Common Assessment Series

1. Common Assessment Series Summer 2012

2. Goals of the series • Describe the keys to quality classroom assessment • Explain how clear targets and good methods are essential for supporting a balanced assessment of and for learning • Create a set of assessments for a unit of instruction using an assessment blueprint • Use DataDirector to create, store, and utilize data sets during the 2012-2013 school year

3. Professional Learning Communities • Shared Norms and Values • Focus on Student Learning • Reflective Dialogue • Public Practice • Collaboration Source: Louis, K., Marks, H., and Kruse, S. (1996). “Teachers’ Professional Community in Restructuring Schools.” American Educational Research Journal, 33:4, pp. 757-798.

4. Group Norms • Norms are “ground rules” that define behavioral expectations of group members. • They set the stage for future learning. • Norms are revisited and monitored as a responsibility of the group members. • There are some general categories of norms for groups of learners. • Time • Participation • Focus

5. Our Norms

6. Establishing Criteria for Success Jot down on 3x5 card: -- What do you hope to gain today? -- What do you hope to contribute? Share with your neighbor: --one idea from your list

7. Essential Questions for the Series • What are the principles of assessment quality? • How is assessment used to measure student achievement? • How can we communicate assessment results?

8. Keys to Quality Classroom Assessment • Clear Purposes • Clear Targets • Good Design & Methods • Sound Communication Student Involvement in all keys!

9. Indicators of Sound Classroom Assessment PracticeStiggins, Richard J, Arter, Judith A., Chappuis, Jan, Chappius, Stephen. Classroom Assessment for Student Learning. Assessment Training Institute, Inc., Portland, Oregon, 2004 , p.27. Skill in gathering accurate information + Effective use of information and procedures ____________________________________ Sound Classroom Assessment Practice

10. What are the principles of assessment quality?

11. Keys to Quality Classroom Assessment • Clear Purposes • Clear Targets • Good Design & Methods • Sound Communication Student Involvement in all keys!

12. Purposes of Assessment Activity • Why do you use assessment? • Write down your thoughts on sticky notes • One sticky for each thought

13. Deepening our ideas about assessment What is the distinction between… assessment for learning assessment of learning? • Watch the video from Rick Stiggins • Record your notes on Table 2.1 Skill – Note taking Use – Compare and Contrast

14. assessment for learning formative (monitors student progress during instruction) placement (given before instruction to gather information on where to start) diagnostic (helps find the underlying causes for learning problems) interim (monitor student proficiency on learning targets) assessment of learning summative (the final task at the end of a unit, a course, or a semester) Purposes of Assessments Sources: Stiggins, Richard J, Arter, Judith A., Chappuis, Jan, Chappius, Stephen. Classroom Assessment for Student Learning. Assessment Training Institute, Inc., Portland, Oregon, 2004. Bravmann, S. L., “P-I Focus: One test doesn’t fit all”, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, May 2, 2004. Marshall, K. (2006) “Interim Assessments: Keys to Successful Implementation”. NewYork: New Leaders for New Schools.

15. Purposes of Assessment Activity • At your table, have one person write the purposes for assessment on index cards, one purpose per card. • Sort your sticky notes by placing them under the appropriate heading. Placement Diagnostic Summative Formative Interim

16. Both are needed! Stiggins, Richard J, Arter, Judith A., Chappuis, Jan, Chappius, Stephen. Classroom Assessment for Student Learning. Assessment Training Institute, Inc., Portland, Oregon, 2004 • Students need to know…(p.34) • Where they are going • Where they are now • How to close the gap • Teachers need to find balance…(p.35-36) • to improve student achievement • to communicate to various stakeholders

17. Break

18. Student Motivation and Assessment Source: McTighe, J. and O’Connor, K. “Seven Practices for Effective Learning”. (November, 2005) Educational Leadership, Volume 63:3. Retrieved July 30, 2009 from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/nov05/vol63/num03/Seven_Practices_for_Effective_Learning.aspx • Task clarity—when students clearly understand the learning goal and know how teachers will evaluate their learning • Relevance—when students think the learning goals and assessments are meaningful and worth learning • Potential for success—when students believe they can successfully learn and meet the evaluative expectations

