Using Formative Assessment to Increase Student Achievement Nikkie Duin Jenni Scholla

Today’s Goal  I can create effective formative assessments using best practices resources.

Introductions  Name, what you teach, where you are from.  Stand up and make a Formative Assessment spectrum line of understanding and use of Formative Assessments.

Assessment Sort  Take the Assessment Descriptions and sort them into two groups.  What could you name the two groups?  instruction-learning-styles-video instruction-learning-styles-video

Why use Formative Assessment?  The purpose of Formative Assessment must be, 1 st and foremost, to inform instructional decision making.  In the words of a teacher, “If I did not use these assessments, I wouldn’t know what my students need and what to teach.” Common Formative Assessments by Larry Ainsworth & Donald Veigut

Formative Assessment Article  Go to formativeassessment wiki and read.  Make a non-linguistic representation with your table group.

Nikkie’s Class…  68% ELL  70% of our Building is on Free or Reduced Lunches  8 summer birthdays  20 kids to begin the year…  Only 4 kids could write their name in any legible format at the beginning of the year.  EVERY STUDENT WAS PROFICIENT IN READING!

Jenni’s  18% ELL in the classroom; 1 in 3 students were on an IEP  88% of our building is on Free or Reduced Lunches  Lowell met AYP in both reading and math (showed most growth in math, which was our common formative assessment focus)  Students who were not proficient on the Dakota STEP test, only missed the cut off by 1 or 2 questions – closing the gap.

Data Driven Instruction has 5 steps: 1. Charting of student performance data 2. Analyzing the data 3. Setting a goal for improvement 4. Selecting specific teaching strategies to meet that goal. 5. Determining results indicators to gauge the effectiveness of the selected teaching strategies. CAST Results!!!

1. Chart Student Data  Check lists  Spreadsheets  Data Wall or Data Board  Googledocs

2. Analyze Data  Examine your data  Where are my students?  What evidence do I have to know that?  What do I plan to do about it?  Our district tends to be “over-testing, under assessing” students and often “ data rich and information poor ”.

3. S etting a Goal for Improvement  Set a time frame for teaching strategies to push students that are not proficient.  Set a power standard goal based on assessment.  Such as, “In five weeks I will have 80% of my class proficient in rhyming.”  Meet weekly to see how progress is being made to meet the goal.

Selecting Specific Teaching Strategies  Choice – Increase Engagement! When we see a choice, our brain chemistry changes.  Students feel positive and motivated.  Students feel more in control.  Our brains release endorphins that promote a general sense of well being and confidence.

Teaching Strategies How are we teaching?  Lecture5%  Reading 10%  Audio Visual20%  Demonstration30%  Discussion50%  Practice by Doing75%  Teaching Others/Immediate Use 90% STUDENT RETENTION AFTER 24 HOURS

Teaching Strategies - VAKT  Visual 20%  Audio20%  Kinesthetic/Tactile 75% ____  Equals105%

Determining Results  Weekly assess students to gauge the effectiveness of selected teaching strategies.  Start process over!  CAST RESULTS!!!

BREAK  Please be back in 15 minutes.  Teacher’s Lounge on Bottom Floor (All the way down the stairs) has pop machines

Effective Instruction  Go to Wiki to find additional resources  Count off by 7 to make small groups for discussion  Concept Map on Instructional Practices

Putting it ALL Together  Common Formative Assessments: How to Connect Standards-Based Instruction and Assessment by Larry Ainsworth and Donald Viegut (pg. 39)

Classroom Examples  See Wiki

Lunch  11:30-12:30

Teacher Work Time  You will be required to add additional resources to the Formative Assessment Wiki  At the end of the day we will be viewing and commenting on the resources you created.

Analyze Work Samples  I can create effective formative assessments using best practices resources.  View teacher samples of formative assessments and look for examples of best practices for instruction.

Where do we go now?  Questions  Share new ideas?  What additional support do you need?