lessons with think-alouds are being utilized, and vocabulary instruction is being geared to the Keystone glossary.   • Additionally, along with reviewing the data from the 1st 9 weeks common assessments with the Social Studies grade-level cohorts, the CDT data will be shared/reviewed with the Social Studies cohorts this coming Thursday.  Again, the goal is for Social Studies to help us reinforce these skills.

16. The Framework for Teaching • Domain 2: The Classroom Environment • Creating an Environment of Respect and Rapport • Establishing a Culture for Learning • Managing Classroom Procedures • Managing Student Behavior • Organizing Physical Space • Domain 1: Planning and Preparation • Demonstrating Knowledge of Content and Pedagogy • Demonstrating Knowledge of Students • Setting Instructional Outcomes • Demonstrating Knowledge of Resources • Designing Coherent Instruction • Designing Student Assessments • Domain 4: Professional Responsibilities • Reflecting on Teaching • Maintaining Accurate Records • Communicating with Families • Participating in a Professional Community • Growing and Developing Professionally • Demonstrating Professionalism • Domain 3: Instruction • Communicating with Students • Using Questioning and Discussion • Techniques • Engaging Students in Learning • Using Assessment in Instruction • Demonstrating Flexibility and Responsiveness

17. CDT Student Data Analysis • One‐to‐One Conferencing with Your Students • See BHS Weebly PD Site for resources • Guide for 1-1 Conferencing with students • Metacognition guide for students • bhspd.weebly.com

18. Research “As teachers derive feedback information from assessments that they give their students, there can, then, be important adjustments to how they teach, how they consider what success looks like, how they recognize students’ strengths and gaps and how they regard their own effects on students. The essence of such formative interpretations is providing teachers with feedback from assessments about how they need to modify their teaching, and providing students with feedback so they can learn how to self‐regulate and be motivated to engage in further learning” (Visible Learning for Teachers, Routledge, Hattie, 2012, 125‐126).

19. 2013-2014 Testing Windows • CDT: September 9-20, 2013 • Keystone Exams: • December 4 & 5, 2013 (Algebra I) • December 10 & 11, 2013 (Literature) • January 8 & 9, 2014 (Biology) • CDT: February 10-21, 2014 • CDT: April 1-11, 2014 • Keystone Exams • May 12-23, 2014 (Window)

20. CDT for Grades 3-5 • 2013-2014 CDT -BWSD is not field testing • 2014-2015 CDT is operational • Reading, math, science, and writing • Based on PA anchors and eligible content