Assessment & LearningUsing Assessment to Drive Student Learning

Henderson International School

October 9, 2014

TONIGHT’S AGENDA

• Assessment– Why do we assess?

– What types of assessment do we use?

• Standards-Based Grading– What is the purpose of grading?

– How is SBG different from traditional grading?

• Standards-Based Grade Marks & Rubrics– Why do we use them and what do they mean?

• SBG in the Classroom

• Q & A

Presenters: Chris Bezsylko, John Hefforn, Riki Seybert, Tara Cadena, and Ashia McReynolds

ASSESSMENT & LEARNING

We believe that the primary purpose of assessment is to drive student learning.

We use assessment to:

1. Communicate student progress and achievement

2. Gather evidence to inform instructional decisions

3. Provide meaningful feedback

4. Create a structure for improved achievement

ASSESSMENT, LEARNING & MINDSET

Riki Seybert, 2nd Grade

ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING

Effective assessment at HIS:• Enables students to demonstrate what they have

learned, and take responsibility for their learning

• Enables teachers to ascertain levels of understanding and modify instruction based on the needs of the students

• Provides families with accurate information regarding their child’s progress, including their strengths and areas in need of support

• Moves from a grading culture to a learning culture

HIS STANDARDS

The standards we teach to are:

• CPAA Literacy & Mathematics in grades K-1

• ERB Verbal & Mathematics in grades 2-8

• NGSS Science in grades 1-8

• ACFTL Spanish in grades 1-8

• NCCAS Arts in grades K-8

• SHAPE Physical Education in grades K-8

TYPES OF ASSESSMENT

Formative – assessment to promote learning

Summative – assessment to measure learning at a moment in time

Assessment events: quizzes, tests, graded discussions, journals, essays, self-reflections, peer-reflections, presentations, projects…

GRADING & REPORTING

The purpose of grades is to communicate to students, parents, teachers, and other stakeholders

what a student knows and/or is able to do.

• Student #1 has a ‘B’ because she did all the work, turned in her homework, and participated in class but didn’t quite understand the concepts

• Student #2 has a ‘B’ because she aced all the tests and quizzes but didn’t do any of the homework and didn’t participate in class

GRADING MINDSET

- Derived from the factory model of education- Grades used to label/sort

- Grade A versus Grade B

Golden Thin, delicate taste: try mixing with cocktails

Amber Ample & rich; enough body to hold up on pancakes

Dark Hearty & robust; aficionados love its complexity

Very Dark Bold & strong; best for backing

STANDARDS-BASED GRADING MINDSET

• Grades should have meaning

• SBG grades help teachers adjust instruction to meet the needs of individual learners

• Students, and their families, can see more explicit information about their learning

• SBG teaches what quality looks like

TRADITIONAL GRADING PRACTICES

A variety of grading practices are based on tradition rather than science.

Challenging these traditions will not be easy. They’ve been part of our education experiences for so long that they usually go unquestioned, despite the fact that they

are ineffective and potentially harmful to students.

- Thomas Guskey, Five obstacles to grading reform

FIVE MISNOMERS ABOUT GRADING

Misnomer 1: Grades should provide the basis for differentiation

- We don’t select talent, we develop it

- Differentiation should target specific standards and include flexible grouping

Obstacle 2: Grade distribution should resemble a bell-shaped curve

- Teaching is not random, it is a purposeful and intentional act

FIVE MISNOMERS ABOUT GRADING

Misnomer 3: Grades should be based on student’s standing among classmates

- Grades based upon student’s standing tells us nothing about how well students have learned

- Grades must be based on specific learning criteria that have direct meaning

- Grading is not about competition or ranking, but rather about growth and learning for all

FIVE MISNOMERS ABOUT GRADING

Misnomer 4: Poor grades prompt students to try harder

- We don’t shut down learning, we promote it

- A Growth Mindset, along with clear levels of performance, motivates students

Misnomer 5: Students should receive one grade for each subject

- A averaging of diverse measures does not yield anything meaningful

- Grades are based on explicit criteria within a subject

- Academic and Non-Academic grades

TRADITIONAL GRADE BOOK

Name Homework Ave. Quiz 1 Chp 1 Test Essay

John 90 65 70 68

Bill 50 75 78 70

Susan 110 65 70 80

Amanda 95 100 90 93

• How do these grades communicate student achievement?

