Assessing 21 st Century Skills Partnership for 21 st Century Skills National School Boards Association Orlando, Florida March 29, 2008

Who is the Partnership and what is the Framework for 21 st Century Skills? Formative Assessment of 21 st century skills Summative Assessment of 21 st century skills The North Carolina Experience Overview

P21 Members

Who is the Partnership? A unique partnership between business, education and policymakers With support from the U.S. Department of Education

20 th Century Education Model

21 st Century Skills Framework

Core Subjects -Economics -English -Government -Arts -History -Geography -Reading or Language -Arts -Mathematics -Science -World Languages -Civics 21 st Century Themes - Global Awareness - Financial, Economic, Business & Entrepreneurship Literacy - Civic Literacy - Health Literacy

Learning & Innovation Skills Critical Thinking & Problem Solving Creativity & Innovation Communication & Collaboration 21 st Century Skills Framework

Information, Media & Technology Skills Information Literacy Media Literacy ICT (Information, Communications & Technology) Literacy

21 st Century Skills Framework Life & Career Skills Flexibility & Adaptability Initiative & Self-Direction Social & Cross-Cultural Skills Productivity & Accountability Leadership & Responsibility

How do I learn more about 21 st century skills? 21st Century Skills Framework

Why is assessment so important? Importance of global benchmarking Importance of emerging skills Assessment

Source: Levy F. and R.J. Murnane (2004) The New Division of Labor: How Computers are Creating the Next Labor Market. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press Assessment

Who is the Partnership and what is the Framework for 21 st Century Skills? Formative Assessment of 21 st century skills Summative Assessment of 21 st century skills The North Carolina Experience Overview

What is Formative Assessment? It is a process used by teachers and students during instruction that provides feedback to adjust ongoing teaching and learning to improve students’ achievement of intended outcomes. -- CCSSO Formative Assessment

Clarifying and sharing learning intentions and criteria for success Engineering effective classroom discussions, questions and learning tasks that elicit evidence of learning Providing feedback that moves learning forward Activating students as the owners of their own learning Activating students as instructional resources for one another “Classroom Assessment: Minute by Minute, Day by Day” Leahy, Lyon, Thompson, Wiliam Formative Assessment What does it look like in the classroom?

Issues Definitional Issues Gray areas Grading Teacher Time Formative Assessment

Partnership for 21 st Century Skills White Paper on Assessment Formative Assessment

P21 Paper Focus on 21 st century skills Make thinking visible, structured, real time, authentic Data used to inform instruction Build capacity of teachers and students Formative Assessment F. A. Characteristics in Literature Clarifying learning intensions/ criteria (standards) Rich information, elicit evidence of learning, during learning Feedback to advance learning Process used by teachers and students, activating students Partnership for 21 st Century Skills White Paper on Assessment

What Teachers Need Good assessment skills Pedagogical content knowledge Professional development Formative Assessment

Why is formative assessment so important for 21 st century skills? Impact on performance Greater authenticity possible Formative Assessment

Additional Comments External resources Tools in white paper Technology –Capabilities for formative assessment –21 st century technology skills Formative Assessment

Who is the Partnership and what is the Framework for 21 st Century Skills? Formative Assessment of 21 st century skills Summative Assessment of 21 st century skills The North Carolina Experience Overview

What are they for? Program evaluation Classification/selection of students or schools Grades Summative Assessment

“External” summative tests  Large-scale assessments (international, national, state)  General achievement measures (e.g. commercial NRT’s, SAT, ACT)  Interim/benchmark Classroom, school, district summative tests  Unit, marking period tests/exams  District accountability Summative Assessment Examples

Developing large scale 21 st century assessments is challenging Expensive – government investment in innovation is essential (enhanced assessment grants). Test development is bound by disciplinary conventions. The status quo tends to drive much of what is done. Philosophic viewpoints clash. Summative Assessment

Assessment drives curriculum, instruction and learning The role and needs of standards for the assessment of 21 st century skills. The characteristics of assessments of 21 st century skills. Summative Assessment

Models exist: State authentic assessments from early ’90’s. External tests – see P21 white paper and Route 21. Summative Assessment

Who is the Partnership and what is the Framework for 21 st Century Skills? Formative Assessment of 21 st century skills Summative Assessment of 21 st century skills The North Carolina Experience Overview

State Board of Education’s new mission: FUTURE-READY STUDENTS for the 21 st Century The North Carolina Experience

FUTURE-READY STUDENTS for the 21 st Century The guiding mission of the North Carolina State Board of Education is that every public school student will graduate from high school, globally competitive for work and postsecondary education and prepared for life in the 21 st century. The North Carolina Experience

New Standards for a New Mission Principal Standards Teacher Standards The North Carolina Experience

Graduation Project Paper Portfolio Product Presentation The North Carolina Experience

ICT/ETS The North Carolina Experience demo2/index.html

Biology Prototype Project The North Carolina Experience Dr. John Bransford International expert on cognition and technology LIFE Center Learning in Informal and Formal Environments

The North Carolina Experience Blue Ribbon Accountability Commission

Are our students ready for the new global economy? Conclusion

Are our students critical thinkers and problem solvers? Are our students globally aware? Are our students self-directed? Are our students good collaborators?

Are our students information and technology literate? Are our students flexible and adaptable? Are our students innovative? Are our students effective communicators? Conclusion

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