Moving Beyond “ Can Do It, Can ’ t Do It ”

1. Moving Beyond“Can Do It, Can’t Do It” Margaret Heritage Cindy Bagwell Amy Scrinzi Denise Nelson Innovative Approaches to the Assessment of Students in Grades K-3 CCSSO National Conference on Student Assessment June 22, 2015 | San Diego, CA

2. Overview • Assessment Perspective • Project Overview • Challenges & Lessons Learned • Validation Study • Questions & Answers

3. Assessment Perspective

4. Assessment: Two Views of the Learner Present-to-Future: Prospective Past-to-Present: Retrospective Heritage, 2013

5. Formative Assessment • Assessment for Learning (Black & Wiliam, 1998; Black, Harrison, Lee, Marshall & Wiliam, 2003; Gipps, 1994) • Proximate to Learning (Erickson, 2007) • Assessment in the flow of activity and interactions in the classroom (Heritage & Heritage, 2014; Swaffield, 2011)

6. Learning as Progression

7. Assessment to Support Learning • Where am I going? • Where am I now? • Where to Next? Black & Wiliam, 1998, Hattie & Timperley, 2007; Harrison & Howard, 2009; Sadler, 1989

8. Wherever you are is perfect…

9. Wherever you are is perfect… for now.

10. Project Overview

11. What Research Tells Us • Educational researchers • Economists • Neuroscientists • Developmentalists • Molecular biologists • Genomic scientists • The PK-3rd grade years are the most promising window of opportunity during which to influence children’s lifelong trajectories. Kauerz, 2013

12. Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge Grant NC State Law “Read to Achieve”

13. NC’s K-3 Assessment Vision

14. 5 Domains of Learning and Development

15. K-3 Formative Assessment Formative Assessment A processused by teachers and students during instruction that provides feedback to adjust ongoing teaching and learning to help students improve their achievement of intended instructional outcomes. AERA/APA/NCME, 2014 CCSSO, 2006

17. What is essential? What is working? What could be? How do we implement for sustainability? How do we measure this?

18. NC K-3 Formative Assessment Process Kindergarten Teacher Survey Focus Groups & Input Sessions External Reviewers KEA Pilot State-level Advisory Group

19. What is essential?

20. NC K-3 Assessment Think Tank • Proposes claims, or learning goals, for each domain • Emphasizes a focus on the whole child • Promotes the use of a formative assessment process

21. How do we measure this?

22. Margaret Heritage CRESST/WestEd Early Childhood Educators Content Experts Specialists Teachers Catherine Scott-Little UNC Greensboro

23. NC K-3 Formative Assessment Process:Kindergarten

24. NC K-3 Assessment Design Teamw/Dr. Margaret Heritage

25. Construct Progressions Describes how students’ learning of important concepts and skills develops over a period of time. UNDERSTANDINGS: Identify the major concepts within a particular construct SKILLS: Identify the competencies within each “understanding”, ranging from simple to more complex PERFORMANCE DESCRIPTORS: Paint a picture of performance, providing examples of how students could demonstrate their understanding or skill at each stage of the progression

26. Assessment Means

27. NC K-3 Formative Assessment • Situations • Intentionally planned instructional activities designed to give teachers guidance on or examples for how to set up a learning situation to learn about students through observation & probing. Specific General

28. General Situation • Select Learning Targets • Identify Opportunities for Eliciting Evidences of Learning/Probing • Interpret the Evidence • Adapt/Respond to Learning Needs

29. Specific Situation • Select Learning Targets • Preparation • General Description • Elicit Evidences of Learning/Probing • Interpret the Evidence • Adapt/Respond to Learning needs

30. Family Contributions • Use of Family Questions to support home-school partnerships • Face-to-face conversations • Home visit • Conference • Phone calls

31. Family Questions • What is your child most excited about learning? • How does your child typically approach new things, such as meeting new people or going to new places? How do you help your child prepare for new experiences? • What new things would you like your child to learn? Why are these things important to you?

32. Family Questions, continued • How does your child show emotions (e.g., happiness, sadness, surprise, frustration)? How do you respond to each emotion? • What does your child like to do at home or with family and friends (e.g., favorite games, books, toys, activities)? • What can we do to help your child be successful?

34. Development Process Think Tank Report Research Content Experts Specialists Classroom Expertise Classroom Teachers School Administrators Think Tank Members Content Experts Specialists

36. Challenges & Lessons Learned

37. Your mission…should you decide to accept it…

38. What can the child MAKE, SAY, DO or WRITE? Write a Construct Progression Formative Assessment Process Be aware of GRAIN SIZE Include: UNDERSTANDINGS, SKILLS, PERFORMANCE DESCRIPTORS and SITUATIONS

39. HOW NC Approached Writing Construct Progressions… • What does the NC Think Tank Report state? • What does research say? • What do we know from personal and professional expertise about how children learn? • What do content specialists say?

40. HOW NC approached writing Construct Progressions… • And then… • We begin to write…and write…and write… • Are we getting the grain-size right? • Gather input from the field • Discussions and “meeting of the minds” • Edit, edit, edit…revise, revise…edit, edit, edit…revise, revise…edit, edit, edit…

41. Formative Assessment Process…finding the balance…. • The Assessment Design Team had to • Work under rigorous timelines while considering other commitments • Manage the work of multiple constructs and groups • Know when to stand firm and when to compromise

42. Lessons Learned…What We Know Now… • Feedback is necessary • varied stakeholders, many perspectives • Response to feedback is key • positive comments of appreciation from pilot schools • Being cutting edge is both rewarding & challenging • not for the faint of heart but requires heart

43. Lessons Learned…What We Know Now… • We did it! • we know we are moving in the right direction – it’s what is best for children WHEREVER WE ARE IS PERFECT … FOR NOW!

44. Validation Study

45. Purpose of the NC Kindergarten Pilot • Provide feedback on… • Professional development • Assessment content and format • Electronic platform • How assessment worked in practice

46. NC Kindergarten Pilot • UNC-Charlotte Research Activities: • Teacher Survey • Classroom Observations • Teacher and Administrator Interviews • Examination of Evidences

47. NC Kindergarten Pilot • Who? • 248 Kindergarten Teachers • 5,000 Kindergarten Students • Where? • 81 Schools across the state • When? • 1st 60 days of school

48. NC Kindergarten Pilot Findings

49. Commonalities in Classrooms Successfully Implementing KEA • Small class size: averaged 14 students • Students independently transitioned from one classroom activity to another. • Teachers used self-created implementation resources to assist with documentation.

50. Commonalities in Classrooms Successfully Implementing KEA • Formative assessment practices were imbedded into all classroom activities, so KEA data collection fit into teachers’ previously established routines. • “I want to warn you that you’re not going to see some prepared ‘something’ today; you’re just going to see what I do everyday.” • ~Pilot Teacher