Transcript Document

Implementing Student-Involved Assessment:
What Does It Look Like In The Classroom?
Bruce Herzog & Joni Heutink
Grade 5 Teachers/Trainers/Consultants
Nooksack Elementary
Nooksack Valley School District
[email protected]
[email protected]
It’s the economy, Stupid!
It’s the classroom
assessment practices,
Stupid!
Parents: Please
DO NOT DISTURB
Teachers are in a staff meeting
Improving communication
with parents.
Who are we?
What are we selling?
Is it relevant for you?
We are both currently 5th grade teachers.
Between us, over the course of the last 25 years, we
have taught every grade from K-5.
Together, we have been teaching for over 50 years.
We working in a school that has figured out how use
student-involved assessment practices to get incredible
achievement results from virtually all students.
We have been working as trainers, presenters, and
consultants across our district and throughout the
Northwest for the past 7 years.
What is student-involved assessment?
Curriculum
Instruction
Assessment
Clear Targets
Goal-Setting
Curriculum
Instruction
Assessment
Formative
Assessments
Communication
Fair Grading
Practices
Summative
Assessments
Reinstruction &
Reassessment
Clear Targets
Goal-Setting
Curriculum
Instruction
STUDENTS
Assessment
Formative
Assessments
Communication
Fair Grading
Practices
Summative
Assessments
Reinstruction &
Reassessment
Old: Assessment means testing.
New: Assessment is a continuous and dynamic
process of communication between teachers,
students, and parents regarding students’
achievement and is embedded in everything the
teacher and students do all day, every day.
Old: Administrators control achievement data and
filter it down to teachers, parents, and students.
New: Achievement data is directly available to
teachers, parents, and students.
Old: Teachers set standards. Students may not know
or understand grading practices.
New: Teachers set standards together with students
and students have a clear understanding of grading
practices.
Old: The target moves from grade to grade and
teacher to teacher.
New: Teachers work together within and across
grade levels to ensure that standards are consistent.
Old: The teacher grades papers. Students get
papers back with a grade, marks, and/or comments
days, or weeks later (or never).
New: The teacher only grades summative
assessments and discusses results with students in a
timely manner. Students assess their own and each
other’s formative work together with the teacher.
Old: Attitude, effort, late or missing assignments,
group work, homework, and extra credit are all
factored into a student’s grades.
New: Only individual, subject-specific assessment
data is used to determine grades. Other factors are
reported separately.
Old: Assessment is used to sort students.
New: Assessment is used to identify student
strengths and weaknesses and to help students set
goals for what they need to do next.
Old: Year after year the same students are
successful and the same students aren’t.
Unsuccessful students seldom close the achievement
gap that separates them from those who are
performing at grade level.
New: Effective assessment practices can improve
grade equivalent scores by several grade levels or up
A New Vision of Assessment
An unrelenting emphasis on student accountability
for learning.
• All work is expected to be done on time.
• All work is expected to meet a standard.
• All students are expected to be prepared for all
summative assessments.
• Immediate and natural consequences for failing to
meet learning expectations.
A New Vision of Assessment
• Daily discussions about the purpose for learning
and the connection between effort and achievement.
• Daily reinforcement of the idea of “no excuses”
and that it is OK to fail, but not OK to choose
failure.
• Frequent goal-setting, reflection, and
communication about achievement by students and
by the teacher to parents.
A New Vision of Assessment
• Weekly teacher-created assessments (CBAs) in
virtually all subjects with mandatory reinstruction,
extra practice, and scheduled retesting for any
student who fails to meet grade level standards
(repeated as many times as necessary).
• The use of a simple grading system that is
transparent to all students.
• Frequent teacher-generated achievement progress
reports (at least one each month).
A New Vision of Assessment
The expectation that every student knows his or her
current level of achievement in each subject and also
knows what he or she needs to do next to maintain
or improve his or her level of achievement.
A shift in focus from teaching to learning.
Some kids come to school to
slay the dragon…
some come to be slain.
Rick Stiggins
Why should you believe that
there is a connection between
student -involved assessment
practices and student achievement?
