Working Smarter, Not Harder with the Georgia Alternative Assessment

1. Working Smarter, Not Harderwith the Georgia Alternative Assessment January 2011

2. Norms • Please turn cell phones to silent/vibrate • Only one person at a time talking • Active participation • Positive language • Cooperative work

3. SCORING DIMENSIONS The GAA portfolio entries are scored for four discrete dimensions. A separate score is assigned for eachof three of the dimensions– • Fidelity to Standard, • Context, and • Achievement/ Progress • The fourth dimension, Generalization, is scored once across the entire portfolio.

4. Scoring Rubric Review

5. Fidelity to Standard assesses the degree to which the student’s work addresses the grade-level standard to which it is aligned. • Does the instructional activity demonstrate a clear connection to the standard and element? • Is the student work focused on academic content at a very introductory level considering the student’s grade level? • Is the student work focused on academic content at or approaching the student’s grade level? • Does the student work address all aspects of the element?

6. Entry level Does not address Academic content At or approaching grade-level expectations A score of ‘1’ will receive an ‘Emerging’ rating. A score of ‘2’ could receive an ‘Established’ rating – if all other scores are ‘2’ or higher.

7. Context assesses the degree to which the student work exhibits the use of grade-appropriate materials in a purposeful and natural/real-world application. • Are all the materials grade appropriate? • Is the instructional activity a purposeful means through which the student can learn and demonstrate what they know and can do? • Is the student working in a simulated (practice) situation? (Almost all classroom instruction is considered “simulated.”) • Is the student working in a real-world (following a list to purchase groceries) or natural situation(working in the general education classroom on the same activity as general education peers)?

8. Not purposeful Purposeful Simulated application Purposeful Natural/real-world application

9. Progress is Essential Evidence can show progress in a variety of ways: • an increase in accuracy; (2) an increase in the complexity of instructional tasks; and/or (3) an increase in independence through a decrease in the type and frequency of prompting.

10. PROGRESS

11. Is it clear to a total stranger looking at the evidence and entry sheet what the progress is?

12. What is generalization? • Generalization assesses the student’s opportunity to apply the learned skill in other settings and/or with various individuals in addition to the teacher or paraprofessional. • In what meaningful settings is the student performing the activities? (The setting should be purposeful for the instructional task.) • With whom and in what way is the student interacting during the standard-based instructionalactivity?

13. GENERALIZATION 0 1 2 3 Over entire portfolio

14. Documenting Evidence • Use the same nouns & verbs that are in the standard and element in writing annotations and task descriptions • USE THE CHECKLISTS • Page 14 - 31

15. Norms for Portfolio Review • Materials and discussions should be considered confidential • Comments, suggestions are made in a positive manner • Listen to comments/questions with an open mind