9.2.2011 pd on formative assessments

Professional Development The Use Of The Assessment Process Lisa Lazansky-Roach Vincent Thur 9/2/11

Bell Ringer : (5 Min.) Provide a definition of the following terms & give examples of when you would administer each. Pre-assessment e.g. Formative assessment e.g Summative assessment e.g

The sequence of these bases makes us who we are. We now know how to rearrange the DNA sequences in human embryos to create whatever characteristics we want in new babies – like blue eyes, brown hair, and so on, or even how to remove hereditary diseases, but many people think it’s unethical (playing God) to do this, so we don’t do it. When DNA unzips to bond with other DNA when it reproduces, it sometimes misses the re-zipping order and this causes mutations. In humans, the DNA of one cell would equal 1.7 meters if you laid it out straight. If you laid out all the DNA in all the cells of one human, you could reach the moon 6,000 times!

From Understanding By Design ( Wiggins, McTighe) The Six Facets of True Understanding : Explanation Interpretation Application Perspective Empathy Self-knowledge

Feedback vs Assessment Feedback : Holding up a mirror to students, showing them what they did and comparing it what they should have done. There’s no evaluative component! Comments only, no grades or percentages. Assessment : Gathering data so we can make a decision Greatest Impact on Student Success : Formative feedback

What does our understanding of feedback mean for our use of homework? Is homework more formative or summative in nature? Whichever it is, its role in determining grades will be dramatically different.

“ If we don’t count homework heavily, students won’t do it.” Do you agree with this? Does this sentiment cross a line?

Two Homework Extremes that Focus Our Thinking If a student does none of the homework assignments, yet earns an “A” (top grade) on every formal assessment we give, does he earn anything less than an “A” on his report card? If a student does all of the homework well yet bombs every formal assessment, isn’t that also a red flag that something is amiss, and we need to take corrective action?

Be clear: We mark or grade against outcomes, not routes students take or techniques teachers use to achieve those outcomes . What does this mean we should do with class participation, discussion, or group project marks?

Assessment OF Learning Still very important Summative, final declaration of proficiency, literacy, mastery Letter grades used Little impact on learning from feedback

Assessment AS/FOR Learning Letter grades not used Comments and some non-judgement symbols used Share learning goals with students from the beginning Make adjustments in teaching a result of formative assessment data Provide descriptive feedback to students Provide opportunities for student for self-and peer assessment -- O’Connor, Wormeli

-- Marzano, CAGTW, pgs 5-6 Teacher Action Result on Student Achievement Just telling students # correct and incorrect Negative influence on achievement Clarifying the scoring criteria Increase of 16 percentile points Providing explanations as to why their responses are correct or incorrect Increase of 20 percentile points Asking students to continue responding to an assessment until they correctly answer the items Increase of 20 percentile points Graphically portraying student achievement Increase of 26 percentile points

Item Topic or Proficiency Right Wrong Simple Mistake? Really Don’t Understand 1 Dividing fractions 2 Dividing Fractions 3 Multiplying Fractions 4 Multiplying fractions 5 Reducing to Smplst trms 6 Reducing to Smplst trms 7 Reciprocals 8 Reciprocals 9 Reciprocals

The chart on the previous slide is based on an idea found in the article below: Stiggins, Rick. “Assessment Through the Student’s Eyes,” Educational Leadership , May 2007, Vol. 64, No. 8, pages 22 – 26, ASCD

Benefits of Students Self Assessing Students better understand the standards and outcomes Students are less dependent on teachers for feedback; they independently monitor their own progress Students develop metacognitive skills and adjust what they are doing to improve their work Students broaden learning when they see how peers approach tasks Students develop communication and social skills when required to provide feedback to others. -- from Manitoba’s Communicating Student Learning , 2008

From NASSP’s Principal’s Research Review , January 2009: When anyone is trying to learn, feedback about the effort has three elements: recognition of the desired goal , evidence about present position , and some understanding of a way to close the gap between the two” (p. 143, Black)

Carol Dweck (2007) distinguishes between students with a fixed intelligence mindset who believe that intelligence is innate and unchangeable and those with a growth mindset who believe that their achievement can improve through effort and learning…Teaching students a growth mindset results in increased motivation, better grades, and higher achievement test results.” (p.6, Principal’s Research Review, January 2009, NASSP)

Pre-Assessments Used to indicate students’ readiness for content and skill development. Used to guide instructional decisions.

Summative Assessments These are given to students at the end of the learning to document growth and mastery. They match the learning objectives and experiences, and they are negotiable if the product is not the literal learner outcome. They reflect most, if not all, of the essential and enduring knowledge. They are not very helpful forms of feedback.

Tips for Planning Assessments Correlate all formal assessments with objectives. While summative assessments may be large and complex, pre-assessments usually are not. Get ideas for pre- and formative assessments from summative assessments. Spend the majority of your time designing/emphasizing formative assessments and the feedback they provide.

Tips for Planning Assessments – Planning Sequence Design summative assessments first, then design your pre- and formative assessments. Give pre-assessments several days or a week PRIOR to starting the unit. Design your lesson plans AFTER reviewing pre-assessment data.

