Where Are We Going Building a Common Understanding

Where Are We Going? Building a Common Understanding of Balanced Assessment District Assessment System Audit

Why do we assess? Inform instructional and programmatic decisions Encourage students to try to learn

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Assessment Manifesto: A Call for the Development of Balanced Assessment Systems Read and highlight the text Under “I think, ” respond to one of the following: ◦ What squares with your thinking? ◦ What was a diamond in the rough? ◦ What is still circling around in your mind? Share with a partner, and record their thinking under “My partner thinks” Summarize your discussion in complete sentences

Listen to Rick…. Developing Balanced Assessment Systems New Mission, New Beliefs

What is a Balanced Assessment System? A balanced assessment system is a configuration of different assessment types and processes to fulfill multiple purposes. Brazemore, Cippoletti, Howard (2009)

Why Balanced Assessment? A balanced assessment system takes advantage of assessment of learning and assessment for learning; each can make essential contributions. When both are present in the system, assessment becomes more than just an index of school success. It also serves as the cause of that success. Chappuis, Stiggins, Arter, & Chappuis (2006)

Why Balanced Assessment? To maximize student success, assessment must be seen as an instructional tool for use while learning is occurring, and as an accountability tool to determine if learning has occurred. Because both purposes are important, they must be in balance. --NEA (2003)

A Balanced Assessment System Assessment OF Summative Periodic May be state-mandated, publisher-made, or teacherdesigned; often standardized Happens after material has been taught A snapshot in time Essential Question: What have students already learned? Assessment FOR Formative Frequent Curriculum & instructionallyembedded; teacher-made, student-involved Happens while material is being taught A moving picture (journey) Essential Question: How can we help students learn more?

Assessment Users & Uses Assessments have different uses and their results inform different users. Conversations about assessment need to include: ◦ What decisions need to be made? ◦ Who’s making them? ◦ What information will be helpful to them?

PURPOSE: Assess to meet whose information needs? Classroom Level Users Program Level Users Institutional/Policy Users

Classroom-Level User Information Needs Who is the user? Student, teacher & parents What decisions is to be made? What comes next in the learning? What information will be helpful? Continuous info on each student’s progress toward each standard

Program-Level User Information Needs Who is the user? Teacher teams, principal, curriculum leaders What decisions is to be made? What standards have been mastered? Are programs working? What information will be helpful? Periodic but frequent evidence summarized across students and classrooms

Institutional / Policy-level User Information Needs Who is the user? School, district, community leaders What decisions is to be made? Are enough students meeting standards? ? What information will be helpful? Annual assessments, within and across schools, showing students/ groups meeting standards

Notice Different Questions for Different Users and Decisions Classroom Instruction How goes each student’s journey to each standard? Program Improvement What standards are our students meeting? Institutional Accountability Are enough of our students meeting standards?

Balanced Assessment Meets All User Needs: Annual accountability testing serves some purposes Interim, benchmark, short-cycle, common tests meet other info needs Continuous classroom assessment informs still others

Three Tiers of Assessment Scope Summative (evaluative) Interim (instructional, evaluative, predictive) Formative (instructional, minute-by-minute, during the lesson) Frequency of Administration

Are we in balance? Most Formative • Minute-to-Minute / Classroom Checking for Understanding More Formative • Teacher-developed small classroom tasks / assignments Formative • Grade-level / department common within-unit assessments More Summative • Grade level / department end-of-unit assessments • District benchmark assessments Most Summative • State assessments (STAR, CAHSEE) • Grades

FORMATIVE INSTRUCTIONAL TOOLS AND PROCESSES Assessment FOR Learning Instructionally embedded Frequent Happens while material is being taught Classroom Formative Task(s) Connected to learning targets Penalty Free – Isn’t used for grades Classroom Formative Task(s) INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM Interim Assessment Summative Assessment SUMMATIVE AND INTERIM ASSESSMENTS Assessment OF Learning Aligned to curriculum pacing Periodic Occurs after material has been taught Connected to standards Scored or graded

BIG Idea! Balance continuous classroom assessment in support of learning with periodic assessments verifying learning.

Assessment Dynamics You can enhance or destroy students’ desire to succeed in school more quickly and permanently through your use of assessment than with any other tools you have at your disposal. Rick Stiggins

Assessment Experiences With a partner: ◦ Think of a negative experience you’ve had being assessed. ◦ What made it negative?

Negative Experiences Causes Not clear what was to be tested Trick questions Time limits Results didn’t reflect knowledge No feedback, feedback incomprehensible, feedback too late to do any good No chance to improve; one shot do or die Effects Stopped trying Never talked in class again Embarrassment Anger Never took another class in this subject Redoubled efforts

Assessment Experiences With a different partner: ◦ Now think of a positive experience you’ve had being assessed. ◦ What made it positive ?

Positive Experiences Causes Clear what was to be tested Criteria for success were clear Feedback was personalized; could be used to improve performance Practice opportunities that were not graded Step by step learning aligned with assessment Questions were understandable Chance to improve Effects Felt successful Felt encouraged to keep trying Knew what it took to succeed Motivated to learn Wanted to take more classes on this subject Redoubled efforts

Student Responses to Assessment Experiences Unproductive Responses I don’t know what to do I don’t get it I’m probably too stupid I give up Productive Responses I know what to do I can handle this I choose to keep trying

How can we create and use assessments to monitor and promote student learning?

Leadership Discussion