CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT FOR STUDENT LEARNING

1. CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT FOR STUDENT LEARNING Adapted from Assessment Training Institute, Pearson Education, Inc., 2010

2. Used with skill, assessment can Motivate the unmotivated Restore students’ desire to learn Encourage students to keep learning Create—not simply measure—increased achievement --Stiggins, Arter, Chappuis, & Chappuis, 2004

3. Classroom AssessmentGuiding Principles Gather accurate information about student achievement Use assessment process and results to promote maximum student learning

4. Keys to Quality Classroom Assessment

5. Think of a time you were assessed and it was a negative experience. What made it negative?

6. Now think of a time you were assessed and it was a positive experience. What made it positive?

7. ACCURACY EFFECTIVE USE PURPOSE

8. Key 1: Clear Assessment Purpose Always begin by asking Who’s going to usethe information? How will they use it? What information will they need? Do our assessment practices meet students’ information needs?

9. Two Assessment Purposes SUMMATIVE • Assessments OF Learning How much have students learned as of a particular point in time? FORMATIVE • Assessments FOR Learning How can we use assessment information to help students learn more?

10. Balanced Assessment Formative Formal and informal processes teachers and students use to gather evidence to directly improve the learning of students assessed Summative Provides evidence of achievement to certify student competence or program effectiveness Formative uses of summative data Use of summative evidence to inform what comes next for individuals or groups of students Assessment for learning Use assessments to help students assess and adjust their own learning Assessment for learning Use classroom assessments to inform teacher’s decisions

11. ACCURACY EFFECTIVE USE PURPOSE TARGET

12. Key 2:Clear Learning Targets Are our targets clear to us? Are they clear to students? Can we identify what kinds of targets we have? Do our assignments and assessments reflect the targets students have had the opportunity to learn?

13. DESIGN ACCURACY EFFECTIVE USE PURPOSE TARGET

14. Key 3: Sound Assessment Design Which assessment methods are the best match for the learning targets? What is an appropriate sample size? Are the items, tasks, and scoring rubrics of high quality? Does the assessment control for bias? Will the assessment yield information that students can use, when appropriate?

15. EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION DESIGN ACCURACY EFFECTIVE USE PURPOSE TARGET

16. Key 4: Effective Communication Do formative assessment results function as effective feedback to students and teachers? Are students engaged in tracking and communicating about their evolving learning? Formative Purpose Summative Purpose • Is achievement tracked by learning target and reported by standard? • Do grades communicate achievement accurately? • Are standardized test results used appropriately?

17. EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION DESIGN ACCURACY EFFECTIVE USE PURPOSE STUDENT INVOLVEMENT TARGET

18. Key 5: Student Involvement Key 1: Are students’ information needs planned for? Key 2:Do students have a clear vision of the intended learning? Key 3: Are students able to self-assess and set goals on the basis of their assessment results? Key 4: Do students receive and offer effective feedback during the learning? Key 5: Do students track, reflect on, and share their learning progress?

19. Understanding the Importance of the Keys to Quality Thinking about each of these five keys to quality: Which key(s) did your negative experiences violate? Which key(s) did your positive experiences reinforce? Categorize the experiences according to the keys to quality.

20. Inside the BLACK BOXRaising Standards Through Classroom Assessment AReview of Research on the Effects of Formative Assessment by Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam

21. FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT:All those activities undertaken by teachers and by their students [that] provide information to be used asFEEDBACK to modify the teaching and learning activitiesin which they are engaged.--Black & Wiliam, 1998

22. Research consistently shows that regular, high-quality FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT increases student achievement.

23. Activity Directions Read through the excerpt from “Inside the Black Box.” Note the 3–5 most important points to you. Then note the practices that Black and Wiliam suggest are essential to improved achievement. (5 minutes) Share with a group of 2 or 3 others at your table. (5 minutes)

24. Black & Wiliam Review of Research:1. Does better FORMATIVE assessment = higher learning?2. Does formative assessment need improving?3. What improvement is needed?

25. Black & Wiliam Research on Effects of Formative Assessment:.4 to .7 Gain .7 Standard Deviation Score Gain = 25 Percentile Points on ITBS (middle of score range) 70 SAT Score Points 4 ACT Score Points Largest Gain for Low Achievers

26. Recommended Practices Increased descriptive feedback, reduced evaluative feedback Increased student self-assessment Increased opportunities for students to communicate their evolving learning during the teaching

27. The ultimate user of assessment information is the student.

28. What Assessment for Learning Looks Like in the Classroom

29. 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. This in turn requires that students: • Know what high quality work looks like • Be able to objectively compare their work to the standard • Have a store of tactics to make work better based on their observations • --Royce Sadler, 1989

30. Assessment for learning meets students’ information needs: • Where am I going? • Where am I now? • How can I close the gap?

31. Assessment for Learning Strategies • Where am I going? 1. Provide a clear statement of the learning target 2. Use examples and models • Where am I now? 3. Offer regular descriptive feedback 4. Teach students to self-assess and set goals • How can I close the gap? 5. Design focused lessons 6. Teach students focused revision 7. Engage students in self-reflection; let them keep track of and share their learning

32. Activity Directions • Participants count off 1-7. • Each person with the number one reads the explanation of Strategy 1, etc. • Be ready to explain the key idea of your strategy and how it addresses the AFL key question. • Note ideas that are familiar and ideas that are new to you. • Share briefly with the whole group on each of the seven strategies.

33. New Idea: Formative assessment can and should be done BY STUDENTSas well as by teachers. The key to improvement is how students and teachers use assessment information.

34. Assessment for Learning:A GPS system for students, too.

35. On the Way to Quality Assessment! • Start now! • Go slow! • Don’t stop!

36. EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION DESIGN ACCURACY EFFECTIVE USE PURPOSE STUDENT INVOLVEMENT TARGET

37. Assessment for Learning Strategies • Where am I going? 1. Provide a clear statement of the learning target 2. Use examples and models • Where am I now? 3. Offer regular descriptive feedback 4. Teach students to self-assess and set goals • How can I close the gap? 5. Design focused lessons 6. Teach students focused revision 7. Engage students in self-reflection; let them keep track of and share their learning

38. Requirement for Success?Quality Assessment! Allassessments arise from high-quality content standards Allassessments produce accurate evidence Allusers use assessment to benefit student learning

39. Expected Benefits and Proven Results Assessment connected to learning Better instruction focused on standards Profound achievement gains for all students, with the largest gains for lowest achievers More self-managed learning by students