A Charge to States: My “Take-Home Message” Daniel J. Wiener Administrator of Inclusive Assessment University of Maryland – Alternate Assessment Conference October 11-12, 2007

Some Truths About Alternate Assessment 2  Alternate assessments, particularly portfolios, generally do not measure all the standards measured on a standard test  So, it will be important for teachers to know:  What the state wants taught, and  Whether the state’s alternate assessment will measure what has actually been taught University of Maryland – Alternate Assessment Conference October 11-12, 2007

Do Alternate Assessments Improve Instruction? 3 University of Maryland – Alternate Assessment Conference October 11-12, 2007  Alternate assessments, by themselves, do not necessarily improve student learning  Alternate assessments won’t result in improvements in teaching and learning unless:  Teachers know what standards to teach, and what skills and knowledge will be assessed  Teachers need to know how to move students from where they are now toward grade-level achievement

If Instructional Improvement Matters… 4 University of Maryland – Alternate Assessment Conference October 11-12, 2007  Alternate assessments won’t result in improvements in teaching and learning unless mechanisms are intentionally built into the system to do that.

Implications for States 5  Develop and provide resources to schools  Teachers need to know what standards to teach, how to teach them, and what will be assessed  Provide a guide to the standards, or content will be hit-or-miss  Teach data collection skills to increase the pace of instruction  Provide intensive, ongoing professional development on instruction, curriculum, and assessment  Promote awareness of continuous improvements  Acknowledge 25-30% turnover of teachers University of Maryland – Alternate Assessment Conference October 11-12, 2007

Implications for States (continued) 6  Make alternate assessment tasks and/or items available to teachers for practice and review  Make opportunities available for teachers to:  Collaborate  Assist their colleagues--share strategies for instruction/assessment  Assist in developing instructional materials  Score the alternate assessments, if possible  Involve teachers in improving the system  Do more than simply taking the patient’s temperature—Use the alternate assessment as a lever to improve student learning! University of Maryland – Alternate Assessment Conference October 11-12, 2007