Developing Assessment in Jewish Studies Rabbi Johnny Solomon

1. Developing Assessment in Jewish Studies Rabbi Johnny Solomon ABOUT ME Rabbi Johnny Solomon has worked in a range of capacities in the Anglo-Jewish education community. He began his career teaching Jewish Studies at Immanuel College, later holding the position of Head of Department. He also worked at Naima JPS as Assistant Head, teaching Chumash and running a successful family education programme. More recently, Johnny was the secondary curriculum team leader at the Jewish Curriculum Partnership (JCP), providing guidance to schools about pedagogy and curriculum development as well as leading a team in producing the JCP Chumash materials. Johnny received Semicha in September 2009 having studied at the MontefioreKollel as a major scholar and is the Head of Jewish Studies at Hasmonean High School for Girls, an Ashdown Fellow and an adjunct faculty member of LSJS.

2. Developing Assessment in Jewish Studies • Importance of Written Records • Tests vs Assessments • Assessment for Learning • Using the Results of Assessment

3. My aim is to ensure that if you assess in JS, you do so effectively and reflectively.

4. Why should there be a specific talk about assessment in Jewish Studies?

5. משנה ברורה ס' מז ס''ק ב' שלא ללמוד עד שיברך ויברך אותה בשמחה גדולה דמצינו שאחז"ל על מה אבדה הארץ ויאמר ה' על עזבם תורתי ואחז"ל שדבר זה נשאל לנביאים על מה אבדה הארץ שישראל היו עוסקים בתורה ומצינו שכל זמן שהיו עוסקים בתורה ויתר הקב"ה על עונותיהם ולכן לא ידעו על מה אבדה והקב"ה הבוחן לבבות ידע כי אע"פ שהיו עוסקין בתורה לא היו עוסקין לשם לימוד התורה אלא כמו שלומדין שאר חכמות ולכן לא ברכו בה"ת שלא היתה התורה חשובה בעיניהם ולכן לא הגינה. ולכן צריך ליזהר מאד וליתן הודאה על שבחר בנו ונתן לנו כלי חמדתו. גם אחז"ל שאינו זוכה ח"ו להיות לו בן ת"ח עבור זה שאינו נזהר בבה"ת: One should be scrupulous not to learn Torah prior to making the blessings over learning Torah, and one should make the blessings with great joy. This is because our Sages explain that one reason for the destruction of the First Temple is that although people learned Torah, they treated it as just another source of knowledge, as reflected in their not reciting the blessings over learning Torah (see Jeremiah 9:11-12 and Tractate Nedarim 81a). Therefore one should be very careful in this, and give thanks to G-d for having chosen us and given us the Torah. Our Sages say that one who is not scrupulous in making the blessings over learning Torah does not merit, G-d forbid, to have a son who is a Torah scholar.

6. So what makes JS different? It is... Kodesh

7. The problem with things that are Kadosh is that Kedusha is difficult to measure.

8. For example, is an old Chumash Bereishismore kadosh than Bamidbar? Can you gradeSeferVayikra and say that it is less good than Bereishis? Can you measure the quality of a pupils tefillah?

9. So why assess in JS?

10. We assess so that pupils review the material they have studied.

11. We don’t review to pass the assessment. We assess pupils to encourage review.

12. סנהדרין צט. כל הלומד תורה ואינו חוזר עליה, דומה לאדם שזורע ואינו קוצר One who studies Torah and doesn't review it is compared to one who plants but does not harvest

13. What can we assess and what can’t we assess?

14. To put to the test, to see whether someone is indeed capable of a certain achievement (R’ Hirsch on Tehillim 95:9*) To determine the degree of value and strength inherent in another (R’ Hirsch on Tehillim 95:9*) *See also R’ Hirsch’s comments on Tehillim 7:10

15. You can pass or fail a נסיון, but the purpose of a נסיוןis to make us pass and be נשא ourselves ie. raise ourselves further.

