CUR 509 Monitoring and Aligning Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment McDaniel College Tuesday ‑ 4:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Fall Semester 2011 (October 26 - December 13, 2011) Instructor-Cindy Fitzpatrick

Welcome…Getting to Know You On your index card, please answer the following: ◦ Name ◦ Where you work/Assignment ◦ (s) ◦ How to get in touch with you in an emergency ( , text, call work/cell) **List phone # if necessary ◦ Where are you in the program-beginning, middle, end? ◦ Is your degree in Curriculum or Administration? ◦ What school committees are you on? ◦ What county committees are you on? ◦ Future plans (after degree or certification) ◦ What do you hope to learn/get out of this class?

Class Structure Use of interactive learning strategies Personal reflection to help connect new ideas to your personal experiences A lot of “talking time” with classmates to solidify your understanding of the material

How will we operate? Participate in discussions Be respectful of each other Use your computer for class “business” only Stick to task We will take breaks If you need to use your phone to talk or text, please leave the room Confidentiality Additional??

Establishing a Positive Culture and Engaging All Students Pick your favorite music group. Line up in alphabetical order by group name. Share. Team Window -

The Syllabus

2 Very Strong Themes Emerge… Assessment is, in part, the process of gathering information to inform instructional decisions. Those decisions, when made well, drive student learning success. Effective instructional decisions require accurate assessment. Discuss this statement with your shoulder partner.

Next Theme… We can use classroom assessments far more than merely a source of evidence for grading. We can also use it to build student confidence, motivation and engagement for learning. Discuss this statement with your face partner. Also, discuss the difference between assessing and grading.

Keys to Classroom Assessment Quality Chapter 1-Classroom Assessment for Student Success Chapter 2-Understanding Why We Assess Chapter 3-Clear Achievement Expectations: The Foundation of Sound Assessment Chapter 4-Designing Quality Classroom Assessments

As a result of tonight’s class, you will understand… How classroom assessment fits into the big picture of your job as a teacher. What it means to develop and use assessments that are valid and reliable. The relationship among assessment, student confidence, and student success at learning. Four guiding principles that lead to sound classroom assessment practice.

Chapter 1: Guiding Question What are my classroom assessment responsibilities as a teacher and how can I fulfill them in ways that maximize the success of students?

You are the building principal. How would you respond? 1. A teacher boasts that 15 out of 23 students failed “her” math test. It was one that she created. 2. A teacher says to you, “My students have poor final grades this marking period, but it’s because I am such a tough teacher.” 3. You look in Power School and the teacher does not have an appropriate number of grades in—3 math grades at interim time. You talk to him and he says he has given the assessments, but just hasn’t graded them yet.

A Teacher’s Classroom Assessment Responsibilities To gather accurate evidence of the achievement of our students To weave the classroom assessment process and its results into instruction in ways that benefit students-that enhance their desire to learn and their achievement

A Story of Assessment for Student Success Read pages 4-8. As you read, consider the conditions that were in place in Mrs. Weathersby’s classroom for Emily and her classmates to have experienced such success. Take notes and share your ideas with your group.

Some Students Aren’t So Lucky Read pages Analyze and compare the assessments experienced by Emily and Kristen. Considering the keys to success discussed here, what were the essential differences? Where were assessment purposes and learning targets clear? Unclear? Appropriate? Inappropriate?

Chapters Class Instructional/Assessment Practices I will CONTINUE Instructional/Assessment Practices I will START Instructional/Assessment Practices I will CHANGE/STOP PERSONAL REFLECTION As a result of classroom discussion and reading the book, complete the personal reflection chart. You will use this information to write a summary.

Anticipating and Avoiding Assessment Problems Valid Assessments Identify the achievement targets (goals, objectives, expectations, standards) that you expect you students to hit. These must be the focus of your assessment exercise and scoring procedures. Select proper assessment methods that accurately reflect your achievement expectations Design and build high-quality assessments that can lead you to confident conclusions about students achievement Communicate assessment results in a timely and understandable manner to students

Guides to Valid and Reliable Assessment Effectively Used Guiding Principle 1: Start with a Clear Purpose: Why Am I Assessing? Classroom level assessment is part of a larger assessment system to meet the information needs of a variety of users If any users’ information needs are ignored or they are provides with misinformation due to inept assessments, ineffective decisions will filter down to harm student confidence, motivation, and learning

Guiding Principle 2: Start with Clear and Appropriate Achievement Targets: Assess What? The quality of any assessment depends on how clearly and appropriately you define the achievement target you are assessing You cannot validly assess achievement targets that you haven’t defined Do I know what it means to do it well?

Guiding Principle 3: Create High-Quality Assessments that Yield Dependable Information Rely on a proper assessment method (a method capable of reflecting the target) Sample student achievement appropriately (provide enough evidence) Be built with high-quality ingredients (good test items and scoring schemes) Minimize distortion of results due to bias (more about this later *Assessments that meet all of these standards can support valid and reliable inferences about student learning.

Guiding Principle 4: Communicating Results Effectively Students need descriptive feedback focused on specific attributes of their work revealing how they can do better the next time (grades and percentages are not the only, or best, way to communicate achievement

Activity~ Classroom Assessment Scenarios—Motivational or Not? In this activity, you will try to come up with ways that teachers can increase student learning motivation. In particular, you will confront ways that teachers may communicate assessment information to students. Evaluate those methods and develop positive ways of communicating assessment information to students. Directions: Read each of the scenarios and decide if the likely outcome for students will be positive motivation and belief in their ability to learn or if the outcome will limit motivation and decrease their belief in their ability to learn. If you can’t be sure of the motivational effects, state that. Write your decision and provide reasons that support your decision.

As a result of tonight’s class, you will understand… How classroom assessment fits into the big picture of your job as a teacher. What it means to develop and use assessments that are valid and reliable. The relationship among assessment, student confidence, and student success at learning. Four guiding principles that lead to sound classroom assessment practice.

As a result of the information discussed tonight… What classroom practices might you consider implementing? What classroom practices might you give up?

Activity 1.2: What Does a Successful Classroom Look Like? Think of yourself as a teacher and describe a classroom that you would consider successful for students. Why do these characteristics make a classroom successful? Think of yourself as a teacher and describe a classroom that you would consider un-successful. Why do these characteristics make a classroom unsuccessful? Into the Classroom In small groups, get together and compare descriptions. On what characteristics is there agreement? Most disagreement? How much emphasis do students place on the role of assessment?