ASSESSMENT and EVALUATION FOR IMPROVED STUDENT LEARNING: Integrating Assessment and Instruction Gr. 9 - 12 Arts, Fall 2009

Key Question What does good assessment and evaluation “look like”? For Learning Key Question What does good assessment and evaluation “look like”? An open-ended key question to think about our a and e practices.

Core Practices We are learning to: Assessment For Learning We are learning to: Plan assessment that is clearly linked with instruction; Identify and explain the four core practices of assessment for learning; Incorporate the practices in lesson and unit planning Write learning goals and identify success criteria

Assessment and Evaluation Activity Assessment For Learning SIMULATION Assessment and Evaluation

Rethinking Classroom Assessment with Purpose in Mind Dr. Lorna Earl Webcast: Rethinking Classroom Assessment with Purpose in Mind Most are probably familiar with the work of Dr. Lorna Earl, a leader in the field of assessment and evaluation, and a recently retired Associate Professor in the Theory and Policy Studies Department at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. In the webcast “Rethinking Classroom Assessment with Purpose in Mind”, Dr. Earl identifies three approaches to assessment. As you listen to this short clip, consider how this approach to assessment will impact your practice. What do you need to consider? Which of your current practices will you continue? Which might you revise? After the clip, you’ll have an opportunity to share your thoughts. To put the clip into context, she is addressing a school staff in a workshop format. The workshop was recorded, as a webcast, as part of a series of webcasts published by the Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat. The entire recording, which is about one hour in length, can be viewed on the website of Curriculum Services Canada. http://curriculum.org/secretariat/april27.shtml

…Every time you do assessment, it is not a decision point – it can be a learning point…

What does the research say? Most are probably familiar with the work of Dr. Lorna Earl, a leader in the field of assessment and evaluation, and a recently retired Associate Professor in the Theory and Policy Studies Department at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. In the webcast “Rethinking Classroom Assessment with Purpose in Mind”, Dr. Earl identifies three approaches to assessment. As you listen to this short clip, consider how this approach to assessment will impact your practice. What do you need to consider? Which of your current practices will you continue? Which might you revise? After the clip, you’ll have an opportunity to share your thoughts. To put the clip into context, she is addressing a school staff in a workshop format. The workshop was recorded, as a webcast, as part of a series of webcasts published by the Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat. The entire recording, which is about one hour in length, can be viewed on the website of Curriculum Services Canada. http://curriculum.org/secretariat/april27.shtml

Assessment OF Learning Assessment FOR Learning Assessment AS Learning

School Ranking by Quartile 4 3 2 1 Quartile Such improvements, produced across a school, would raise a school in the lower quartile of performance..to well above average.

“Effectively implemented, formative assessment can do as much or more to improve student achievement than any of the most powerful instructional interventions, intensive reading instruction, one on one tutoring, and the like.” Research Adapted from Black & Wiliam ‘Inside the Black Box’ (1998)

