Transcript The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation Assessment Initiative

The ABC’s of Instruction
Using assessment to improve
performance
Ross Danis
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International Clinical Professor
Seton Hall University
S. Orange, NJ, USA
Associate Dean of Education
Drew University
Madison, NJ, USA
On the web at rossdanis.com
E mail: at [email protected]
THE NOTES WERE SOUR
BECAUSE
THE SEAMS WERE SPLIT
What are our “bagpipes” for
assessment?
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What is our experience with the
word?
How does assessment work with
students, teachers, and schools?
The Bagpipes of the Past
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Coercion
Intimidation
Rewards or punishments linked to
evaluative judgments
Infrequent or vague feedback
Limited personal contact and
involvement
The new Bagpipes of
Assessment
The primary purpose of
assessment is to improve
performance, not merely audit
it.
Emily
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Read the writing sample
Watch the Interview
Discuss
Report out
Key Distinctions
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Assessment
Evaluation
And….
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Assessment for Learning
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Assessment of Learning
Our Goals
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To assess student achievement by
knowing how to select and develop
classroom assessments that fit each
unique context.
To frame “Learning Targets” to underpin
sound classroom assessments.
To manage and communicate assessment
results involving students when
appropriate and in ways that promote
learning.
Framing
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We will frame standards of effective
practice and provide a cognitive
structure that will assist you in
extending your repertoire of sound
practices.
Indicators of Sound Classroom
Assessment (1.4)
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Read the Indicators of Sound Classroom
Assessment Practice
Engage in a small group discussion that is
focused on the five components of sound
classroom assessment.
Decide as a group, which areas are likely
to pose the greatest challenge and why.
Report out to the whole group in order to
determine patterns or themes.
If we want to use assessment as a
tool for learning, students need to
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Know where they’re going
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Know where they are now
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Know how to close the gap
Where am I going?
1.
2.
Provide a clear and understandable
vision of the learning target.
Use examples and models of strong
and weak work.
Where am I now?
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3. Offer regular descriptive
feedback.
4. Teach students to self-assess and
set goals.
How can I close the gap?
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5. Design lessons to focus on one
aspect of quality at a time.
6. Teach students focused revision.
7. Engage students in self-reflection,
and let them keep track of and share
their learning.
These Strategies are a Progression
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The seven strategies just presented
unfold in a classroom over time.
Students will have trouble with later
steps ( such as self assessment) if
they have not had experience with
earlier steps.
Assess What?
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“If you don’t know where you are
going, any road will get you there.”
One can't “know where they are
now” and “know how to close the
gap” unless they “know where they
are going.”
What’s in a name!
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Content Standards
Benchmarks
Goals
Outcomes
Enduring Understandings
Essential Learnings
Essential questions
Curriculum is not the text
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Curriculum
Curriculum
Curriculum
Curriculum
Curriculum
is
is
is
is
is
not
not
not
not
not
the
the
the
the
the
text
text
text
text
text
Learning Targets
Statements of intended learning in
each subject at each grade (or
course) level.
Learning Targets
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In small
Benefits
Benefits
Benefits
groups, identify the
to parents
to teachers
to students
How are Learning Targets
Organized?
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Varies by country, by district, and by
school.
You must understand your own
curriculum framework.
Good curriculum guides are critical to
good assessment
Articulation
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Horizontal ( across grade levels) and
vertical ( through grade levels)
articulation is essential to use
assessment as a tool for learning.
Knowing how to “posthole” is critical.
What is “Postholing”
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Essential learnings
Key concepts
Critical attributes
Foundational principles
Let’s take the first steps together
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Individually, identify between four or
five key learnings in a specific
subject at a specific grade level.
In other words, what
knowledge/understanding should
students have after having taken a
particular subject at a particular
grade level.
Next step…
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Put the “Learning Targets” in student
friendly language. These “Learning
Targets” are statements that begin
with “I can.”
“I can multiply two digit by two digit
numbers.”
Why is this important?
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Minimizes curriculum drift.
Reduces redundancy.
Allows families to learn together and
reinforce what is taught in school.
Creates an opportunity for inter and
multi disciplinary teaching and
learning across grades and subjects.
