The ABCs of Assessment

1. The ABCs of Assessment How Do We Use This Information to Inform Instruction? How do Assessments help us get the "Inside Scoop"? modifications interventions enrichment Data-Driven Instruction; Child-Study; Remediation

2. The ABCs of Assessment Outcomes: • To develop school-wide, consistent understandings and use of language regardingassessments • To develop efficient and effective responsive teaching practices based on data gatheredfrom assessments

3. Team-Talk Reflect as a team…. • What are our personal definitions of assessment? • What role does assessment play in the learning/teaching process? 3. When we think of assessment…. • What do we feel very confident about, and feel we do effectively? • What do we find frustrating, need more support behind, or want to know more about?

4. Community Circle Sharing When I think of assessment…. • One Thing I feel very confident about, and feel I do well is… • One thing I find frustrating, need more support behind, or want to know more about is…

5. The ABCs of Assessment Assessment is a system. The system has 3 important components The Act of Assessment… The Types of Assessment… The Tools of Assessment…

6. The ABCs of Assessment The Act of Assessment… “Assess: Etymology: Middle English, probably from Medieval Latin assessus, past participle of assidEre, from Latin, to sit beside, assist in the office of a judge” (From MerriamWebster.com) In Everyday Life, assessments are judgments we make about people or things based on data we gather through our experiences and senses, and compare to our personal standards and criteria of what is correct, or successful.

7. The ABCs of Assessment The Act of Assessment… In Education, assessments are judgments we make about students and their performance based on data we gather through instruments and/or observation, and compare against given standards, such as the Sunshine State Standards, according to given criteria, and definitions of correctness and success.

8. The ABCs of Assessment The Act of Assessment… The Goalsof the act of assessment are to: • Provide accurate information to teachers, students and parents about current levels of student success • Provide data to inform instruction in a way that leads to success for all students • Provide feedback to students that will lead to personal goal-setting and working towards success.

9. The ABCs of Assessment Types of Assessment … AKA What kinds of judgements can we make? Formative, Summative, Screenings… OH MY! • Formative • Norm-referenced • Summative • Criterion-referenced • Screenings • Diagnostic • Progress-Monitoring

10. Formative Assessment Formative assessments are assessments that are given during a sequence of instruction. The goals of formative assessments are to… • provide feedback to the learner so that s/he can set personal goals and work towards success. 2. provide feedback to the teacher so that s/he can modify instruction to meet the needs of the learner. (remediation/extension)

11. Summative Assessment Summative assessments are assessments that are given at the end of a sequence of instruction. They are primarily used to assign grades, or levels of accomplishment The goals of summative assessments are to… • provide information about the student’s level of success with the objectives/standards s/he was taught. 2. provide feedback to the teacher so that s/he knows how effective his/her instruction was.

12. Criterion-Referenced Criterion-Referenced assessments that are given to determine a student’s success based on his/her knowledge and mastery of standards and objectives. The goal of criterion-referenced assessmentsis to provide information about a learner’s level of mastery of objectives and standards in a given subject area.

13. Norm-Referenced Norm-Referenced assessments are assessments that are given to determine a student’s level of mastery with objectives and standards as compared to others in his/her norm group.. The goal of norm-referenced assessments is to… Compare a student’s level of success against that of other students in his/her age/grade level, or “norm” group.

14. Screening Assessments Screening assessments are given to assess the performance level of all students in relation to the Sunshine State Standards. The goals of screening assessments are to… • Provide information about general areas of student weaknesses and strengths . • provide feedback to the teacher so that s/he can modify instruction to meet the needs of the learner.

15. Diagnostic Assessments Diagnostic assessments are given to identify the specific area(s) of need for a struggling student identified by the screening instrument. The goals of diagnostic assessments are to… • Provide information about specific areas of student weaknesses and strengths . • provide feedback to the teacher so that s/he can modify instruction to meet the needs of the learner.

16. Progress-Monitoring Progress-Monitoring assessments are administered throughout the year to measure the progress of all students towards achieving the State Standards and Benchmarks. The goals of progress-monitoring assessments are to… • Provide information about student progress towards achieving mastery of SSS Standards and Benchmarks. • provide feedback to the teacher so that s/he can modify instruction to meet the needs of the learner.

