Transcript Nashville CCSSO 2007 Alt Standard Setting

A Charge to States:
My “Take-Home Message”
Daniel J. Wiener
Administrator of Inclusive Assessment
University of Maryland – Alternate Assessment Conference
October 11-12, 2007
Some Truths About Alternate
Assessment
 Alternate assessments, particularly
portfolios, generally do not measure all the
standards measured on a standard test
 So, it will be important for teachers to
know:
 What the state wants taught, and
 Whether the state’s alternate assessment will
measure what has actually been taught
University of Maryland – Alternate Assessment Conference
October 11-12, 2007
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Do Alternate Assessments Improve
Instruction?
 Alternate assessments, by themselves, do not
necessarily improve student learning
 Alternate assessments won’t result in
improvements in teaching and learning unless:
 Teachers know what standards to teach, and what
skills and knowledge will be assessed
 Teachers need to know how to move students from
where they are now toward grade-level achievement
University of Maryland – Alternate Assessment Conference
October 11-12, 2007
3
If Instructional Improvement
Matters…
 Alternate assessments won’t result in
improvements in teaching and learning
unless mechanisms are intentionally built
into the system to do that.
University of Maryland – Alternate Assessment Conference
October 11-12, 2007
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Implications for States
 Develop and provide resources to schools
 Teachers need to know what standards to teach,
how to teach them, and what will be assessed
 Provide a guide to the standards, or content will be
hit-or-miss
 Teach data collection skills to increase the pace of
instruction
 Provide intensive, ongoing professional
development on instruction, curriculum, and
assessment
 Promote awareness of continuous improvements
 Acknowledge 25-30% turnover of teachers
University of Maryland – Alternate Assessment Conference
October 11-12, 2007
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Implications for States (continued)
 Make alternate assessment tasks and/or items
available to teachers for practice and review
 Make opportunities available for teachers to:
 Collaborate
 Assist their colleagues--share strategies for
instruction/assessment
 Assist in developing instructional materials
 Score the alternate assessments, if possible
 Involve teachers in improving the system
 Do more than simply taking the patient’s
temperature—Use the alternate assessment as a
lever to improve student learning!
University of Maryland – Alternate Assessment Conference
October 11-12, 2007
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