1. CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT FOR STUDENT LEARNING
In Senate Bill 1 it is stated that “The General Assembly finds, declares, and establishes that: Schools shall expect a high level of achievement of all students.”
As part of the direction for achieving this goal the state has initiated training in identifying the concepts, skills and instructional strategies needed to apply assessment for learning in each classroom. We will talk more about assessment for learning during this presentation.
Rick Stiggins, Judith Arter, Jan Chappuis, and Steve Chappuis’ have authored the book entitled “Classroom Assessment for Student Learning: Doing It Right—Using It Well”.
The Assessment Training Institute in Portland, Oregon, has put together resources and professional development sessions to enable teachers and/or administrators to become facilitators of the assessment for learning training in all schools.
You can’t “workshop” everything you need to be able to do in education. In order to deepen assessment expertise of teachers and administrators, this book, Classroom Assessment for Student Learning ( or CASL), targets a two pronged approach to PD:
Learning teams are created for content delivery (independent and collaborative work)
Introductory presentations are made to give an overview of the big picture of assessment quality and to provide specific examples and classroom applications.
Adapted from Assessment Training Institute, Pearson Education, Inc., 2010

2. Used with skill, assessment can
Preliminary Slides
Used with skill, assessment can
Motivate the unmotivated
Restore students’ desire to learn
Encourage students to keep learning
Create—not simply measure—increased achievement
--Stiggins, Arter, Chappuis, & Chappuis, 2004
Slide 2
This is the opening claim from the CASL book, page 3.
© 2010 Pearson Assessment Training Institute, Portland, OR

3. Classroom Assessment Guiding Principles
Preliminary Slides
Classroom Assessment Guiding Principles
Gather accurate information about student achievement
Use assessment process and results to promote maximum student learning
Slide 3
This slide leads into the content of the presentation.
© 2010 Pearson Assessment Training Institute, Portland, OR

4. Keys to Quality Classroom Assessment
Slide 4
The first thing we’re going to take a closer look at are the keys to quality classroom assessment…click to slide 5.

5. Think of a time you were assessed and it was a negative experience
Think of a time you were assessed and it was a negative experience. What made it negative?
Slide 5

6. Now think of a time you were assessed and it was a positive experience
Now think of a time you were assessed and it was a positive experience. What made it positive?
Slide 6

7. ACCURACY EFFECTIVE USE PURPOSE 1. Keys to Quality
“Keys to Quality” Slide 7
“Key 1 is Clear Purpose. Sound classroom assessment requires that both processes and results serve clear and appropriate purposes. A central question for this key is, Who will use the assessment results and how will they be used?”
© 2010 Pearson Assessment Training Institute, Portland, OR

8. Key 1: Clear Assessment Purpose
1. Keys to Quality
Key 1: Clear Assessment Purpose
Always begin by asking
Who’s going to use the information?
How will they use it?
What information will they need?
Do our assessment practices meet students’ information needs?
“Keys to Quality” Slide 8
“To establish a clear assessment purpose, we ask the following questions: What decisions will this assessment inform? Who is making these decisions? What information will be most useful in making those decisions? And, have we included student information needs in planning our assessment?
The answers to these questions determine what information is needed and in what form—this is the first step in assessment planning, whether you are developing your own assessment or selecting one already developed.”
© 2010 Pearson Assessment Training Institute, Portland, OR

9. Two Assessment Purposes
1. Keys to Quality
Two Assessment Purposes
SUMMATIVE
Assessments OF Learning
How much have students learned as of a particular point in time?
FORMATIVE
Assessments FOR Learning
How can we use assessment information
to help students learn more?
“Keys to Quality” Slide 9
“We can divide the purposes of assessment into two categories: assessment of learning and assessment for learning. Summative assessment, or assessment of learning, measures the level of achievement at a point in time. Standardized tests and benchmark assessments generally fall into this category. Any work that is evaluated that counts toward the report card grade we can consider an assessment of learning. So, if you think about all the assessments given over a trimester or quarter and how many of them are figured into the grade, you’ll discover that a lot of them, if not most of them, are assessments of learning. Assessment of learning is periodic and is for accountability (for both students and teachers).
Formative assessment, or assessment for learning, on the other hand, is not an accountability tool, but a teaching tool. We can conduct assessments to make decisions about instruction before the learning process or during the learning process. For example, we conduct pretests to help us decide where to begin with certain groups of students. We can also set assignments and quizzes up so that students are able to determine what they’ve mastered and what they still need to learn.” Assessment for learning is continuous. It can be viewed as “teaching with the eyes open”. Teachers watch as students practice and intervene if they are practicing things the wrong way.
© 2010 Pearson Assessment Training Institute, Portland, OR

