Developing Common Assessments

1. Developing Common Assessments

2. What Do Students Know… “Frequent monitoring of each student’s learning is an essential element of effective teaching; no teacher should be absolved from that task or allowed to assign responsibility for it to state test makers, central office coordinators, or textbook publishers” (Learning by Doing, 2006)

3. Summative & Formative Assessments Summative assessments are assessments of learning that measure many things infrequently. • Provincial tests • Means of promoting accountability and examining curriculum and programs • Have students met the standards by a certain deadline?

4. Summative & Formative Assessments Formative assessments are assessments for learning that measure a few things frequently. • Allow teachers to provide feedback to students in a timely manner, and determine who needs additional time or support for learning • Specific and descriptive feedback to students motivates them and shows them how to improve • Teachers can make adjustments to their instruction and assess their effectiveness

5. The Importance of Common, Formative Assessments “One of the most powerful, high-leverage strategies for improving students learning available to school is the creation of frequent, common, high-quality formative assessments by teachers who are working collaboratively to help a group of students develop agreed-upon knowledge and skills” (Learning by Doing, 2006)

6. Common Assessments • Are more efficient than those created by individuals • Are more equitable for students (common pacing, essential curriculum, same standards) • Represent the most effective strategy for determining if the essential curriculum is being taught and learned • Informs the practice of individual teachers • Builds team’s capacity to improve programs • Help the team identify students who are experiencing difficulty and create a systematic program of intervention

7. Guidelines for Developing Common Assessments • Set a specific minimum number of common assessments to be used in the course or during a term • Show how each item on the assessment is linked to the competencies and evaluation criteria • Specify proficiency standards • Clarify how to administer the test consistently • Assess a few key concepts frequently rather than many concepts occasionally

8. Resources for Teams • Provincial assessment frameworks • Data on past student performance a • Examples of rubrics • Research on assessment (Rick Stiggins, Doug Reeves) • Websites on quality assessments (Assessment Training Institute) • Assessments developed by team members

9. For Administrators • Watch for “curriculum overload”- teams need to identify the essential learning • Focus on proficiency rather than coverage • Realize that common assessments will probably create anxiety with teachers- be aware of change process • Use technology to support creation of assessments • Board can create bank of assessments • Create a shared understanding of the term “common assessment” • Use assessments as a process rather than the end

10. References Dufour, R., Dufour, R., Eaker, R. & Many, T. (2006). Learning by doing. Bloomington, ID: Solution Tree. Assessment Training Institute: http://www.assessmentinst.com/