Assessments: Beyond the Claims Reidy Interactive Lecture Series . Jeri Thompson Center for Assessment 2016

Use of Assessments: District & Schools Claims have been made… Assessments are being considered by the District… Now what? We know what we want to be able to say about students/teachers/schools, what do educators and leaders need to know about assessments to make informed procurement decisions?

Use of Assessments: District & Schools “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there,” observed the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland

Use of Assessments: District & Schools Decisions about which assessment to select will depend on its purpose and the audience of the data, including: The interplay of summative, interim, and formative assessments for curricular and instructional decisions. Clear understanding of the alignment to the knowledge and skills and their range of complexity as required by the standards or expectations. Use of information gained from the assessments and where they are used within the curriculum.

What do educators need? Assessment types Knowledge and understanding of the information provided by the assessment data Flexibility within the curriculum to use assessment data While there is a much longer list that could be made, these three items are the high-level issues that in my experience have tripped districts up the most.

Assessment Literacy Formative Assessment: A process that teachers and students use to gather information during, as opposed to after, the learning process and to make adjustments accordingly. Assessment for Learning Interim Assessments: Assessments administered during instruction that are designed to evaluate students’ knowledge and skills relative to a specific set of goals to inform decisions in the classroom and beyond. Assessment of Learning Summative Assessments: Formal assessments that are given at the end of a unit, term, course, or academic year. Assessment of Learning

Formative Assessments Purpose Instructional Implementation Driven by moment-to-moment decisions; generated or selected by teacher; individualized Timing During instruction High frequency Scope Narrow; one or very few learning objectives at a time Audience Classroom (i.e., students, teachers, and parents) Feedback Student teacher Descriptive/narrative

Interim Assessments Purpose Implementation Timing Scope Audience Most designed for decisions outside of the classroom (e.g., curriculum, program) Some designed for instructional uses Implementation Regulated by a set of rules developed in or out of the classroom; teacher-generated or externally generated Timing After instruction or during a break in instructional flow Moderate frequency Scope Moderate; a manageable number of objectives Audience Administration and/or Classroom teacher Feedback School System audiences Mostly evaluative

Summative Assessments Purpose Most designed for decisions outside of the classroom (e.g., curriculum, program) Providing a grade in the classroom Implementation Regulated by a set of rules developed in or out of the classroom; teacher-generated or externally generated Timing After instruction Low frequency Scope Broad; comprehensive set of objectives Audience Public Administration (principal, curriculum director, etc.) Classroom Feedback School System audiences Mostly evaluative

Assessments Uses and Audience Students … see these assessments as fair measures of their understanding of important learning goals and can use the results to monitor their own performance. Teachers … see the assessments as a measure of how well they have taught the concepts and skills, a means of establishing the quality of the assessment, identifying the areas of need for students, and determining what needs to be re-taught. Principals …see the assessments as providing data across the school to determine personnel strengths and needs, support teachers, consider scheduling decisions, create classroom rosters, and identify programmatic needs. District Personnel (curriculum director, assistant superintendent) … see the assessments as providing data across the district to determine personnel strengths and needs, support principals, make fiscal decision based on programmatic needs, and inform strategic improvement strategies. Classroom assessments should be a meaningful source of information that reflects the concepts and skills that have been emphasized in class, along with clear criteria for judging students' performance. These concepts, skills, and criteria should align with the instructional activities and, ideally, with state or district standards.

Knowledge and Understanding of Assessment Data When considering the selection of assessments for classroom progress monitoring, consider these five key questions: What are the best types of assessments to select for measuring the learning? Are the assessment items and/or expectations aligned to the standards? Consider whether the assessment will actually measure what it is supposed to measure. Are the assessment items and/or expectations appropriately rigorous (DOK levels aligned to standards) and have an appropriate level of difficulty? Are there multiple opportunities throughout the quarter, semester, and year to assess students on the same concepts, using different types of assessments? Are the directions and vocabulary clear, ensuring that they don’t detract from what students know and are able to demonstrate?

Flexibility to Use the Information and Data What’s driving the assessment use?? Issues from the Field: Assessment(s) administered, but… no professional development provided for teachers to analyze the data no opportunity (common planning time, PLCs, data meetings) for teachers to review the data scope and sequence requires teachers to continue moving forward – no time to reteach curricular programs do not provide additional resources for reteaching teachers are not sure where/how to obtain resources that are aligned to the content – district does not provide and teachers cannot purchase

Flexibility to Use the Information and Data So… what happens to progress monitoring and adjusting instruction based on the assessments? Nothing

Using Data for Instructional Decisions Formative assessment… can lead to significant learning gains (Black & William, 1998; Herman et al., 2006). Frequent monitoring of student progress… results in higher achievement for students (Stecker et al., 2005). A consistent feature of research findings on formative assessment is that attention to the interactive nature of formative assessment can lead to significant learning gains (Black & William, 1998; Herman et al., 2006). Reviews of research on formative assessment processes support the use of questioning, observation, and student peer- and self-assessment. Frequent monitoring of student progress toward a determined goal and performance level results in higher achievement for students, particularly when teachers use the data collected to inform their instructional practices (Stecker et al., 2005).

Using Data for Instructional Decisions Interim assessment data… concepts students have learned the potential to provide follow-up with struggling students provide feedback to students allow for the re-teaching of necessary foundational skills or concepts differentiating instruction, rethinking the way in which a concept was taught provide a structured and systematic strategy for examining overall achievement Interim assessment data can provide teachers with information of what concepts students have learned and the potential to provide follow-up for struggling students. Interim assessments can be analyzed and used to provide feedback to students, to allow for the re-teaching of necessary foundational skills or concepts, differentiating instruction, and rethinking the way in which a concept was taught. Interim assessments can provide a structured and systematic strategy for examining overall achievement and to identify areas of need that may be overlooked in everyday classroom interactions.

Using Data for Instructional Decisions Summative assessment… can serve both as a guide to teaching methods aids in improving and planning curriculum to better match the needs of the students allows for program evaluation Summative assessment informs instructional practices in a different yet equally important way. Critics of large-scale assessments argue that they are disconnected from instruction and are not useful in the instructional process (Shepard, 2001). However, summative assessment can serve both as a guide to teaching methods and to improving curriculum to better match the needs of the students. A primary use of assessment data is in planning curricula.

Using Data for Instructional Decisions Putting it all Together: A Case Study… If a school's performance on a state assessment indicates high percentages of students who do not meet standards in writing, then the school could collect more information on its writing curricula, student writing performance (through portfolios or other classroom work), and professional development needs for its teachers. After collecting such information, the school may then review and adopt new writing curricula as well as provide professional development to its teachers in order to support stronger student achievement in writing. Ongoing evaluation of the writing program would be conducted through the use of formative and summative assessment. In this manner, when assessments are aligned, they can inform the instructional process and support both the daily instructional practices of teachers as well as the longer-term planning of curricula and instruction.

Comprehensive Assessment System entails a collection of procedures that can inform the learning process. Formative, interim, and summative assessments each have a place in the larger system of assessment, instruction, and curriculum. Assessments can only serve this purpose, however, when teachers are supported to make appropriate adjustments in their instruction (Herman et al., 2006; Marsh, 2007). entails a collection of procedures that can inform the learning process. Formative, interim, and summative assessments each have a place in the larger system of assessment, instruction, and curriculum. When formative assessments are used in conjunction with interim and summative assessment, the potential exists to improve outcomes for all students. Assessments can only serve this purpose, however, when teachers are supported to make appropriate adjustments in their instruction (Herman et al., 2006; Marsh, 2007).

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