10. Assessment for learning Assessment for learning
1. Keys to Quality
Balanced Assessment
Formative
Formal and informal processes teachers and students use to gather evidence to directly improve the learning of students assessed
Summative
Provides evidence of achievement to certify student competence or program effectiveness
Formative uses of summative data
Use of summative evidence to inform what comes next for individuals or groups of students
Assessment for learning
Use assessments to help students assess and adjust their own learning
Assessment for learning
Use classroom assessments to inform teacher’s decisions
“Keys to Quality” Slide 10
(Paraphrase slide) Then say: “You can see classroom-level, building-level, and district-level decision-makers represented here. Remember, the term formative includes the manner in which an assessment is used and doesn’t just refer to an assessment instrument in and of itself. Formative assessments are used to increase learning and summative assessments are used to verify that it has or hasn’t taken place. The question is not, ‘Which one should we use?’ We need both. The question is, ‘Are they in balance?’.”
© 2010 Pearson Assessment Training Institute, Portland, OR

11. ACCURACY EFFECTIVE USE PURPOSE TARGET 1. Keys to Quality
“Keys to Quality” Slide 11
“The second key to quality is Clear Targets. Good assessments reflect clear and valued student learning targets.”
© 2010 Pearson Assessment Training Institute, Portland, OR

12. Key 2: Clear Learning Targets
1. Keys to Quality
Key 2: Clear Learning Targets
Are our targets clear to us? Are they clear to students?
Can we identify what kinds of targets we have?
Do our assignments and assessments reflect the targets students have had the opportunity to learn?
“Keys to Quality” Slide 12
“Key 2 asks us to be clear about the targets we intend to teach and assess before we plan our assessments. We need to know what kind of target the content standard represents, so we teach to the intended level of cognitive challenge, and so we can select the appropriate assessment method.”
“We need to be competent, confident masters of the targets ourselves. We need to know what targets each assessment measures so we can ensure that our tests match our teaching and so that we can keep track of learning standard by standard. And we need to make our targets clear to students in advance of, or during, the learning.”
Targets must be communicated in student friendly language, such as “I can multiply two digit numbers”.
© 2010 Pearson Assessment Training Institute, Portland, OR

13. ACCURACY EFFECTIVE USE PURPOSE DESIGN TARGET 1. Keys to Quality
“Keys to Quality” Slide 13
“So, good assessment begins with Keys 1 and 2, Clear Purpose and Clear Targets. Once those prerequisite decisions are in place, we are ready to take action in Key 3, Sound Assessment Design.”
© 2010 Pearson Assessment Training Institute, Portland, OR

14. Key 3: Sound Assessment Design
1. Keys to Quality
Key 3: Sound Assessment Design
Which assessment methods are the best match for the learning targets?
What is an appropriate sample size?
Are the items, tasks, and scoring rubrics of high quality?
Does the assessment control for bias?
Will the assessment yield information that students can use, when appropriate?
“Keys to Quality” Slide 14
“High-quality assessments are not built first and then retro-fitted into a context. After we have established the context—identified the purpose and targets to be assessed—then we are ready to design the assessment with these questions in mind.” (Read slide. You may also want to add a sentence or two of explanation for each design feature.)
After Question 1: Different methods include selected response, extended written response, performance assessment, and personal communication.
After question 3: Do the items/tasks address the learning targets from teacher instruction? Do the rubrics specifically address the intent of the question/task?
After question 4: A source of bias is anything that may interfere with assessment results (such as a death in the family or other traumatizing event occurring in a student’s life).
© 2010 Pearson Assessment Training Institute, Portland, OR

