Determining Student Mastery: Achieving learning potential using assessment Drew Maerz Asheboro City Schools July 8, 2014

QUIZ TIME

What are you already doing? Find a partner who is not from your school system. Between the two of you, determine who has the newest automobile. Timed Pair Share The person with newest automobile has the privilege of listening first.

Timed Pair Share In your 30 seconds, talk about the following: What is common about your assessments? SWITCH How do you know when a student masters a standard or learning target? SWITCH How does your instruction change after an assessment? SWITCH

What are you already doing? Based on what your partner shared, find one area you and your partner have in common. Congratulate your partner for validating at least one of your ideas.

Goals for today Develop shared language for Common Assessments Review the 60 minute process (each class) Guidelines for designing common assessments Benefits of using common assessments Share tools for building common assessments

What is common in “common assessments”? Any assessment given by two or more instructors with the intention of collaboratively examining the results for:  Shared learning  Instructional planning for individual students, and/or  Curriculum, instruction, and/or assessment modifications

What are common assessments? Periodic or interim assessments collaboratively designed by grade- level or course teams of teachers Designed to measure student proficiency or mastery of a standard May be similar in design and format to district and state assessments Items should represent essential standards only A blend of item types, including selected-response (multiple choice, true/false, matching) and constructed-response (short- or extended) Administered to all students in grade level or course several times during a unit or grading period Student results analyzed in Data Teams to guide instructional planning and delivery (Ainsworth, L. & Viegut, D )

Why use common assessments? To provide regular and timely feedback regarding student attainment of the most critical standards, To foster consistent expectations and priorities within a grade level, course, and department regarding standards, instruction, and assessment. Most importantly, enable educators to diagnose student learning needs accurately and in time to make instructional modifications. (Ainsworth, 2007, pp. 95–96)

How do we assess?

60-minute process 15 Assessment Time 15 Teacher Evaluation 5 PLC Results 10 PLC defines change in instructi on 15 Design next assessment

Effective classroom assessment Assessment that: Provides evidence of student performance relative to content and performance standards Provides teachers and students with insight into student errors, misunderstanding or mastery Helps lead the teacher and/or team directly to action through instructional modification

Designing common assessments Identify power standards and the concepts and skills students need to know and be able to do. Determine “big ideas” that represent the integrated understanding students need to gain within your units of study Collaboratively design common assessments to assess mastery of the power standards or understanding of “big ideas” Include both selected-response and constructed-response items Review items to determine if student assessment results will provide evidence of proficiency regarding the Power Standards in focus; modify items as needed (Ainsworth, L. & Viegut, D. 2006)

Stand Up, Pair Up, Share Up What are the Power Standards in your curriculum? What is a “big idea” you could assess this fall in a unit you are planning to teach next?

Common Assessments Need to: –be aligned with learning targets, “big ideas” or power standards –align and flow with your instruction –be the appropriate length (brevity) –Provided with clear performance expectations (rubric) –be evaluated by the classroom teacher –have results discussed with the PLC or Team –result in changed or additional instructional strategies to ensure student success

Planning common assessments Content Standard What do we want students to know, understand and/or be able to do? {Power Standard, Key Skill, “Big Idea”} Purpose(s) for Assessment Why are we assessing and how will the assessment information be used?  Diagnose student strengths and needs  Provide feedback on student learning  Provide a basis for instructional placement  Inform and guide instruction  Communicate learning expectations  Other: Audience(s) for the Assessment For whom are the assessment results intended?  teacher/instructor  students  parents  grade level/department team  other faculty  Other: Adapted from McTighe and Ferrera (1997). Assessing Learning in the Classroom. Washing ton, D.C. National Education Foundation

Framework of Assessment Approaches and Methods How might we assess student learning in the classroom? Selected Response Items PERFORMANCE-BASED ASSESSMENTS Constructed Responses ProductsPerformancesProcess-Focused  Multiple-choice  True-false  Matching  Fill in the blank o Word(s) o Phrase(s)  Short Answer o Sentence(s) o Paragraphs  Label a diagram  “show your work”  representations o web o concept map o flow chart o graph/table o matrix o illustrations  essay  research paper  log/journal  lab report  story/play  poem  portfolio  art exhibit  science project  model  video/audiotape  spreadsheet  Presi/ PowerPoint  Create a question or word problem  Oral presentation  dance/movement  science lab demonstration  athletic skills performance  dramatic reading  enactment  debate  musical recital  keyboarding  oral questioning  observation of skill  interview  conference  process description  “think aloud”  learning log  “explain how” Adapted from McTighe and Ferrera (1997). Assessing Learning in the Classroom. Washing ton, D.C. National Education Foundation

Evaluation and Communication Methods Evaluation MethodsEvaluation Roles Communication/Feedba ck Methods Consequences of Evaluation How will we evaluate student knowledge, skills, and proficiency? Who will be involved in evaluating student responses, products or performances? How will we communicate assessment results to students? Parents? How will instruction be modified for students demonstrating and not demonstrating mastery or proficiency? RUBRIC: Performance Levels 1 – No evidence of proficiency or mastery 2 – Partial proficiency or mastery 3 – Demonstrated proficiency or mastery 4 – Exceeds proficiency or mastery Clear explanation for each level  Teacher will self- evaluate student performance for level of proficiency or mastery.  Results will be shared within the PLC to discuss instructional modifications. Proficiency or mastery demonstrated: Proficiency or mastery not demonstrated: Adapted from McTighe and Ferrera (1997). Assessing Learning in the Classroom. Washing ton, D.C. National Education Foundation

Practice with a power standard Recall the power standard or “big idea” discussed previously. How could you use this document to plan a common assessment? What method or approach might you use with this assessment?

ACS Common Assessment Plan Common Assessment Documentation form 1.What is the learning target – align with CCSS/ES Power Standards 2.Expectation for student performance? Provide clear numbers of performance levels 3.Share student performance 4.Analyze collective performance (what kept a 2 from being a 3?) 5.Plan instructional change for proficient and non-proficient students and the time for new instruction

Capturing PLC Common Assessment Work

Informed Instruction instructional change How you use the data to drive instructional change is the key to assuring student learning and the purpose of assessment.

Expanding to Benchmarks Benchmarks, by design, stop instruction Process should still have a focus on Power Standards and “Big Ideas” Should include all levels of Revised Blooms Taxonomy Should selected response and performance- based items Should be reviewed within PLC’s Should inform instruction and lead to differentiated learning

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