19. Motivation - Involving Students • Watch the following video clip involving the impact of assessment for learning. • Listen for examples of connections between assessment and motivation • task clarity • relevance • potential for success

20. Seven Strategies of Assessment for Learning Stiggins, Richard J, Arter, Judith A., Chappuis, Jan, Chappius, Stephen. Classroom Assessment for Student Learning. Assessment Training Institute, Inc., Portland, Oregon, 2004, p.42. • Where am I going? • Clear targets • Models of work • Where am I now? • Descriptive Feedback • Student self-assessment/goal setting • How can I close the gap? • Lessons that focus on one target at a time • Teaching self-reflection • Student record-keeping

21. Assessment for Learning Activity • Individually: • Choose one of the seven strategies • Think of two examples from your classroom: • One example where this strategy worked • One example where you would use this strategy next • Report out by sharing: • Name of strategy • Example that worked • Example you’ll try next

22. Feedback Source: Marzano, R. J., Pickering, D. J. and Pollock, J. E. Classroom Instruction That Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement (2001). Alexandria, VA: ASCD • Best gains in student achievement involve description: • Corrective in nature • Timely in nature • Specific to a criterion • Including students in the feedback

23. Descriptive or Evaluative? • Look at these examples of feedback • Sort the examples using labels. • Remember: to be descriptive, the feedback should: • Describe a feature • Relate to a criterion • Point out strengths • Give specific information for • improvement or • next steps

24. Reflection on “Why” Assess Write some notes to yourself about your: New Learning Questions Wonderments Next Steps

25. Keys to Quality Classroom Assessment • Clear Purposes • Clear Targets • Good Design & Methods • Sound Communication Student Involvement in all keys!

26. So, do your students know what are the targets for their learning?

27. Where does curriculum come from? • National content organizations documents • State standards documents • Local curriculum is created • Organize into units • Determine essential questions and key concepts • Develop summative assessment tasks • Locate instructional resources • Construct a catalog of lessons • Must be aligned with state accountability summativeassessments

28. Backward Design Addresses All Three Parts of the Curriculum Triangle Content Assessment Instruction

29. Problems with Our Curriculum 1. There are too many outcomes. 2. Teachers disagree on the outcomes. 3. Together, now… “We need a textbook”. 4. It sits on a shelf….somewhere. 5. We make units, activities, and projects every year.

30. Power/Priority Standards Identification Criteria Source: Ainsworth, L. (2003). Power Standards: Identifying the Standards That Matter the Most. Englewood, CO: Lead and Learn. • Endurance • Leverage • Readiness for the next level of learning • “What knowledge and skills must I impart to my students this year, so that they will enter next year’s class with confidence and a readiness for success?”

31. Power/Priority OutcomesENDURANCE Source: Ainsworth, L. (2003). Power Standards: Identifying the Standards That Matter the Most. Englewood, CO: Lead and Learn. • Will the knowledge and skills to which this standard relates be used by students for several years after they use that standard at this grade level? • Statewide assessment blueprint • School improvement goals

32. Power/Priority Outcomes LEVERAGE Source: Ainsworth, L. (2003). Power Standards: Identifying the Standards That Matter the Most. Englewood, CO: Lead and Learn. • Will the knowledge and skills to which this standard help students in other academic areas? • Reading comprehension • Technology skills • Graphic representations

33. Power/Priority Outcomes READINESS Source: Ainsworth, L. (2003). Power Standards: Identifying the Standards That Matter the Most. Englewood, CO: Lead and Learn. • Do teachers in the next higher grade regard this standard as a necessary entry point for a student to enter that grade with success and confidence? • Vertical alignment (e.g., grade 3 to grade 4) • Foundational learning in math, science, and social studies

34. Lunch See you at 12:30 p.m.

35. From Outcomes to Targets…

36. Kinds of Learning Targets Source: Stiggins, Richard J, Arter, Judith A., Chappuis, Jan, Chappius, Stephen. Classroom Assessment for Student Learning. Assessment Training Institute, Inc., Portland, Oregon, 2004, p.75 . • Knowledge – The facts and concepts we want students to know and understand. • Reasoning – Students use what they know to reason and solve problems • Skills – Students use their knowledge and reasoning to act skillfully • Products – Students use their knowledge, reasoning, and skills to create something new. • Dispositions – Students’ display attitudes about school and learning.

