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The Delaware Statewide Academic Growth Assessment Pilot

The Delaware Statewide Academic Growth Assessment Pilot. Presented to The Brandywine School District Legislative Dessert February 22, 2006. How Did the Pilot Come About?. 2003: BSD task force developed “Dashboard Metrics”; requested a measure of individual growth

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The Delaware Statewide Academic Growth Assessment Pilot

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  1. The Delaware Statewide Academic Growth Assessment Pilot Presented to The Brandywine School District Legislative Dessert February 22, 2006

  2. How Did the Pilot Come About? • 2003: BSD task force developed “Dashboard Metrics”; requested a measure of individual growth • 2004: BSD learned “value-added” analysis couldn’t be done on DSTP • 2004: BSD invited NWEA and Christina to meet • 2004-2005: BSD and Christina pilot in limited classrooms • 2005: Urban League requests donations to support broader pilot • 2005-2006: 26,000 students in five districts and four charter schools enter pilot

  3. Quick Facts About NWEA in BSD • Which students in BSD take the NWEA tests? • grades 6-10: math • grades 7-10: reading • Will we expand use of it? • 2006-2007: add grades 4-6 • 2007-2008: add grades 2-3 • When is it taken? • September, January, April/May, end of summer school • How much time does it take to complete? • Approximately 45-60 minutes per test

  4. The Statewide Growth Pilot:Goals of the Pilot • Improve Teaching and Learning: Provide teachers with highly useful information about the instructional needs and rate of progress of each student and each subgroup of students throughout the year so they can better target and adjust instruction and improve learning.

  5. Support Smart School/System Decisions: Use data on student growth from September to May to identify how to get the greatest growth for the investment, and inform improvement plans (district, school, grade level, content area, individual).

  6. Improve the Accountability System: Fairness: Judgments based on growth Accuracy: More accurate individual results Puts Learning First: Fast, helpful feedback several times each year Empowers Parents: More detailed information to parents

  7. How Is This Test Different?

  8. Conventional Tests High School Math • Contain only 45-60 fixed items; designed to measure on-grade level performance only • Very inaccurate scores for highest and lowest performers – too few questions at extremes and student boredom/frustration • Provide generic, minimally useful feedback due to fixed items on test and long delay in getting results 5th Grade Beginning Math

  9. RIT Scale High School Math 5th Grade - - - + - - - + + X Daniel + 189 + Beginning Math NWEA’s MAP Test • “Computer adaptive” - dynamically developed for each student to “drill down” to their understanding of each concept • Approx. 50 items selected for student from item bank of 15,000, ~ aligned to DE standards • Accurate results across the scale, from lowest to highest performers • Avoids student boredom, frustration • Immediate results to student, next day to teacher

  10. Pilot Goal #1: Improve Teaching and Learning • Focuses teaching on each student’s instructional needs, increasing engagement and accelerating growth • Allows teachers to quickly adjust student groupings and instructional materials several times each year based on needs of the students • Quickly highlights effective practices, using common yardstick • Provides usable information to parents: e.g. Lexile score, specific skill needs

  11. Teacher/Class OverviewTeacher Landing Page

  12. Drilling Down to Actionable Data Class Reports group students by subject and current performance level.

  13. Goal Reports group students by Delaware skill or concept they need to work on next within each subject, and reveal gaps and strengths.

  14. The Continuum of Learning specifies the skills, concepts and vocabulary the student needs to work on next – the instructional level that will challenge but not frustrate. “The Learning Continuum is incredibly helpful – this has been a “missing piece” in Delaware for a long time.”Delaware teacher

  15. Predicting DSTP Performance DSTP Math RIT Score Level8th Grade 10th Grade Distinguished 254 and above 257 and above Exceeds 248 – 253 252 - 256 Meets 233 – 247 240 - 251 Below 217 – 232 226 - 239 Well Below below 217 below 226 We can currently have this information for grades 8 and 10 in reading and math. We will have even more accurate predictions and have them for all grade levels, 2 – 10, by summer 2006.

