Common Formative Assessments Matthew Morgan Imran Abbasi Schalmont Central School District

Team Learning Process Clarify essential learning (skills, knowledge, dispositions) for each course/subject to ensure students have access to a guaranteed and viable curriculum, unit by unit.

PLC Critical Questions 1. What is it we expect them to learn? 2. How will we know when they’ve learned it? 3. How will we respond when they don’t learn it? 4. How will we respond when they already know it?

Step 1: Building Shared Knowledge PLC’s attempt to answer these critical questions by first BUILDING SHARED KNOWLEDGE – engaging in collective inquiry – LEARNING together, If people make decisions based on the collective study of the same pool of information, they increase the likelihood that they will arrive at the same conclusion.

Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum Only happens when the teachers who deliver the curriculum work collaboratively to: Study the intended curriculum and agree on the priorities within the curriculum. Clarify how the curriculum translates into specific student knowledge and skills. Commit to one another that they will teach the agreed upon curriculum.

Why Assess? “The true purpose of assessment must be, first and foremost, to inform instructional decision making. Otherwise, assessment results are not being used to their maximum potential—improving student achievement through differentiated instruction.” --Ainsworth and Viegut, 2006, pp21-22

Traditional Instruction-Assessment Model Pretest Teach Posttest Assign Grades Traditional Instruction-Assessment Model Analyze Results Plan to Differentiate Pre-Assess Monitor, Reflect, Adjust Reteach Teach Post-Assess Instruction-Assessment Model with Data Analysis Ainsworth & Viegut, 2006

Levels of Curricula at Work In Our School 1. Intended: What we want them to learn 2. Implemented: What actually gets taught 3. Attained: What they actually learn To impact the attained curriculum in the most powerful way, we must make certain that the implemented curriculum is guaranteed and viable.

Learning Targets Understand the definition of a common formative assessment Identify priority standards Identify why and when to use common formative assessments Identify the next steps after giving a common formative assessment Determine structural needs to implement a system of common formative assessments

Identifying Essential Priority Standards To identify what the essential priority standards, apply these three criteria: 1. Endurance: Are students expected to retain the skills or knowledge after they have been assessed? 2. Leverage: Is this skill or knowledge applicable to many academic disciplines? 3. Readiness for the next level of learning: Is this skill or knowledge preparing the student for success in the next grade or course?

Priority Standards Endurance Readiness Leverage Value for Life; Long-Lasting Knowledge Leverage Has Value in Many Disciplines Readiness Prepares Students for the Next Level of Learning Priority Standards

Common Assessments… … assess the learning of all students pursuing the same curriculum through the use of the same instrument and the same criteria. … are administered during the same window of time. … are administered to all students with appropriate modifications and adaptations.

What are Common Formative Assessments? Assessments for learning administered to all students in grade level or course several times during a unit of study, semester or year Items collaboratively designed by participating teachers Results analyzed in Data Teams in order to differentiate instruction Ainsworth & Viegut, 2006

What are Common Formative Assessments? “Not standardized tests, but rather teacher-created, teacher- owned assessments that are collaboratively scored and that provide immediate feedback to students and teachers.” --Reeves

Keys to a Common Formative Assessments (CFAs) Process What is it we expect students to learn? Priority Standards How will we know when they have learned it? Common Assessments (Form and Summ) How will we respond when they don’t? Interventions How will we respond when they do? Enrichment or Differentiation

Why Collaborate? If all students are expected to demonstrate the same knowledge and skills, regardless of the teacher to which they are assigned, it only makes sense that teachers must work together in a collaborative effort to assess student learning. --DuFour, DuFour, Eaker, et. al

When to use CFAs? Not all assessments need to be common assessments. CFAs should be collaboratively developed around essential priority standards.

Identify Priority Standards Represent the “content and performance standards for a given subject matter area in terms of their endurance, leverage and ability to prepare students for readiness at the next level of learning. --Ainsworth & Viegut, 2006, p31 Focus on Priority standards when developing CFAs but do not ignore others

Scoring of CFAs Teams need to work collaboratively to determine scoring rubrics and levels of proficiency If possible, CFAs should be collaboratively scored and results analyzed as a team

Shifts in ELA/Literacy Balancing Informational & Literary Text Students read a true balance of informational and literary texts. Shift 2 Knowledge in the Disciplines Students build knowledge about the world (domains/ content areas) through TEXT rather than the teacher or activities Shift 3 Staircase of Complexity Students read the central, grade appropriate text around which instruction is centered. Teachers are patient, create more time and space and support in the curriculum for close reading. Shift 4 Text-based Answers Students engage in rich and rigorous evidence based conversations about text. Shift 5 Writing from Sources Writing emphasizes use of evidence from sources to inform or make an argument. Shift 6 Academic Vocabulary Students constantly build the transferable vocabulary they need to access grade level complex texts. This can be done effectively by spiraling like content in increasingly complex texts.

Steps to Creating Common Formative Assessments The first steps are related to “unwrapping” the standards so that your assessments are aligned to the shifts in the Common Core. This is applicable to all subject areas not just ELA or Math. Choose an Important Topic Identify Matching Priority Standards “Unwrap” Matching Priority Standards Create a Graphic Organizer Determine the Big Ideas Write the Essential Questions

Beginning Steps Step One: Important Topic: Reading Comprehension. Rationale: Important to all subjects and closely aligned with Shift #4: Text-Based Answers. Step Two: Match Priority Standards Reading Standards for Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects 6-12. Grades 9-10 Students: 2. Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; trace the text’s explanation or depiction of a complex process, phenomenon, or concept; provide an accurate summary of the text.

Step Three “Unwrap” the standards Step Three “Unwrap” the standards. Underline the concepts (important nouns or noun phrases and circle or capitalize the skills (verbs). DETERMINE the central ideas or conclusions of a text; TRACE the text’s explanation or depiction of a complex process, phenomenon, or concept; PROVIDE an accurate summary of the text.

Step 4: Create a Graphic Organizer Concepts: Need to KNOW about Central Ideas/Conclusion Accurate Summary Process, Phenomenon or Concept Reading Comprehension

Graphic Organizer Skills: Be Able to DO Approximate Level of Blooms Skill and Related Concept 4. analyze Determine (central idea/conclusion) 2. understand Trace (process, phenomenon or concept) 6. create Provide (accurate summary)

Big Ideas Use the unwrapped standards and graphic organizer to help create the Big Ideas to assess. Use text-based questions to determine if students can Identify a main idea Understand a process Create an accurate summary

Next Steps Each PLC must create 2 Common Formative Assessments over the course of the school year. Schedule Sept-Nov: Develop Goal and create CFA aligned to standards (Common Core or State) December: Conduct and analyze CFA