Assessment, Evaluation and Reporting for Learning

1. Assessment, Evaluation and Reporting for Learning For the Student Success Teachers by Tom Macartney

2. Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Why assess FOR learning? • Confidence: How Winning and Losing Streaks Begin and End. • Crown Press, 2004

3. People on Winning Streaks: • Confidence • Optimism, expect a positive result • Strong desire to succeed • Self analysis in failure • High level of effort • Risk taking-stretching

4. People on Losing Streaks: • Pessimism, expect a negative result • Sense of futility, hopelessness, fatalism • Self criticism in failure • Waning effort • Denial, cover up. • Fear of risk taking, defensive

5. The primary purpose of assessment and evaluation is to improve student learning. We want to put our students on winning streaks and end losing streaks quickly.

6. “It is not sufficient for learning to be hands on. To understand anything, the activity must be minds on.” Grant Wiggins

7. What do we mean by “learning”? A learner is someone who • Knows what they know and can do • Knows what they can’t do, yet • Knows what to do next to reach the next stage AND • Knows what to do when they don’t know what to do. Adapted from Ruth Sutton

8. Our Goal as Educators in 2007 • Improved meta-cognition • Learning how to learn • Life-long learning, to equip our students for the rest of their lives, not just the next test

9. Work Apprenticeship College University OR…..

10. Work College University Apprenticeship

11. Knowing Our Student Population • 30% of students do not graduate after five years • 33% of students go to university • 26% of university students do not complete their program • 19 % of students go to college • 43% of college students do not complete their program • 18% of students go directly to work • 42% of students in applied programs • get all of their grade 9/10 credits • 29% of students in essential programs • get all of their grade 9/10 credits Alan King

12. Why assess FOR learning? Assessment FOR Learning is the highest yield school reform strategy available. Michael Fullan, OISE U of T.

13. Past Present Assess Evaluate Assess Evaluate

14. Research – Five Key Factors • The provision of effective feedback to students. • The active involvement of students in their own learning. • Adjusting teaching to take account of the results of assessment. • Recognition of the profound influence assessment has on the motivation and self-esteem of pupils, both of which are crucial influences on learning. • The need for students to be able assess themselves and understand how to improve.

15. Assessment for Learning Assessment of Learning • Checks learning to decide what to do next • Designed to assist teachers & students • Used in conferencing • Detailed, specific, descriptive feedback in words, not scores • Focussed on improvement of student’s previous best • Needs to involve the student – the person most able to improve learning • Checks what has been learned to date • Designed for those not directly involved in daily teaching/learning • Is presented in a periodic report • Summarizes information into numbers, letter grades • Compares students with a standard • Need not involve the student Adapted from Ruth Sutton

16. “Working Inside the Black Box” Four “Best Practices” to improve student learning • Feedback • Questioning • Self and Peer Assessments • Use of Summative Tasks Formatively Why assess FOR learning? http://131.193.130.213/media//blackwrkblbox.pdf

17. IMPACT ON STUDENTS • Largest gains for low achievers • “Gap Closer” • Spec ed to non-Spec Ed • male to female • Rivals 1-1 tutorial instruction • Profound achievement gains for all students. • 2 – 4 Grade Equivalents • 35 Percentile Point gains • Solid foundation for life-long learning. • Equal opportunity to succeed. Why assess FOR learning?

18. Effective Feedback for Learning • Positive first • Specific (not ambiguous) • Frequent • Constructive • Connected to clear criteria • Timely (self and peer) • Helps identify next steps • Followed through Why assess FOR learning?

19. Philosophical Shift Too often, educational tests, grades and report cards are treated as autopsies when they should be viewed as physicals. (Reeves; from HTGFL. p112) Why assess FORlearning?

20. Worth being familiar with Important to know and do Enduring understanding Focus on priorities. From Understanding by Design. Wiggins and McTighe

21. Worth being familiar with Important to know and do Enduring understanding Developing Effective Tools 3 Key Questions What is ...? • Assessment Methods • traditional • quizzes and tests • • paper/pencil • • multiple choice • • constructed response • performance tasks, projects, personal communication • • open-ended • • complex • • authentic • learning in context • • student choice

22. Worth being familiar with Important to know and do Enduring understanding Focus on priorities. With a mark of 44% represented by the box, is this student ready to move on? From Understanding by Design. Wiggins and McTighe

23. Worth being familiar with Important to know and do Enduring understanding Focus on priorities. With a mark of 44% represented by the box, is this student ready to move on? From Understanding by Design. Wiggins and McTighe

24. Properly used, achievement charts provide a framework for planning assessments and curriculum. Planning assessments around the Achievement Chart helps to ensure clear targets and that teachers do not confuse targets with methods. G. Gini-Newman, 2005

25. Evaluation Tools • Target – Method – Tool match Methods • Pen and Paper • Performance assessment • Personal communication • Targets • Knowledge / • Understanding • Thinking • Communication • Application Tools • Marking scheme • Rubric • Checklist • Rating scale • Anecdotal records

26. 5 questions with which to begin…

27. What knowledge and skills do I want students to learn?

28. 2. How will I provide students with feedback, guidance and an opportunity to improve their demonstrations of learning?

29. 3. How will I use the evidence I gather to determine the student’s final grade?

30. 4. How will I calculate the student’s grade if they do not provide a complete body of evidence?

31. 5. How will I clearly communicate grading practices to parents and students?

32. Haim Ginott wrote in 1972, • “I have come to a frightening conclusion. I am the decisive element in the classroom. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my mood that makes the weather. As a teacher I possess tremendous power to make a child’s life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humour, hurt or heal. In all situations it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated, and a child humanized or de-humanized.”