15. ACCURACY EFFECTIVE USE PURPOSE EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION DESIGN TARGET
1. Keys to Quality
ACCURACY
EFFECTIVE USE
PURPOSE
EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION
DESIGN
TARGET
“Keys to Quality” Slide 15
“Once we have ensured the accuracy of our assessments, we are ready to address their effective use. The fourth key to quality is Effective Communication: Assessment results are managed well and communicated effectively.”
© 2010 Pearson Assessment Training Institute, Portland, OR

16. Key 4: Effective Communication
1. Keys to Quality
Key 4: Effective Communication
Formative Purpose
Do formative assessment results function as effective feedback to students and teachers?
Are students engaged in tracking and communicating about their evolving learning?
Summative Purpose
Is achievement tracked by learning target and reported by standard?
Do grades communicate achievement accurately?
Are standardized test results used appropriately?
“Keys to Quality” Slide 16
“The most accurate assessment is wasted if its results are miscommunicated, or if they are communicated to students in ways that shut learning down. In Key 4, we focus on what needs to be in place so that everyone who receives assessment information can use it effectively. This includes making sure that formative assessment results can function as effective feedback, and involving students in tracking and communicating about their progress. For summative assessment, it means that our record keeping and grading practices accurately reflect student learning and that we are able to interpret and use standardized test results correctly.”
© 2010 Pearson Assessment Training Institute, Portland, OR

17. ACCURACY EFFECTIVE USE PURPOSE EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION DESIGN STUDENT
1. Keys to Quality
ACCURACY
EFFECTIVE USE
PURPOSE
EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION
DESIGN
STUDENT
INVOLVEMENT
TARGET
“Keys to Quality” Slide 17
“The fifth key to quality is Student Involvement and it is not a stand-alone key, but rather a part of all of the other keys.”
© 2010 Pearson Assessment Training Institute, Portland, OR

18. Key 5: Student Involvement
1. Keys to Quality
Key 5: Student Involvement
Key 1: Are students’ information needs planned for?
Key 2: Do students have a clear vision of the intended learning?
Key 3: Are students able to self-assess and set goals on the basis of their assessment results?
Key 4: Do students receive and offer effective feedback during the learning?
Key 5: Do students track, reflect on, and share their learning progress?
“Keys to Quality” Slide 18
“These are the central components of student involvement in assessment: (read slide, or paraphrase).”
© 2010 Pearson Assessment Training Institute, Portland, OR

19. Understanding the Importance of the Keys to Quality
Thinking about each of these five keys to quality:
Which key(s) did your negative experiences violate?
Which key(s) did your positive experiences reinforce?
Categorize the experiences according to the keys to quality.
“Keys to Quality” Slide 19
This is the second half of the activity at the beginning of this presentation (negative and positive experiences in assessment). Participants work in the handout to identify which key or keys to quality were involved in their negative and positive experiences. They can work alone or discuss with a partner.
© 2010 Pearson Assessment Training Institute, Portland, OR

20. Inside the BLACK BOX Raising Standards Through Classroom Assessment
2. Formative Assessment Research
Inside the BLACK BOX Raising Standards Through Classroom Assessment
A Review of Research on the Effects of Formative Assessment
by Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam
“Formative Assessment Research” Slide 20
The Keys to Quality Assessment have shown us that assessment must have a clear purpose and clear learning targets have to be identified. Therefore, teachers teach to the targets and then align their assessments to the instruction.
Directions: Explain that Black & Wiliam are two British researchers who conducted a comprehensive review of the research on the impact formative assessment practices have on student achievement. They published an article reviewing their findings in the October 1998 PDK.
© 2010 Pearson Assessment Training Institute, Portland, OR

21. 2. Formative Assessment Research
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT: All those activities undertaken by teachers and by their students [that] provide information to be used as FEEDBACK to modify the teaching and learning activities in which they are engaged. --Black & Wiliam, 1998
“Formative Assessment Research” Slide 21
“In the article, Black & Wiliam define formative assessment as (read slide).”
© 2010 Pearson Assessment Training Institute, Portland, OR

22. 2. Formative Assessment Research
Research consistently shows that regular, high-quality FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT increases student achievement.
“Formative Assessment Research” Slide 22
“They noted that (read slide).”
© 2010 Pearson Assessment Training Institute, Portland, OR

23. 2. Formative Assessment Research
Activity Directions
Read through the excerpt from “Inside the Black Box.”
Note the 3–5 most important points to you. Then note the practices that Black and Wiliam suggest are essential to improved achievement. (5 minutes)
Share with a group of 2 or 3 others at your table. (5 minutes)
“Formative Assessment Research” Slide 23
“Now we’re going to read an excerpt from that article to understand more about their findings.” Have participants read the 2-page excerpt provided in the handout, noting the 3–5 most important points to them. Also ask them to pay attention to Black & Wiliam’s recommended practices. This takes about 5 minutes.
Conduct a large-group debrief. (If time permits, you may want to note responses on chart paper. Possible chart title: “High-Impact Formative Assessment Practices”) .
© 2010 Pearson Assessment Training Institute, Portland, OR

24. 2. Formative Assessment Research
Black & Wiliam Review of Research: Does better FORMATIVE assessment = higher learning? 2. Does formative assessment need improving? 3. What improvement is needed?
“Formative Assessment Research” Slide 24
You can use this slide and the three that follow it as a summary of what the article says, as a way to draw closure to this activity.
© 2010 Pearson Assessment Training Institute, Portland, OR

25. 2. Formative Assessment Research
Black & Wiliam Research on Effects of Formative Assessment: .4 to .7 Gain
.7 Standard Deviation Score Gain =
25 Percentile Points on ITBS (middle of score range)
70 SAT Score Points
4 ACT Score Points
Largest Gain for Low Achievers
“Formative Assessment Research” Slide 25
“There is significant research showing that assessment for learning practices increase student motivation and achievement. Black and Wiliam reviewed over 250 studies on the effects of formative assessment on achievement. They found effect sizes of between .4 and .7 standard deviations. To understand the significance of these numbers, we can translate them as follows: A .7 standard deviation gain on the ITBS equals a gain of 25 percentile points, a gain of 70 points on each portion of the SAT, and a gain of 4 points on the ACT composite score.”
© 2010 Pearson Assessment Training Institute, Portland, OR

26. Recommended Practices
2. Formative Assessment Research
Recommended Practices
Increased descriptive feedback, reduced evaluative feedback
Increased student self-assessment
Increased opportunities for students to communicate their evolving learning during the teaching
“Formative Assessment Research” Slide 26
“Black and Wiliam highlighted three fundamental changes necessary for schools to attain those gains: increasing descriptive feedback and reducing evaluative feedback, increased student involvement in the assessment process, and increased opportunities for students to communicate their evolving learning while the teaching is in progress.”
(These three findings are the foundation of the ATI assessment for learning strategies. We urge you to become comfortable repeating them from memory before you give this presentation.)
© 2010 Pearson Assessment Training Institute, Portland, OR

27. The ultimate user of assessment information is the student.
2. Formative Assessment Research
The ultimate user of assessment information is the student.
“Formative Assessment Research” Slide 27
You could ask “Which of our current assessments are set up so students can act on the information?” Or, you could use this slide as a probe with a partner discussion question such as: “How does this match your current thinking about formative assessment?”
This slide concludes the introductory part that focuses on the connection between assessment and motivation and introduces assessment for learning in a general sense.
© 2010 Pearson Assessment Training Institute, Portland, OR

28. What Assessment for Learning Looks Like in the Classroom
“What Assessment for Learning Looks Like” Slide 28
This is not hard work, but neither can it be done overnight. It is multi-year work (3-5 years).
We are going to do a brief overview of the Seven Strategies of Assessment for Learning
©2010 Pearson Assessment Training Institute

29. 4. What Assessment for Learning Looks Like
A key premise is that for students to be able to improve, they must have the capacity to monitor the quality of their own work during actual production. This in turn requires that students:
Know what high quality work looks like
Be able to objectively compare their work to the standard
Have a store of tactics to make work better based on their observations
--Royce Sadler, 1989
“What Assessment for Learning Looks Like” Slide 29
©2010 Pearson Assessment Training Institute

30. Assessment for learning meets students’ information needs:
4. What Assessment for Learning Looks Like
Assessment for learning meets students’ information needs:
Where am I going?
Where am I now?
How can I close the gap?
“What Assessment for Learning Looks Like” Slide 30
These three questions are a short-hand way to think about assessment for learning.
©2010 Pearson Assessment Training Institute

