National Standards

1. National Standards Evaluation Associates 2010

2. Purpose • To understand key principles that should guide decisions regarding National Standards. • To model a process of professional learning around NS that school leaders can use in their own schools. • To understand the process of self-review in relation to implementing NS.

3. What you should leave with: • Three ways in which you could start working with your school to align current assessment practices with National Standards. • A clearer picture of overall teacher judgements and how they could be made. • A clearer idea of what reporting to parents could or should look like.

4. What you should leave with: • Clarity about how National Standards relate to English Language Learners and Special Needs students. • Not every question answered, but confidence that you can work through the uncertain stuff. • A sense of clarity around what’s working well, what needs adjusting and what needs implementing in your school.

5. What are you hoping to have more clarity about from the morning?

6. From the New Zealand Curriculum: Assessment for the purpose of improving student learning is best understood as an ongoing process that arises out of the interaction between teaching and learning. It involves the focused and timely gathering, analysis, interpretation and use of information that can provide evidence of student progress. Much of the evidence is “of the moment”. New Zealand Curriculum(p.39)

7. From the National Standards: ‘When used in conjunction with effective assessment practices, the National Standards will be a powerful means of informing students, parents, families, whānau, teachers, schools, and the education system about how well things are going and what could be done better to improve learning for all students.’ Reading and Writing Standards (p.4) Mathematics Standards (p.5)

8. Key Messages • The fundamental and overriding purpose of assessment is to help students learn and improve teachers’ teaching. • To merely comply with expectations or directives on assessment misses the spirit of the NZC.

9. Characteristics of Effective Assessment • benefits students • involves students • supports teaching and learning goals • is planned and communicated • is suited to the purpose • is valid and fair • New Zealand Curriculum p.40

10. How does effective classroom practice link to effective assessment? • Students actively involved in assessment decisions • Assessment information always shared with students • Students know where they are at, where they are going and next learning steps to achieve their goal • Students able to assess their own progress towards their learning goals • Students involved in informing parents about their learning, further enhancing home and school partnerships.

11. Sources of evidence to support decision-making Observation of Process Evidence gained from informal assessment opportunities: Learning Conversations Evidence arising from Learning Conversations: • Focussed Classroom Observation • Student books and tasks • Running Records • Student peer assessment • Conferencing • Interviewing • Questioning • Explaining • Discussing Overall Teacher Judgement Test Outcomes Evidence gained from assessment tools, including standardised tools: • 6 year Observation Survey • PAT • Star • E-asTTle/AsTTle V4 • GLoSS and IKAN TKI assessment site: OTJs

12. What school systems are needed for effective assessment? • Appropriate choice of assessment tools and evidence. • Processes to ensure consistency in administration and scoring • Accurate analysis, interpretation and use of assessment information • Moderation (of administration of assessments and marking of assessments)

13. How accurate were the Overall Teacher Judgements teachers made last year? Did they provide students with accurate and useful information about their learning and what their next steps were? By what measures did teachers make Overall Teacher Judgements last year? How do those measures align with the National Standards? Do teachers understand the Standards enough to make this alignment? Last year, how did teachers ensure that they were being consistent within their own class and consistent with other teachers? What common processes would be helpful in developing consistency?

14. Suggested Process for making OTJ Standardised Tool Professional Judgement suggests standardised assessment is accurate Professional judgement suggests standardised assessment is inaccurate Consider evidence that the student is demonstrating skills cross-curricula Consider and collect evidence that shows more accurate assessment Consider evidence that the student is demonstrating skills cross-curricula Check with the students regarding their perception/ evidence Check with the students regarding their perception/ evidence Make Overall Teacher Judgement Make Overall Teacher Judgement

15. Key Messages Assessment in relation to the National Standards ISNOT about… • using a single test • drowning students in assessment tasks • the implementation of entirely new assessment regimes Assessment in relation to the National Standards IS about… • using multiple sources of evidence to make defensible judgements about students’ achievement and progress • Primarily to support students in understanding their learning and next steps • Helping parents and other stakeholders to best support student learning • a catalyst for reviewing and improving current assessment practices

16. So, what’s next for your school? START with what you already know and do. How do your current assessment practices align with the NZC and the National Standards? • What’s working? • What needs adjusting? • What needs implementing?

17. What support is available? http://assessment.tki.org.nz/ Information on and examples of: • Assessment for learning pedagogy • Overall teacher judgements • Preliminary work aligning common assessment tools with the National Standards • Moderation • Reporting to parents The assessment tool selector Assessment resources maps ‘Moderating asTTle writing’ presentation

18. National Standards and ELLP ELLP- English Language Learning Progressions Your choice: National Standards or ELLP? • Identification of students • Guidelines : Y 1-4 – 2 yrs – F, 1, Y 5-8 – 3 yrs – F, 1,2 • Systematisation of data

19. Some Special Education Students are exempt from National Standards The guidelines are clear – ORRs funded SLS (only those working within Level 1) Just because the student has a teacher aide or an IEP is no reason to be exempt from National Standards ORRs / SLS • IEP – personal goals • Narrative Assessments – portfolio reports –linked to NZC – will show evidence of student achievement towards their goals www.evaluate.co.nz for template