Common Formative Assessments

1. Common Formative Assessments Part III With the standards foundation in place… Now it’s time to design the matching assessment items

2. Learning Objectives • Understand how common formative assessments are the centerpiece of an integrated standards and assessment system. • Improve our assessment literacy through deeper understanding of the assessment-design process. • Create and/or evaluate a first-draft common formative assessment for use in any grade and content area. • Receive tools for evaluating and improving the quality of common assessments.

3. Assessment of Only Highest Priority Standards • It is critical that all of the assessed standards be truly significant. From an instructional perspective, it is better for tests to measure a handful of powerful skills accurately than it is for tests to do an inaccurate job of measuring many skills. -- W.J. Popham, Test Better, Teach Better, 2003, p.143

5. Designing Quality Assessments – 3 Keys • Be clear on purpose. • Determine the appropriate type of assessment to gain evidence of learning. • Design assessment items that help you make accurate inferences about student learning.

6. General Guidelines for Effective Item Writing • Quality items should • Reflect higher order thinking skills (HOTS) • Students should not be able to answer by recall, they should have to apply their knowledge • Be brief and clear—goal is to“test mastery of material, not students’ability to figure out what you’re asking.” –Richard Stiggins

7. Things to Consider… • Design fair and bias free items (no bias toward gender, ethnicity, or language) • Student ability to respond should not depend on reading ability. • Format items to match district benchmark assessments, end-of-course assessments, and state tests. • Include correct standards terminology, not simplified terms.

8. 5 Roadblocks to Effective Item Writing • Unclear directions • Ambiguous statements • Unintentional clues • Complex phrasing • Difficult vocabulary - W.J. Popham

9. Assessment Formats and Writing Guidelines • Read pages 13-22 • Create visuals for some of the “big ideas” you learn throughout these sections. • Assessment is inference making • Two major assessment formats

10. Discuss • What are some of the benefits and drawbacks of the two types of assessments?

11. Criteria for Writing Selected-Response Items • Write clearly in a “sharply focused manner.” • Ask a question with only one best answer • Write items consistent with grade-level reading expectations • Eliminate clues leading to correct answer. • Make response options brief Pages 23-24

12. Let’s Practice Multiple Choice: • Which item in the following set is not like a ball? • World globe • Orange • Marble • Checker • Charlie Brown’s head • Question stem contains a negative • Too many item choices • Inappropriate use of humor with potential bias

13. Let’s Practice Multiple Choice: • The fraction _____ is smaller than the fraction 1/3. a. ½ c. I don’t know b. 1 whole d. 1/4 Incomplete statement contains answer in blank in middle of stem Includes “I don’t know” response choice Responses not listed in numerical order The “fraction” is a clue leading to elimination of distracter “1 whole”

14. “A Bucket of Trouble” A Reading Passage with Sample Comprehension Item Set Questions

15. Why is this a well written question? Student DirectionsChoose the best answer from the answer choices. (Level 2) • What is the main idea of this tale? (level 2) • Two frogs accidentally jumped into a pail of milk. • The little frog lived because he didn’t give up • Milk can be churned into butter with enough effort. Question is directly correlated to “unwrapped” concept, skill, and level of Bloom’s Taxonomy (Level 2) RECOGNIZE (main idea)

16. Why is this a well written question? Student Directions: Write T or F in the blank provided. (Level 4) ____The little frog knew the milk would turn into butter if kept paddling. ____ The little frog hoped that if he kept paddling, he would live. Question is directly correlated to “unwrapped” concept, skill, and level of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Level 4--DRAW (inferences, conclusions, generalizations)

17. Analyze Selected-Response Items from INSPECT

18. What are some things you want to remember about writing Selected-Response Items?

19. Criteria for Writing Constructed-Response Items • Includes short and extended response (i.e. short answer prompts, essays, and problem solving requiring writing) • Requires students to organize and use knowledge and skills to answer a question or complete a task • More likely to reveal whether or not students have gained integrated understanding with regard to standards they are learning • Requires scoring guide (rubric) to evaluate degree of student proficiency

20. Sample Extended Constructed-Response Item

21. Creating Scoring Guides

22. Such as… Complete Partial Adequate General Successful Good Nice Some Few Many Most Little Creative Avoid Subjective Language Rubistar

23. Strive for Objective Language • Language that is • Specific • Measurable • Observable • Understandable • Matched to task directions

24. Create Scoring Guide Proficient • Sort 4 out of 5 short vowel words. • Sort 4 out of 5 long vowel words • Student says “Vowels have 2 sounds and say a short an long vowel sound. • Reads 6 out of the 7 long and short vowel words in the sentence fluency practice. • Reads the sentence with natural speech. Then Create the Remaining Levels of the Scoring Guide: Exemplary, Progressing, and Beginning

25. We will resume our work at 12:30 p.m.

26. Try It!

27. Share Out

28. Resources for Common Formative Assessments • Textbook questions (that meet criteria for well-written items) • Assessment or evaluations components of text series • Online Questions Banks • NAEP – http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/ITMRLS/ • State website with released assessment items • District “banks” - INSPECT

29. Common Formative Assessments: A Summary • Interim assessments collaboratively designed • Similar in design and format to district and state assessments • Items should represent Priority Standards • A blend of item types, including Selected-Response and Constructed Response • Student results analyzed in Data Team to guide instructional planning and delivery

30. Write/Reflect • I had never thought about… • I want to remember… • I think I will…