Instructional Supports for Common Core and Beyond: FORMATIVE ASSESMENT

Instructional Supports for Common Core and Beyond: FORMATIVE ASSESMENT

Defining Date Guiding Question: Why is it important for everyone to have a common understanding of data and how they are used?

Importance of Data Literacy Teachers and school staff who are data literate: Understand sound data uses practices Know the types of data to use to generate dependable student achievement information Use report card grades, test scores, portfolios, conferences, etc., to effectively communicate achievement results to intended users

Data Brainstorm Brainstorm all the different types of education-related data you can think of in the classroom and school setting Write each example on a separate Post-it note. Set them aside on your table

Assessment Data Data produced by directly measuring student learning

Contextual Data Data related to all aspects of the classroom, staffing, school, or students, except student learning; Instead, it has an impact on student learning

Two Data Categories Assessment Data Data produced by directly measuring student learning Contextual Data Data related to all aspects of the classroom, staffing, school, or the students except student learning; Instead it has an impact on student learning

Data Sort Write any additional examples on separate Post-it notes Post chart paper with two columns, one labeled Assessment and the other labeled Contextual Classify your examples by placing them under the appropriate heading

Gallery Walk Visit each group s sorting charts Look for commonalities, differences, and note any questions you may have

Consider in Your Table Groups Why do you think we did this activity? What was the purpose?

Assessment Types Guiding Question: What is the role of summative and formative assessments in your school or classroom?

Calling a test formative doesn t make it so How many of you are in districts that administer standardized, formative assessments? How many of you are in a district that requires teachers to post or give grades on formative assessments? How many of you are in districts that tell teachers to use the district/state test results for your diagnostic purposes or to inform instruction?

Classroom Assessments Classroom assessments must include both summative and formative tests Both assessment types are interconnected. They provide different levels of information on student learning at different points in time The key question to ask: What are you using the data for?

Formative Assessments Take place in the classroom and are among the daily responsibilities of the teacher Must be a routine part of classroom activity, not an interruption Can not be separated from instruction Used to track learning during the instructional process Provide information to determine instructional next steps Do not result in grade Are usually informal

Formative Assessments As teachers become comfortable with formative assessment techniques, they tend to develop expertise in knowing When a lesson is going well When to stop a lesson in its tracks When to stretch a lesson into the next day When to review When to ask deeper questions, and so on

Summative Assessments Conducted at the end of teaching to determine mastery of standards and gather evidence of learning Administered periodically Used to inform others about the student Used to make judgements about students

Summative Test Cautions Do not use for diagnostic purposes Delay in receiving results Lack enough items per standard Fringe/outlier questions eliminated Do not use to determine mastery of individual standards Not enough items per standard Do not use item analysis or test item banks without professional development Difficulty level must be known Multiple item types must be included Will be used for test prep

Thinking Lens Activity Count off by 5 to identify lens: 1. PURPLE LENS: The Down Side!- What s wrong, Why it won t work, Errors or mistakes 2. RED LENS: How Do You Feel?- Emotions, Get it out there, Hunches, Opinion 3. GREEN LENS: Where can This Go?- Growth, Creative, New Seeds 4. YELLOW LENS: Look On the Bright Side- Positive, Up side, Constructive, Possibilities 5. BLUE LENS: Pulling Things Together- Thinking about thinking, director of thinking, Summaries Read: The Best Value in Formative Assessment through your lens and share out your response

Closing Questions Why is it important to know the differences between summative and formative assessments? Knowing these differences, what can or should you be doing in your classroom, school, district, etc.?

