Module 3: Unit 1, Session 2 MODULE 3: ASSESSMENT Adolescent Literacy – Professional Development Unit 1, Session 2

Module 3: Unit 1, Session 2 Session 2 Questions & Objectives  Session 2 Key Questions  What is literacy assessment?  What are the elements of a balanced assessment model for the school and for the classroom?  How can I begin to enhance my use of assessment in the classroom?  Session 2 Objectives  Participants will understand the elements of a balanced assessment model and examine their own assessment practices from this point of view.  Participants will consider ways they can enhance their uses of assessment in the classroom. 2

Module 3: Unit 1, Session 2 Activity Think What are two or three aspects of assessment that you’ve been thinking about since last session? Talk Share these with the person next to you. Write Write three questions you have about assessment at this moment. 3

Module 3: Unit 1, Session 2 What is Literacy Assessment?  Literacy Assessment is an umbrella term that refers to a variety of assessments used to gauge students’ knowledge of and skills in understanding and using language. 4

Module 3: Unit 1, Session 2 The Literacy Assessment Umbrella Basic Literacy Receptive Language: -Listening -Reading comprehension Expressive Language -Speaking -Reading fluency -Writing Disciplinary Literacy Receptive Language: -Disciplinary vocabulary and text structure comprehension -Disciplinary thinking Expressive Language: -Disciplinary speaking and writing conventions Specific Areas and Causes of Learning Difficulty Neurological, Psychological, Social, Physical, etc. 5

Module 3: Unit 1, Session 2 Why We Assess Literacy Assessing Disciplinary Literacy Guides us to identify and effectively instruct in the modes of thinking, reading, and communicating in the academic disciplines Assessing Basic and Intermediate Literacy Guides us to identify and remediate language weaknesses that impede effective listening, speaking, reading and writing skills 6

Module 3: Unit 1, Session 2 Aiming for Proficiency Targeted instruction and accommodations and modifications empower students to access the curriculum and gain disciplinary literacy. Remediation of basic language skills empowers students to learn independently. GOALGOAL 7

Module 3: Unit 1, Session 2 Activity  Systematic use of assessment data is a key part of a district’s literacy action plan.  Discuss within your group what you know about the components of your district’s plan if they have or are developing one.  Complete the self-assessment survey about current comfort/knowledge level about assessment. 8

Module 3: Unit 1, Session 2 A Balanced Assessment System Formative Assessment for Learning Summative Assessment of Learning Achievement 9

Module 3: Unit 1, Session 2 Definitions Assess learning as it occurs. Improve knowledge and skills efficiently and effectively. Formative Assessment Measures progress for learning Assess achievement after instruction to document proficiency. Summative Assessment Measures achievement from learning 10

Module 3: Unit 1, Session 2 Screening Assessment  DEFINITION  Brief measures administered school-wide  Usually reading, sometimes writing and math  PURPOSE  Identify which students are at risk of difficulty in meeting proficiency standards  TYPE  May be standardized screenings or curriculum- based measures 11

Module 3: Unit 1, Session 2 Summative Assessments  DEFINITION  Measures of goal achievement  PURPOSE  Identify levels of student achievement at a particular point in time  TYPE  Standardized (MCAS, NWEA, interim/benchmark)  Classroom-based (tests, projects, portfolios, etc.) 12

Module 3: Unit 1, Session 2 Formative Assessment  DEFINITION  Measures of progress toward achievement  PURPOSE  Guide instructional decision making during learning  Improve achievement as a result  TYPE  A PROCESS, not a particular tool  Students must be aware of the teachers’ goals and be part of monitoring progress.  Some summative assessments can be adapted to formative use. 13

Module 3: Unit 1, Session 2 Diagnostic Assessment  DEFINITION  Measures of student performance and achievement in particular domains  PURPOSE  Identify specific strengths and difficulties (and their causes)for the purpose of guiding instruction  TYPE  Standardized/professionally administered (e.g., psycho- educational, neuropsychological, speech-language evaluations)  Classroom-based (e.g., analysis of reading errors) 14

Module 3: Unit 1, Session 2 Assessment Type Overview Assessment Purpose Gather baseline data in order to determine “big picture” instructional needs. Screening Formative Gather data related to targeted instruction in order to inform future instruction. Progress Formative or Summative Gather data related to instruction in order to evaluate “end” performance. Achievement Summative Gather in-depth data in order to determine the specific cause(s) of poor performance. Diagnostic Formative 15

Module 3: Unit 1, Session 2 Balanced Assessment  Balanced assessments are based on a clear set of goals for listening, speaking, reading, and writing—the core language skills that underlie both basic and disciplinary literacy.  These goals (and the discrete learning targets)are shared by all in the school/district (teachers and students).  The goals and targets are measureable.  Both progress and achievement are assessed. 16

Module 3: Unit 1, Session 2 Activity  Try out a screening activity  A maze passage estimates comprehension  Text is drawn from course material (so performance related to reading and studying in the course is predictable).  After the first sentence, every seventh word is replaced by a choice and distractor item from which the reader must choose.  Scores provide a baseline against which progress can be monitored. 17

Module 3: Unit 1, Session 2 Keep in Mind  “Assessments should provide us, the instructors, and the students with evidence of how well the students have learned (or are progressing toward) what we intend them to learn. What we want students to learn and be able to do should guide the choice and design of the assessment.” --Carnegie Mellon University 18

Module 3: Unit 1, Session 2 Five Keys to Quality Assessment 1.Clear purpose 2.Clear learning targets 3.Sound assessment design 4.Effective communication of results 5.Student involvement in the assessment process 19

Module 3: Unit 1, Session 2 Activity  Based on reading “The Quest for Quality”  Divide into five groups, each of which will focus on one “Key to Quality.”  Each group will discuss:  In relation to your group’s “key,” what do you see as the strengths and needs of the assessment activities in your classes/schools/districts? 20

Module 3: Unit 1, Session 2 Activity  When thinking like an assessor, we ask different types of questions than those we generally ask ourselves when planning units and lessons.  This habit of thinking about curriculum through an assessment lens facilitates responsible assessment practices. 21

Module 3: Unit 1, Session 2 Activity  The purpose of any assessment is to gather data to inform a decision about action. We must be able to frame a specific question about what data we need, prior to designing an assessment.  All of us, consciously or not, ask questions before we teach, while we teach, and after we teach.  Brainstorm questions you ask before, during, and after teaching. 22

Module 3: Unit 1, Session 2 Activity  Ask participants to recall the main points from the readings, “Reliability, Validity, and Fairness of Classroom Assessments,” and “Principles of Effective Literacy Assessment.” 23

Module 3: Unit 1, Session 2 Include Students in the Process  All adolescents want to feel and be independent.  Including them in goal-setting, assessment design, scoring and interpretation, and data- driven decision making provides a scaffold from which they can strengthen the executive skill that is so difficult to teach— self-monitoring effective progress toward a goal. 24

Module 3: Unit 1, Session 2 Use the Data  The data from assessments—even from summative assessments—should never be an end point.  Assessment is only useful insofar as it points us and our students in the specific direction we should go to improve learning.  There are hundreds of ways to track data from classroom assessments, and identifying and using a system is essential! 25

Module 3: Unit 1, Session 2 Activity  Examine assessments you use with students.  Pair up and take turns interviewing your partner using the Interview Questions handout in the Participant’s Resource Packet. 26

Module 3: Unit 1, Session 2 For Next Time  Engage in an activity that includes students in the assessment process in some way.  See suggestions for activities in the Participant’s Resource Packet:  Standards discussion  Discussion of models  Test analysis 27