1. English II Benchmarks September 24, 2014
Sara Overby, Coordinating Teacher for Secondary Literacy

2. Send a Team of Teachers/AP

3. English Wiki wcpssenglish.pbworks.com

4. Benchmarks No Case 21 assessments at the high school level
English has been given permission to try using Performance Tasks
as the benchmark assessment

5. Performance Tasks as Benchmarks for English II
Authentic, deep, transferrable
Aligned to CCSS and NC EOC
Spiraled learning throughout semester
Integrated Reading, Writing, Language

6. Implementation Phase One- Fall Semester Department Chairs PLT Leaders
Align standards
Plan implementation
PLT Leaders
Plan for details
Train PLT
Conduct Rater Reliability Norming
Both Teacher Leaders
Gather data at school level
Interpret data
Assess effectiveness and efficiency at school level
Phase Two- Spring Semester
Department Chairs
Adjust implementation plan
PLT Leaders
Adjust details
Revise teaching and learning interrelationships
Conduct Rater Reliability Norming
Both Teacher Leaders
Report data to district level
Interpret data
Respond to district plans for next steps

7. 21st Century Testing Conditions
Selected Response
Technology Enhanced Response
Constructed Response
Performance Tasks

8. Project-based learning structures increased long-term retention and improved problem-solving ability while improving students’ attitudes towards learning Strobel 2009
...one study of PBL implementation showed a positive effect on low-ability students, who increased their use of critical-thinking skills including synthesizing, evaluating, predicting, and reflecting by 446% while high-ability students improved by 76% . (Horan, et al., 1996)
Students using the Co-nect program, which emphasizes project learning and technology use , improved test scores in all subject areas over a two-year period on the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System. The Co-nect schools outperformed control schools by 26 percent.
(Center for Research in Educational Policy, 1999)

9. Secondary students using PBL structures in American studies did as well on multiple-choice tests as students who received a traditional model of instruction-- and they showed a deeper understanding of content. Gallegher and Stepien ,1996
Geier, R., Blumenfeld, P. C., Marx, R. W., Krajcik, J. S., Fishman, B., Soloway, E., & Clay-Chambers, J. (2008). The authors concluded that when the curriculum is highly specified, developed, and aligned with professional development and administrative support, the use of standards-based, inquiry-science curriculum can lead to standardized achievement test gains in historically underserved urban students.

10. Determine the Standards
Common Core Standards for Reading, Writing, and Language
Sample Performance Task

11. Sample Performance Task Benchmark
What does it assess?
What are the parts?
Is it “enough”?
Should there be “more”?

12. Implementation
How much?
When?
How?
Feedback?
Data Reporting

13. Google Doc Collect the Will of the Group Make decisions Make plans

14. Focus: Writing
District Rubrics
Performance
Tasks

15. Study Island for Course Support

16. Using Study Island for Course Support

17. Course Test Builder

18. Study Island How-To Documents

19. Prior Approval for Texts
Clearly align the text to standards.
How will this text facilitate student learning better than other texts?
Make sure all texts, particularly those that may have potential challenges, are listed in the syllabus that goes home to parents.
Have a clear plan to address the sensitive material in the text.
Make sure the form is approved by your principal and on file in your school.