Designing Meaningful Assessments: Shifts in Classroom Practice

1. Designing Meaningful Assessments:Shifts in Classroom Practice Elementary Powerful Conversations Network November 8, 2012

2. Networking: Connection Challenge— • Take the Warm-Up Activity featuring the map of Alabama and pen. • Move around the room introducing yourself to colleagues from other schools. Jot down their names in the margin with line drawn to the county where their school is located. • Connect with individuals from as many different counties in our state as possible. Celebrate the opportunity to be a part of a truly statewide learning community!

3. Alphabet Soup! • ABPC Alabama Best Practices Center • KLN Key Leaders Network • PCN Powerful Conversations Network • SLN Superintendent Leaders Network • IP Instructional Partners Pilot • CCRS College-and Career-Ready Standards • FAFormative Assessment

4. Partners with the Alabama State Department of Education Initiatives

5. Toward Standards-Based Learning “If we are teaching to the standards and we’re making sure that teaching and instruction are equipping students to know, understand, and do something with that knowledge, whatever the assessment is is secondary. We have focused for years on the test being the primary target rather than the standards.”—Dr. Tommy Bice, State Superintendent of Education

6. Learning Targets 1. To deepen our understanding of the implications of CCRS for teaching and learning • To revisit summative and formative assessments and the relationships between the two • To explore issues related to different aspects of assessment and broaden our understanding of comprehensive school- and classroom-based assessment

7. Learning Targets, cont’d 4.To reflect on the state of the art of assessment in our own school and to plan together to improve assessment practices 5. To continue work on a curriculum unit design team with colleagues from other schools 6. To co-create a community of practice with colleagues across the state

8. Guidelines for Group Interactions • Be open to and respect all points of view. • Listen with an open mind and expect to learn from one another. • Accept responsibility for active and equitable participation. • Allow think time – before and after someone speaks. • Check for understanding. Before you counter an idea, be sure you fully understand what has been said. • Welcome questions.

9. Activity 1: Critical Friend Analysis WHAT? Reading and critical friend analysis of a think piece on formative assessment WHY? To share our thinking about formative assessment and secure your feedback HOW? Individually read and think about the description of formative assessment. With your school team, provide feedback on the reading using criteria that are provided. (p.3 - Yellow Packet)

10. Formative Assessment—A Process, Not an Instrument Essential Question: What makes an assessment formative?

11. Which of the following has the potential to serve as a formative assessment? • Embedded Daily Assessments—Examples: Questions, Exit Passes, Student Work Samples • Teacher-Developed (collaboratively, when possible) Quizzes, Tests, Exams—Examples: Daily Quiz, End-of-Unit Test, Semester Exam • Common Diagnostic and Benchmark Assessments (oftentimes commercially developed)—Examples: Global Scholar, ACT Explore and Plan

12. School Team Conversation and Planning WHAT? School team conversation and planning WHY? To afford time for school team dialogue about and planning related to school and classroom assessment HOW? Use prompts and questions on School Team Conversation and Planning Guide to help structure team work. Use template to record team insights and commitments. (Green Packet)

13. Six Fundamental Steps to Using Assessment Results WHAT? Self-assessment, conversation and planning WHY? To use Ainsworth’s “6 Steps” to take a critical look at current status and future possibilities in classroom assessment HOW? Use questions beneath Part I of Team Conversation and Planning Guide & template for recording (p.1- Green Packet)

14. Activity 2: Formative, Summative, or Both—IQ Triads WHAT? IQ Triads to generate insights and questions related to the use of summative assessments formatively WHY? To structure a collaborative conversation that results in richer understanding of the potential of all assessments to be used formatively HOW? Three individuals from different schools and districts group to process 2 paragraphs from Ainsworth’s book and to identify insights and questions for sharing with home team. (p.5 – Yellow Packet)

15. Formative, Summative, or Both—Team Conversation & Planning WHAT? Self-assessment, conversation and planning by school teams WHY? To consider the potential of increasing the formative use of summative assessments HOW? Use questions beneath Part II of Team Conversation and Planning Guide & template for recording (p.1 – Green Packet)

16. Supporting Implementation of Common Core: Workshop Choices Purpose: To afford individual and team choice in deepening learning about one of four tools provided by the SDE OR additional team planning time Options: 1. Alabama’s evolving assessment system—Gloria Turner 2. Global Scholar—Terrence Ingram 3. Insight Tool—Cindy Freeman 4. Using Assessments with Math CCRS—Pam Williams OR School Team Planning

17. Common Formative Assessments—Team Conversation & Planning WHAT? Self-assessment, conversation and planning by schools teams WHY? To consider the current use of common formative assessment and possibilities for future HOW? Use questions beneath Part III of Team Conversation and Planning Guide & template for recording (p.2 – Green Packet)

18. Activity 3: Investigating One Important Type of Assessment—Table Talk WHAT? To engage in dialogue with colleagues from other schools about one of three types of assessment WHY? To learn from other’s experiences and perspectives and prepare to share with home team HOW? Move to a table made up of members from different schools. With your group, investigate your assigned type of assessment using questions beneath #3 on p.6 in Yellow Packet.

19. Pre- and Post-Assessments and Progress Monitoring—Team Conversation & Planning WHAT? Self-assessment, conversation and planning by schools teams WHY? To consider the current use of three types of assessments and plan for future possibilities HOW? Use questions beneath Parts IV, V, and VI of Team Conversation and Planning Guide & template for recording (p.5 – Green Packet)

20. Activity 4: Rating School-Wide Assessment Practices—Data on Display WHAT? Self-assessment and team conversation WHY? To compare and contrast current perspectives and to use a strategy that you might transfer to work in your school HOW? Individually rate 8 items; use self-adhesive dots to display your ratings on team templates; use data to draw inferences about current practice in your school. (p.7 – Yellow Packet)

23. Design Work in Collaborative Teams • Move to your content-alike team (subject and grade-level) with which you met during 1st PCN Session. • Select appropriate items from “Reader’s Assignment” on pages 156-157 to pursue during your work together. • The unwrapped standard(s) that you identified for focus during the 1st PCN session should be the basis for this work in assessment.

24. Principal Dialogue Groups • Move to designated break-out rooms. • When you arrive, take a seat in one of the chairs in one of the lines. • Pick up information packet in chairs. This will be your study assignment. • Please do not move the chairs or exchange information packages.

25. Reflection and Feedback • Please complete the reflection and feedback form—including the comments for each item. • This is your exit ticket! • We will use your feedback to plan our next QM. Thank you! Safe travels. See you next time!