AEP: 2010 Spring Forum Building EdSteps A resource for teaching and assessment Writing Global Competence Creativity Problem Solving Analyzing Information

EdSteps is …  A Web-based resource that teachers, students, and parents can use to compare one student’s work to the work of many others.  An illustrated answer to the question: Where is my student now — and what should he or she do to improve?

EdSteps is … Groundbreaking An online resource for teaching and assessment in areas that are typically difficult and costly to assess:  Writing  Global Competence  Creativity  Problem Solving  Analyzing Information

EdSteps is … Grassroots Teachers, students, and parents submit work samples from:  Kindergarten through high school  College and graduate school  Individuals in the workplace  Any state, any country

EdSteps is … Guidance Student work is ranked on a continuum of progress — from emerging to accomplished work — so that it is clear what a student should do to improve.

You be the judge  Read two examples of student writing.  Both of these pieces of writing have strengths and weaknesses. Choose which of the two examples is more effective.  Think about the aspects of the piece you chose that make it more effective.

Creating a continuum of student work  Paired comparisons: Reviewers look at two pieces of student work and decide which is more effective.  Ranking: Thousands of such comparisons will be used to rank work samples and create a continuum — a gradual progression — from emerging to accomplished work.  More than a score: The continuum provides a clear picture — through work samples — of how a student can do better.

Creating a continuum of student work  Select 1,000 representative samples from a collection of 5,000 samples.  1,000 samples of student work will generate 125,000 pairs of work.  Each pair will be judged by at least 100 reviewers.  The work is then ranked on a numerical scale from emerging work to accomplished work.

More than a score EdSteps offers:  Context for each work sample. Visitors will see detail about each student work sample, including the grade level of the student who created the work. (Work samples will not include the author’s name or school.)  Reflections on the work by educators and visitors.  Options for searching.

Interim assessment  How is EdSteps different from most standardized assessments?  How might educators use EdSteps to inform their practice?

Short answers  EdSteps assesses skills in areas not often assessed by standardized tests, e.g., Writing, Global Competence, Problem Solving.  EdSteps provides more context than many standardized tests by comparing student work.  Educators can use EdSteps:  to compare their students’ work to that of other students  as the foundation for professional development centered on student work  as a resource to communicate with parents where students are on a continuum in a given skill area

Building EdSteps: Submit student work  EdSteps invites submission of work in two areas in spring 2010:  Writing  Global Competence  This is not a contest for the “best” work. Submissions are needed that illustrate work at all levels of achievement and from all grade levels.  Teachers, parents, and students can submit work samples online.  Submission of work in the other areas will follow.

EdSteps: First Skill Areas  Writing: Writing in any form, genre or media  Global Competence: The knowledge, skills, and disposition to understand and act creatively and innovatively on issues of global significance, such as environmental sustainability, human rights, and economic development

Building EdSteps: Review student work  Once thousands of work samples have been collected, teachers and other adults can review student work and serve as reviewers for paired comparisons.  A continuum for each area will be built based on the rankings from hundreds of reviewers.

EdSteps Partners  Council of Chief State School Officers  New York Times Knowledge Network and Epsilen  School districts and state departments of education  Nonprofit organizations  Businesses  Supported with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Connection to the Arts?  How could this potentially connect to the work in the arts?  The Arts SCASS  Proposal for Arts EdSteps– to tie into national arts expectations