Students and Teachers Measuring Growth Astrategy to focus learning and support student success

1. Students and Teachers Measuring GrowthAstrategy to focus learning and support student success Poway Unified School District Dr. John Collins Ray Wilson

2. Agenda • Implementing Change at a District Level • Measuring Growth • Elements of a Benchmark Assessment • Supporting Change at the Classroom Level

3. Why Growth Trumps Status? Growth or “Valued Added” Strategies… Increase Accountability Every 10-12 weeks Individualized for every student Refocuses teachers and students on learning Increase Motivation Engages students and teachers in meaningful dialog Allows for real-time adjustments

4. Who had a Better Year?

5. Does this Change Your Mind?

6. Why Growth Before Status? Growth or “Valued Added” Measures… Level the Playing Field between higher and lower performing students and schools Provide a Leading Indictor of future status

7. Poway’s Journey #4 Rebuild #3 Agree to Stop Doing #2 Culture and Policy #1 Beliefs and Attitudes

8. Step #1: Change Beliefs and Attitudes Develop Guiding Principles of Assessment Guiding Question: Why do we assess student learning?

9. Guiding Principle #1 The primary purpose of assessment is to accelerate student learning Corollaries: Meaningful to the student Aligned to what is being taught Timely (immediate) feedback Descriptive not evaluative Co-managed by the student and teacher

10. Guiding Principle #3 Assessments must show growth over time Corollaries: Consistent from year-to-year Constant (regular intervals) Scalable over multiple administrations Aligned to standards Understood throughout the organization

11. Step #2: Change Culture and Policy “The most powerful force in any organization is the system already in place.” Larry Lazotte

12. Step #2: Culture and Policy Formed a joint committee of teachers, the teachers’ union and administrators to… Study the research Evaluate current conditions Make recommendations

13. Study Team Recommendations Establish a comprehensive, coherent and continuous assessment system based upon research Provide related professional development Integrate technology Provide continuous review Rebuild the PUSD assessment system

14. Bottom Line Balance: formative and summative Priorities: feedback to those inside the classroom is just as important as feedback to those outside the classroom

15. Step #2: Culture andPolicy Board policy embodies the elements of the Guiding Principles “Improved student learning is the Primary goal of any assessment” “The Board acknowledges that a balanced assessment system employs two types of assessment that must work in concert.” Board Policy

16. In order to rebuild the PUSD Assessment System… … “all District mandated assessments are suspended for the 2003-2004 school year.” Step #3: Stop What We Were Doing … teachers will determine what works best to support and monitor student learning

17. Step #4: Rebuild • Create a simple understandable • model • Implement procedures for • annual review and continuous • updating of the system • Implement training

18. Poway’s Assessment Model

19. Characteristics of Our Growth Measure

20. Elements of A Benchmark • Aligns with state tests/standards • Predicts results on state tests • Measures growth over months & years • Provides discreet feedback on the sub-elements of the standards • Yields both local and national growth norms

21. Our Benchmark Is Our Key NWEA’s Measures of Academic Progress a.k.a. MAP NWEA - http://www.nwea.org/

22. Poway’s Assessment Model

23. Problems and Practical Solutions Implementation:

24. Problem: Students achieve “normal growth”, but slip in AYP status • Motivational problems • Public Relations Problems

25. Solution Two growth expectations… • “Expected” or normal growth • “Optimal” Growth • Growth needed to achieve proficiency in three years • Growth needed to maintain “Proficient” or “Advanced” status next year

26. Expected and Optimal Growth Targets MAP Winter Achievement Report Percentage of class on track to meet or exceed Expected Growth 78% Percentage on track to meet of exceed Optimal Growth 67% Fall Mean RIT 185 Winter Mean RIT 197

27. Alignment allows us to establish and clearly communicate expectations

28. Problem: Engaging students, teachers and parents in conversations about reasonable, achievable learning objectives

29. Solution: Move from numerical scores to specific learning objectives Provide curriculum-based objectives Provide tools Provide processes Goal Setting

30. Teachable Objectives

31. Well Designed Reports

33. Share Responsibility for Learning with students Individual and Class Goals

34. Goals-Setting Tools

35. Class Goals

36. Templates, Elementary

37. Templates, Middle School

38. Reflection

39. Individual Goal-Setting

40. Results • API up 6 years • No Schools in PI • School Bond Passage • Motivated Students