Assessment for Learning Success Criteria Assessment for Learning

The Difference Between Learning Goals and Success Criteria Broad statements General intentions Describe what is to be learned Connect to “big ideas” and prior learning Often not measureable Specific Concrete Describes what success looks like when the learning goal is reached Measureable Discuss the differences to connect to the unit on learning goals.

2 Star & a Wish + For practice: Big Idea: Scarcity and economic trade-offs are essential to all economic activity. (Econ 1) Learning Goal Success Criteria FA Strategy Understand the differences between producers and consumers in a market economy. I can: Identify examples of producers within our local area. Define consumer and identify characteristics of consumers provide examples of how producers and consumers are affected by the market economy Understand the ways goods and services are produced and distributed. identify methods of distribution in today’s global economy explain the methods people and governments use to produce goods and services identify and explain the affect resources have on the production of goods Understand the influences that affect personal economic choices. explain how limited resources create the need for choices. identify costs and benefits of a choice. identify and evaluate incentives. analyze choices and predict consequences. + For practice: Identify an essential concept or skill from the Iowa Core you will be teaching. Write a learning goal for a lesson you intend to teach that essential concept or skill. Share with a collaborative learning team member. Provide each other descriptive feedback in the form of 2 Stars & a Wish (2 things you really like and 1 suggestion or wish) Discuss the difference in format and audience. Learning goals need to be written in student friendly language but define what is to be learned. Success criteria also need to be in student friendly language but describe how the students will demonstrate learning.

Example of Learning Goal and Success Criteria from the Iowa Core Social Studies, Geography, Grades 6-8 Essential Concept: Understand how geographic and human characteristics create culture and define regions. Big Idea: Geographers have developed regions as tools to examine, define, describe, explain, and analyze the human and physical environment. Learning Goal Example: Understand that geographic regions define both convenient and manageable units upon which to build our knowledge of the world. Success Criteria Examples: I can describe a region by its defining characteristics. I can explain how geographers use regional information. Write your own leaning goal from Iowa Core essential concept or skill you are currently teaching. Share and give each other d

Learning Goal The learning goal is like the target. It defines, for students, what learning is intended. Create your own graphic to depict learning goals.

Success Criteria These are the arrows that help the learner achieve the target and demonstrate mastery.

The Difference Between Success Criteria and Behavioral Objectives I can use the STAR Notetaking strategy while listening to another student present. I can describe natural selection and tell why variation is important. I can recite a poem from memory. The student will use the STAR Note Taking strategy while listening to a student presentation. Students will describe the process of natural selection and why variation is important to the process. Students will memorize and recite a poem. Success criteria are developed for student use and should be written in language students understand. Students use them to monitor their own learning in relation to the learning goal. Behavioral objectives are generally written for the teacher or parent. Behavioral objectives are written for teacher use to monitor student behaviors and written in . These are commonly found in a student’s IEP. These types of objectives indicate the specific behaviors students must demonstrate to indicate that learning has occurred.

The success criteria is written in student friendly language for student use. Behavioral or learning objectives are generally written in teacher language for teacher use. Both are important and have very different uses. The use of the terms “success criteria” and “learning objectives” can be confusing. Let’s clarify them.

CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING Sort each statement as a learning goal, success criteria, or behavioral objective The student will identify the main idea in each paragraph. I can check my prediction of the area by measuring and finding out if some of the shapes are bigger than others or if they take up the same amount of area. The student will understand that paleoclimatological evidence is analyzed to reveal historical patterns of warming and cooling on the Earth. Use the star buddies for teams to decide.

Summary of research by Shirley Clarke, often described as a foremost authority on the practical application of formative assessment. The aim is for children to ask “What are we going to learn?” rather than “What are we going to do?”.