Essential Question

Essential Question • How can developing Formative Quarterly assessments close gaps between the Intended, Delivered, and Achieved Reading Curriculum?

Formative Quarterly Assessments Welcome! The purpose for our Formative Quarterly Assessment Planning Committee is to increase: Awareness Collaboration Communication Shared Understandings

Formative Quarterly Assessments: What Questions will Formative Quarterly Assessments Address? CCPS PreK-12 Literacy Essential Questions: • To what extent do our students purposefully and critically engage text? • To what extent do our students communicate their thinking with clarity, accuracy, and impact?

Literacy Vision Each one of our Carroll County Public School students will purposefully and critically engage texts and communicate with accuracy, clarity, and impact. How will we know the desired results of the Literacy Vision are being achieved?

The Art and Science of Teaching Marzano, 2007 • Research reports that gains in student achievement resulting from Formative Assessment are the largest ever reported for educational interventions. • If the effect size could be achieved nationwide, it would be the equivalent to raising the United States scores into the top five. Black and Wiliam, 1998 in Marzano, 2007

Common Findings in Successful Schools • Commitment to Professional Learning Communities • Focus on students’ work and assessments • Instruction changes based on data

Two Tools for Assessment • 1.) To maximize student success, assessment must be seen as an instructional tool for use while learning is occurring. • 2.) Assessment must be viewed as an accountability tool to determine if learning has occurred. • Both purposes must be in balance. NEA, 2003

Assess Often Short assessments given over time will provide the most accurate indication of a student’s learning. Marzano, Stiggins, McTighe, Reeves

What are Formative Quarterly Comprehension Assessments? • A cycle of assessments for and as learning to guide comprehension instruction to improve student learning • Timely feedback about learning to teachers and students • Students can see their progress over time; Data collected in data warehouse beginning school year 2009-2010 • Collaboratively designed locally to increase connections • Represent essential: Power Standards, Assessment Limits, Learning Targets • Aligned to MSA, VSC, Bank of Interventions; Benchmarks were based on the VSC Standards • Results analyzed by teachers and grade level or course data teams, to differentiate instruction, and by students

Opportunity to Learn INTENDED Curriculum DELIVERED Curriculum ACHIEVED Curriculum

Assessment Development is a Process • All Reading Specialists will participate in the experience of developing county Formative, Quarterly Assessments • Schools will have access to the process • Intended, Delivered, and Achieved Curriculum will be Aligned

“To produce readers capable of independently monitoring their comprehension, we will need to develop students capable of self-assessment of their reading.” McTighe, 2007 “Eventually, students become both the self-assessors and consumers of assessments.” Stiggins, 07 Ultimately: Students as Self-Assessors

Donald Graves • “One of the best examples of good teaching I’ve ever had was with a golf professional. On my first lesson he said, “Here is a bucket of balls. Hit ‘em.” • In a few minutes he said, “Keep your head down.” By the end of the bucket of balls, he had taught me one more lesson. That’s all! • By the end of several weeks, he had attended to several of my golfing problems. A few years later I realized that each of my problems were visible on the first day of lessons. If I had tried to improve them ALL, I probably would have missed each and every ball entirely.” \

Formative Quarterly Reading Assessments

How can you help to improve communication about your shared understandings:

Essential Question