Evaluating the Usefulness of Assessments What are your essential and enduring skills and content you’re trying to assess? How does this assessment allow students to demonstrate their mastery? Is every component of that objective accounted for in the assessment? Can students respond another way and still satisfy the requirements of the assessment task? Would this alternative way reveal a student’s mastery more truthfully? Is this assessment more a test of process or content? Is that what you’re after?

Great differentiated assessment is never kept in the dark. “ Students can hit any target they can see and which stands still for them.” -- Rick Stiggins, Educator and Assessment expert If a child ever asks, “Will this be on the test?”.….we haven’t done our job.

Successful Assessment is Authentic in Two Ways The assessment is close to how students will apply their learning in real-world applications. (not mandatory) The assessment must be authentic to how students are learning. (mandatory)

Successful Assessments are Varied and They are Done Over Time Assessments are often snapshot-in-time, inferences of mastery, not absolute declarations of exact mastery When we assess students through more than one format, we see different sides to their understanding. Some students’ mindmaps of their analyses of Renaissance art rivals the most cogent, written versions of their classmates.

Portfolios Portfolios can be as simple as a folder of collected works for one year or as complex as multi-year, selected and analyzed works from different areas of a student’s life. portfolios are often showcases in which students and teachers include representative samples of students’ achievement regarding standards and learning objectives over time. They can be on hardcopy or electronic, and they can contain non-paper artifacts as well. They can be places to store records, attributes, and accomplishments of a student, as well as a place to reveal areas in need of growth. They can be maintained by students, teachers, or a combination of both. Though they are stored most days in the classroom, portfolios are sent home for parent review at least once a grading period.

‘ Time to Change the Metaphor: Grades and marks are NOT compensation. Grades and marks are communication: They are an accurate report of what happened.

Consider… Teaching and learning can and do occur without grades. We do not give students grades in order to teach them. Letter grades/marks reference summative experiences only – cumulative tests, projects, demonstrations, NOT formative experiences. Students can learn without letter grades, but they must have feedback. Grades/marks are inferences based upon a sampling of student’s work in one snapshot moment in time. As such they are highly subjective and relative.

10 Practices to Avoid in a Differentiated Classroom [ They Dilute a Grade’s Validity and Effectiveness] Penalizing students’ multiple attempts at mastery Grading practice (daily homework) as students come to know concepts [Feedback, not grading, is needed] Withholding assistance (not scaffolding or differentiating) in the learning when it’s needed Group marks or grades Incorporating non-academic factors (behavior, attendance, and effort)

Assessing students in ways that do not accurately indicate students’ mastery (student responses are hindered by the assessment format) Marking/Grading on a curve Allowing Extra Credit Defining supposedly criterion-based marks in terms of norm-referenced descriptions (“above average,” “average”, etc.) Recording zeroes on the 100.0 scale for work not done

A (0) on a 100-pt. scale is a (-6) on a 4-pt. scale. If a student does no work, he should get nothing, not something worse than nothing. How instructive is it to tell a student that he earned six times less than absolute failure? Choose to be instructive, not punitive. [Based on an idea by Doug Reeves, The Learning Leader , ASCD, 2006] 100 90 80 70 60 4 3 2 1 0 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 50 40 30 20 10 0 Consider the Correlation

Marking Late Work One whole letter grade down for each day late is punitive. It does not teach students, and it removes hope. A few points off for each day late is instructive; there’s hope. Yes, the world beyond school is like this.

“ Teachers who accept late work tell me that students are more likely to complete their assignments if they know it will not be graded down. It also communicates to students that all class assignments have a legitimate educational purpose that must be fulfilled.” -- Forest Gathercoal, Judicious Discipline (2004), as quoted in forthcoming Ken O’Connor 3 rd edition of How to Grade for Learning , Corwin Press, 2008)

“ We are faced with the irony that a policy that may be grounded in the belief of holding students accountable (giving zeroes) actually allows some students to escape accountability for learning.” -- O’Connor, p. 86

Helpful Consideration for Dealing with Student’s Late Work: Is it chronic …. … or is it occasional ? We respond differently, depending on which one it is.

Are we interested more in holding students accountable or making sure they learn? Avoid, “learn or I will hurt you” measures. (Nancy Doda)

This quarter, you’ve taught: 4-quadrant graphing Slope and Y-intercept Multiplying binomials Ratios/Proportions 3-dimensional solids Area and Circumference of a circle. The student’s mark: B What does this mark tell us about the student’s proficiency with each of the topics you’ve taught?