Black & Wiliam (1998) International Research Review
0.5 to 1.0 Standard Deviation Score Gain
Largest Gain for Low Achievers
Bloom (1984) Mastery Learning Research
1.0 to 2.0 S.D. Gain
Rivals Impact of One-on-One Tutoring
Rodriguez (2004)
0.5 to 1.8 S.D. Gain
Effect of Reducing Class Size
0.2 S.D. Gain
1.0 Standard Deviation Equals:
35
2
Percentile Points on ITBS
to 4 Grade Equivalents
100
SAT Score Points
5 ACT
U.S.
Score Points
TIMMS Rank from 22 of 41 to Top 5
Potential
Elimination of Score Gaps
Unprecedented Achievement
Gains
Nooksack Valley School District
• 1,700 students.
• Three grade PreK-5 elementary schools.
• One grade 6-8 middle school.
• One grade 9-12 high school.
Nooksack Elementary (Oct 2006)
• Grades
PreK-5
• October 2005 Student Count
271
• Classes at each grade level
2
• Indian/Alaskan Native
3.3%
• Asian
1.1%
• Black
1.5%
• Hispanic
24.4%
• White
69.4%
• Free or Reduced Meals
54.4%
• Special Education
17.0%
• Transitional Bilingual
19.1%
• Migrant
8.1%
• Classroom Teachers
22
• Avg Years Teacher Experience
14.4
• Teachers with Master's Degree
54.5%
Nooksack Elementary
2003/2004:
Seattle Pacific University: “From
Compliance to Commitment” - one of ten highachieving elementary schools in Washington state.
2004/2005:
National Blue Ribbon School Award.
2005/2006: Washington
State Distinguished Principal
Award (Marion Evenson).
Nooksack Valley Elementary School
2004
2005
2006
2007
3rd
grade WASL reading:
73% 81%
3rd
grade WASL math:
66% 83%
4th
grade WASL reading:
94% 94% 98% 84%
4th
grade WASL writing:
88% 93% 95% 84%
4th
grade WASL math:
88% 88% 91% 84%
5th
grade WASL reading:
92% 94%
5th
grade WASL math:
83% 92%
5th
grade WASL science:
41% 68% 80% 86%
Nooksack Valley Middle School
2004
2005
2006
2007
6th
grade WASL reading:
75% 86%
6rd
grade WASL math:
59% 63%
7th
grade WASL reading:
67% 67% 70% 83%
7th
grade WASL writing:
68% 67% 82% 70%
7th
grade WASL math:
59% 49% 65% 74%
8th
grade WASL reading:
73% 75%
8th
grade WASL math:
49% 56%
8th
grade WASL science:
30% 32% 38% 58%
Two Point in Time WASL Data
2005
2006
2007
3rd/4th WASL reading:
73% 84%
3rd/4th WASL math:
66% 84%
4th/5th WASL reading:
98% 94%
4th/5th WASL math:
91% 92%
4th/5th
WASL reading:
94% 92%
4th/5th
WASL math:
88% 83%
Student-involved assessment
practices build student
confidence, increase the
achievement of all students
and have the greatest impact
on low-achieving students.
Student-involved assessment
practices increase student
motivation by increasing
student success (or, at the
very least, they reduce “lack
of motivation” as a barrier to
learning).
Students understand learning targets.
Formative assessments are aligned to the targets.
Frequent classroom-based summative
assessments, reteaching, and retesting.
Students set goals and reflect on their learning.
Fair, standards-based grading practices are used
at all grade levels and in all programs.
Students communicate about their own
achievement and are involved in conferences
with parents at all grade levels.
Key Element #1
Establishing Clear Learning Targets:
Good assessment practices begin with
students having a clear understanding
of the specific learning targets they
are expected to meet.
“Students can hit any
target that is clear and
that holds still for them.”
Rick Stiggins
The learning targets need to be clear
to the teacher, students, and parents:
• What do students need to know/do?
• How well do they need to know/do it?
• How will you know they know?
• How will you get them there?
• What will you do when they fail?
Instruction should focus primarily on
Washington:
Grade Level Expectations (GLEs).
Oregon:
Content/Achievement/Performance Standards
Idaho:
Content Standards
Passing the test(s) that your state uses for
determining AYP must be seen as a valid
goal by all teachers, students, and parents!
