Developing Common Assessments

What Do Students Know… Frequent monitoring of each students learning is an essential element of effective teaching; no teacher should be absolved from that task or allowed to assign responsibility for it to state test makers, central office coordinators, or textbook publishers (Learning by Doing, 2006)

Summative & Formative Assessments Summative assessments are assessments of learning that measure many things infrequently. Provincial tests Means of promoting accountability and examining curriculum and programs Have students met the standards by a certain deadline?

Summative & Formative Assessments Formative assessments are assessments for learning that measure a few things frequently. Allow teachers to provide feedback to students in a timely manner, and determine who needs additional time or support for learning Specific and descriptive feedback to students motivates them and shows them how to improve Teachers can make adjustments to their instruction and assess their effectiveness

The Importance of Common, Formative Assessments One of the most powerful, high-leverage strategies for improving students learning available to school is the creation of frequent, common, high-quality formative assessments by teachers who are working collaboratively to help a group of students develop agreed-upon knowledge and skills (Learning by Doing, 2006)

Common Assessments Are more efficient than those created by individuals Are more equitable for students (common pacing, essential curriculum, same standards) Represent the most effective strategy for determining if the essential curriculum is being taught and learned Informs the practice of individual teachers Builds teams capacity to improve programs Help the team identify students who are experiencing difficulty and create a systematic program of intervention

Guidelines for Developing Common Assessments Set a specific minimum number of common assessments to be used in the course or during a term Show how each item on the assessment is linked to the competencies and evaluation criteria Specify proficiency standards Clarify how to administer the test consistently Assess a few key concepts frequently rather than many concepts occasionally

Resources for Teams Provincial assessment frameworks Data on past student performance a Examples of rubrics Research on assessment (Rick Stiggins, Doug Reeves) Websites on quality assessments (Assessment Training Institute) Assessments developed by team members

For Administrators Watch for curriculum overload- teams need to identify the essential learning Focus on proficiency rather than coverage Realize that common assessments will probably create anxiety with teachers- be aware of change process Use technology to support creation of assessments Board can create bank of assessments Create a shared understanding of the term common assessment Use assessments as a process rather than the end

References Dufour, R., Dufour, R., Eaker, R. & Many, T. (2006). Learning by doing. Bloomington, ID: Solution Tree. Assessment Training Institute: