Byron Center Professional Development

November 17, 2011

Erin Busch-GrabemeyerElizabeth Nelson

Common Assessments for

Writing

OBJECTIVES

1. Develop a shared understanding of the principles, methods, and design of good writing assessment.

2. Recognize the power of assessment and collaboration as a key to affecting instruction.

3. Look at writing from the perspectives of student work and teacher instruction.

Common AssessmentExperts

________________

Rick Stiggins Mike SchmokerRobert MarzanoSteve ChappuisJan ChappuisJudith Arter

Rick WormeliKen O’ConnerRick DuFour

,

What’s the big deal?

I am not a writing teacher!

Isn’t this the job of the

English dept.?Why do we need to use the same

assessment?

I don’t have enough time to cover one more

thing!

Nearly 1/3 of high school

graduates are not ready for college-level

writing.

Achieve, Inc., 2005

Only 1 out of 4 high

school seniors is a

proficient writer.

Salahu-Din, Persky, and Miller, 2004

.

The benchmark for good writing in the 19th century was on “correctness” of mechanics versus the deep rhetorical thinking required today.

Carnegie Report, 2010

The Information Age, full of high tech devices, is writing based.

Each phase of writing requires problem solving and critical thinking.

Because Writing Matters, Carl Nagin and NWP

Writing can support

learning and retention of knowledge in all disciplines

Writing to Learn, William Zinsser

Good writing is essential

For obtaining• high school diploma

• college degree• acquiring a good job

• participating in society.

Who is the stakeholder?

How we assess depends on why we assess.

Step 1

Why Assess?

Accountabi

lity

Why Assess?

Motivat

ion

Why Assess?

Monitor

Progress

Why Assess?

Provide

Feedback

Why Assess?

Inform

Instruct

ion

Why Assess?

Judge

Teacher

Effectiven

ess

Why Assess?

Determine

Strengths

Why Assess?

Determine

areas of

deficiency

Why Assess?

Report to

parents

Why Assess?

Determine how

many meet

standards

Why Assess?

Measure

American

students’

success

ASSESSMENTUSER

Assessment for Learning

(IN)FORMATIVE

Assessment of LearningSUMMATIVE

Students

Am I improving over time?Do I know what it means to succeed?What should I do next?What help do I need?

Am I succeeding at the level that I should be?Am I capable of success?How am I doing in relationship to my classmates?Is the learning worth the effort?

Teachers

What does this student need?What do these students need?What are student strengths to build on?How should I group my students?Am I going too fast? Too slow? Too far? Not far enough?

What grade do I put on the report card?What students need to be referred for special service?What will I tell parents?

Parents

What can we do at home to support learning?Is my child learning new things?

Is my child keeping up?Is this teacher doing a good job?Is this a good school? District?

Principal

   Is instruction producing results?Are students ready for the workplace or the next step in learning?How shall we allocate building resources to achieve success?

Superintendent

   Are our programs of instruction producing desired results?Is each building producing results?Which schools need additional resources?How shall we allocate district resources to achieve success?

Formative Assessment Qualities Summative Assessment Qualities

On-going, daily instruction At the end..no “do over”

Used to inform students and teachers what has been learned and what do students still need while the teacher is still teaching.

Used to examine teaching strategies and curriculum strengths and weaknesses

Informs both the teacher and the learner in order to adjust instruction along the way

Informs instruction for next year or course design. May provide effective teaching strategies

Focus is on understanding the task Focus is on mastery at a given point

Allows for immediate feedback to teacher and student

Means to sift and sort students for placement

What we assess depends On our

learning targets.

Step 2

What did I want my

students to learn?

Step 2

learning targets

A learning target is any achievement expectation we hold for students.

It’s a statement of what we want the students to learn.

Is this of sound

assessment design?

How do we know the assessment measures

this? Step 3

Sound Assessment Design

Create quality rubrics

Control for bias

Design the assessment so that students can self- assess and set goals

Do we have a shared

understanding of what student learning

should look like?

What is our inter-rater reliability?

Step 4

Inter-rater reliability is dependent upon the ability of two or more individuals to be consistent.

This involves a change

in focus from looking

at our work to looking

at student work.

What is our inter-rater reliability?

What is our inter-rater reliability?

No one assessment can measure

everything or do everything

for all stakeholders

There are many different kinds of writing

assessments

Where am I going?

1. Provide a clear learning target

2. Use examples and models of strong and weak work

Where am I now?

3. Offer descriptive feedback

4. Teach students to self assess and set goals

How can I close the gap?

5. Design lessons to focus on one aspect of quality at a time

6. Teach students focused revision

7. Engage students in self-reflection and share in their learning

7 Practices of Assessment FOR Learning

Classroom Assessment for Student Learning: Doing It Right, Using It Well by Rick Stiggins (2004)

Remember: You are not in this alone.

Where do we begin?

Working Together will share the work load and allow you to create the best assessments.