Four Formative Assessment Techniques Observation Questioning Feedback Student Self-Assessment

Observation Strategies Anecdotal records This strategy does not mean every student is observed every day Instead, focusing on 3-5 students per day One approach: carry a clipboard with the students names and jpt down what you notice about student learning Checklists This strategy has an anchored criteria Teachers observe using a prepared list of competencies, criteria, or behaviors, noting students progress, difficulties, etc. In some cases, checklists provide an integral part of the report card, providing parents with more detail of what their child knows and is able to do

Questioning Questions are often the way to initiate productive dialogue Well-designed questions should be part of lesson plans They type of question and the way we question makes a difference in how successfully we can probe student understandings

Questioning Types Closed Questions Teacher has predetermined correct response in mind- there is a definitive right or wrong answer (Who is the main character in the story?) Open Questions Encourage students to think beyond the literal (Would you rather live when the story takes place or now? Why?)

Use Bloom s Taxonomy to Develop Thinking Skills Remembering To recall or remember information Understanding To explain ideas or concepts Applying To use previously learned knowledge, rule, or method in a new way Analyzing To break information into parts to explore understandings and relationships Evaluating To judge the value of materials or ideas and justify a stand, decision, or position Creating To put ideas together in a new way to develop a new product or point of view

Reflect on Your Own Practice What observation and/ or questioning techniques do you use? How do you use them? How could you use them better? What do you need to use these techniques more effectively?

Observation &Questioning Activity Count off by 3 Watch the classroom video clip All the 1s will observe student learning and teacher instruction All the 2s will identify the type of questioning based on Bloom s taxonomy All the 3s will document evidence of formative assessment

Strategies that Promote Rich Discussions Some of the things a teacher can do to promote and enhance discussions with students include: Inviting students to develop more complex contributions: Say a little more about Echoing: So you think that Making a personal contribution from your own experiences: I remember Non-verbal invitations: eye contact, tilt of head

Tips for Engaging Students Give students time to respond (discuss their thinking in pairs or small groups) Allow students to respond to teacher questions in a variety of ways (writing the answers, concept map) Encourage students to ask as well as answer questions

Feedback Feedback is information about how we did in light of some goal; what was and was not accomplished, given a specific goal

Two Types of Feedback Evaluative Feedback Tells learners how they compare to others Provides a judgement summarizing the quality of the learning It is a direct result of summative assessment Descriptive Feedback Provides specific information in the form of written comments or conversations Helps the learner understand what he or she needs to do or improve It is a crucial part of formative assessment

Quality Feedback Regardless of the type of feedback used, it must be: Of high quality Clearly written or spoken Age-specific Content-specific Address the intended purpose Timely

Research on Feedback Grades o an assignment have no positive effect on students- it doesn t improve performance Descriptive feedback on an assignment has a positive effect on students- student performance improves by 30% Grades and feedback on an assignment have no positive effects on students- the grades appear to negate the positive effects of the feedback

Student Self-Assessment Definition: students critically examine their work with references to previously established indicators- learning targets, criteria, exemplars, and/or rubrics Self Assessment: May happen during a task May take place at the end of a task, or topic, or unit of work Can include peer-assessment

Students Who Assess Their Own Learning Ask Questions Why am I doing the task in this way? How can I be more efficient in my learning? Will what I am doing now help me tackle things I need to dotomorrow, next week, next year? How do I know that I know this? What if?

Standards-Based Instruction Question: What is the role of the classroom assessments in the standards-based instructional process?

Activity: Standards-Based Instruction (SBI) Process Find a Partner Answer: What things do you do when planning for SBI? What are the steps? Each step of the process should be placed on a separate sentence strip Number each sentence strip in the order that it occurs and put them to the side Read Planning Backwards from Demonstrations of Achievement Based on the reading, revise your sentence strips as needed

Steps in the Standards-Based Instruction Process 1. Select Standards 2. Design an Assignment 3. Identify Learning Needs 4. Plan Instruction 5. Teach and Assess 6. Use Data- Feedback

Formative Assessment Wrap-Up The best formative assessments are included in the instructional planning process Teachers must plan to purposefully stop and make spot checks to engage students or determine if students are getting it

Assessment Literacy Reflection Question: Why is it important for everyone to have a common understanding of assessments and how they are used?

Wrap-Up Given what we ve learned: How does thinking about student expectations up front change classroom practice? What role does assessment play in the instructional process?