37. Helpful Hints to Targets (p.64) • Knowledge targets are identified in the noun/noun phrase found in the expectation • Reasoning targets are identified in the verb/verb phrases found in the benchmark • analytical, compare/contrast, synthesis, classification, inference/deduction, evaluative (p.70) • Skill targets always have knowledge targets • Product targets have to be discerned apart from the product tasks we ask students to create • Disposition targets reflect attitudes or feelings

38. (BUT I WANT THEM TO DEEPLY APPRECIATE THE USEFULNESSES OF BAR GRAPHS) Organize data using concrete objects, pictures, tallies, tables, charts, diagrams, and graphs

39. 5 - U3.2.3 Compare the role of women, African Americans, American Indians, and France in helping shape the outcome of the war. 6 - W3.1.3 Describe similarities and differences among Mayan, Aztec, and Incan societies, including economy, religion, and role and class structure. 7 - W3.1.10 Create a time line that illustrates the rise and fall of classical empires during the classical period. 8 - U5.3.4 Analyze the intent and the effect of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution. Practice Unpacking Examples

40. Sample Unpacking from Social Studies GLCEs/HSCEs

41. Unpacking Your Outcomes • Choose a outcome (benchmark/expectation) that your students will learn and you will teach in an upcoming unit of instruction. • Write the outcome at the top of your target/method planning sheet. • Complete the left hand side of the chart. • Knowledge/understanding, reasoning, skills, products, and/or dispositions • Check your understanding of the targets with a partner

42. Formative Assessment – Checking for Understanding • What did you notice about your unpacked outcome? • What targets may need to be added, changed, or deleted? • What purposes for assessment might you need to utilize before you begin your unit? “carry-on”

43. Unpacking for the Students I CAN • Targets are clearer for the student when they are put into positive “I can” statements. • They may be unpacked to include more concrete understandings. • Using your previous unpacked learning outcome, create “I can” statements for your students.

44. Break

45. Keys to Quality Classroom Assessment • Clear Purposes • Clear Targets • Good Design & Methods • Sound Communication Student Involvement in all keys!

46. Case Study – Donegal School Improvement • Individually, • Read the following narrative about a school district studying their student achievement. • What about this school looks/sounds/feels like your school? • What would be your plan of action?

47. Donegal’s Plan of Action • Professional development on assessment • Unpacked expectations for assessment • Developed a standards template for designing assessment tasks • Met in teams to analyze assessments

48. Methods of Assessment Stiggins, Richard J, Arter, Judith A., Chappuis, Jan, Chappius, Stephen. Classroom Assessment for Student Learning. Assessment Training Institute, Inc., Portland, Oregon, 2004, p. 91-93. • Selected response • one answer is correct; sometimes taken from a list • Extended written response • constructed into sentences; criteria given for quality • Performance assessment • observed product of learning; criteria given for quality • Personal communication • interaction with student; uses checklist or criteria

49. Stiggins, Richard J, Arter, Judith A., Chappuis, Jan, Chappius, Stephen. Classroom Assessment for Student Learning. Assessment Training Institute, Inc., Portland, Oregon, 2004, p.100 Organize data using concrete objects, pictures, tallies, tables, charts, diagrams, and graphs Selected Extended Written Selected Extended Written Performance Personal Performance Personal Communication Extended Written Performance

50. Target-Method Match Activity • Individually: • Review your targets from your unit. • Refer to the chart showing the target-method match. • On your right hand side of the chart of your target/method planning sheet, list the methods that would be the best matches for the targets you have identified.