Is There a Role for Formalized Tools in Formative Assessment?

Is There a Role for Formalized Tools in Formative Assessment? Debate Presentation at CCSSO 2013 National Conference on Student Assessment

Participants Discussant: Jan Chappuis, Director, Pearson Assessment Training Institute “Pro” presenters: Randy Bennett, Norman O. Frederiksen Chair in Assessment Innovation, ETS Robert Dolan, Senior Research Scientist, Pearson “Con” presenters: Sarah McManus, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Edward Roeber, Senior Assessment Policy Advisor, University of Wisconsin

Formalized Tools • Instruments developed for use across classrooms in a set of specified ways • Generally developed outside of individual classroom contexts, created by someone other than the classroom teacher, and purchased by schools and districts • Can range from the simple to the complex

Examples • Questions created based on an understanding of how students learn within a particular discipline, including those designed to identify typical misconceptions and partial understanding • Item banks from which teachers can select items to develop classroom assessments and quizzes • Educational games and activities with embedded (“stealth”) assessments (Shute, 2011; Behrens & DiCerbo, 2013; Wainess, Koenig, & Kerr, 2011)

Formative Assessment “Formative assessment is a process used by teachers and students during instruction that provides feedback to adjust ongoing teaching and learning to improve students’ achievement of intended instructional outcomes” (CCSSO, 2008).

Is there a role for formalized tools in formative assessment?

Turn and Talk Is there a role for formalized tools in formative assessment?

Considerations, “Con” • Disconnects between what is measured and what is taught • Lack of knowledge of effective formative use • Measures imposed on the classroom

Considerations, “Pro” Pedagogical knowledge Measurement fundamentals Domain knowledge Bennett, 2013

Concerns • Limited understanding within the system of the relationship between assessment and learning • Formalized tools used to hold teachers accountable for “formative assessment” • Ignoring or abrogating responsibility for teachers’ assessment literacy • Regarding learning gaps as a problem, rather than as a calling • The absence of the student as central decision-maker, whose information needs must also be met

Thoughts • Where am I going? • Where am I now? • How can I close the gap? Stiggins, Arter, Chappuis, & Chappuis, 2004, p. 41

Winner Students

References and Resources • Bennett, R.E. 2011. Formative assessment: A critical review. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy, & Practice, (18)1, 5-25. • Chappuis, J. 2009 Seven strategies of assessment for learning. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education. • McManus, S, and E. Roeber. 2013. Resolved, formalized assessments cannot be considered ‘formative assessment.’ Unpublished paper prepared for American Educational Research Association conference, San Francisco, CA, April 2013. • Stiggins R.J., J. Arter, J. Chappuis, & S. Chappuis. 2004. Classroom assessment for student learning: Doing it right—using it well. Portland, OR: Assessment Training Institute.

Is There a Role for Formalized Tools in Formative Assessment?