1 Principals’ Student Achievement Meeting April 15, 2009 Leadership for Assessment Literacy From Paper to Practice

2 Group Norms Respect the speaker’s and each other’s ideas and opinions. Follow the agenda. Use cell phone etiquette. Be on time so that we start and finish on time. Provide time to process information and learning. Participate and listen actively. Be aware of your audience. Be here now!

3 EDAD 790: Leadership for School Improvement II If taking this for credit, respond to this prompt by April 29:   Prompt due 4/29: Discuss the key elements of your plan to provide leadership that promotes, supports, and sustains assessment literacy. Double check the syllabus for completion of all assignments. Late work will not be accepted beyond May 1. School Improvement Logs of improvement activities are to be updated and submitted by April 24. This applies to everyone taking these sessions for credit and to all principals (one log per school team). Please note that the dates above have been extended by one week.

4 Opening Agenda Overview Evaluation of Principals’ Student Achievement Meetings Trust-building behavior: Talk Straight This means to tell the truth and leave the right impression. Talking straight is tempered with tact, respect, and sensitivity.  In conversation, examine your talk to make sure it’s straight and tactful.  Get to your point quickly.

5 Getting Started As you consider your school’s progress regarding formative assessment this year, which musical instrument best symbolizes your progress and why?

5 min minutes

7 Anchor Chart: Assessment Literacy Assessment literacy can be defined as the knowledge about how to: Assess what students know and can do, Interpret the results from those assessments, and Apply those results to improve student learning and program effectiveness. Formative Assessment: Classroom activity that informs teachers about their students’ learning and their own teaching. Please compare and contrast formative assessments and summative assessments.

8 Formative Assessment (Assessment for Learning) Summative Assessment (Assessment of Learning) Purposes Promote increases in achievement Support ongoing student growth Key question: What do students understand? Document achievement or mastery Measure achievement status at a point in time for purposes of reporting or accountability Key question: Do students understand? Informs Students about themselves Teachers about their students’ learning and their own teaching Others about students Timing A process during learningAn event after learning Typical Uses Students actively manage and adjust their own learning Teachers adjust instruction and learning strategies to student needs Parents see progress over time Certify student competence Sort students according to achievement Make promotion and graduation decisions Assign grades Examples Non-graded quiz that informs both the teacher and students who needs to work on what; students identify strengths and needs using a scoring guide; student feedback used to set goals; feedback to students Achievement test; final exams; placement tests; end-of-unit exam

7 min minutes 56

10 Leadership Leadership matters—it is second only to teaching among school- related factors that impact student learning. Leithwood, Louis, Anderson, & Wahlstrom (2004)

11  Core Successful Leadership Practices: Leadership impacts student achievement by: Setting directions Developing people Redesigning the organization Leithwood, Louis, Anderson, & Wahlstrom (2004) Leadership: An Intentional Approach for Change and Improvement

12 Leadership: An Intentional Approach for Change and Improvement  Simultaneous Loose-Tight Leadership: This leadership approach fosters autonomy and creativity (loose) within a systematic framework that stipulates clear, non-discretionary priorities and parameters (tight). This concept means that leaders hold tight while at the same time provide for individual autonomy within that area.

13 Leadership Applications What are some ways you’ve been mindful of:  Core successful leadership practices and  Simultaneous loose-tight leadership to advance formative assessments at your school? What has been the impact of this leadership? Reflection -♦- Add to Anchor Chart Self -♦- Team -♦- Collective

20 min minutes

15 Instructional Leadership Frayer Model: Creates a visual reference for concepts Provides for connections, critical thinking, and deeper understanding of a concept Could be used as a formative assessment Will be collected Consider the concept of instructional leadership. Using the model, construct your definitions, characteristics, examples, and non-examples. Read What Is Instructional Leadership? Add to your conceptual understanding using the Frayer Model. Add to your Anchor Chart.

15 min minutes

15 min Break Time – 15 minutes

18 Formative Assessment: Changing Classroom Practice Our coach How is this method of coaching like traditional professional development? How effective is it? Read Formative Assessment: Changing Classroom Practice

19 Formative Assessment: Changing Classroom Practice The Fishbowl: Discussion Questions: How might the five non-negotiable components of effective formative assessment (Wiliam, 2008) connect with simultaneous loose-tight leadership theory and the three core successful leadership practices? If we strive to improve classroom instruction, what approaches, models, environments, and structures could we use? What role does the principal/leader play in these processes? Add to your Anchor Chart.

25 min minutes

21 Leadership for Assessment Literacy Simultaneous Loose-Tight Leadership Successful Leadership Practices Distributed Leadership Instructional Leadership

22 Future Potential Structure of Principals’ Student Achievement Meetings Stay the course with providing leadership to promote, support, and sustain assessment literacy. Possible Format:  How’s It Going? A summary of what has been accomplished in the previous month with support from other group members.  New Learning about Formative Assessment  Personal Action Planning: Time to think and plan for the upcoming month. Involvement and Leadership from principals/leaders

23 Closing Assessment of Meeting Outcomes Evaluation Leadership Why we’re in this! ure=related ure=related