And one more step
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Gather in small groups, organized by
grade level and share with one another
your understanding of the key Learning
Targets at that grade level.
Gather in small groups, organized by
single subject across grade levels ( if
possible) and share Learning Targets in
your discipline across grade levels or
courses.
Develop a plan
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Only you know your circumstances
well enough to understand what has
to take place in order to develop a
plan to design, develop, distribute,
and use, Learning Targets.
This could take a year to complete
but it will have an enormous impact
on your capacity to effectively use
assessment as a tool for learning.
The Nuts and Bolts of Standardized
Tests
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More than the required tests from
the state or the country. Classroom
tests can be considered standardized
if they are administered to all
students in the same grade or
course.
Standardized Tests 2
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Norm- Referenced: This means that
student scores are referenced to a norm
group. Includes percentiles and grade
equivalents. They do not reflect what each
student has learned, but how much,
compared to all other students.
Criterion-Referenced Tests: Shows how
learning compares to performance on
specified learning targets. Sometimes
called “Standards-based.”
Part 3: Assessment Methods
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Four Basic Categories:
1. Selected Response and short answer
2. Extended Written Response
3. Performance Assessment
4. Personal Communication.
All are legitimate when use correlates highly
with the learning target.
Extended Written Response
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Comparing two pieces of literature
for example.
We score in one of two ways: A
Rubric or pointes provided for
specific pieces of information
provided.
Selected Response
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Formats include multiple choices,
True/False, Matching, Fill in
questions.
Performance
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Based on observation and judgment.
We look at a performance or product
and make a judgment about its
quality.
Personal Communication
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Gathering information about
students through personal
communication is just what it sounds
like- we find out what students have
learned through interaction. This
includes conference, class
participation asking questions during
instruction. Checking for
understanding in real time and
making adjustments to teaching.
Which Method?
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Which assessment method would you
choose for each of the following:
1. Ability to write clearly and
coherently
Group discussion proficiency
Reading Comprehension
Using Specified procedures
Proficiency conducting investigations
in science.
Portfolios
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A collection of artifacts put together
to get at the full story. To help
students, teachers, and others
understand in depth one or more
aspects of student learning.
Portfolios are collecting and
communicating devices, not a
method of assessment such as
performance assessment.
Portfolios as learning experiences
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Teachers or students ( or both) can
author a portfolio. When the subject
is the author, and when they
assemble and share portfolios, they
perform acts of metacognition that
deepen ability to learn, desire to
learn, and the learning itself
Portfolio as Story
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Every story needs a theme- a
struggle, achievement, competence,
celebration- to guide the selection of
components, artifacts, and data.
Growth Portfolios
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Students select evidence related
given target at two or more points in
time.
Annotations explain the level of
achievement each artifact
represents.
The student writes a self-reflection to
summarize growth.
Achievement Portfolios
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Document achievement at a point in
time.
They include the best and most
recent data organized by the
learning targets each represents.
Certain targets call for multiple
samples to demonstrate level of
achievement, while others need only
one.
Competence Portfolios
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Offer evidence in support of a claim
to have attained as acceptable or
exemplary level of achievement.
Sometime referred to as an
“Exhibition of Mastery.”
Sampling is an issue. Want to show
a high level of achievement is
sustained, not
Portfolio Contents: Focus on
Targets
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All forms of assessment (tests,
performance, personal
communication) can be included.
All kinds of learning– knowledge,
dispositions, skills- can be the focus
of evidence.
Portfolios can reflect a single learning
target, a series of learning targets,
or all learning targets.
Artifacts
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Clearly identify the learning targets about
which the portfolio is intended to
communicate.
Sampling: Need enough artifacts to
ensure that accurate information is being
provided. The size of the sample depends
on the learning targets at the focus of
achievement.
The selection process is strengthened by
the dialogue between and among the
students and the teacher.
Self Reflection
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Do not pass over this step
Once students have pointed out what
they have learned; have justified the
claim with evidence; and set goals
for the future, what is left?
Open ended self-reflection that goes
beyond the goals
(Refer to 11.2 and 3)
Conferences
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1.
2.
3.
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5.
Offering Feedback
Setting Goals
Planning and Intervention
Demonstrating Growth
Communicating achievement
(Conduct mock conference)
Provide Sample forms 12.2. 3. and 4.
