Formative Assessment Practices Can Be Used in Educator Evaluation Margaret Heritage Edward Roeber

What is Formative Assessment? The FAST SCASS definition: “Formative assessment is a process used by teachers and students during instruction that provides feedback to adjust ongoing teaching and learning to improve students’ achievement of intended instructional outcomes” (CCSSO, 2008). 2

Key Features of the SCASS Definition Formative assessment is a process, not an instrument A process used not just by teachers – used by both teachers and students Formative assessment takes place during teaching and learning (literally) Provides immediate evidence-based feedback to teachers and students Function of this feedback is to help teachers and students make immediate or near immediate decisions about teaching and learning intended to move student learning forward 3

Sadler’s Three Questions Sadler posed the three basic questions that are foundational to formative assessment: Where am I going? Where am I now? How do I close the gap? These questions should guide the daily work of teachers and the daily learning of students 4

Questions in Practice Where am I going? Provide a clear and understandable vision of the learning goals and success criteria Where am I now? Obtain and interpret evidence of student learning during the lesson Teach students to self-assess and set their own goals How do I close the gap? Design learning opportunities based on evidence Adjust instruction as needed Provide feedback Support student self-regulation Adapted from Sadler 1989, J. Myron, P. Black, & J Coffey,

Dimensions of Formative Assessment (FAST SCASS, 2013) 6

Dimensions of Formative Assessment 7

How Are Teachers Evaluated? Most teacher evaluation systems have two major components: 1. Measures of student performance, or growth/change in student performance, usually based on a summative assessment given annually or twice annually 2. Observations and ratings of the teacher in the classroom 8

How Are Teachers Evaluated? Issues with Achievement Measures Usually, a measure of change on the annual summative state assessment State assessment cover only about 25% of the teachers What is used for the other 75% - more summative tests? The use of the summative assessments in this manner encourages more “teaching to the test,” with attendant narrowing of instruction to content areas assessed and to the content assessed in those areas This provides not only a skewed education to our students, but also an inaccurate view of what students really know and can do 9

How Are Teachers Evaluated? Issues with Observation Measures Usually, one of the several teacher rating systems, such as Danielson and Marzano Observations and ratings may be inadequate to capture real classroom practices Done by individuals with inadequate training and certification (unreliable?) Not done often enough, long enough, and/or over consecutive days (low validity?) Connection to improved practice might be missing (inability to help teachers improve their practice?) 10

How Might FA be Used within Educator Evaluation? Achievement Measures In most educator evaluation systems, achievement is measured by a test given annually However, it doesn’t have to be Could educators be expected to provide their own evidence of their effectiveness – to demonstrate their effectiveness? Evidence that could be provided includes: Videos of teacher effectiveness working with groups of students as well as individual students Student conferences on video Performance assessments Actual samples of student work Other sources of data, including test scores, grades, etc. 11

Achievement Measures Can formative assessment be used with these assessment strategies? Each of these could provide useful formative assessment information: Teacher observations – Observation in structured and unstructured situations Collections of student work – Examine how student performance has changed/improved over the school year Performance assessments – Examine how well students apply their learning through performances Student self-assessments – Student reflections examined over the course of the school year provide evidence of improved learning as well as who have improved their perceptions as learners 12

How Might FA be Used within Educator Evaluation? Observational Measures Does the observer see the teacher collecting evidence of learning during a lesson and making pedagogical decisions on the basis of it? There are several sets of rubrics that define effective use of formative assessment practices in classrooms; what are the levels of practice for each teacher? Does the observer see evidence of student self-assessment – live, videotaped or written? Student conferences, for example? Is there evidence of changes in students academic aspirations or attitudes towards learning? This might be videotaped or written evidence 13

Observational Measures The outside observer could look for some additional things when observing the educator: Evidence of self-reflection on the part of the teacher, such as using videotaping themselves and using a rubric to evaluate and improve their practice How is the teacher using evidence of student learning on a daily basis to adjust instruction? Work with students who ‘didn’t get it?’ 14

Benefits By collecting information more explicitly on educator use of formative assessment practices, several things may occur: Such practices may be used more often Administrators/supervisors will become sensitive to these practices and will look for them/expect them more consistently and more widely Teachers will come to value them more highly Teachers will have more opportunities to improve their use FA skills Students will be a more valued part of the evaluation process 15

Cautions A teacher may be observed for a period of time not sufficient to observe the use of the formative assessment Many administrators/evaluators don’t know what formative assessment is so they may not know what to look for Students may be coached about what to say and when to say it Information from the observations may not be summarized in a useful manner to make more stable summative statements about student learning 16

Conclusion If we think outside of the box of standardized tests and traditional teacher observation systems for educator evaluation…. If we see that expecting each educator to be a lifelong learner, seeking to improve practice…. If we desire to measure what we value…. Then, it is important to use the information uniquely provided by studying the use of formative assessment practices by teachers, for several reasons…. 17

Conclusion We will be studying the heart and soul of the teaching and learning process This could lead to providing more opportunities for educators to enhance their instructional skills We could come to value the students as learners more And, we won’t rely on simplistic tests and statistics to gauge the effectiveness of educators 18