Designing Common Assessments A Presentation at the ASCD Annual Conference March 19, 2007

Richard Delmoro – Director of Secondary Education, Middletown (NY) City School District – Douglas Harris – Director, The Center for Curriculum Renewal –

Middletown City School District Focus on Standards and Student Performance

Overview of Middletown City School District

Changes in District Leadership

Systems Approach to Standards-Based Learning

Systems Planning – Role of CCR Development of Model for Learning – Focus on Instructional Practice Alignment of Scope and Sequence Developing a Comprehensive Assessment Plan Leadership Coaching and Development Building Data Systems and Analysis Protocols Support fo District Leadership and Board

Key Strategies Program Audits Alignment of Curriculum with Standards Research-based Instructional Strategies as Focus for Supervision and Evaluation Student Level Accountability –Aligned Classroom Assessment –Common Assessments –State Assessments

Purposes of Quarterly Assessments Align instruction with standards Define curriculum priorities and pacing Utilize common language related to standards-based learning Provide data for collaborative decision- making

Key Early Decisions Quarterly Assessment = 20% of grade Definition of assessing special needs populations Connectins to style, level of difficulty, scoring of state assessments

Development of Common Assessments Define Purpose Identify “Fair Game” Complete Balance of Representation Develop Assessment Blueprint Select or Develop Items Develop the Assessment Administer and Score Set Cut Scores

Review of Quarterly Assessments Review the Assessments You Have Been Given – Science 8 and Chemistry –What Do You Observe in Terms of the Items? –What Do You Observe in Terms of the Assessments’ Overall Design? –Having Reviewed the Assessments, What Questions Do You Have?

Item Analysis Sampling Frequency p-Values

Review the Item Analysis for the Chemistry Quarterly What Do You Notice About the Results? What Questions Do the Data Raise? Given These Results, What Next Steps Would You Consider?

Challenges of Implementation

Impact on District to Date Accountability Focus Alignment Pacing Data-Driven Decision-Making

Next Steps

Questions and Discussion

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