• What instructional decisions can be made from these grades?

• How can these grades be used to provide meaningful

feedback?

• Is there a structure for improved achievement?

STANDARDS-BASED GRADE BOOK

Language Arts Grade Mark

Describe the main idea of a passage Meeting Expectations

Describe a supporting idea in a passage Meeting Expectations

Compare and contrast elements from two texts Approaching Expectations

Capitalization of proper nouns Below Expectations

Capitalization of the first word of a sentence Meeting Expectations

Correct use of the comma Approaching Expectations

• How do these grades communicate student achievement?

• What instructional decisions can be made from these grades?

• How can these grades be used to provide meaningful

feedback?

• Is there a structure for improved achievement?

STANDARDS-BASED GRADE MARK RUBRICS

Grade Mark Proficiency Levels

Exceeding Expectations

- A very high to outstanding level of achievement- Achievement exceeds the standard- Involves in-depth inferences and applications that go

beyond what was taught

Meeting Expectations

- A high level of achievement- Achievement meets the standard- No major errors or omissions regarding any of the

information and/or processes that were explicitly taught

Approaching Expectations

- A passable level of achievement - Student is approaching the HIS level of achievement- Student presents no major errors/omissions regarding the

simpler details and processes, but there may be errors/omissions regarding the more complex ideas and processes

Below Expectations- An insufficient level of achievement- The student does not yet have a grasp on the standard

RUBRICS – TOOLS FOR LEARNING

Research has shown that grading and reporting to specific standards, while using the accompanying

strategy of formative assessments and feedback related to progress towards standards, significantly boosts

student achievement and motivation.

Effective Rubrics

1. Present explicit learning targets

2. Clearly define levels of proficiency

3. Provide a path for improvement

SAMPLE RUBRIC – PHONEMIC AWARENESS K

Exceeds Expectations

Meets Expectations

Approaching Expectations

Below Expectations

Rhyming

Studentconsistently and

independently creates two or more syllable rhyming pairs

Studentconsistently and

independently identifies one and

two syllable rhyming pairs

containing blends.

(black/tack)(dreaming/steaming)

Student independently identifies one

syllable rhymingpairs.

(fun/sun)

Student may be able to identify

one syllable rhyming pairs with direct support and

guidance.

SAMPLE RUBRIC – SPELLING 2nd GRADE

Exceeds Expectations

Meets Expectations

Approaching Expectations

Below Expectations

FormativeWeeklyQuizzes

Meets + all of the bonus words

17-20 wordscorrect

14-16 words correct

0-13 words correct

Summative

Studentsconsistently

identify misspellings of

commonly used words with affixes

and words that display improper pluralization and

can then spell the words correctly

below the passage.

Studentsconsistently

identify misspellings of

commonly used words with affixes

and words that display improper pluralization in a given passage.

Students can identify a

misspelled grade appropriate word

in a given passage, with prompting

and support.

Students struggle to identify

misspelled grade appropriate words

in a passage.

SAMPLE RUBRIC – MATHEMATICS 5th GRADE

Exceeds Expectations

Meets Expectations

Approaching Expectations

Below Expectations

Understand order of

operations with whole

numbers

I independently solve real world

application problems and

corresponding 3+ step numerical

expressions with multi-digit whole

numbers and groupings using

the order of operations

I independently evaluate 3-step

numerical expressions with multi-digit whole numbers and one

set of grouping symbols using

order of operations

I independently evaluate 2-step

numerical expressions with

multi-digit numbers and one

set of grouping symbols using the

order of operations

I can evaluate 2-step numerical

expressions with multi-digit

numbers and one set of grouping

symbols using the order of

operations with support and

guidance

NON-ACADEMIC RUBRIC – EFFORT

ExceedingExpectations

Student always demonstrates best effort in the classroom. The student always demonstrates persistence and perseverance in his or her work, positively responds to feedback, and shows genuine interest and curiosity in learning and growing. In addition, student always: participates in class discussion, is actively engaged in learning tasks, turns in all completed class work and homework assignments on time, and is prepared for class. Student positively encourages and supports the efforts of others.

