1. Adolescent Literacy – Professional Development
Module 3: Assessment
Adolescent Literacy – Professional Development
Unit 1, Session 1

2. Session 1 Questions & Objectives
Module 3 Key Questions
What is assessment?
Why should we assess?
What should we assess?
Session 1 Objective
Participants will understand that assessment tools are one part of an overall assessment process designed to ensure that all students gain proficiency.

3. Opening Activity Opening Activity
Think
Take a few moments to reflect on the word “assessment.” What comes to mind?
Talk
Turn to your neighbor and share your thoughts on assessment. Report back to the group.
Write
Complete the survey about the types of assessments that are currently in use in your school. Highlight or circle all the assessments you use with your students.
Opening Activity
Participants will engage in a Think, Talk, Write protocol about associations with the term “assessment,” and then complete the survey. The purpose of this activity is to encourage participants to consider all the kinds of assessment we use. The Talk part of this activity captures what participants have in mind when we use the word “assessment.” The Write part of this activity, a checklist of assessments that is included in the Participant’s Resource Packet, raises awareness of the many types of assessment students experience in school. It encourages participants to begin expanding their thinking about assessment beyond tests, quizzes, projects, etc.

4. What is Assessment?
Assessment is a tool and a process that leads us to make a decision.
Assessment tools are vehicles we use to gather data (e.g., observation, test, MCAS).
The assessment process refers to the decisions we make and actions we take as we prepare and administer tools, and interpret and communicate data.
Using this and the following slides, distinguish between assessment tools (e.g., observations, student conferences, student assignments, tests, essays, projects, standardized interim assessments, MCAS, PSAT, etc.) and the assessment process. The goal of this section is to encourage participants to think about assessment as a process rather than a product used to determine a grade or percentile rank.
Note that assessment is an umbrella term that covers literacy assessment, the focus of this module. Literacy assessment is, itself, an umbrella term within the larger assessment umbrella. It encompasses a variety of assessment tools and activities designed to gauge skills and knowledge related to receptive and expressive language (listening, speaking, reading, and writing).

5. The Assessment Process
Define Purpose
What do I want to know? Why do I want to know it?
Design/Choose
What tool will provide the data I need to make my decision/guide my action?
Administer
Collect the data.
Assess
Interpret/appraise the
data gathered.
Decide/Act
Decide/take action suggested by the appraisal.
Communicate
Share the data and interpretation/appraisal with students and other important stakeholders.

6. Assessment Purposes and Tools
Knowledge/skill level prior to instruction
Achievement at the end of an instructional period
Preferences for how to learn and demonstrate learning
Progress during instruction
Activity: Assessment Purposes and Tools
This chart contains four types of assessment widely used in schools.
As a group, discuss the purposes for assessment in each category—What type of information do we want from it? What do we plan to do with the information?
2. Ask participants to cite examples of each type of assessment listed on the slide. Participants might refer to the survey they completed for ideas. Here are some examples:
Knowledge/skill level prior to instruction: surveys, pre-tests, screenings, brainstorms
Achievement at the end of an instructional period: tests, essays, projects, presentations, quizzes
Preferences for how to learn and demonstrate learning: inventories for learning and thinking styles, interviews/reflections with students, observations and note taking on student performance during different tasks and in different settings
Progress during instruction: curriculum-based measurement, observations, Q & A, assignments that do not count toward a grade, practice tests
In order to categorize the examples visually, consider putting up one wall-sized Post-it for each category listed here, and have participants write examples on each.
3. Discuss which types of assessment activities are used most frequently, and talk about the pros and cons of each category with respect to how they inform classroom instruction.

7. New Thinking Reframes Schools’ Responsibility to Students
Old Way of Thinking
Some students succeed; others fail.
New Way of Thinking
All students meet pre-specified academic achievement standards.
Stiggins, R. (April 2008). Assessment manifesto: A call for the development of balanced assessment systems. Portland, OR: ETS Assessment Training Institute, p. 2.
The focus of the next several slides is to broaden participants’ thinking about schools’ responsibilities to students (as reflected in NCLB) and the different role that assessment plays in the new way of thinking. The goal is for participants to consider assessment in broader terms than achievement assessments (summative assessments) in order to include assessments that enhance teaching and learning while it is happening (formative assessment). The slides about effectiveness, efficiency, and equity all speak to this broader thinking about formative assessment, which will be addressed in further detail in Session 2.

8. Assessment Enhances Effectiveness
We want to teach effectively so that our students learn effectively.
Effective teaching and learning is reflected in students’ academic achievement.
Assessment provides us with data we can use to measure effectiveness both during and at the conclusion of an instructional period.
Two interesting comments:
Teachers know that “accountability is measured by a single high-stakes test on a single day, but it is accomplished by high-quality assessment that is conducted regularly throughout the school year. Adequate yearly progress is indicated by a test score, but it is achieved through expert assessment and teaching across the school year” (Afflerbach, 2008).
Some educators feel that the “adolescent literacy crisis” can be resolved simply by having adolescents read more books. This idea is based on the misconception that the source of the problem is “illiteracy.” The truth is that adolescents—even those who have already “learned how to read”—need systematic support to learn how to “read to learn” across a wide variety of contexts and content (Time to Act, 2010, p. 10).

