The Development and Use of Local Common Assessments to Guide Differentiated Instruction

1. The Development and Use of Local Common Assessments to Guide Differentiated Instruction Presented To: Greater Dane County TAG Coordinators Network Monday, April 7, 2008 Lori Ott, Director of Instruction, Marshall School District

2. Professional Resources

3. The Need for Assessment Literacy • Research has overwhelmingly shown that effective use of assessments improve student achievement • Educators must use assessments to guide instruction • Data-driven decision-making • Curriculum-based measurement to determine student response to instruction • Use of common assessments and collaborative scoring

4. Defining Assessment Literacy • Assessment for learning and assessment of learning • Types of assessment: large-scale, small-scale, norm-referenced, criterion-referenced, selected-response, constructed-response, performance, authentic • Balanced assessment framework • Pre-tests and Post-tests • Multiple assessments for one learning goal

5. Formative vs. Summative Assessments • Formative-Assessment for learning • Summative-Assessment of learning • What is the purpose of the assessment?

6. The Power of Formative Assessments • Pre-test • Guide instruction • Inform decision-making • Checking for understanding • Frequency • Question: How relevant are summative assessments when formative assessments are used effectively?

7. The Process • Need for clearly identified grade-level learning goals aligned to state and national standards • Develop aligned common assessments • Use common assessments as pre-test and post-test • Collaborative scoring • Flexible grouping • Differentiation planning

8. Development of the Assessment • Matching the assessment with the learning goal (Given…, the student will…, by…) • New idea: bank of common test items vs. common assessments • Type I, II, III assessment items

9. Assessment Items • Type I: basic details (vocabulary terms, facts, and time sequences) • Type II: generalizations and principles that are more complex/student must produce examples or predictions • Type III: tasks for information that goes beyond what was actually taught to students

10. Relation to Bloom’s Taxonomy • Type I: knowledge and comprehension • Type II: application and analysis • Type III: synthesis and evaluation • Importance of verbs

11. Putting It All Together • Use a variety of assessment items on a common assessment noting which items are which types of items • Use the common assessment as pre-test and use the types of items successfully completed as indication of necessary groupings and differentiation • Easy translation to grading and reporting

12. The Role of a TAG Coordinator • Involvement in curriculum alignment • Collaboration with staff in developing high-quality assessments that check for understanding at all ability levels • Use common assessments as an identifier • Support staff in identifying appropriately challenging instruction (differentiation) aimed in growth on targeted learning goals (Use Bloom’s Taxonomy) • Work with flexible groups • Professional development-need for assessment literacy

13. Questions?

14. Contact Information Lori M. Ott Director of Instruction Marshall School District (608) 655-3466, x1003 lori_ott@marshall.k12.wi.us