31. Assessment for Learning Strategies
4. What Assessment for Learning Looks Like
Assessment for Learning Strategies
Where am I going?
1. Provide a clear statement of the learning target
2. Use examples and models
Where am I now?
3. Offer regular descriptive feedback
4. Teach students to self-assess and set goals
How can I close the gap?
5. Design focused lessons
6. Teach students focused revision
7. Engage students in self-reflection; let them
keep track of and share their learning
“What Assessment for Learning Looks Like” Slide 31
©2010 Pearson Assessment Training Institute

32. 4. What Assessment for Learning Looks Like
Activity Directions
Participants count off 1-7.
Each person with the number one reads the explanation of Strategy 1, etc.
Be ready to explain the key idea of your strategy and how it addresses the AFL key question.
Note ideas that are familiar and ideas that are new to you.
Share briefly with the whole group on each of the seven strategies.
“What Assessment for Learning Looks Like” Slide 32
©2010 Pearson Assessment Training Institute

33. 4. What Assessment for Learning Looks Like
New Idea: Formative assessment can and should be done BY STUDENTS as well as by teachers. The key to improvement is how students and teachers use assessment information.
“What Assessment for Learning Looks Like” Slide 33
This may have been one of the new ideas. For many it is a new interpretation of what “formative assessment” can mean.
©2010 Pearson Assessment Training Institute

34. Assessment for Learning: A GPS system for students, too.
4. What Assessment for Learning Looks Like
Assessment for Learning: A GPS system for students, too.
“What Assessment for Learning Looks Like” Slide34
A final point is that a balanced assessment system acknowledges and meets students’ information needs. It shows students where they are, where they need to go, and how to close the gap.
©2010 Pearson Assessment Training Institute

35. On the Way to Quality Assessment!
Start now!
Go slow!
Don’t stop!
Slide 35
The best way to address the process of implementing Classroom Assessment for Learning is to:
Start now…If we don’t change what we’re doing, we’re going to keep getting the same results.
Go slow…This is an ongoing process…at least 3-5 years for complete implementation of a balanced assessment system.
Don’t stop…when the going gets tough, we have to keep trudging on. This is to be implemented one piece at a time, through collaboration and team work.

36. ACCURACY EFFECTIVE USE PURPOSE EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION DESIGN STUDENT
1. Keys to Quality
ACCURACY
EFFECTIVE USE
PURPOSE
EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION
DESIGN
STUDENT
INVOLVEMENT
“Keys to Quality” Slide 36
Quick review of the 5 Keys to Quality Classroom Assessment (student involvement is embedded in each of the first four keys).
TARGET
© 2010 Pearson Assessment Training Institute, Portland, OR

37. Assessment for Learning Strategies
4. What Assessment for Learning Looks Like
Assessment for Learning Strategies
Where am I going?
1. Provide a clear statement of the learning target
2. Use examples and models
Where am I now?
3. Offer regular descriptive feedback
4. Teach students to self-assess and set goals
How can I close the gap?
5. Design focused lessons
6. Teach students focused revision
7. Engage students in self-reflection; let them keep track of
and share their learning
“What Assessment for Learning Looks Like” Slide 37
Briefly summarize the seven Assessment for Learning Strategies.
©2010 Pearson Assessment Training Institute

38. Requirement for Success? Quality Assessment!
1. Keys to Quality
Requirement for Success? Quality Assessment!
All assessments arise from high-quality content standards
All assessments produce accurate evidence
All users use assessment to benefit student learning
Slide 38
In order for students to achieve success, a quality balanced assessment system must be in place.
© 2010 Pearson Assessment Training Institute, Portland, OR

39. Expected Benefits and Proven Results
1. Keys to Quality
Expected Benefits and Proven Results
Assessment connected to learning
Better instruction focused on standards
Profound achievement gains for all students, with the largest gains for lowest achievers
More self-managed learning by students
Slide 39
These four points act as a summary of why schools would engage in this learning.
Stress how important it will be to approach this process through learning teams and to have students actively involved in each key to quality assessment.
© 2010 Pearson Assessment Training Institute, Portland, OR