9. Assessment Ensures Efficiency
Thoughtful assessment design and analysis, along with data-driven decisions, ensure that we use our time with students efficiently.
We can target instruction and avoid “re- inventing the wheel” by teaching students at too basic or too advanced a level to allow them to make effective progress.

10. Assessment Enhances Equity
A comprehensive and balanced assessment program guides teachers and schools toward meeting the goal to educate all students and prepare them for the 21st century global economy.
Assessments “clarify expectations and measure progress toward meeting them.”
If we are to change our thinking from assuming that there will inevitably be groups of students who will do poorly on or fail assessments that measure achievement of set standards, we must institute a thoughtfully-designed and comprehensive assessment program that includes early identification of students who are likely to perform poorly, instruction that addresses the causes of their difficulties, and consistent assessment of their progress toward mastery of the standards to be assessed on summative achievement tests (Pinkus, 2009, p. 1).

11. Assessment Vocabulary 1
Standards
State
School/District
Classroom
These slides aim to establish a shared assessment vocabulary. These six terms provide some foundation for discussing assessment from differing points of view.
The first term (standards) is provided simply for clarification. A standard is a reference point used for evaluation. The word is used commonly in education, but it can mean different things at different times, and can be measured using different types of assessments. State standards are reflected in the Massachusetts Frameworks, and common core standards ( Additionally, some schools and districts have specific standards and graduation requirements they measure with their own assessments, and departmental and class standards can be measured as well.

12. Assessment Vocabulary 2
Formative Assessment
Measures progress during learning
Aimed at guiding instruction to ensure standards will be met
Summative Assessment
Measures achievement after learning
Aimed at reporting out results of whether or not standards were met
The second words (summative and formative) are among the most important for creating awareness of issues in assessment. State-mandated achievement tests, such as MCAS, are summative assessments designed for school accountability. While such tests play an important role in ensuring that schools are serving students’ needs, they have also been the topic of much discussion regarding their usefulness in guiding classroom instruction that bridges gaps in knowledge and/or skills, and in guiding the development of 21st century skills. Current thinking about effective assessment practices asks educators to invest in professional development and adopt policies that support the responsible use of formative assessment.

13. Assessment Vocabulary 3
Criterion-Referenced
Measures a student’s achievement in relation to a set standard
Norm-Referenced
Measures a student’s achievement in relation to other students’ performance on the same assessment
The next words (criterion-referenced and norm-referenced) introduce important concepts for participants to understand, particularly at the high school level where grades and ranking continue to take precedence over standards-based achievement. Most high school content-area teachers are constantly juggling the two, aiming to teach their students to master the skills and knowledge that meet or exceed proficiency standards, while at the same time resisting the accusation of grade inflation if all their students achieve the standards and earn A’s. This topic is worth a separate discussion. In a classroom that follows a criterion-referenced/standards-based model designed around formative assessment, data-based instructional decision making, and high-quality instruction, the logical outcome may be that most students earn high grades. This model—the one implicit in all the literature on effective assessment practices—conflicts with the norm-referenced model which distributes points along a normal curve, with a certain percentage of students earning scores at the very high end, others at the very low end, and most in the middle.

14. Assessment Vocabulary 4
Validity
A valid assessment measures what it is supposed to measure
Reliability
On a reliable assessment, the same or similar scores will be evidenced regardless of when the assessment occurs or who does the scoring
The final terms (validity and reliability) are important for participants to be thinking about as they design their own classroom assessments. Formal assessments go through extensive vetting regarding their validity and reliability; however, teachers need to keep these terms in their minds as they design assessment items and determine scoring procedures. Simply creating a rubric does not ensure validity and reliability.

15. Activity
“College and Work Readiness as a Goal of High Schools: The Role of Standards, Assessments, and Accountability”
Text Rendering Experience
Who is the audience for this article?
What types of assessment does the article address?
How can the ideas in this article inform decisions we make about how to use assessment in the classroom?
Activity: Thinking about the Reading
After reading, “College and Work Readiness as a Goal of High Schools: The Role of Standards, Assessments, and Accountability,” have participants use the Text Rendering Experience ( as a structure to discuss and reflect. Consider following up at the end of the activity with the following questions:
Who is the audience for this article?
What types of assessment does the article address?
How can the ideas in this article inform the decisions we make about how to use assessment in the classroom?

16. What Should We Assess? Achievement of stated standards
Specific areas of difficulty that impede learning progress
Learning progress toward skills application and content knowledge that lead to standards mastery
Most assessment should focus on the outermost ring; however, currently, most assessment focuses on the center ring.
These last slides provide a framework for thinking about participants’ role as assessors in educating students. These are questions that may be revisited in different ways throughout the module, and they ask implicitly that participants bear in mind the idea that assessment is a dynamic process, not an end in itself, and that it requires educators’ active and focused thinking about not only the standards that are to be achieved, but also the best ways to identify, reach, and teach students who may be at risk for insufficient progress.