Assessment OF Learning FOR & AS Learning Evaluation Summative (after) Judging Assigning grades & reporting on achievement Assessment Diagnostic (before) & Formative (during, ongoing) Coaching Providing feedback to students & teachers to make decisions about next steps in learning Ministry policies and resources will refer to the concepts of “assessment for learning” and “assessment of learning”. Both are important, but they are not the same thing. Assessment for learning emphasizes that the main purpose of assessment is not just to determine a mark at a particular point in time. The primary purpose of assessment is to improve student learning. It is meant to be on-going, to help students understand and to help teachers make adjustments before an evaluation takes place. With this in mind, let’s talk about planning. Here is a summary that compares the two types of assessment Dr. Earl spoke of. Assessment of learning focuses on Evaluation. It is the traditional approach, typically using examinations to test what students know and are able to do. Through formal testing, teachers report on what students HAVE LEARNED at the end of a unit or course. It is summative, and it is what teachers are most familiar with. The teacher’s role in evaluation is as JUDGE, to assign grades to report to students and their parents how they did Assessment for learning, on the other hand, focuses on on-going assessment – the gathering of information about achievement. It can take place before learning, through diagnostic assessment to determine students’ prior strengths or learning gaps, or during learning, using more informal methods of assessment, which can include observation, performance, or student-teacher conference as well as quizzes and written assignments throughout the learning process. The teacher takes a coaching role, giving students detailed feedback to tell them how they can do better. The purposes of assessment FOR learning are to help teachers determine how student learning is developing, to identify what’s working and where problems are. This process assesses the effectiveness of instruction as well and helps teachers determine how instruction has to change to help struggling students. As Dr. Earl stated, much of teacher’s formal assessment planning tends to fall into the “of learning” category. We carefully plan summative evaluations, perhaps because of the ‘accountability’ involved, and the fact that they are used for evidence when reporting to parents, or making decisions about placement. While assessment ‘for’ learning occurs, it tends to be done more informally, as the occasion presents itself. Our key message, and Ministry policy, suggests that this should not be the case…that assessment ‘for’ learning also needs to be planned.

Assessment Continuum Learning Goals Success Criteria For Learning Learning Goals Success Criteria Descriptive Feedback Peer/Self assessment Individual Goal setting Eliciting Evidence of Understanding Video Clip: Self Assessment: The Process 0:48 – 2:01

Scaffolding I do, you watch I do, you help You do, I help Assessment For Learning I do, you watch I do, you help You do, I help You do, I watch

Planning for Learning Assessment For Learning How can we plan assessment, evaluation, and instruction to improve student learning?

Current knowledge and skills Desired knowledge and skills Diagnostic assessment to determine current knowledge/skills Share learning goals Develop success criteria with students and post for ongoing reference & revision Feedback (from teacher, peers, self) What am I supposed to learn? What does successful learning look like? How am I doing? Think about assessment and evaluation as a collaborative partnership between you and your students. In this partnership, each of you has an important role to play in promoting students to move from their current knowledge and skills to the desired knowledge and skills identified in the curriculum. At outset of a period of learning, you use diagnostic assessment to determine the student’s current level of knowledge and skills. Students need to know what they are supposed to learn. It’s your role to determine how to share the learning goals with them in ways they can understand. Students also need information about what successful learning looks like. One way to do this is to develop the success criteria with them, and post this co-constructed criteria for ongoing reference and revision. During learning, students need ongoing feedback about their progress. They get this information from you, as well as from their peers, and through self-assessment. Your role in this partnership is to ensure that students know where they are going, and how to get there, and to promote your students’ ability to do this for themselves through teaching and modelling. Desired knowledge and skills

Planning for Learning Assessment For Learning To maximize learning, assessment AND instruction must be purposefully planned to support students to attain a clearly defined learning goal. We know that to maximize learning, assessment AND instruction must be purposefully planned to support students to attain a clearly defined learning goal.

Planning with the End in Mind What do I want them to learn? Where in the unit do you see evidence that this question has been addressed? How will I know they have learned it? Planning with the End in Mind is an effective planning process that we can use to address all of these components and make them work together to support students in their learning. Look at one example of a way to plan and to record that plan. These are units meant to model a variety of effective instruction and assessment strategies, including differentiation, literacy, and assessment for learning. There is no expectation that teachers should record their planning in this particular format. We’ll share other formats as we progress through the day. In the sample unit, how do you see evidence that the first planning question is addressed. Addressing clusters of overall and related specific expectations Examining how these expectations are linked to the categories of the achievement chart How will I design the learning so that all will learn?

