1. Why Performance Assessments Matter
June 9, 2016

2. Agenda Connections and Agenda Review
Introduction to Quality Performance Assessments
Assessment Validation Session
Reflections
Importance of looking at teacher work: Teachers are resources for one another to help identify “hidden” strengths and “blindspots” in instructional practice
Importance of looking at student work: Creating a common understanding of student performance ensures that students in the same grade level are assessed similarly across classrooms
Importance of structured conversations: We use protocols to guide this work. We will review them with you prior to looking at teacher and student work.

3. Connections 411: Hope for this Session Name Subject(s) Taught
Years in Education (Here & Elsewhere)
Fun/Interesting Fact about Yourself
Hope for this Session

4. Center for Collaborative Education
Our Vision
Equity and data are embedded in all conversations and practices,
Teaching and learning are purposeful, challenging, and have value beyond school,
Assessment demonstrates the competence of students in multiple ways, and
Collaborative practices improve teaching and learning.
Established in 1994 to promote innovative schools and increase justice and opportunity for all learners
Providing technical assistance and professional development focused on effective and equitable schools
Network of approximately 50 districts, mostly urban, across a range of programs

5. Goals for Today’s Session
Build a common understanding of cognitively rigorous performance assessments
Practice substantive, intellectual discourse focused on improving instruction
Introduce processes and structures that support the creation and implementation of cognitively rigorous performance assessments at schools

6. Norms Active listening Check your assumptions Trust the process
Respect all voices
Honor our learning and the work of the teacher and the student
Start and end on time

7. Introduction to Quality Performance Assessments

8. Connections What is the most effective assessment you’ve ever given?
How do you know?

9. Foundations for the Work
College and Career Readiness
Common Core
21st Century Skills
Critical Abilities
Quality Performance Assessments: Technical Quality
Depth of Knowledge
Backwards Design/Understanding by Design

10. Critical Abilities from Common Core State Standards and NGSS
Research
Analysis of Information
Experimentation and Evaluation
Communication in Many Forms
Use of Technology
Interpersonal Interaction and Collaboration
Modeling, Design, and Problem Solving
Next generation science standards
© Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity (SCALE) 2013

11. Career Readiness Interpersonal skills Intrapersonal skills
Communication
Thinking skills
Ability to access, understand and apply content knowledge appropriately
Partnership for 21st Century Skills

12. English Language Arts: Literacy Across ALL Content Areas
The CCSS Shifts Build Toward College and Career Readiness for All Students
English Language Arts:
Literacy Across ALL Content Areas

13. The CCSS Shifts Build Toward College and Career Readiness for All Students
Math Standards AND Practices
Learn more about fewer, key concepts
Use math in real world applications
Really know it, Really do it
Math practices – where is it?

14. Why Performance Assessment Matters?
Conley, D.T., & Darling-Hammond, L. (2013). Creating systems of assessment for deeper learning. Stanford, CA: Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education

15. Understanding By Design
Stage 1: Desired Results
Stage 2: Assessment Evidence
Stage 3: Learning Plan

16. Transfer Involves:
Applying prior learning to a novel and increasingly new and unfamiliar-looking task, in increasingly challenging context and situation (in terms of purpose, audience, dilemmas, etc.). This should occur in the learning (practice) context and not just in assessment (game) situations.

17. Bloom Webb Bloom and Webb
What type of thinking (verbs) is needed to complete a task?
Bloom
How deeply do you have to understand the content to successfully interact with it?
Complexity, not Difficulty
Webb
In order to
[adapted from K. Hess]

18. Depth of Knowledge – Working Definition
Categorizes tasks according to the complexity of thinking required to successfully complete them.
DOK 1
DOK 2
DOK 3
DOK 4
Recall and Reproduction
Basic Application
Strategic Thinking
Extended Thinking
One answer
More than one answer

19. The Capital of Rhode Island at Four DOKs
“True/False: Westerly is the Capital of Rhode Island” or “What city is the Capital of Rhode Island?” (DOK 1)
In terms of relative and absolute location, where is the Capital of Rhode Island? (DOK 2)
Why is Providence the Capital of Rhode Island? (DOK 3)
What if Newport was the Capital of Rhode Island? (DOK 4)

20. Validity and Reliability
An assessment measures what it intends to assess.
An assessment delivers consistent results.
In order to get a true measurement of student progress, the New Hampshire Department of Education believes in a balanced system of assessment that is multiple and varied. Performance Assessments are an important indicator of student achievement and readiness. We make sure these assessments are valid and reliable. In order for an assessment to be valid, the assessment must assess what it intends to assess.
In order for a task to have validity, it must also be reliable. This means that if the task will be administered fairly. Meaning that if it is administered under different conditions (to different students, by different teachers, in different settings), it will deliver consistent results. In baseball, a strike should be so called regardless of the umpire, the batter, the location of the field, or the time of day. In the classroom, a competent score should be so called regardless of the teacher, the student, the city, or the time of year.
Notice though, that while the strike zone is considered universally consistent, it actually changes for each batter depending on their proportions. That mixture of consistency and flexibility is a great metaphor for how we should be approaching our students.

21. Validation

22. Validation Process
How many people have a process for validating lesson plans, unit plans, or assessments?
Turn and Talk:
What are the strengths that your school has in terms of sharing, critiquing and improving work?
What is a challenge that your school has in terms of sharing, critiquing and improving work?

23. Assessment Validation Checklist
Dimensions for Review
Alignment
Clarity and Focus
Student Engagement
Criteria and Levels
Fairness
Adheres to Principles of Universal Design
Student Work Analysis
Purpose: To ensure our internal assessments have technical quality. When we share our assessments with our colleagues we are more likely to uncover our blind spots and assumptions.

24. Assessment Validation Protocol
Presentation: 1-2 minutes
Examination: 6-8 minutes
Clarifying Questions: 2-5 minutes
Validation Guide: minutes
Feedback and reflection: 5-8 minutes
Tools 1 & 3

25. Debrief
What have you thought deeply about today?

26. Thank You!
Thanks so much. I hope this has been helpful. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact any member of the PACE or QPA teams?