The ability of all students to pass the test(s)
that your state uses for determining AYP
must be seen as an achievable goal by all
teachers, students, and parents!
Teachers have a moral obligation to prepare
students to be successful on state tests.
Procedural directions are not the
same thing as learning targets.
Understanding by Design (UbD) is a
great model for developing clear
learning targets.
• Essential Questions
• Enduring Understandings
• Vocabulary
• Activities
• Assessments (evidence of learning)
Probability (GLE 1.4.1)
Essential Questions:
• How do you determine the likelihood of an event?
• What is the difference between mathematical and
experimental probability?
• What mathematical notation is used to to express
probability?
• What makes a game fair or unfair?
Probability (GLE 1.4.1)
Enduring Understandings:
• Probability is the chance that an event will occur
out of all possible events.
• The actual outcome of an event may differ from its
mathematical probability.
• Probability can be expressed as a fraction or as a
number out of a total number.
• A game is fair if the outcome for all players has an
equal mathematical probability.
Probability (GLE 1.4.1)
Vocabulary:
Certain
More Likely/Probable
Equally Likely/Probable Less Likely/Probable
Impossible
Possible Outcomes
Mathematical Probability Actual Outcome
Experimental Probability Fair/Unfair
Experimental Outcome
Activities and Assessments
To clarify the learning target use:
• Examples and non-examples
• Models
• Rubrics
• Scoring guides
• Test specification guides
Grade 1 and 2
Grade 2 and 3 morning calendar
Grade 4
behavior targets
Grade 5 work examples
Do your students know what they
need to know and do they know
whether or not they know it?
Key Element #2
Engaging Students in Formative
Assessment Activities:
Throughout a unit of instruction
students engage in practice and risktaking activities and receive feedback
that will help them move toward
meeting the learning targets.
Formative Assessment is
individualized assessment
FOR learning.
Formative Assessment tells a
student what he or she needs
to do next to improve.
Every student needs to be able to
answer the question, “What do I need
to do next to improve my own work?”
Students need to be given multiple
“next” opportunities to practice,
experiment, and, ultimately, show
growth.
Good feedback is less like a
grade and more like advice.
NON-SPECIFIC FEEDBACK
• produces no changes in learning
SPECIFIC FEEDBACK
• produces positive changes in learning
SPECIFIC FEEDBACK &
STUDENT SELF-EVALUATION
• produces the most positive changes in learning
What the Research Says:
• minimum 7% achievement gain
(Lysakowski & Walberg, 1981)
• maximum 41% achievement gain
(Kumar, 1991)
• average 35% achievement gain
(nine studies, 1981-1999)
It’s OK to mark, grade, or score
daily work or homework for the
purpose of informing students of
work quality or accuracy, but
those grades should seldom, if
ever, be used to determine a
student’s grade in that subject.
The teacher frequently
conferences individually with
students about their work.
The teacher provides opportunities
for students to assess anonymous
samples of work, their own work,
and each other’s work.
The teacher creates an atmosphere
of trust within the classroom where
students feel free to take risks.
Are you just
giving feedback?
Or are you taking time
to “feed forward?”
Key Element #3
Using High Quality Summative
Assessments:
The teacher uses a variety of high
quality assessments that best
measures the learning of their
students.
Summative Assessment is
assessment OF learning that has
already occurred.
Grades are always summative!
Tell students, in advance, how they
will be assessed, when they will be
assessed, how the assessment will
be graded, and what the
consequences for failing to meet
the learning targets will be.
Never give a summative assessment
without advance warning;
no pop quizzes or “gotcha” tests.
Use summative assessments that
reflect the stated learning targets
(no surprises).
Good, teacher-created tests are
better than commercially-produced
tests because they can focus more
precisely on the learning targets.
Creating Summative Assessments
For all tests use the smallest sample
possible that covers all aspects of the
learning target(s).
Separate knowledge/comprehension,
application/analysis and
synthesis/evaluation tests.
Give students the results of
summative assessments in
a timely manner.
What the Research Says:
• feedback immediately after item:
7% achievement gain
• feedback immediately after test:
26% achievement gain
• feedback delayed after test:
21% achievement gain
Discuss the results of summative
assessments with students so they
can use the results to plan and guide
their own learning.