Enduring Understandings Overall Expectations Planning with the End in Mind What do I want them to learn? Enduring Understandings Overall Expectations Key Questions Learning Goals Planning with the End in Mind is an effective planning process that we can use to address all of these components and make them work together to support students in their learning. Look at one example of a way to plan and to record that plan. These are units meant to model a variety of effective instruction and assessment strategies, including differentiation, literacy, and assessment for learning. There is no expectation that teachers should record their planning in this particular format. We’ll share other formats as we progress through the day. In the sample unit, how do you see evidence that the first planning question is addressed. Addressing clusters of overall and related specific expectations Examining how these expectations are linked to the categories of the achievement chart

Assessment of Learning (Evaluation) What evidence will be produced? Planning with the End in Mind Assessment of Learning (Evaluation) How will students demonstrate their knowledge and skills when they have finished learning? What evidence will be produced? How will I know they have learned it? Products Conversations Observations

Assessment for Learning Planning with the End in Mind Assessment for Learning How will I know they are learning it? How will students demonstrate their knowledge and skills while they are learning? How will we monitor their progress? Exit cards, journal entries, observation, conversations, …

Assessment Instruction Planning with the End in Mind Ongoing monitoring of learning Strategies and tools to elicit evidence of learning Teacher feedback Peer Assessment Self Assessment Learning “how to learn” Assessment Show video clip Feedback #3 1:33 – 3:03 How will I design the learning so that all will learn? Instruction

SUCCESS! What we think we are teaching What they think they are learning How can we ensure that students know and understand what we expect them to learn?

Learning Goals Assessment For Learning Learning is easier when learners understand what goal they are trying to achieve, the purpose of achieving the goal, and the specific attributes of success. Chappuis, S. Educational Leadership, September 2002 | Volume 60 | Number 1

Learning Goals Assessment For Learning Learning Goals are brief, concise statements, in student-friendly language, that describe what students are to know or be able to do at the end of a period of instruction.

Desired knowledge and skills Scaffolding Current knowledge and skills

Assessment Instruction Desired knowledge and skills Learning goal Scaffolding Assessment Learning goal Learning goal Instruction Present model. Model was built on the following needs: The student and the teacher must know the desired learning that is expected. The student and the teacher must be clear on how the student can demonstrate that they have achieved the desired learning. The instructional tasks and the strategies the teacher uses must systematically help the student to develop the knowledge and skills he/she needs. The teacher and the student must use assessment strategies to monitor the student’s learning while the student is engaged in the instructional tasks. Learning goal Current knowledge and skills

Sample Learning Goals We are studying the creative process. (Gr. 9) Assessment For Learning We are studying the creative process. (Gr. 9) I am learning to analyse and synthesize information. (Gr. 10) Understand the uses of buttons, labels and text fields. (Gr. 12) I can explore a wide range of increasingly complex traditional and emerging technologies, tools, and techniques. (Gr. 12) I will be able to use descriptive words, phrases and expressions to clearly describe a scene or situation. (Gr. 10) We are learning to use charts or hand-drawn sketches to show the sequence of things, how things are related, or compare different alternatives. (Gr. 11) I can use a variety of techniques to convey a sense of movement. (Gr. 11) You will know how to create and perform phrases that explore two or more elements of dance. (Gr. 9)

Learning Goals Assessment For Learning TASK: Identify the Learning Goal(s) for Lesson 3 of the sample unit. Read the lesson plan, giving careful attention to the specific expectations and how they are addressed. Identify the knowledge and skills that the student is expected to demonstrate. Develop learning goal statement(s) that meet the criteria for effective learning goals.

Learning Goals To be effective, learning goals must be: Assessment For Learning To be effective, learning goals must be: Identified and shared at the outset of learning Clarified with the students Referred to during the learning Video Clip showing how a S & T SE is a learning goal. LG #2 6:24 – 7:57

Feedback Related to learning goals and criteria Timely and specific Assessment For Learning Related to learning goals and criteria Timely and specific What was done well, what needs improvement, how to improve Descriptive not evaluative Include monitored opportunities to try again