16. It is not a sure thing that you pass a מבחן. Its purpose is to establish the extent of your capability.

17. I AM I CAN JEWISH COMPETENCE JEWISH CONFIDENCE

18. This means that the great majority of classroom assessments are a מבחן, not a נסיון.

19. So how should we assess? Terence Perry, an education consultant, strongly suggested providing students with opportunities to demonstrate their mastery of a skill by using the skill in a purposeful way. He gave the example of an ineffective teacher who tested students’ ability to bake bread by having them memorize the recipe for bread. To test his ability to bake bread, have him follow the steps of the recipe and actually bake the bread. The Art of Teaching p. 103

20. IN THIS CASE, THE TEACHER HAD NEITHER IDENTIFIED, TAUGHT OR REVIEWED THE MAIN LEARNING OUTCOME. THEREFORE, IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT WHEN WRITING CURRICULA AND PLANNING ASSESSMENTS, THE ASSESSMENT MEANINGFULLY EVALUATES THAT THE STUDENT HAS ATTAINED THE SPECIFIC LEARNING OUTCOME.

21. Question Once you have taught the halachos of NetilasYadayim, what type of assessment should you set the kids and how will you grade it?

22. Rabbi SimchaBunim Cohen, Children in Halacha pgs. 3-4 When training a child in the performance of a mitzvah, one must teach him to do it properly, with all its details, just as it is performed by an adult. For example, according to halachah, a lulav whose tip has been broken off cannot be used in the performance of the mitzvah. One may not give such a lulav to a child for the purpose of training him to perform the mitzvah. Another example: Chanukah lights must be capable of burning at least one half-hour after dark. One cannot have a child light candles that will not burn for that length of time.

23. Therefore, when assessing knowledge of halacha, assessment can simply reflect the levels that exist in halacha itself: Using this method ensures that your level descriptors are authentic and meaningful

24. HOWEVER, SOMETIMES WE NEED TO THINK A LITTLE MORE ABOUT HOW WE EDUCATE STUDENTS TO PASS A נסיון AND NOT JUST A מבחן

25. MISTAKE #1 IN JS ASSESSMENTS Excerpt from AharonHershFrieds, ‘Are our children too worldly’?, Hakirah Vol. 4

27. PUT DIFFERENTLY, THE TEACHER HAD NEITHER IDENTIFIED, TAUGHT OR REVIEWED THE MAIN LEARNING OUTCOME. JUST BECAUSE IT IS EASY TO GIVE A STUDENT A מבחן, WE NEED TO KEEP IN MIND THAT WE MUST ALSO TRAIN THEM TO PASS A נסיון.

29. MISTAKE #2 IN JS ASSESSMENTS If a learning outcome is to use a knowledge of shorashim to work out a pasuk, then an assessment is only meaningful if this is then assessed by using a pasuk the student has not previously encountered.

30. Example: Lesson In light of what we have learnt today, explain the following psukim: וְהָאֱלֹקים נִסָּהאֶת־אַבְרָהָם(בראשית כב:א) וּבֹחֵןלִבּוֹת (תהילים ז:י)

31. However, you now cannot use these pesukim to assess the skill of translating. Instead, you should use a pasuk the students have not yet encountered such as: (תהילים צה:ט)אֲשֶׁר נִסּוּנִי אֲבוֹתֵיכֶם בְּחָנוּנִי גַּם־רָאוּ פָעֳלִי

32. LEVELS Examples of Knowledge (JCP)

33. LEVELS Examples of Skills (JCP)

34. LEVELS Examples of Understanding (JCP)

35. Students need to see these levels as their passport to Jewish literacy and practice,and that they must get all the right stamps

36. FINAL ACTIVITY You have spent the last week teaching your Year 6 class about פרשת המן. The class have learnt all the pesukimand have discussed the connection between מן, faith and Shabbos. You now want to create an assessment. What questions must you ask yourself before you write your assessment?

37. What were the learning outcomes when learning פרשת המן? • Do you want to set a מבחן or a נסיון? ie. What is a suitable assessment format that evaluates that the learning outcomes have been achieved? • How can I measure the suitability of the assessment? • How can you support your students so that they review their learning effectively? • If you intend to assess a skill, how are you going to ensure that you do not end up assessing just knowledge? • How are you going to measure levels of attainment in the assessment? • How and where are you going to record results of this assessment? • Will students understand how their attainment will be measured? • How will you use the assessment to motivate growth and achievement?