  16. Observations from Delaware Teachers after their first NWEA testing session: • Much less misbehavior due to test frustration or boredom. • Special Education students not stressed, upset or non-compliant. • Results are more accurate. • Results are detailed and immediately useful. • Able to use results to motivate and focus students, and reduce test anxiety.

  17. Inform and Empower Parents Joseph W.: Mathematics

  18. www.lexile.com Advanced Book Search (enter some or all) Title: Author: Lexile Range: Min: 330 Max: 500 Book Type: Fiction Reading Series: Book Awards: Development Rating: Elementary Keyword(s): Horses Sort by:

  19. Pilot Goal #2: Support Smart Management Decisions

  20. School Growth and Projected Proficiency Principal’s Landing Page 22% 37% 17% 24%

  21. Just a Few Examples of Powerful Usesof Growth and Performance Reports • Motivate Students: Teachers and several BSD principals have begun meeting with students to discuss their NWEA reports – their strengths and areas to target for improvement • Accelerating Students: Identify individuals and groups of students ready for more rigorous coursework • Coaching: Identify teachers who are particularly effective at teaching tough concepts and can coach other teachers

  22. Examples, continued • Curriculum/Instruction Gaps:Identify concepts that students are struggling to learn and determine needed changes in curriculum, materials, supports or professional development • Cost/Benefit Program Evaluation: Measure and compare the effectiveness of professional training programs, tutoring programs, etc. using NWEA’s virtual control groups • National Benchmarking: Allows district-to-district benchmarking across states

  23. Pilot Goal #3:Improve the Accountability System

  24. Weaknesses of Current NCLB Implementation Misjudges many schools by looking exclusively at percent proficient rather than a combination of achievement and growth • no reward or recognition for teachers making great gains with our most challenging students • misjudgments harms public and educator confidence in the system

  25. Weaknesses of Proposed New “Growth” Model for Delaware • Uses “cohort” rather than individual growth • Uses DSTP, with low accuracy for highest and lowest kids • Pays no attention to those above standard (NCLB)

  26. Building A Better Future:Individual Growth Targetsfor All Students

  27. A B C Individual Growth-to-Standard • A must maintain growth rate • B must accelerate and Meet Stds • C must get on track to Meet Stds Prof. Below

  28. The NWEA Pilot’s Position: The Ideal Next-Generation DSTP Should… • Provide immediate, highly detailed and useful information to teachers, several times each year, to improve student learning • Provide accurate longitudinal student growth and performance data to schools, districts and the state, on a nationally used scale, for strategic management and resource allocation decisions • Provide the basis for a highly trusted accountability system in which schools are rated based on student growth-to-standard • Be cost-effective

  29. Could NWEA Replace the DSTP? • New state tests require about 2 years of work to bring online, from RFP date to use, to meet psychometric and legal requirements • US DOE would require several improvements to NWEA – e.g. stronger alignment to our Standards – or we would lose all federal funding • NCLB law requires “grade level testing” – either change law or develop two-phase test • Need to determine if we want or need student-constructed items • Essay would have to be handled separately Conclusion: Begin work soon if we want to use this in 2008-2009

  30. Contact Information: Delaware Statewide Academic Growth Assessment Pilot Participating Partners: • Districts: Brandywine, Christina, Red Clay, Caesar Rodney and Milford • Charter Schools: MOT, Marion T., Kuumba and East Side • Urban League, Business Roundtable, DOE, Rodel Foundation, Charter Schools Network, Delaware Foundation for Science & Math Education Pilot Coordination: Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League Nancy Doorey, Pilot Coordinator, ndoorey@comcast.net, 302-764-9030

  31. Background on NWEA • Non-profit, originated 30 years ago by educators; computer-adaptive since 1998 • Used by more than 1,700 school districts in 46 states (~ 11% of US schools) • Vertical scale has been stable for more than 20 years – only one of its kind • Item bank of more than 15,000 items; currently being expanded • Allows national “virtual control groups” by race, SES, achvmt, gender • Developing partnerships with quality educational software vendors for optional supplemental links

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