Research Assessment feedback often has a negative impact, particularly on low-achieving students, who are led to believe that they lack ‘ability’ and so are not able to learn. From “Working Inside the Black Box: Assessment for Learning in the Classroom”. Black, P., Harrison, C., Lee, C., Marshall, B., and Wiliam, D. Phi Delta Kappan, September 2004 p. 9 - 21

Peer- and Self-Assessment For Learning Peer- and Self-Assessment Assessment, not evaluation Ensuring students understand learning goals and success criteria Modelled by teacher before attempted by students Students providing feedback (done well, needs improvement, how) Feedback connected to criteria Feedback Video 4 4:50 – 5:33

Success Criteria Success criteria Assessment For Learning Success criteria Describe what successful achievement of learning goal “looks like” Use language that students understand Video = Julie’s Gr 5 and 6 students understand what criteria is and what it is for Self Assessment #2 Defining Success Criteria 1:39 – 2:44

Success Criteria Assessment For Learning TASK: Co-construct a criteria t-chart for the musical composition in the AMU 1O unit.

Co-constructing Criteria Assessment For Learning 1. Brainstorm a list of ideas 2. Sort and group the ideas 3. Make and post a T-chart 4. Use and revise as you learn more. Davies, A, Herbst-Luedtke, S, Parrott Reynolds, B. Making Classroom Assessment Work p. 57 Video LG #5 7:18 – 12:50 – Mo and Erin co-constructing entire process 12:45 shows the t-chart for the chemistry task

Learning Goals and Success Criteria Assessment For Learning “When we invest time up front to build the vision [of what students are to be learning], we gain it back later in increased student motivation and the resulting higher-quality work.” Chappuis (2009)

TASK: Identify Assessment for Learning practices embedded in a lesson AfL and Planning Assessment For Learning TASK: Identify Assessment for Learning practices embedded in a lesson Examine Lesson 3 from the sample unit. Identify any of the AfL practices Learning Goals/Success Criteria Eliciting Evidence of Student Understanding Feedback Peer and Self Assessment

Learning Goals We are learning to: use the "creative process" when composing use the elements of music to plan a composition use a compositional tool to create a composition (Finale) Guiding Questions: How do the stages of the creative process help us to compose a piece of music? What are some techniques and tools musicians use to compose? Elements of Music Diagnostic Assessment BLM2 "Using Finale“ Journal Entry: “Use each of the following creative process stages as headings: 1. Challenging and Inspiring, 2. Imagining and Generating, 3. Planning and Focusing, explain how you have used each stage, so far, in the development of your composition.” Peer and self assessment

Samples of music conveying courage, honesty, loyalty Co-constructing criteria for success Teacher modeling Peer and self assessment Process Portfolio to evaluate the application of the stages of the creative process in an original composition. The Process Portfolio will include graphic organizers, self reflections, checklists, rating scales and feedback response logs. (rubric) Original composition (rubric)

Traffic light Thumbs up, thumbs down Target Feedback Got it! Not yet Getting there

√ Feedback Log Feedback Date Feedback Action to be taken Action Completed Feb. 12 Itinerary has several clearly described events Identify the times more accurately Provide more details about each event √

Exit Card We are learning to: Assessment For Learning We are learning to: Plan assessment that is clearly linked with instruction; Identify and explain the four core practices of assessment for learning; Incorporate the practices in lesson and unit planning Write learning goals and identify success criteria Exit Card Something new I learned… I want to learn (more) about… A question I have is… We know that to maximize learning, assessment AND instruction must be purposefully planned to support students to attain a clearly defined learning goal.

I don’t know what this means. I have no idea what to do next I don’t know what this means. I have no idea what to do next. I’m probably too dumb to learn this anyway. I give up. I understand, I know what to do next. I can handle this. I choose to keep trying. Stiggins, R. (2007) Educational Leadership. May p. 26

Paul Walsh, Education Officer CAP Branch Paul.walsh@ontario.ca 416 325 4393 Joanie Causarano, Education Officer Joanie.causarano@ontario.ca 416 325 2100