VISTA 19 August October 2005 Park Hyatt, Melbourne Assessment & Reporting Parkdale Secondary College Presentation

Developmental Assessment and Rubrics at Parkdale Secondary College P Knight (Principal) R Taylor (SOSE KLA Coordinator)

Introduction Change in schools is built around persistence in building a PD culture that successfully changes the mindsets of staff. This change needs to be delivered at a suitable level and pace for all staff. It is imperative that the Principal has a strong belief in Instructional Leadership and develops a deep understanding of the learning theory that underpins VELS. The Principal can strategically lead the building of a culture which is about the teachers building their capacity through applying deep learning to the day to day challenges of the class room. In this particular case it is about imbedding the paradigm of assessment for learning and of learning.

The problem… Assessment of student competence is not carried out effectively for 3 main reasons: 1.The OUTCOMES of tasks are not specified clearly enough for students to have a grasp on exactly what they have to do (TASK) 2.The FRAMEWORK of reference for inferring what is meant by an A, B or C or Level 1, 2 or 3 is non- existent, not appropriate or unable to be understood by all stakeholders (RUBRIC & PROGRESS MAP) 3.The REPORTING needs to be carried out in a meaningful way for all stakeholders. (REPORTS)

How PSC went about solving the problem 4 staff on TPL for 50 days each, taken as 1 day a week. These staff had previously undertaken the Post Graduate Certificate in Assessment & Evaluation through Melbourne University. Build up a Professional Development module of 8-10 hours in length that takes staff through the components of developmental assessment. Work with a small group of volunteer staff (10-12) to assess the effectiveness of our module and teach them to build up a RELIABLE and VALID assessment task & rubric for a Unit of Work in their KLA. (Terms 3 & ) Work with Team Leaders in Term

The OUTCOMES of tasks are not specified clearly enough for students to have a grasp on exactly what they have to do 1.Work with staff in creating assessment tasks that actually assess what they should (VALIDITY) 2.Ensure that these tasks are aimed at higher order learning skills (use Blooms Taxonomy) and include a range of appropriate skills from the VELS domains 3.Ensure these tasks are administered by all staff within the KLA in the same way (RELIABILITY) 4.Ensure the assessment rubrics are meaningful to students and staff (pupils should be able to self assess with little or no difference to staff assessment) 5.Link these tasks to KLA Progress Maps to make the tasks meaningful and allow stakeholders to see what pupils need to do to improve.

The FRAMEWORK of reference for inferring what is meant by an A, B or C or Level 1, 2 or 3 is non-existent, not appropriate or unable to be understood by all stakeholders 1.KLAs need time to be able to create their Progress Maps – taken PSC 3 years to accomplish this 2.KLAs need time to establish what skills, understandings and knowledge are important within their subject – VELS auditVELS audit 3.This ‘Map of Progress’ needs to be understood by all stakeholders – given to pupils, in classrooms, used at Parent-teacher meetings, updated and revised.Map of Progress

The REPORTING needs to be carried out in a meaningful way for all stakeholders. 1.A well written rubric allows students to clearly see what they need to do to improve their performance. 2.Parents are able to target assistance when required 3.Using ‘can do’ statements focuses on what students are capable of, rather than what they cannot do. 4.A valid task allows comparison between staff

Did our approach work? “I'd have to say that I found the PD very useful. Rubrics were an assessment tool that I really wasn't using as effectively as I could and the PD made me look at the way I develop my tasks and take a different approach. Rubrics are becoming easier and quicker to write and students work is easier to mark.” – Michael “…no arguments with the kids about grades – they know exactly WHY they got an A, B or C” – Amber “I see now that without a suitable assessment task, even the best Unit of Work is useless” - David

Advice Use the keen, motivated staff to lead the revolution! Provide time for KLAs to meet and lead discussion around the key skills/understandings in their subjects – PSC staff have continually noted that this is really valuable Provide rewards to those staff leading the change – no extras or yard duty. Use existing Units of Work to include VELS. Continual, intensive PD required to improve staff understanding, not once a term. Small group approach more successful than whole staff PD Be persistent! School-wide change will NOT happen in a day, week, month or year See Knowledge Bank for our PD module (July 2006) CONTACT –