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Thinking About Changing Your Grading and Assessment Practices? Why It’s Worth Doing- For Your Students and For YOU!. How Formative Assessment and Standards-based Grading Are Motivating Our Students and Increasing Achievement (. Purpose:.
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Thinking About Changing Your Grading and Assessment Practices? Why It’s Worth Doing- For Your Students and For YOU! How Formative Assessment and Standards-based Grading Are Motivating Our Students and Increasing Achievement (
Purpose: 1)Participants will learn how our high school has progressed from traditional grading and assessment to a student-centered philosophy that is motivating our students to succeed.
Purpose: 2)Participants will understand the process the staff embarked upon and how this philosophy shift has improved student achievement and motivation.
Outcome: That you will examine your current grading and assessment practices and decide whether the proposed changes make sense for your practice.
Dansville Schools • Demographics and Structure: • Rural school, central to community • 870 K-12 students; 53 teachers • 35% free and reduced lunch • 1 Secondary principal, 1 Assistant Secondary principal, 1 Elementary principal, 1 HS counselor
How It All Started… • HS team attended a Carol Commodore Leadership Series about how to reach unmotivated learners. • District teams attended a 3-part series called “Building Classroom Assessment Literacy” by Carol Commodore.
Not Just Another PD • What does/should a grade mean? • What does it communicate to students? To staff? To parents? To colleges?
Assessment Dilemma Consider the following example:
Who Do You Want Packing Your Parachute? 3 students are taking a course in how to pack a parachute. • A. Davies, Making Classroom Assessment Work, 2000
Packing a Parachute… • The class average is the dotted line. • Student #1: Started well, but didn’t finish well.
Packing a Parachute… • Student #2’s scores are erratic. • It’s hard to predict how he will perform.
Packing a Parachute… • When scores are averaged in the traditional fashion, students 1 & 2 passed the course, and student 3 failed. • But……
Packing a Parachute… • Only Student 3 demonstrated consistent & reliable success in packing his parachute by the end.
Packing a Parachute… • Again.... Who Do You Want Packing Your Parachute?
If you are with a team, you may want to take a moment to reflect on and share out about this approach to assessment.
“What we know today doesn’t make yesterday wrong; it only makes tomorrow better.”
PROCESS *STEP ONE:ESTABLISH CLEAR LEARNING TARGETS. • Teachers developed student-friendly learning targets based on the Common Core Standards.
Clear Learning Targets • Must be written in student-friendly language (“I can” statements). • Must be attainable. • Must share what it looks like when a standard is reached
Impact of Clear Learning Targets • Learning focused on the most enduring standards. • No secrets, as students know EXACTLY what they are expected to learn. • Increased transparency and improved communication to focus parent support.
Teacher’s Practical Example • Clear targets come in three parts in many of our classes: 1) Students receive the “Unit Plan.” • List of guaranteed assignments with each connected to the clear learning target (CLT) listed on the back. • Students see the CLTs several times per unit to self-assess their own understanding on a 0-4 scale.
Teacher’s Practical Example 2) For formative assessments, students “grade” and ask questions (often graded in colored ink). • The teacher either gives a score on the 0-4 scale so students know their standing on the CLTs or they get descriptive feedback and then the student marks their score.
Teacher’s Practical Example 3) Students track formative assessments on their “tracking sheet” and keep a running record of the scores. • If students don’t see improvement on their tracking sheets, they know exactly which CLTs to study before the summative assessment.
PROCESS *STEP TWO: DEVELOP COMMON ASSESSMENTS BASED ON CLEAR LEARNING TARGETS. • Teachers who teach the same classes must work together to develop QUALITY common assessments.
TIME TO TALK • Reflect on your current practice as it relates to clear learning targets. • Share with a colleague where you are in this process (CLTs and aligned Common Assessments). • What progress has your school made toward the development of CLTs and common assessments?
PROCESS *STEP THREE:INCORPORATE STUDENT SELF-ASSESSMENT AND TRACKING WITH FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT SYSTEM.
Self-Assessment • Linked to clear targets and formative assessments. • Gives the students a way to reassess their status on the CLTs and helps them develop goals to improve. • Students use scoring charts and writing assignments for goal setting.
Research to Support Self-Tracking In Dec/Jan 2010 Educational Leadership article “When Students Track Their Progress”, Robert Marzano shared that having students record their scores on a chart after taking each interim assessment and following their progress over time brings about 32 percentile-point gains in achievement.
PROCESS *STEP FOUR: EVALUATE TO CHECK FOR AND PROVIDE TRAINING TO ENSURE IMPLEMENTATION OF A BALANCED ASSESSMENT SYSTEM • Cannot take for granted a common language of assessment . Ongoing training is provided for all staff.
Common Formative Assessments • Whiteboards/Clickers, Learning logs, Journals, Quizzes • Quick visual checks – fist to 5 on chest, thumbs up/down/sideways • Anything can be formative– depends on how it’s used. The info from formatives shows students their gaps and informs instruction.
Scoring Rubric for Math Assigning a Final Grade Summative Assessments – 90% Work Habits – 10%
TIME TO TALK • Talk briefly at your table about self-assessment and students tracking their progress. • What are your next steps in these areas: • personally? • as a school? • as a district?
PROCESS STEP FIVE: EVALUATE GRADING PRACTICES From the work of Rick Stiggins and ATI: -If we use grades to threaten to fail students, it leads to hopelessness. -It takes 30-50 encounters of positive engagement with learning to turn around a student with a negative attitude toward learning.
