1. Assessment Practices That Lead to Student Learning Core Academy, Summer 2012

2. Purposes of Assessment Formative - a process used by teachers and students during instruction that provides feedback to adjust ongoing teaching and learning to improve students’ achievement of intended instructional outcomes. 2 Interim – assessments given on a short cycle (every few weeks to months) to identify aspects of instructional programs that are being successful as well as those in need of improvement. 1 Summative – Accomplished on a large scale. Purpose is to determine how many students are mastering standards to evaluate the overall institutional impact. 1 1 Rick Stiggins, Assessment Manifesto, ETS Assessment Training Institute, April 2008 2 W. James Popham, Transformative Assessment, ASCD, 2008, p. 5

3. Balanced Assessment - Formative The Classroom Level of Assessment Use At the classroom level, the context should be one in which achievement standards have been mapped in learning progressions both within and across grade levels over time. If assessment is to support learning as students ascend the progressions, then, it must serve as follows: Decision to be made: What comes next in the learning? Made by: Students, teachers, and sometimes parents Information needed: Continuous evidence of each student’s current location on the scaffolding leading to each standard Rick Stiggins, Assessment Manifesto, April 2008, ETS Assessment Training Institute

4. Balanced Assessment - Interim The Program Level of Assessment Use The answers to the same three driving questions are different at the program level of assessment use: Decision to be made: Which standards are our students mastering or not mastering? Made by: Teacher teams, teacher leaders, principals, and curriculum personnel Information needed: Periodic, but frequent, evidence aggregated across classrooms revealing standards not mastered Rick Stiggins, Assessment Manifesto, April 2008, ETS Assessment Training Institute

5. Balanced Assessment - Summative The Institutional Level of Assessment Use At the institutional/policy level, the accountability question comes to the fore: Decision to be made: Are enough students meeting required standards? Made by: Superintendents, school boards, legislators Information needed: Annual summaries of standards mastered on accountability tests Rick Stiggins, Assessment Manifesto, April 2008, ETS Assessment Training Institute

6. What Does Good Assessment Look Like? Improving learning through assessment depends on 5 factors: The provision of effective feedback to students. The active involvement of students in their own learning. Adjusting teaching to take into account results of assessment. A recognition of the profound influence assessment has on the motivation and self esteem of students. The need for students to be able to self assess themselves and understand how to improve. Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (1998). Assessment and classroom learning. Assessment in Education, 5 (1), 7–74.

7. What Does Good Assessment Not Look Like? Inhibiting factors: A tendency for teachers to assess quantity of work and presentation rather than quality of learning. Greater attention to marking and grading, much of it tending to lower the self esteem of students rather than provide advice for improvement. Teachers feedback to students often serves social and managerial purposes rather than to help them learn more effectively. Teachers not knowing enough about their students’ learning needs. Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (1998). Assessment and classroom learning. Assessment in Education, 5 (1), 7–74.

8. Promoting Learning Through Assessment Characteristics of assessment that promote learning: It is embedded in a view of teaching and learning of which it is an essential part. It involves sharing learning goals with students. It helps students know and recognize the standards they are aiming for. It involves students in self assessment. It provides feedback which helps students recognize their next steps and how to take them. Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (1998). Assessment and classroom learning. Assessment in Education, 5 (1), 7–74.

9. Promoting Learning Through Assessment Characteristics of assessment that promote learning: It is underpinned by confidence that every student can improve. It involves both the teachers and students reviewing and reflecting on assessment data. Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (1998). Assessment and classroom learning. Assessment in Education, 5 (1), 7–74.

10. Assessment Practices That Lead to Learning Observation – this includes listening to how students describe their work and their reasoning. Questioning – using open ended questions, phrased to invite students to explore their ideas and their reasoning. Setting tasks in a way that requires students to use certain skills and apply ideas. Asking students to communicate their learning through drawings, actions, role play, concept mapping, as well as writing. Monitoring student discourse as they problem solve together. Requiring students to justify their thinking and their answers. Ask “Why”, “How do you know?”, and so on..

11. Utah is a member of this consortium which is creating next-generation assessments aligned to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in English language arts/literacy and mathematics.

12. The Purpose of the Consortium To create a system of computer adaptive assessments—including summative and formative tests—that will provide important information about whether students are on track, as well as resources and tools for teachers to help students succeed.

13. Key Features of Smarter Balanced Innovative item types go beyond multiple choice questions to include constructed response and performance tasks that measure critical thinking and problem solving. Interim assessments provide information about student progress throughout the year to help teachers differentiate instruction. A digital library of research-based formative assessment practices and tools.

14. How will teachers be involved? Meaningfully engaged in all aspects of the assessment development and implementation process. Development of test maps that assess the full range of the CCSS and that articulate within and across grade levels. Specifying, writing, reviewing, and range finding test items/ performance tasks. Scoring constructed response items and performance tasks, in conjunction with AI systems. Scoring of performance tasks as a professional development vehicle to enhance teacher capacity to evaluate student work aligned to the standards. Designing different score reports and web-enabled tools and services to maximize their communication value and usefulness

15. To find out more......the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium can be found online at www.smarterbalanced.org