Assessment Information Aligning Instruction and Assessment

Four Critical Questions that Guide a PLC 1. What are students supposed to know and be able to do? PRIORITIZED and UNWRAPPED CORE STANDARDS 2. How do we know when our students have learned? COMMON FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS 3. How do we respond when students haven't learned? DATA TEAMS /INTERVENTION 4. How do we respond when students already know the content? DIFFERENTIATION/EXTENSIONS The PLC process is guided by four critical questions that are credited to DuFour, The work you will be undertaking in PLCs to affect student achievement will be to prioritize and unwrap Core Standards, create common formative assessments, plan interventions with differentiation of the curriculum in mind.

A High Impact Initiative: The Utah Core State Standards Accomplishment begins with a focused set of action steps! Data Teams (PLCs) Common Formative Assessments “Unwrapping” the Standards Priority Standards

Priority Standards Carefully selected subset of all standards Used for common formative assessments/Data teams (PLCs) Students MUST know and be able to do by the end of the year Remind them that it is what students need to know AT THE END OF THE YEAR. They will have opportunities to teach and reteach these standards throughout the year.

The “Unwrapping” Standards Process 1. “Unwrap” standards and indicators to identify important concepts and skills to be taught 2. Represent the “unwrapped” concepts and skills on graphic organizer

Step 1: Underline Nouns, Circle Verbs Carefully read through your selected standard Underline the key concepts (important nouns or noun phrases) Circle the skills (verbs)

Step 2: Create a Graphic Organizer Example: RI 4.2 Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text SKILLS –DO (Verbs) CONCEPTS-KNOW (Nouns) Rigor (Bloom’s/DOK) Determine Main idea of text Explain Main idea Support Main idea with key details Summarize Text How can the “unwrapped” standards help you clarify and scaffold your instruction?

SAGE Elementary ELA Blueprints: 42 Items Grades 3, 4 & 5 Reporting Category/Strands Reporting Category /Strands Percentage Reading Literature 22% Reading Informational Text Writing 26% Listening 15% Language TOTAL 100% Note: The percentages shown represent target aggregate values; individual student experiences will vary based on the adaptive algorithm.

SAGE Secondary ELA Blueprint: 42 Items Grade 6 Reporting Category/Strands Reporting Category /Strands Percentage Reading Literature 20% Reading Informational Text 25% Writing Listening 15% Language TOTAL 100%

Depth of Knowledge Depth of Knowledge (DOK) is an essential component of English language arts instruction and assessment, and is fully supported by the new Utah Core Standards. As such, DOK is integrated in all ELA item design throughout the Student Assessment of Growth and Excellence (SAGE) and their respective blueprints. All students will see a variety of DOK and item difficulty on the summative SAGE.

It’s NOT about the verb... The Depth of Knowledge is NOT determined by the verb (like in Bloom’s Taxonomy), but by the context in which the verb is used and the depth of thinking required.

Same Verb—Three Different DOK Levels DOK 1- Describe three characteristics of metamorphic rocks. (Requires simple recall) DOK 2- Describe the difference between metamorphic and igneous rocks. (Requires cognitive processing to determine the differences in the two rock types) DOK 3- Describe a model that you might use to represent the relationships that exist within the rock cycle. (Requires deep understanding of rock cycle and a determination of how best to represent it)

Webb’s Four Levels of Cognitive Complexity Level 1: Recall and Reproduction Level 2: Skills & Concepts Level 3: Strategic Thinking Level 4: Extended Thinking

DOK Level 1: Recall and Reproduction Requires recall of information, such as a fact, definition, term, or performance of a simple process or procedure Answering a Level 1 item can involve following a simple, well-known procedure or formula

Skills/Concepts: DOK Level 2 Includes the engagement of some mental processing beyond recalling or reproducing a response Items require students to make some decisions as to how to approach the question or problem Actions imply more than one mental or cognitive process/step

Strategic Thinking: Level 3 Requires deep understanding exhibited through planning, using evidence, and more demanding cognitive reasoning The cognitive demands are complex and abstract An assessment item that has more than one possible answer and requires students to justify the response would most likely be a Level 3

Extended Thinking: Level 4 Requires high cognitive demand and is very complex Students are expected to make connections, relate ideas within the content or among content areas, and select or devise one approach among many alternatives on how the situation can be solved Due to the complexity of cognitive demand, DOK 4 often requires an extended period of time

Resources for DOK DOK Matrix DOK Question Stems

Common Formative Assessments

Improve assessment literacy through a deeper understanding of the assessment design process Understand how CFAs are the centerpiece of an integrated standards and assessment system Explore how the implementation of the CFA process improves instruction for all students. Create first-draft items for a CFA

Big Ideas Assessment is driven by purpose Formative assessment involves both process and product Assessment design is specific to the learning goals (prioritized, unwrapped standards) CFAs only focus on priority standards Feedback system is also a critical component of CFAs-so students understand the process and are able to see their learning and growth. Make sure you only emphasis the priority standards in your CFAs. If you feel your assessment should include a “rail”, reconsider your priority standards or include those on the mid-checkpoints.

Interdependent Practices Standards-Assessment Alignment Diagram CFAs are the Centerpiece of an integrated standards-assessment system

Assessment of and for learning Read pages 23-27 of Common Formative Assessments by Larry Ainsworth Jigsaw and share learning. All read page 23-24 (Formative and Summative Assessments Defined) #1 read Pages 24-25 (Changing the Traditional Instruction-Assessment Cycle) #2 read pages 25-26 (Assessment of Learning) #3 read pages 26-27 (Assessment for Learning)

Formative vs. Summative Assessment FOR student learning How can we guide learning? Often non-graded Moving picture of their learning A process during learning Assessment OF learning What have students learned? Typically graded Snapshot of their learning An event after learning Formative (Doctor Visit) Summative (Autopsy)

Common Formative Assessments What the Experts Say: Focus on student learning Are team-created or agreed upon Results are collaboratively analyzed and action taken Immediate feedback provided for students and teachers Students have multiple opportunities for success

Grade Level Team Planning Review your priority standards for your GL. Identify those that match the focus for an upcoming unit of study Review your benchmark pre-test data. Determine a priority standard that you need to focus on as a GL Team Each team member independently construct one multiple-choice question that assesses the selected priority standard.

Next Collaboration Time Come prepared with your 1 multiple choice (or other) question to share with your team Be prepared to discuss the DOK of the item you wrote As a team, you will fine tune your questions. Determine DOK levels Write one question collaboratively Write one constructed response question collaboratively Create a scoring rubric for the constructed response question Be prepared to practice using tools and techniques to evaluate and improve the quality of CFAs

Common Formative Assessment Support Common Core Resources Unpacking the standards-North Carolina Documents Clark County School District Common Core Supports K-12- A document for each grade level that describes the core in user-friendly terminology. It also has key questions that students would need to be able to answer to show mastery of the core. 2. Says they have unwrapped standards, but they are really resources for accessing and understanding the core (not unwrapped as we understand it). It does have I can statements, essential questions, and big ideas for each standard. It is a treasure-trove of great resources on the core.