Transcript learning target - Ionia Public Schools

ASSESSMENT “OF” AND
“FOR”: DOES IT REALLY
MAKE A DIFFERNCE?
Based on the work of
Assessment FOR Learning by
Rick Stiggins
October 29, 2007
Today’s Agenda
8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
 Welcome
 Presentation by Dr. Rick Stiggins
 Assess Why? Presentation and Activities
 Assess What? Presentation
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
 LUNCH!!!!!!
Today’s Agenda Continued…
12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
 Assess What? Activity
 Review and Wrap-Up Activity
5 KEYS of Quality Classroom
Assessment

Key 1: Clear Purpose




Why assess?
What’s the purpose?
Who will use the results?
Key 2: Clear Targets



Assess what?
What are the learning targets?
Are they clear? Are they good?
5 Keys of Quality Classroom
Assessment

Key 3: Good Design





Assess how?
What method?
Sampled how?
Avoid bias – how?
Key 4: Sound Communication



Communication how?
How do we manage information
How do we report?
5 Keys of Quality Classroom
Assessment

Key 5: Student involvement


Students are users and can participate in the
assessment process.
Students are actively involved in every part of
the teaching, learning, and assessment
process.
A Closer Look at Keys 1 & 2

Key 1: Why Assess?/Clear Purpose

Assessment OF Learning:
How much have students learned as of a particular
point in time?

Assessment FOR Learning
How can we use assessment to help students learn
more?
A Balanced Assessment System

Assessment OF



Summative
Norm referenced/
standardized/ often
teacher made
A snapshot in time
Essential Question:
What have students
already learned?

Assessment FOR



Formative
Teacher-made
A moving picture
Essential Question:
How can we help students
learn more?
Assessment Purpose

OF Learning




Certify competence
and/or sort students
Punishments or rewards
Administer, score,
report
Study, try, avoid failure

FOR Learning




Inform students,
teachers, and parents
about how to improve
Believe in success
Transform, inform,
build, and adjust
Set goals, use results to
improve
Activity: Emily’s Story
To begin our examination of student
involved classroom assessment, we
present a description of a student’s
assessment experience.
Directions:
1. Watch the skit “Emily’s Story”
2. Read Emily’s two writing samples
3. Watch the video “Interview with Emily”
4. Answer the following questions:
Emily Story Questions
1.
2.
3.
What did it take to create Emily?
What are the payoffs?
Are we willing to invest the time it takes
to learn how to create Emily in all our
students?
A Closer Look at Keys 1 & 2
Continued...

Key 2: Assess What?/Clear Targets




Assess what?
What are the learning targets?
Are they clear?
Are they good?
Student Improvement

To improve, students must:



Know what good work looks like
Compare their work to the standards
Understand how to close the gap between the
two.

Royce Sadler
Challenges
Before instruction and assessments can be
developed, all educators need a clear
understanding of what the standards look
like in student work, and what measurable
learning targets are required for students
to achieve mastery.
Research Connection
When students are involved in the
assessment process, they are required to
think about their own learning, articulate
what they understand and what they
still need to learn – and achievement
improves
(Black and William, 1998; Sternburg, 1996; Young, 2000)
Standards and Targets
In order to fully utilize the standards
educators must be able to answer the
following questions:




What does the standard look like in student work?
What are the imbedded learning targets?
How are standards and targets understood by teachers
and shared with students?
Are the targets found in our maps?
What Are The Learning Targets?
A learning target is any achievement expectation
we have for students on the path toward mastery
of a standard.
It clearly states what we want the students to
learn and should be understood by teachers and
students.
Learning targets should be formatively assessed
to monitor progress toward a standard.
Six Steps To Developing Learning
Targets

Step 1 in Unpacking Standards:


Student-Friendly Language
As a team, identify the verb(s) in the standard.
(Tip: Use a highlighter and find similar verbs – are
they really the same?)
Common Verbs in Standards
Describe
Explain
Identify
Illustrate
Trace
Compare
Contrast
Predict
Apply
Sort
Justify
Analyze
Evaluate
Discuss
Define
List
Differentiate
Distinguish
Defend
Conclude
Categorize
Six Steps To Developing Learning
Targets Continued…

Step 2

Use a dictionary or thesaurus as a starting
point, first define the verbs for educators.
Remember to ask yourselves “What does this
look like in student work?”
(Tip: Try “fist to five” in order to keep the
pace and the peace.)
Verb to be
defined
Predict
Definition
To make a
statement that
something will
happen in the
future.
StudentFriendly
Language
Six Steps To Developing Learning
Targets Continued…

Step 3

Define the verb for students by rewriting it in
student-friendly language.
(Tip: Try to define verbs in the same way
within a grade level and content area to limit
confusion on behalf of both the teacher and
the student.)
Six Steps To Developing Learning
Targets Continued…

Step 4:

Rewrite the standards as an “I can…” (or I am
learning to …”) statement. Be sure it is in
terms that students will understand.
(Tip: Post the “I can” statements around the
classroom as reminders for focused lessons
and student goal setting.)
Verb to be
Defined
Predict
Definition
To make a
statement that
something will
happen in the
future.
StudentFriendly
Language
I can predict from
information in the
text.
This means that I
can use information
I read to make a
statement about
what will happen in
the future
Six Steps To Developing Learning
Targets Continued…

Step 5:
Duplicate this process for content and skills in
the standard. Define both the content and
skills for teachers first and then, when needed,
rewrite the definition in student-friendly
specifics.
Term(s) to be
Defined/Clarified
Scientific
Investigations
Definition/
Clarification
The use of the
scientific method
Student-Friendly
Specifics
A process used to
prove or disprove
an educated guess.
Six Steps To Developing Learning
Targets Continued…

Step 6:
Share the unpacked version with grade level
and/or content area colleagues and refine as
needed.
Share the unpacked refined version with grade
span colleagues and then have it reviewed as
part of the K-12 alignment process.
Unpacking Considerations
As your school or department begins the
unpacking process, you may want to
consider the following:





Grade level consensus
K-12 Alignment
Curricular Impact
Resource Allocations
Assessment Implications
The Final Word Protocol Activity
You read an article called “Formative Assessment: What Do
Teachers Need to Know and Do”. In your group of three, designate
a timekeeper/facilitator for each of the three rounds.
Round 1:
1. One person begins by explaining the significance of a selected
quote from the reading. (3 minutes)
2. The other two members of the group then comment on the
quote selected by the first person. (3 minutes)
3. The person who started then has the FINAL WORD about that
quote. (1 minute)
Round 2:
Continue as above, with the next person explaining the
significance of the next quote selected.
Round 3:
Continue as above, with the last person explaining the significance
of the next quote selected.
Wrap-Up Discussion
On a piece of chart paper, answer the following
question:
How does our work today support each of
the four elements of formative assessment
identified in the article?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Identifying the gap
Feedback
Student involvement
Learning progressions
Looking Ahead: A five year plan
Year 1 – Unpack Standards and Create
Learning Targets
 Year 2 – Collect and Examine Student
Work
 Year 3 – Create Common Assessments
 Year 4 – Use and Evaluate Common
Assessments
 Year 5 – Review Curriculum

Next time:
Key 3: Good Assessment Design