Building a Local Accountability System

1. Building a Local Accountability System Module 1 Identifying and Using Essential Standards

2. Series Outcomes • Essential Standards for Language Arts • Proficiency levels for each standard • An assessment calendar for each grade level • Common standards-based assessments • A system of standards-based lesson planning based upon data

3. Four Essential Questions • What do we want our students to know, understand, and be able to do? • What will it look like when they get there? • How will we know that they got there? • What will we do to get them there?

4. Module 1 Agenda • Review series outcomes • What do standards-based systems look like? • What does research say about standards-based assessment systems? • Self-Scoring Rubric • Essential Standards • Put standards into student friendly language • Establish an assessment calendar • Create Model Products

5. Local Accountability • Outcome 1: Be able to list the six key elements of a local accountability system. • Outcome 2: Be able to discuss with your entire staff your current implementation of two of the elements of a local accountability system: standards and instruction.

6. Local Accountability • Read the overview on pages 1 and 2. • Turn to a partner and discuss the six elements. Which do you think is your school’s strongest area? Weakest? How about your district as a whole?

7. Local Accountability • Read Element 1, “standards” on pages 2-4. • As you read, underline or highlight key quotes, points, or phrases.

8. Local Accountability • Go around your table, giving each person a chance to share a favorite quote or idea. • Decide upon one quote or idea that you’d like to share with the whole group. Give a reason why that quote resonates for your school. • Write your quote and reason on the chart paper provided.

9. Local Accountability • Read Element 2, “instruction” on pages 4-6. • As you read, underline or highlight key quotes, points, or phrases.

10. Local Accountability • Go around your table, giving each person a chance to share a favorite quote or idea. • Decide upon one quote or idea that you’d like to share with the whole group. Give a reason why that quote resonates for your school. • Write your quote and reason on the chart paper provided.

11. Self-Scoring Guide • Turn to page 13 • Review instructions • Skim rubric on page 14 • Clarify vocabulary

12. Self-Scoring Guide • After a team discussion, chart your rating and your evidence for each element. • Whole group share out.

13. Essential Standards Objective: Establish a common understanding of the Visalia Essential Standards in Language Arts. Sub-Objective: Continue to build district-wide buy-in for this set of essential standards.

14. Essential Standards Why do we need essential standards? First, we must answer the question: “Why should we be standards-based?”

15. Essential Standards • Turn to page 18 • Take six minutes to read the passage and respond to the questions. • Share your responses with your table group. • Whole group share out.

16. Essential Standards • Read page 19 • What does the author mean by “guaranteed and viable”? • What does the author mean by “opportunity to learn”? • At what point can we say that sufficient “opportunities to learn” were provided? • Be prepared to share your answers orally.

17. Essential Standards What makes a standard essential? • It has Endurance. • It provides Leverage. • It ensures Readiness for the next level of learning. Please turn to page 21

18. Essential Standards Endurance • Will this provide students with knowledge and skills that will be of value beyond a single test date?

19. Essential Standards Leverage • Will this provide knowledge and skills that will be of value in multiple disciplines?

20. Essential Standards Readiness • Will this provide students with essential knowledge and skills that are necessary for success in the next grade or next level of instruction?

21. Essential Standards Examples • Without referring to the actual standards, work with a partner to write an example for each of the three categories: endurance, leverage, and readiness.

22. Essential Standards Categorizing Standards • Review the Visalia Essential Standards for your grade level. • Decide whether or not each standard has endurance, leverage, or readiness. Mark it with an E, L, or R. • If it falls into more than one category, circle its area of greatest strength.

23. Essential Standards Where are we now? • What standards are currently being taught, consistently, across the district? • Which standards can you comfortably say are consistently being taught to mastery across the district?* • Complete the chart on page 26. * Guaranteed and viable – opportunity to learn and time always provided.

24. Next Steps… • Re-write standards in student-friendly language (also known as user-friendly language) – be sure to maintain cognitive level. • Create, collect, or describe model products (exemplars) which demonstrate proficient mastery.

25. Bloom’s Taxonomy Knowledge Comprehension Application Analysis Synthesis Evaluation

26. Essential Standards Remember to bring…