Michigan ASCD Curriculum Leaders Institute Cohort 5, Day #4 - Balanced Assessment and Accountability M L!

Building, "##" Centennial $ay, Suite %##, Lansing, MI & 'riday, (anuary )*, )#")
Post Session Assessment 1. Explain the essential differences between assessment of learning and assessments for learning. Assessment of learning is a summative process whereby the instruction assesses in such a way to conclude what learning has occurred throughout a unit, course, or even curricular program. Assessment of learning is a process by which instructors use formative assessments to gage where students are at with their learning on a very frequent basis. Another important piece of this assessment for learning is that the formative assessment results should drive the teachers instructional techniques, or allotment of time so that mastery occurs. 2. Describe the key attributes of a balanced assessment system!" #hat makes the assessment system balanced!" An assessment system is balanced when there is both assessment for learning and assessment of learning present. Both assessment types provide us with useful information it's just that one is timely for students in the classroom right now and one is vital for program evaluation. $. %sing what you know about assessment& and using the e'idence you collected throughout the session on balanced assessment& how would you describe the balance" of your school(s or district(s assessment system! We are not balanced. There are many individual classrooms using assessment for learning, but the district could use a nudge in that directions for all classrooms. We recently started vertical teams !"#$% for Writing and &ath and our goal is to get some interim common assessment implemented so that our team can wor' as a ()* to diagnose problem areas immediately and hopefully pass that information along to colleagues to help problem solve through difficult spots for students. + believe that this along with our standardi,ed testing for the district and then of course other classroom level assessments used for ()* purposes will move us toward a much more balanced system. ). *i'en the large number of state and national assessments in which a school district has little choice to participating in& how would you address the need for balance in assessment at the school le'el! #hat steps would you take to bring balance to a school! +onsider the elementary& middle school& and high school le'els. Again as stated in number three, the first piece + would bring would be some district level assessments that our vertical team could use the data for to act as a ()* and help diagnose problem areas and then target them with strategies. This would happen a couple of times a year at every grade level. Along with this idea, then ne-t level down is for building.department ()*s to develop data driven projects using data from formative assessments to drive teaching and learning within their classrooms. + have see some nice increases in students achievement

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from passing rates all the way through standardi,ed test scores once some effective ()* wor' was done at the high school. We want to move to this model in all of our buildings which is the basis of our change initiative project. ,. Describe the uni-ue roles that interim assessments can play within a school. .ow might they be used to assist teachers& administrators& and policymakers! +nterim assessments can guide ()* wor' with classroom teachers, departments, or even entire grade levels. The data collected if analy,ed in a timely manner% can yield targeted intervention projects that can ma'e wea' areas a focus for mastery. +t is with data from these assessments that attention can be paid to problem areas. This is vital if a teacher, principal, or district really wishes to impact student achievement. /. #hat are the essential -ualities of an assessment that are needed to make sure that it pro'ides trustworthy and useful data for educators and others! /or an assessment to be useful, learning targets must first be defined. 0ducators must choose the 1verbs1 in the learning targets carefully as different verbs can mean a different level Bloom's Ta-onomy% of understanding is being assessed. 2nce the learning Targets are clearly defined, then instructors must carefully align their assessments to these. + would also caution teachers to be weary of item ban's and to use good judgment when selecting from them. 2ften times item ban's give us the option to pic' and choose from a variety of question types on a given learning objective and if the instructor isn't careful, they can easily create a test that has 3 questions on one learning target that may or may not be more important that another target that only has one question addressing it. They may also be at a different depth of 'nowledge than what the learning target was meant to be mastered at. These are a few things instructors can do to begin to ensure that the assessments are appropriate in that they are measuring what they want to measure at the correct depth of 'nowledge. 0. #hat are some useful ways in which students can be engaged in assessing and impro'ing their own learning! (rogress &onitoring and self assessment are really crucial elements in wor'ing to mastery. 4ou must engage students in this process and e-plicitly teach them how to ta'e charge of their own learning. A culture of learning and wor'ing through the process of learning needs to be fostered. +t is sometimes assumed that self"assessment is a natural process, but it is in fact very difficult for many students. +t should be modeled for students. &etacognition thin'ing about your thin'ing%, whether verbally or in written form is a great way to begin these 'inds of actions with students. +f teachers are really to strive for mastery, then it follows that they must provide multiple opportunities for students to demonstrate their learning as learners will assimilate information at different rates%. 5owever, if a culture of self"assessment has not been fostered, then many students will not study the first time and then e-pect that they will simply 1get another chance later1. This is much different than assessing, and then ma'ing some instructional adjustments for individuals then re"assessing in order to ensure learning has occurred. This is really a partnership between the learner and teacher. 1. Describe your plans to pro'ide the information and training educators in your district need in order to learn how to use formati'e assessments as they teach. 6ome of our district has been introduced to the wor' of 7ic' 6tiggins and balanced assessment. + believe that those that have not, should be. &ostly this would be for our elementary staff members. They will begin the ()* journey ne-t year and assessment is often the perfect place to start. +t is a great starting point because it is how you will collect data in your classroom, it is vital when wor'ing on curriculum

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maps that you begin with the end in mind, and the results and writing of the assessments also leads to instructional implications as well. 2ournals As the learning from this session relates to your +hange 3nitiati'e Process& please write $4, paragraphs on each of the following5 #. $. 9. What are some possible e-tensions of this learning, which could directly improve your wor' in this area8 What are some e-amples of your wor' in this area8 What evidence e-ists of the impact of the wor' you are doing in this area, especially as it relates to your *hange +nitiative (rocess8

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