Assessment Literacy An Issue Research suggests that teachers

Assessment Literacy – An Issue • Research suggests that teachers spend from one-quarter to one-third of their professional time on assessment-related activities. Almost all do so without the benefit of having learned the principles of sound assessment (Stiggins, 2007).

Plan, Teach, Assess • For too many years and in far too many classrooms there is a continuing disconnect between planning, teaching and assessment. • While we know a lot about the potential of formative assessment and its importance (NMAP, 2008; Black and Wiliam, 2010; NCTM, 2014), what is surprising is how few teachers actually use the process (Popham, 2013). • As noted in Principles to Action (NCTM, 2014) we must find a way to leverage assessment opportunities to improve teaching and learning at the classroom and school level.

We actually know a lot about formative assessment…

• The term formative assessment has been with us for close to 50 years… • Regular use of classroom formative assessment would raise student achievement by 0. 4 to 0. 7 standard deviations – enough to raise the U. S. into the top five countries in the international rankings for mathematics (Natriello, 1987; Crooks, 1998; Black and Wiliam, 1998).

BUT, Aside from teacher-made classroom tests, the integration of assessment and learning as an interacting system has been too little explored. Glaser & Silver, 1994

Formative Assessment We know it is more informative to observe a student during a mathematical activity than to grade his papers. Freudenthal, 1973

Formative assessment is: • • • Students and teachers, Using evidence of learning, To adapt teaching and learning, To meet immediate learning needs, Minute-to-minute and day-by-day. Love this… Thompson and William, 2007

What we have done… Distilled formative assessment techniques – Pathways.

Formative Assessment Techniques Pathways • Observations • Interviews • Show Me • Hinge Questions • Exit Tasks

Observations • What would you hope to observe? • How would you know it if you saw it? • How might you record/note the observation? • What misconceptions might you observe?

Observation Tool

Interviews • What would make you decide to work 1: 1 with a student or small group? • What questions might you ask? How might the questions be different? • What are you anticipating from students? (Consider understandings AND possible misconceptions. ) • What follow-up questions might you ask?

Interview Prompt

Show Me 1. Think about a “show me” prompt that you might use for a concept/skill appropriate for teachers you may work with… 2. What might you want a student or students to say as they describe their “show me” example? 3. How is this (the show me activity) different from an interview or observation?

Hinge Questions • Hinge questions provide a check for understanding/proficiency at a ‘hingepoint’ in a lesson, or stated differently, success of the lesson hinges on responses to such questions as they provide an indication of whether the teacher can move from one important idea/concept/skill to the another (or not). Such responses impact both planning and instruction.

Hinge Question Planning

Exit Tasks • The exit task is designed to provide a capstone problem or exercise that captures the major focus of the lesson of the day. This is a class assessment tool, and like the hinge question, student responses to the exit task help in identifying needs and in the planning for the next day’s lesson.

Pathways Activity • Examine posted student work • Identify possible Pathways • Sharing

Connecting back to Principles to Actions See page 91

These are daily considerations • Observations – to guide what’s going on… • Interview – As needed 1 -1 or small group • Show me – Math notebooks, daily link to Language Arts, more than vocabulary! • Hinge Questions – Deal breakers! See next slide. • Exit Task – Hinge Question + Exit task (next day’s plan!)

Reflect – How could teachers develop better formative assessments?

Let’s Discuss Assessment – formative and summative in your classroom/school – – What’s going on? Use of formative assessments - regularly? Role of assessments and grading? What works? Assessment – formative and summative in your PD opportunities – What’s going on? – What works?

Remember! • High Stakes are for tomatoes – Susan Ohanian • Tests are thermometers, not cures. At best, they sample where we are and hazard a guess as to what a rise or fall might mean. - Meier, Nov. 2002, Phi Delta Kappan, p. 198 24