Unidimensionality – A single score on a test represents a single dimension or trait that has been assessed Problem: Most tests use a single score to assess multiple dimensions and traits. The resulting score is often invalid and useless. -- Marzano, CAGTW, page 13 Student Dimension A Dimension B Total Score 1 2 10 12 2 10 2 12 3 6 6 12

Setting Up Gradebooks in a Differentiated Classroom Avoid setting up gradebooks according to formats or media used to demonstrate mastery: tests, quizzes, homework, projects, writings, performances Instead, set up gradebooks according to mastery: objectives, benchmarks, standards, learner outcomes

Set up your gradebook into two sections: Formative Summative Assignments and assessments Final declaration completed on the way to of mastery or mastery or proficiency proficiency

Summative Assessments Student: ______________________________ Standards/ Outcomes XYZ Test, part 1 PQR Project EFG Observ. XYZ Test, part 2 GHI Perf. Task Most Consistent Level 1.1 [Descriptor] 3.5 3.5 3.5 1.2 [Descriptor] 2.5 5.0 4.5 4.5 4.5 1.3 [Descriptor] 4.5 3.5 3.0 3.5 3.5 1.4 [Descriptor] 3.5 3.5 3.5 1.5 [Descriptor] 2.0 1.5 1.75

Allowing Students to Re-do Assignments and Tests for Full Credit: Always, “…at teacher discretion.” It must be within reason. Students must have been giving a sincere effort. Require parents to sign the original assignment or test, requesting the re-do. Require students to submit a plan of study that will enable them to improve their performance the second time around.

If we do not allow students to re-do work, we deny the growth mindset so vital to student maturation, and we are declaring to the student: This assignment had no legitimate educational value. It’s okay if you don’t do this work. It’s okay if you don’t learn this content or skill. None of these is acceptable to the highly accomplished, professional educator.

Include in your statement your philosophy on the following: Differentiated and fair grading Rubrics Modified or adjusted curriculum Student self-assessment Extra credit What marks/grades mean Definitions of individual grades Grading scales (100 vs 4.0) Formative vs summative assessments Averaging grades vs using median/mode Marking classwork Marking homework The purpose of homework How much curriculum should be on one test and tiering tests The role of alternative assessments Weighting marks The percent influence of varied assessments Dealing with late work Setting up the gradebook according to categories, assessment formats or outcomes Re-doing work or tests for full credit The purpose of marks/grades and marking/grading

Sample Formative Assessments Topic : Verb Conjugation Sample Formative Assessments : Conjugate five regular verbs. Conjugate five irregular verbs. Conjugate a verb in Spanish, then do its parallel in English Answer: Why do we conjugate verbs? Answer: What advice would you give a student learning to conjugate verbs? Examine the following 10 verb conjugations and identify which ones are done incorrectly.

Sample Formative Assessments Topic : Balancing Chemical Equations Formative Assessments : Define reactants and products, and identify them in the equations provided. Critique how Jason calculated the number of moles of each reactant. Balance these sample, unbalanced equations. Answer: What do we mean by balancing equations? Explain to your lab partner how knowledge of stoichiometric coefficients help us balance equations Prepare a mini-poster that explains the differences among combination, decomposition, and displacement reactions.

Samples of Formative Assessment Solve these four math problems. What three factors led to the government’s decision to… Draw a symbol that best portrays this book’s character as you now understand him (her), and write a brief explanation as to why you chose the symbol you did. Record your answer to this question on your dry-erase board and hold it above your head for me to see. Prepare a rough draft of the letter you’re going to write. What is your definition of…? Who had a more pivotal role in this historical situation, ______________ or ________________, and why do you believe as you do?

Samples of Formative Assessment Identify at least five steps you need to take in order to solve math problems like these. How would you help a friend keep the differences between amphibians and reptiles clear in his mind? Write a paragraph of 3 to 5 lines that uses a demonstrative pronoun in each sentence and circle each example. Play the F sharp scale. In a quick paragraph, describe the impact of the Lusitania’s sinking Create a web or outline that captures what we’ve learned today about….

Additional Formative Assessment Ideas: “ Reader’s Theater” -- Turn text, video, lecture, field trip, etc. into script and perform it Virtual Metaphors (Graphic Organizers) Projects, dioramas, non-linguistic represenations Multiple Choice questions followed by, “Why did you answer the way you did?” Correct false items on True-false tests.

The Frayer Model [Frayer, Frederick, Klausmeier, 1969] Essential Characteristics Non- Essential Characteristics Examples Non-examples < Topic >

Sorting Cards Teach something that has multiple categories, like types of government, multiple ideologies, cycles in science, systems of the body, taxonomic nomenclature, or multiple theorems in geometry. Then display the categories. Provide students with index cards or Post-it notes with individual facts, concepts, and attributes of the categories recorded on them. Ask students to work in groups to place each fact, concept, or attribute in its correct category. The conversation among group members is just as important to the learning experience as the placement of the cards, so let students defend their reasoning orally and often.

Change the Verb Analyze… Explain… Construct… Revise… Decide between… Argue against… Why did… Argue for… Defend… Examine… Contrast… Devise… Identify… Plan… Classify… Critique… Define… Rank… Compose… Organize… Interpret… Interview… Expand… Find support for… Predict… Develop… Categorize… Suppose… Invent… Imagine… Recommend…

“ Whip Around” (p.34 Checking for Understanding, ASCD, 2007) Students record three ideas or facts from the lesson on scrap paper, then stand up. Each student reads his list of facts, but only the ones that have not yet been mentioned by others. As classmates hear facts included on their own lists, they cross them off. When all three are crossed off their lists, students sit down. Students continue until the last classmate has shared. Teacher notes what was and was not mentioned.

9.2.2011 pd on formative assessments

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