17. The ABCs of Assessment “3-5th Grade” Tools of Assessment … AKA… How Do We Get Information? • DIBELS • Running Record • Word Reading • Writes Traits Rubrics • State Tests: Reading, Writing, Math • Writes Rubric • State Results-Like Reading Tests • Retellings • Reading Record • Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) • DRA”level”

18. The ABCs of Assessment Tools of Assessment … AKA… How Do We Get Information? • Classroom Tests • Math/Reading Conference Observation • One on One or Group Conference/Map • Projects • Portfolios • Developmental Spelling Inventory • Quarterly Math Pre/Post Tests

19. Categorizing Assessments How do the Types and Tools of Assessment Fit Together? Your Mission: Work as a team to decide which type of assessment each tool fits under! Caution: SOME may fit into more than one category. Write the names of the assessments on sticky notes and place under the assessment type signs on the table. READY…SET…GO… P.S. BE prepared to explain your choices when we’re done!

20. Digging Deeper… How do Assessments help us get the “Inside Scoop”? AND THE VERDICT IS…. Data is only as useful as the questions it makes us ask, and the answers it inspires us to seek!

21. Let’s Put the Pieces Together….. Specific Teacher Observation, DRA, Individual Conferences, Literacy Assessments, Writing, Diagnostic Spelling Inventory, Stanford Math Diagnostic What? General Info How will we know if it worked? Why? What will we do about it? Stanford, DIBELS, Baseline Writing Teacher Observation Literacy Assessments Math Pretests State Tests Specifics DIBELS, Writing Teacher Observation Literacy Assessments Math Posttests DRA, Running Records Action Plans; Documentation

22. Digging Deeper… How do Assessments help us get the “Inside Scoop”? What are some questions data from a screening like DIBELS or the Baseline Writing Test might lead you, as a classroom teacher, to ask yourself? Brainstorm! What are some questions data from daily observation of a struggling student might lead you to ask yourself?

23. Digging Deeper… How do Assessments help us get the “Inside Scoop”? Create a Student Profile Using “struggling student” data your team has brought we will create a student profile together. Things to think about….. 1. What does my knowledge about the learning process tell me about how this student is performing developmentally? 2. What further questions does the data and my knowledge lead me to ask? 3. If I don’t know how to find the answers, Who do I ask?

24. How Do We Use This Information to Inform Instruction? (Putting the Puzzle Together!) Team-Talk Before we use the data in our student profile to talk about remediation, let’s talk about how we use data to inform instruction daily in our classrooms…. What is responsive teaching? How do we use data from assessments to inform our instruction?

25. How Do We Use This Information to Inform Instruction? (Putting the Puzzle Together!) Differentiated Instruction: Remediation Now that we have a student profile, let’s look at “Thinking Maps” and Documentation Tools we use that require us to use screenings, diagnostics, and progress monitoring assessments to ask ourselves questions,and discuss an action plan to meet the need of our student who is struggling. An Academic Improvement Plan is an action plan to meet the needs of a struggling student. On it, we can also document the outcomes of our plan. AIP

26. Let’s Put the Pieces Together….. THE AIP and the Assessment Process ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA REASON: DIAGNOSTIC RESULTS: Progress Updates Intervention Strategies

27. How Do We Use This Information to Inform Instruction? (Putting the Puzzle Together!) When the “Usual Things” AREN’T Working… When as classroom teachers, we see a mismatch between performance and ability, or ability and process, or a direct correlation between behavior and poor performance, it’s time to go further. This is when we decide to bring a student to child study to get an even more thorough, and formal diagnosis of the problem. Let’s look at how the child study packet fits into our assessment system…..

28. Let’s Put the Pieces Together…How Does the Child Study Packet Fit? Assessment tool used to measure progress? Pre-Intervention Data Why is the Problem Occurring? (Hypothesis) Parent Conferences:Pre/Post Specific Observation Documentation What will we do to help the student improve? (Intervention Plan)-Minimum of two interventions which are related to the problem Observation Form and Problem-Solving Worksheet Parent Conferences