Meeting Expectations

Student consistently demonstrates best effort in the classroom throughout the term. The student usuallydemonstrates persistence and perseverance in his or her work, positively responds to feedback, and shows genuine interest and curiosity in learning and growing. In addition, student consistently :participates in class discussion, is actively engaged in learning tasks, turns in all completed class work and homework assignments on time, and is prepared for class. Once in a while the student may need a teacher reminder or prompt to continue giving best effort.

ApproachingExpectations

Student sometimes demonstrates best effort in the classroom throughout the term. The student sometimes demonstrates persistence and perseverance in his or her work, positively responds to feedback, and shows genuine interest and curiosity in learning and growing. In addition, student sometimes: participates in class discussion, is actively engaged in learning tasks, turns in all completed class work and homework assignments on time, and is prepared for class. There may be an attempt on the part of the student, but requires prompting on the part of the teacher.

Below Expectations

Student rarely demonstrates best effort in the classroom throughout the term. The student rarelydemonstrates persistence and perseverance in his or her work, positively responds to feedback, and shows genuine interest and curiosity in learning and growing. In addition, student rarely: participates in class discussion, is engaged in learning tasks, turns in all completed class work and homework assignments on time, and is prepared for class. The student often requires prompting to give best effort and lack of effort is effecting academic achievement.

RUBRICS AS TOOLS FOR LEARNING #1

Tara Cadena, 7th & 8th Grade Math

8th GRADE MATHEMATICS RUBRIC

Exceeds Expectations

Meets Expectations

Approaching Expectations

Below Expectations

Understand order of

arithmetic operations(decimals)

I can accuratelyadd, subtract, and

multiply expressions with

four signed decimals, and

expressions with divide two signed decimal, including expressions with

variables

I can accuratelyadd, subtract, and

multiply expressions with

three signed decimals, and

divide expressions with two signed

decimals

With promptingand support, I can

add, subtract, multiply, and divide signed

expressions with two decimals

I struggle to accurately add,

subtract, multiply, and divide

expressions with two signed decimals

RUBRICS AS TOOLS FOR LEARNING #2

Ashia McReynolds, 4th Grade

HOW WOULD YOU ASSESS IT?

4th GRADE WRITING CONCEPTS & SKILLS RUBRIC

Exceeds Expectations

Meets Expectations

Approaching Expectations

Below Expectations

Recognizethesis

statements

Student can create a thesis

statement that is precise,

knowledgeable, and significant.

Student consistently

identifies the thesis statement

in a piece of writing.

Student can explain what a

thesis statement should be but

cannot yet consistently

identify a thesis statement in a

piece of writing.

Student cannot explain what a

thesis statement should be.

RUBRIC: FREE WRITING JOURNAL Quotes, PE Today, Science Today, and CNN Student News

MY TAKEAWAYS

• Rubrics help remove subjectivity

• Students and parents are aware of expectations

• Teachers are concise and clear about expectations

• Create student confidence

REFERENCES

• Guskey, Thomas R. (2011). Five obstacles to grading reform. Educational Leadership.

• Heflebower, Tammy, Hoegh, Jan K., Warrick, Phil. (2014). A school leader’s guide to standards-based grading. Marzano Research Laboratory.

• Marzano, R. J. (2009). Formative assessment and standards-based grading. Solution Tree.

• O’Connor, Ken. (2009). How to grade for learning: K-12 (3rd edition). Corwin.

• O’Connor, Ken. (2010). A repair kit for grading: Fifteen fixes for broken grades (2nd

edition). Pearson.

• Wormeli, Rick. (2006). Fair isn’t always equal: Assessing and grading in a differentiated classroom. Stenhouse.

QUESTIONS

• Assessment

– Why do we assess?

– What types of assessment do we use?

• Standards-Based Grading

– What is the purpose of grading?

– How is SBG different from traditional grading?

• Standards-Based Grade Marks & Rubrics

– Why do we use them and what do they mean?

• SBG in the Classroom