17. Questions to Consider
A good assessment provides data that answers a question.
If we’re “assessing” assessment, we must ask many questions.
The following five questions can be used to guide our foundational thinking about the assessment process. Each question requires some form of assessment for an answer.

18. Question 1 What do our students need to know and be able to do?
Identify the goals and standards for proficiency in the context (state, district, school, class)
Communicate the goals and standards clearly to all stakeholders (administrators and teachers; students and parents)
To answer the question on this slide, consider looking at proposed national standards, state frameworks, and organizations associated with various disciplines (e.g., National Council of Teachers of Mathematics). Refer to Module 2 of this program for more information on disciplinary standards and activities.
Assessment of proficiency standards in a class is very important—are the standards aligned with the school, district, and/or state standards? Are they clearly articulated as measurable goals?

19. Question 2 What do our students know and know how to do now?
Assess the students’ current knowledge and skills relative to proficiency standards
Examples of assessments include:
School-wide screening of reading skills
Past performances on MCAS
Teacher reports, student self-reporting
Curriculum-based measurement in the classroom—vocabulary, writing, reading, mathematics

20. Question 3 How do our students learn best?
Assess how students’ learning preferences contribute to or impede effective progress in our classes
The input of information/ideas
The processing of information/ideas
The output/demonstration of learning
Observations, surveys, inventories, and analysis of work processes and products may be used to assess sensory input preferences, thinking styles, and strengths and needs regarding venues for demonstrating learning.

21. Question 4 How do we bridge the gaps?
Determine the curricular and instructional approaches that will build the essential knowledge and/or skills
Procure the resources needed to implement the approaches
The thoughtful evaluation that took place to help us answer questions 1–3 will lead participants to developing strategies to bridge gaps in their students’ knowledge and skills. This is where their knowledge about and practice in designing curriculum and instruction, effective delivery methods, and monitoring student performance for effective progress will be essential.

22. Question 5 How do we measure effectiveness?
Plan how to track students’ progress toward the goals
Effective progress toward standards achievement will be different for each student depending upon how wide the gap was between “knows/can do now” and “needs to know/do”
Assess our teaching and student learning effectiveness, and make needed instructional changes
Curriculum-based measurement is one very promising approach to measuring progress. See Deno, S. (2003). Developments in Curriculum-Based Measurement. Journal of Special Education, 37(3), 184–192 at for an overview.

23. Activity “The Vision: Literacy for All”
As a group, identify examples of assessments used at the ideal school
Categorize these examples on the Riverside High School Handout
In what way does this reading encourage us to broaden our views of assessment and its purposes?
This activity asks participants to examine the “ideal high school” as presented in the reading from Time to Act, “The Vision: Literacy for All.”
Working in a group, participants should identify examples of assessments used at the ideal school, and then categorize those examples on the Riverside High School Handout.
These directions appear on the handout:
Review the section on Riverside High School in the reading “The Vision: Literacy for All.”
As a group, identify examples of assessments used at the ideal school and write these in the categories below. Discuss:
How does the assessment focus in this reading differ from the focus in the other reading?
In what ways does this reading encourage us to broaden our views of assessment and its purposes?
Note:
The categories along the top row ask participants to consider assessment practices (in the broadest terms) through the perspective of the five questions presented in Session 1.
The categories along the first column ask participants to consider assessments targeted at eliciting data at the programmatic level (schools), at the professional development level (teachers), and at the instructional level (teachers and students).

24. Activity
Read the thinking styles overview and take the sample learning styles assessment.
Reflect on your experience as a learner.
Discuss how data from this type of assessment could enhance your teaching.
Activity: Thinking About Learning and Thinking Styles
Note: This activity is optional, but we recommend it. The two pieces described here are available for use by individuals only; therefore, they cannot be part of a photocopied handout. In order to do this activity, participants will have had to access and print both pieces from the internet prior to this session.
Each of us has preferences for how we take in and process information. Our preferences influence how we teach as well. This is a sample of an assessment that addresses Question 3: “How do our students learn best?” For participants, it is useful to consider how individual preferences influence their own teaching styles. These types of assessments are also very important for students to take in order to gain a clearer understanding of their own strengths and preferences related to learning and performance. Please tell participants that there is an online inventory for thinking styles available at .
Participants should have with them the overview of Thinking Styles (Sternberg, 2007) and the handout on learning styles (Gardner, 1983). Ask them to read over the summaries of thinking styles and take the learning styles self-assessment. Afterward, participants should pair up with a partner and discuss how data from this type of assessment could enhance their teaching. Bring the whole group together at the end to share any insights gained from the activity.

25. For Next Time
Bring 2–3 examples of assessments you use in your classes.
Choose one or more:
Review the five questions and reflect on which questions occupy most of your focus. For a week or so, experiment with shifting your thinking to the other questions, and come to the next session prepared to share whether and how this activity reflected on the teaching and learning in your classroom.
Survey students’ learning preferences.
Take the online thinking styles and/or learning styles inventory.