1. Iowa Collaborative Assessment Modules (ICAM) Heartland Area Education Agency

2. Purpose of ICAM Intended Use: Developed in order to provide Iowa schools an affordable assessment option for use as a “multiple measure.” Primary Purpose: To provide information that can be used to evaluate the progress of groups of children. ICAM were not designed to evaluate individual student progress nor were they designed to provide information that directly supports instructional decision making.

3. Iowa Based AEA idea -- developed in conjunction with DE  Standards from Iowa districts  Aligned test items written by Iowa teachers  Items field tested in Iowa  Assessment modules piloted in Iowa  Administered in Iowa for Iowa students and teachers

4. Approach The Iowa Assessments are norm-referenced tests. The ICAM modules are standards-based … linked to the standards and benchmarks most likely found in Iowa school districts.

5. Reading Modules Reading (4, 8 and 11) –Comprehending Literature –Comprehending Academic Texts –Comprehending Functional Texts –Literary Elements and Techniques (8th and 11th only)

6. Mathematics Modules Mathematics (4, 8 and 11) –Problem Solving Process and Strategies –Number Concepts and Operations –Measurement –Geometry –Data Analysis, Statistics and Probability –Patterns, Functions and Algebra –Solving Work-Related Math Problems

7. Iowa educators drafted test questions & rubrics based on draft content specifications Development: A Collaborative Process LEAs submitted standards and benchmarks for review Draft of content specifications was prepared by AEAs and reviewed by LEAs Oct 1999 Jan 2000 Feb & May 2000 Test questions were reviewed and edited Summer 2000

8. Assessment modules were tried out on a large scale (field test) Test questions were tried out on a small scale (pilot test) Field test responses were scored Pilot test responses were scored Development: A Collaborative Process Oct 2000 Nov 2000 Test questions & rubrics were revised and assessment modules were drafted Jan 2001 Apr-May 2001 June 2001

9. Districts administered assessment module(s) Over 110 Area 11 educators score student responses to open-ended items in 14,425 individual student assessments Twenty-four Heartland districts selected modules to address gaps in their assessment system Development & Implementation Assessment modules were finalizedFall 2001 Dec 2001 Mar-Apr 2002 June 2002

10. Districts administered assessment module(s) Over 95 educators score student responses to open-ended items in 12,232 modules Twenty-five Heartland districts selected modules to fill out their assessment system Year 2 Implementation ICAM results used in LEA Annual Progress Reports Fall 2002 Dec 2002 Mar-Apr 2003 June 2003

11. Districts administer assessment module(s) Educators score student responses to open-ended items in approximately 3500-6000 modules Heartland districts select modules to complement their assessment system Years 3 – 13 Implementation ICAM results used in LEA Annual Progress Reports Summer-Fall Nov - Dec Mar - Apr June

12. Scoring Sessions Participation benefits for educators:  Learn reliable processes for scoring short answer and constructive response assessment items.  Understand application of interrater reliability, validity checks and use of rubrics for scoring short answer and constructive response assessment items.  Staff Development Credit  Graduate Credit

13. Comments from Previous Scoring Sessions Interest in participating in future scoring sessions: 53%Would like to take a leadership role 77%Would like to score again Positively influenced by scoring session: 67% Learning about the process of developing assessments and rubrics 85% Learning about the process of scoring responses to constructed-response items

14. Comments from Previous Scoring Sessions 76% Developing a better understanding about what students can and cannot do … [scoring process] helps teachers understand that we need to spend more time going in-depth about how to demonstrate knowledge and understanding as opposed to just facts and skills. Children need to be shown how to extract and use details from the story to support their ideas.

15. Comments from Previous Scoring Sessions 45% Changing my expectations for what students should be able to do My students’ performance on tasks is similar to all others—gave me an opportunity to see this. What I give my students to do is valuable even if meets with resistance from them. 15% Other positive outcomes, e.g., Reinforced my beliefs that this is truly a collaborative effort and a cross-section of perspectives and backgrounds are important in order to fine-tune these assessment tools.

16. ICAM Website http://www.heartlandaea.org/instructional-services/cia/assessment/icam/