DC Everest’s Journey Towards Implementing Best Practices in Grading and Assessment

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Why “giving them hope”?

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This presentation is simultaneously about teacher leadership and making the essential shift from teaching to learning

• With SO MUCH going on in education, what was compelling about a conversation about grading? How did the conversation begin?

• What was our timeline and what helpful resources/examples/artifacts might assist in your journey?

• What are the results? What has changed for

students and their learning?

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http://dcegrading.weebly.com/

• Our most recently updated presentation and other handouts/resources can be accessed electronically by participants via the above link.

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NAEPizing

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the WKCE Educator Effectiveness Act 10 Changes RtI Smarter, Balanced Assessment System Shifting Demographics Political Polarization New State Accountability System New SIS Common Core Public School Competition Local Issues

• • • • • • • • • • • Changing demographics Superintendent/Board goals about “all students” Continued emphasis on use of UbD and “40-year” learning Elementary math curriculum change Board/leadership collaborative discussions about challenges in front of students and teachers Literacy focus across all content areas Strong PLC focus on common assessment and curriculum revision M.S. grouping pilot and related professional development(Wormeli) RtI mindset regarding increasing our support and simultaneously raising our expectations Enter CCSS: curriculum and assessment, expectations, intervention conversations continue to evolve

Grading: the high-visibility statement about what we value in learning that connects curriculum, instruction and assessment

FROM:

Teach, Test…Move On

TO:

Teach, Test…NOW WHAT?

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Reeves/Guske (assessment and grading)

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DuFour (PLCs)

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Hattie (meaningful impact…feedback)

Your student’s semester performances are listed below. What is this student’s final grade?

1. C 2. C 3. MA (missing assignment) 4. D 5. C 6. B 7. MA 8. MA 9. B 10. A

“Much of what teachers do is because that is the way it was done to them; this is no longer good enough. It is my hope that this book will lead teachers to examine critically their grading practices. Some of the ideas in this book challenge long-held beliefs and practices and create considerable cognitive dissonance.”

“Much of what teachers do is because that is the way it was done to them; this is no longer good enough. It is my hope that this book will lead teachers to examine critically their grading practices. Some of the ideas in this book challenge long-held beliefs and practices and create considerable cognitive dissonance .”

Everything in education, from

● ● ● ● ●

Attitudes Buildings Curricula

…

Zeitgeist

Must. Be. Tended.

“G” for Grade

Small acts of leadership compound

Infect the supercarriers

Bridge more than bond

Trust in trust

• Prior to 2007, K-5 math report card focused on math facts, accuracy, and work completion • Teachers struggled to make report card descriptors fit with our Everyday Mathematics program • Most importantly, the report card failed to inform students or parents what students knew and understood about math

• Informed students of their skills, knowledge; aids them in goal setting • Informed parents of his/her child’s performance level • Gave teachers an opportunity to reflect on their teaching in regard to their students’ learning

• Fall of 2006: Elementary grade level leaders led inservice on reporting math grades • All grade levels submitted ideas which followed a similar theme using EDM math strands • Grade level leaders presented grade level ideas to principals and adminstrative teams for approval

• Parents positive comments about the information included in new standards-based report card for math resulted in rewriting all areas of the elementary report card to reflect more detail in all subject areas.

• Report card grading belief document developed • New elementary RC was written by committee of K-5 teachers over the summer

• • • • • • • • We believe that report cards should be a reflection of a student’s knowledge and skills based on assessment of grade level expectations and ideally criterion referenced.

We believe the evaluating and reporting of students’ proficiencies should be consistent by grade level or department throughout the district. We believe proficiency reports should indicate students’ level of performance on key curricular concepts for the current grading period.

We believe proficiency reports should be a communication tool between teachers, students, and parents, be conducive to teacher input and provide ease of parent interpretation. We believe assessment must be based on standards and key course objectives. Multiple measures of assessment must be used which can include performance based assessments and daily observations. We believe homework should reflect current learning objectives and be at most, a minimal part of the grade. We believe an effort grade should be separate from academic performance and reflect the student’s initiative, behavior, drive, and perseverance. We believe modifications and accommodations should be made for any student to allow optimal success in demonstrating knowledge of subject matter. These modifications and accommodations should be documented on the proficiency report.

• How close might these belief statements be to your current thinking? • How about for your “most respected” teachers?