Concept:
Planning
Backwards
“What would it look like if we
succeeded?”
Planning Backwards:
“How do we identify
what we value most, then
measure what matters?”
Tool:
Rubric
“By what criteria would we
measure success?”
“What would success look
like?”
Rubric
“If you can describe it,
you can measure it.”
Trait: e.g knowledgeable; friendly
4
Descriptors: e.g The waiter knows the
menu well; what is fresh today; what
the chef’s specialties are; …
Indicators: e.g. what does it look and
sound like? What are the stories and
scenes that help me understand the
descriptors?
Knowledgeable
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The waiter knows the menu well;
what is fresh today; what the chef’s
specialties are; what wines will
complement various dishes; basic
knowledge about what’s going on in
the City regarding theater, etc.
Knowledgeable
4
The waiter knows the menu well;
what is fresh today; what the chef’s specialties are;
what wines will complement various dishes; basic
knowledge about what’s going on in the City
regarding theater, etc.
 “Sir, I particularly recommend the duck.
Chef Henri grew up in the Loire Valley, where they
eat duck three meals a day.”
 “Yes, Madam, I do have a recommendation for
you. Do you enjoy musicals? We hear that the
revival of Man of La Mancha is getting standing
ovations every night.”
Knowledgeable
4
The waiter knows the menu well;
what is fresh today; what the chef’s specialties are;
what wines will complement various dishes; basic
knowledge about what’s going on in the City
regarding theater, etc.
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“Sir, I particularly recommend the duck. Chef
Henri grew up in the Loire Valley, where they eat duck
three meals a day.”
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“Yes, Madam, I do have a recommendation for
you. Do you enjoy musicals? We hear that the revival of
Man of La Mancha is getting standing ovations every
night.”
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“Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Danis. Welcome
back.”
Knowledgeable
4
The waiter knows the menu well;
what is fresh today; what the chef’s
specialties are; what wines will
complement various dishes; basic
knowledge about what’s going on in
the City regarding theater, etc.; the
names of regular customers.
Your Rubric
1
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2
3
Why Rubrics?
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For feedback on performance rather
than audit of performance
• Compares current performance
against an exemplary standard
• Demystifies exemplary standard;
takes it out of one person’s head
• Gives specific description of higher
levels of performance, tells us
“what to do next”
Why Rubrics?
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Is a vehicle for ongoing discussion
of what good work looks like
• Facilitates self-assessment in the
context of what the whole
organization is trying to accomplish
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Forces us to ask what is most worth
measuring rather than what is
easiest to measure
Reality Check:
“What gets in the way of this
work?”
On
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TIME
He had discovered Time,
and Death, and God.
from Brave New World
by Aldous Huxley
Effective thinking
about assessment
makes change
more likely
Checking for Understanding…
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4.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Elicit ____response
Check for understanding
Interpret the behavior
Act on the Interpretation
Move on
Practice
Re-teach
Quit
3 Ways
to Check
for Understanding
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2.
3.
Sampling
Choral Response
Signaling
LEAN LINE
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2.
3.
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5.
Costly
Sincere
Scale
Mirrors
Variety of foods
Motivation
Motivation is the act of maintaining students' focus
on a given task in order to satisfy a need or
desire.
Task
Reward
Task
Reward
Developing a New Report Card
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Identify the purpose of the report
card.
Identify the skills and dispositions
that will be assessed and reported.
Identify the criteria that will be used
to create the scores and or narrative.
Decide on how frequently these
reports should be distributed.
Using data to inform curriculum and
instruction
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How can your school or grade level
team come together to discuss gaps
in instruction uncovered by
assessment?
What mechanism or support system
is in place or could be put into place
to modify instruction based on
student performance data?
Action Plan
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Goal setting:
Learning Targets: Develop,
disseminate, review, revise.
Report cards: Review, revise,
implement
School and team-based modifications
of curriculum and instruction based
on data.
Action Plan II
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Portfolios: Appropriate use as a
vehicle to improve instruction
Rubrics: Designed and used by
students and teachers in a variety of
subjects to identify exemplars and
demystify excellence.
Matching the appropriate assessment
to the content