Assessments and Pedagogical Readjustments: The Use of Interim Assessment Data in two U.S. School Districts INRP Seminar The Place of Assessment in Teacher Professional Development May 26, 2009 Leslie Nabors Oláh Consortium for Policy Research in Education University of Pennsylvania

Research Question What do teachers do when they get the interim assessment results? This is important because: 1) this is the link between formative assessments and formative assessment, and 2) there is an assumption out there that given student data, action will follow; therefore, it is crucial to know what happens at this juncture.

Interim Assessment Results Spreadsheet for the Urban District SchoolNet Item Analysis view. Green checks indicate correct answer; Red letters show the incorrect response given; percentage totals for each student and for each item. Also, one of the top rows indicates the PA standard to which each item is aligned.

Interim Assessment Results Spreadsheet for the Suburban District

What do teachers do? Primarily identify content areas of weakness Teachers link performance to state standards And low-performing students We found similarities in how teachers approached their data – these happened in roughly sequential order.

What do teachers do? Teachers seek to (in) validate benchmark assessment results Is the item valid for measuring student understanding? Was the content covered? How did my grade group partner do? The important part is that Ts did not necessarily assume items to be valid indicators of student learning.

What do teachers do? Teachers offered various types of diagnoses for student errors: Procedural diagnoses Conceptual diagnoses Other learning/cognitive diagnoses ‘External’ diagnoses THESE DIAGNOSES ARE NOT MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE, but we saw many more procedural diagnoses (than conceptual).

What do teachers do? In general, teachers reported that the interim assessments Did not provide new or surprising information Were useful in confirming what they already knew about their students’ mathematical understanding THESE DIAGNOSES ARE NOT MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE, but we saw many more procedural diagnoses (than conceptual). The end!

District differences Urban teachers focused more on re-teaching to the lowest performing students Suburban teachers more likely to plan enrichment activities and to allow students choice in activities Suburban teachers expressed more confidence in ability to interpret interim assessment results

PD considerations How do assessments align and complement one another? What is the nature of PD? For interpretation? For instruction? What do we assume about teachers’ content knowledge?

Implications for PD Getting from here We identified six conditions that helped teachers learn from and make use of assessment data. Alignment of assessment, standards and curriculum Expectations for use User-friendly information management systems Professional Support Time Leadership

Implications for PD To here

PRIME: Penn Research-Informed Mathematics Education initiative Instruction and Formative Assessment Supporting teachers in instructional improvement, increasing content knowledge, and assessing students’ understanding of mathematics. Support for Instructional Planning Identifying and capitalizing on opportunities for teachers to implement the mathematics curriculum. Periodic Assessment Monitoring school-wide achievement in mathematics. Examples: LASW in order to teach content and children’s development of mathematical ideas; recording information for administrator use; curriculum review to alleviate burdens of the pacing guide; assisting the schools in curriculum use Curricular & Instructional Planning Suggesting modifications to curriculum and pacing with the goal of meeting both teachers’ and students’ long-term needs. Ebby, Nabors Oláh, & Oettinger, ©2009