Every test should also be used as a
formative learning activity
whenever possible.
Use summative assessments as
opportunities for students to reflect
on their own performance
The problem:
My answer:
The correct answer:
What I did wrong:
What the Research Says:
• right/wrong answer:
3% loss in achievement
• correct answer:
9% achievement gain
• explanation:
20% achievement gain
Whenever possible, whenever
any student fails to meet of any
of the learning targets the teacher
should provide opportunities for
additional instruction and
practice and should then reassess
that student.
What do you teach that you
don’t want 100% of your
students to learn?
What the Research Says:
• when students repeat until correct:
20% achievement gain
Conducting frequent summative assessments:
• Lets students know how they’re doing.
• Identifies student misconceptions.
• Provides information for progress reports.
• Identifies students who need extra help.
• Minimizes the amount of content to reteach.
• Makes students accountable for learning.
Classroom assessments paint a more accurate
picture of student achievement than district or state
assessments:
• They occur more frequently.
• They cover a specific range of material.
• They are often more authentic.
• They use a greater variety of types of assessment.
• The assessor knows the students.
• They can be individualized.
Using Formative & Summative Assessments
Formative: coaching; as it happens; with
training wheels.
Summative: after instruction & practice; on
their own; independently & without help.
Be very careful about using formative
assessments summatively.
Use summative assessments formatively
whenever possible.
Key Element #4
Involving Students in GoalSetting and Reflection:
Students set goals and reflect on
their learning as it progresses and
communicate their understanding
to others.
“Self assessment by pupils, far from
being a luxury, is in fact an essential
component of formative
assessment.”
Black & Wiliam, 1998
Students must be taught
how to set realistic goals.
A goal without a
plan is just a wish.
Students must be held
accountable for making progress
toward meeting their goals.
What the Research Says:
• minimum 18% achievement gain
(Walberg, 1999)
• maximum 41% achievement gain
(Wise & Okey, 1983)
• average 24.5% achievement gain
(three studies, 1983-1999)
A key premise is that, for students
to be able to improve, they must
have the capacity to monitor the
quality of their own work during
actual production.
Royce Sadler, Australia, 1989
Portfolios of student work
allow students to monitor
their progress over time.
A portfolio without student
reflections is just a scrapbook.
Ruth Sutton
Key Element #6
Communicating About Student
Achievement:
Students are the primary users of
assessment information and, as
such, they regularly communicate
about their achievement.
When students keep portfolios
with self reflections they can
see the quality of their work
change over time.
Result? Success is within reach.
When students lead or participate in
parent/teacher conferences they gain
a greater sense of responsibility and
pride in their accomplishments.
Result? Greater achievement
Involving students in conferences
sends a powerful message to
students that they are responsible
for their own learning.
Student-Involved Conferences
Don’t have to be student led.
Parents want to hear from the teacher.
Don’t take more time than traditional conferences.
Can look different in different classrooms.
Need to be by direction, not by invitation.
Provide an opportunity to model communication.
Allow teachers to “publicly” recognize students.
May require some system changes.
Key Element #5
Using Fair Grading Practices:
Grades are based on ample
evidence that accurately reflects a
student’s level of achievement in
specific subjects, performances,
products, or skills.
The NVSD K-8 Grading Scale
4 = 88% - 100% exceeding standard
3 = 75% - 87% meeting standard
2 = 62% - 74% not meeting standard
1 = 50% - 61% significantly below
standard
What does a “C” mean?
Making A-F Grading Standards-Based
A = 88 - 100% Exceeds Grade Level Standards
B = 75 - 87%
Meets Grade Level Standards
D = 62 - 74%
Doesn’t Meet GLS
F = 50 - 61%
Significantly Below GLS
I = Incomplete Not Enough Evidence
Fair vs Unfair Grading Scales
100
88
75
62
50
100
4
3
2
1
90
80
70
60
100
A
90
B
80
C
3
2
D
60
F
Fair
4
1
0
0
Unfair
Using Points and Percents
20 points
16 points
12 points
4 = 88% - 100% 18-20 14-16
11-12
3 = 75% - 87% 15-17 12-13
9-10
2 = 62% - 74% 13-14 10-11
8
1 = 50% - 61% 10-12
6-7
8-9
Using Points to Determine Grades
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
8
9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
6
7
8
9
4
5
6
10 11 12
7
8
75%
Consistently using just a few simple grading scales allows
students to understand what constitutes meeting the standard.
