1. Internal Assessment Report: A qualitative report on the implementation of district performance assessments and an update on the AIM initiative Presentation to the Weston Board of Education February 24, 2015

2. Why are Internal Assessments Important? All too often standardized testing results receive the most attention in education, while assessments embedded into everyday classroom experiences are rarely discussed publicly.

3. AIM: 5 Years Later… Key goals & accomplishments: Encouraged innovation in the classroom Fostered deep learning by engaging students in meaningful work Provided valuable information to inform and drive instructional decisions

4. Partnership with Teachers College

5. AIM Implementation Plan 10-1111-1212-1313-1414-15 Pilot Year Development Grades: 2, 5, 8, WHS Development Grades: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, WHS Development Grades: K, WHS Refinement

6. AIM Professional Development Teacher training to: Design and implement units that foster AIM outcomes Collaboratively examine student work Analyze results to inform instruction

7. Why Do We Value Performance Assessments? Performance assessments embedded into the curriculum serve a different purpose from standardized tests designed for accountability reasons. In Weston, performance assessments are authentic learning experiences that engage students in meaningful, real-world tasks.

9. Characteristics of Weston Performance Assessments Authentic Audience Self-Assessment and Personal Goal Setting Motivating and EngagingFeedback and Revision Student Choice and Voice Task Aligned to Rigorous Standards Flexible Learning Environment Clear Expectations- Rubrics

10. Critical ThinkingCreative ThinkingCollaborationCommunicationGlobal Evaluation and Justifying Imagining Engaging in Collective Intelligence Projecting Engaging in Real- World Problem- Solving Interpreting Simulating Engaging in Distributed Cognition Reflecting and Meta-Analysis Engaging in Global Issues AnalyzingInnovating and Transforming Suspending Judgment Rationalizing and Contextualizing Engaging in Multiple Perspectives Synthesizing and Applying Design and Research Risk Taking and Tolerating Ambiguity Connecting and Applying Engage in Multiple Modalities AIM Matrix of Learning Outcomes

11. How are the results presented and what do they tell us? Infographic = Visual representation of the task Performance Assessments Grade 2 Cornerstone Grade 5 Cornerstone Grade 7 Population Study Grade 8 Cornerstone Grade 10 Writing Portfolio

20. Key Takeaways Continue to provide teachers common meeting time to design, implement, score, and analyze learning experiences. Teacher training must include opportunities for teachers to learn how to teach to the AIM outcomes. It is important to elicit feedback from students. Weston’s Internal Assessment System is a work in progress as we refine performance assessments at each grade level.

21. Questions