District Grading and Assessment Task Force • Developed our skills, knowledge, experiments, and experience: • • Conferences: Tomlinson, Wormeli, Minnetonka, Marzano Book Studies & Conversations: O’Connor, Hattie, Marzano • • • Teacher-Led Mini Inservices for each other and colleagues Team, PLC, and Department Discussions Sharing resources, examples, and attempts • Gained strategies, resources, and confidence to not only support each other but also to connect with colleagues who may not have a similar mindset

• • • As more colleagues joined the conversation, we realized we needed a more strategic and accessible method to “infect” our assessment culture Grassroots Development Process: What do teachers need most?

• How can we bridge to other teacher leaders?

• How to we support our colleagues to encourage best practices?

• What can we do to reduce toxic practices?

Synthesized and focused our goals • Touchstone: “We want to fairly and accurately communicate what students know and are able to do.”

• Target Area #1— Prerequisites: Mindset, Assumptions, Curriculum, Assessment • Target Area #2— Practices to Reconsider: Practice Experiences, Late Work, Zeroes • Target Area #3— From Percentages to Criterion Referenced: Assessment in Action • Target Area #4— The Gradebook: Organizing by Learning • Target Area #5— Manageability: Practical Strategies for Busy Teachers

Our overarching goal is to cultivate an environment where learning is first and foremost. To make this a reality a certain mindset, and some concrete skills/tools, are necessary. Currently recognized best practices in grading encourage us to evolve our practices towards a standards-based approach. Professional development, time, and other support will be essential in making this transition successfully.

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Bring in an outside resource as a keynote presenter

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Include 11 breakout-sessions lead by DCE teacher leaders

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Provide collaborative time for departments/teams

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Identify and provide ongoing resources to support these efforts "after the day"

Link to our resources:

dcegrading.weebly.com

Link to our complete handout: https://www.box.com/s/08k4 72gzcszifu0ukld6

Keynote: Jeff Erickson 11 Break-Out Sessions by 30 DCE Teachers

“We all are in this together.”

From “Grass Roots” to “Grass Fire” Educating our Board

• Empowerment and encouraged experimentation • Permission to pioneer, to make mistakes • Books, conferences, “mini-conferences” in-house: timely and accessible • Connections with others looking to change/grow • Time, time, time with these ideas, each other

• Who are your teacher leaders? Your bridge builders? • What do they most need to flourish and how can this assist in advancing student learning beyond individual classrooms?

• In a very challenging political and economic time we’ve made huge, positive changes * (implementation data regarding toxic practices, spread of 4-point scale) • Assessments more often measure achievement; grades are becoming more closely connected to achievement and are not a “well kept secret.” (RtI and CCSS essentials!) • We have raised our expectations of students…and of ourselves. Failure is not an option and students are expecting/asking for/demanding practices that emphasizes learning. Conversations are about learning…it’s about “getting it”, not “when you get it”: training “learners, not workers.” *(re-assessment plans across secondary buildings, potentially, student perception) • Teacher leaders: positioned to help us continue moving forward.

Do you believe your teachers are more concerned about your grades or your learning?

• “Your learning—they want you to know and be able to know things for the future.”

Do you believe your parents are more concerned about your grades or your learning?

• “My grades—they want me to get good grades for college.”

• Time: 2.5 years to where we’re at, and we’ve got a long way to go • Outdriving our headlights: rapid fire spread beyond a core group and growing pains • Parent education* (discussion of how quickly we moved and how this is a step we need to get taken care of) • Technology (discussion of current limitations and how that causes frustrations)

• http://dcegrading.weebly.com/ • O’Connor’s How to Grade for Learning • Marzano’s Formative Assessment & Standards-Based

Grading

• Popham’s Everything School Leaders Need to Know

About Assessment

• Wormeli’s Fair Isn’t Always Equal • Hattie Visible Learning and Dweck Mindset • Model District to check-out: Minnetonka, MN

Barbara Lawrence

3 rd Grade Teacher, Rothschild Elementary, [email protected]

Leslie Jeffers

7 th Grade English, DC Everest Middle, [email protected]

Chad Brecke

Technology Education, DC Everest Junior High, [email protected]

Mike Teuke

High School Science, DC Everest High School, [email protected]

Casey Nye

Principal, DC Everest Middle, [email protected]