J-curve Assessment Results
In an ideal assessment system the
majority of students will achieve the
learning target.
A Standard Curve on a Standards-Based Assessment
Standard curves
may still naturally
occur in an ideal
assessment system,
but the mean,
median, and mode
scores should all be
at or above the
grade level
standard.
In a standards based system grades
are criterion referenced and not
norm referenced.
Student achievement is measured
against a standard - students are not
compared to each other.
Nooksack’s K-8 Grading Scale:
4: exceeding grade level standards
3: meeting grade level standards
2: not meeting grade level standards
1: significantly below grade level
standards
Grades are motivating
for some students.
A student’s grades belong
to that student.
Students need to understand
classroom grading practices.
Teach students the connection
between effort and achievement.
A grade, by itself, cannot
communicate the complexity of
the learning that has occurred.
Grades, by themselves, give
students LITTLE useful
information and do LITTLE
to improve student learning.
A grade should NOT reflect effort,
improvement, extra credit,
attitude, absences, or late or
missing assignments.
(these should all be reported elsewhere)
Not everything needs to be graded.
(everything counts, but everything
doesn’t need to go into the grade book)
Put grades into your gradebook
in pencil - not in permanent ink.
DON’T grade pre-test, practice, risk-taking, or
formative tasks.
DON’T give group grades for cooperative work.
DON’T factor late work, effort, or improvement
into achievement grades.
DON’T give achievement grades for homework
or other work that you can’t be sure
was completed by the student alone.
Extra Credit
A student’s grade should not go
up simply because that student
has done extra work.
A student’s grade should go up if
doing that extra work results in
higher achievement.
Get rid of the zero score.
All grading is subjective.
All grades must be justifiable.
(measurement theory says that you need at least
3 pieces of good evidence for triangulation)
There are no right grades - only
justifiable grades
GOOD PRACTICES REGARDING GRADING
• Use the most-recent evidence.
• Use the most-comprehensive forms of
evidence.
• Use evidence that reflects the most
important learning goals.
• Use only selective, representative grades.
It’s OK to use averaging to calculate
a student’s grade, but only when
averaging gives a result that
accurately reflects achievement.
2
1
2
3
2
3
4
3
Average = 2
Most-Recent Evidence = 3
Most computer grading programs
convert scores to percents and
then average those percents to
arrive at a grade.
When using any grading scale,
the highest possible score needs
to be within reach of all students.
(the “achievable” 4)
When using any grading scale,
all the scores on the scale need
to be available to all students.
When using any grading
scale, the divisions between
grades need to be equal.
(a “fair” grading scale)
An adopted grading scale provides a
consistent standard for determining grades,
but ultimately it is the teacher who decides
the grading standard for each assessment
because it is the teacher who chooses how
many questions to ask, what type of
questions to include, the level of difficulty
of the questions, and what constitutes
“meeting the standard.”
(remember: all grading is subjective)
What standard do you set for your students?
…your airline pilot?
…your surgeon?
…your hairdresser?
More importantly, what standard do
your students set for themselves?
The grading standards for each
subject, performance, product, or
skill should be consistent within
and across grade levels.
Consistent standards
can only be achieved
through collaboration.
A student’s classroom grades
should predict that student’s
level of achievement on state
and district assessments.
The grades a student receives
can have a tremendous impact
on that student’s life - especially
in high school.
Good grading practices are
important, but you don’t fatten
a pig by weighing it!
Student-Involved Assessment:
Anything you do that helps students:
• Understand learning targets.
• Engage in self-assessment.
• Watch themselves grow.
• Talk about their growth.
• Plan the next steps in their learning.
Everyone Wins
•
•
•
•
• More accurate
Students
assessments
Teachers
• Stronger desire to
Parents
learn
Administrators • Increased
achievement
• Accountability for
performance
Teaching is like trying to row a boat across
a lake with one student at a time.
• Some kids will help you row.
• Some kids will make you do all the rowing.
• Some kids will try and jump out.
Student-involved assessment
practices force students to grab the oars!