Transcript The Assessment Investigation

The Assessment Investigation
Sue Taylor-Foley
Consultant for Research, Planning
and Technology
South Shore District School Board
Assessment is like solving a
puzzle. You need to collect all
the pieces so that you can
evaluate the whole picture.
Let’s Investigate…
• What is assessment?
• What is Evaluation?
• How do teachers use
these to inform inform
instruction?
• What is the Grade 6
Literacy Assessment?
• How can this be used
in context of
classroom
assessments?
Some who can read this will
likely have no problem
understanding this…
•
•
•
•
•
K
K3 *P2tog, YO*P2tog, K3 (33st)
K
K3*P*K3
K3 *inc1, K1*inc 1, K3 (47 st)
But, if you don’t knit it may seem
like another language to you even
if you can read what it says!
Still others will understand this
without any difficulty.
• IM :-ll PCM L8R
WRK NW
THNQ S.
I CNT SPK IM @
But, if you don’t use text messaging on your
cell phone or PDA this won’t be too familiar
to you either.
• Translation of
message- I’m angry,
please call me later. I
can’t speak I’m at
work now. Thanks Sue
But, what if you didn’t
understand those???
• Does it mean you are not literate?
• What does it mean?
“The longer I write and read, the
more I learn; writing and reading
are lifelong apprenticeships…”
By Donald M. Murray
Student literacy
• Reflects previous
years of schooling
• Experiences at Home
• Communities
Experiences
• Varied background
experiences
Teachers address learning
strengths and needs in the
classroom.
• They use curriculum guides that are based
on outcomes.
• They assess and evaluate students to inform
their instruction.
• They build on student strengths and teach to
develop their areas of need.
What is Assessment?
• Assessment is the
process of gathering
information on student
learning.
What is evaluation?
• The process of
analyzing, reflecting
upon and summarizing
assessment
information and
making judgments
and/or decisions based
on the information
collected.
• Assessment and
Evaluation are not
an issue of trial and
error but one of
informed decision
making by looking
at the whole student
in a variety of
ways.
Assessment + Evaluation (of
outcomes being taught) = Informed
Instruction
Variety of methods that teachers use to
assess student literacy
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Portfolios
Anecdotal Records
Teacher made tests
Checklists
Outcomes tracking
Analysis of written work
Running records
Miscue analysis
Conferences
Demonstrations
Journals
Presentations
• Rubics
• Observation
• Stage of reading
development
• Stage of writing
development
• Benchmark materials
• Self-assessments
• Surveys
• Questionnaires
• Video/audio tapes
• Projects
We also use…
Provincial testing information
when available.
Grade 6 Literacy Assessment
October 14-17/03
-measured selected grade 5 Language
Arts Outcomes
Language Arts Outcomes Measured
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Gr. 6
Assess.
Total
The Assessment
• Looked at a few selected outcomes that can
be measured in this type of testing format.
• Looked at questions that challenged
students at the comprehension and analysis
levels of questioning.
Purpose of Assessment
• To monitor progress of students in meeting
selected reading/viewing and writing
outcomes from the ELA curriculum
• To identify struggling students so that
support can be provided
• Also “assessing education system… let’s us
know if system is working as we expect”
Who took the assessment?
• All grade 6 students in Nova Scotia
• Exception- students who have documented
Individual Program Plans in Language Arts
• Students on Modified Programs did write
with modifications noted on student
response sheet
What was provided by the Department prior to the
assessment?
For Students
•
an information pamphlet
to take home to their
parents prior to testing
• A practice test and
practice scantron sheet to
complete ( on one poem
section) the week prior to
the assessment
For Teachers
• An information meeting
(attended in June or on
Oct. 6)
• A teacher information
guide received in Sept.
• A practice test to use with
students the week prior to
testing
• Website on the Dept of
Ed. for assessment
Test format- referenced to specific outcomes
• Reading and Viewing section (6 parts)






Short story
Information text (e.g. following instructions)
Visual media text
Information text (e.g. non-fiction)
Poetry
Information text (e.g.. Table of contents)
 Questions are at Comprehension and Analysis levels
 This section was answered on the scantron sheet provided
Specifically
• Students answered questions about a story they read
about a Baby-Sitter
• Students answered informational questions about the
information found on a box of Kraft Dinner
• Students answered questions about an advertisement
from a Zoological Society on Giant Pandas
• Students answered questions on a pamphlet about
Bats
• Students answered questions on a poem also about
Bats
Writing
• Transactional writing
(e.g.. Letter)
– Ideas
– Organization
– Matters of
correctness
• Literary Prose (e.g..
Narrative story)
• Ideas
• Organization
• Matters of correctness
Specifically
• Students had a letter writing task they were given
–
–
–
–
–
–
information to read before writing
planning to write
wrote a first draft
used a checklist to review their first draft
wrote their second and final draft
used a checklist to review their final draft
• Students were also asked to write a creative writing
piece (some supports and guidelines were also given
for this)
Then what happened?
• In November there was a marking session for the two
writing sections in which a number of our grade 6
teachers took part.
• A computer at the Department of Education marked
the Scantron section of the Assessment.
• Teachers receive an outcome by outcome report.
• Results will be distributed to students and parents from
March 22-26
• Reports to Parents will indicate if their child has met
expectations or not in reading and viewing and in
writing.
Outcomes measured by Grade 6
Literacy Assessment
• Provides an additional piece of information
• Results can be used with other assessment information the
teacher has collected
• Can be used when assisting students to reflect on and
assess their own learning
• Data can be used to help reflect on ways to continuously
improve the school program
• May identify students who are struggling.
• May provide a flag to look at other areas of strength or
need a student may have in reading and/or writing.
Items to consider
• Classroom assessment is not based on a single test
or measure
• Test results for the Grade 6 Literacy Assessment
are received at least 4 months after students have
taken the assessment and are based on outcomes
from Grade 5
• Only selected items that can be measured in this
type of assessment are included
• Student results will be reported in limited terms.
Reports on the Assessment will
indicate that this student has…
• Met the expectations
in Reading and
Viewing.
• Met the expectation in
Writing.
• Not met the
expectations in
Reading and Viewing.
• Not met the
expectations in
Writing.
Supports for Struggling StudentsAssessment
• Support is to
begin/continue in
Grade 6
• Support is to continue
in junior high
Instruction
Evaluation
What is happening
currently to support
readers and writers at
your school?
• Reading Recovery in Grade 1
• Reduced class size in early
grades
• In depth training on teaching
reading in P-3 (AYR)
• Training in reading and
writing teaching in 4-6 (AYR
& WIA)
• Implementation of Active
Readers in Junior High
• November Inservice focused
on assessment, and the
reading and writing
connections.
• Additional classroom
resources received from
Province to support
teacher professional
growth and classroom
reading collections.
• Literacy Mentor
• Consultant of Program
Support
• Over 50 teachers
involved in Leadership
Teams
• Technology Mentors in
most Elementary Schools
Those supports are in addition
to…
• What your child’s
teacher is doing to
support learning on a
daily basis in the
classroom.