Forum on Educational Accountability Assessment and ESEA Reauthorization

FEA Framework: The Federal Role Opportunity to Learn (OTL) Assessment Evaluation and Accountability Improvement Note: FEA has taken no stance on common core standards.

Purposes of Education Educate the whole child Successful citizenship in a multicultural world Basic and higher-order content knowledge and thinking skills plus creativity Which requires: High-quality, equitably supported schools Individualized attention for each child Many ways to thrive: standards without standardization

Assessment Purposes Improve instruction and learning - assessment as, for and of learning Inform school improvement and part of school improvement Part of evaluation Reporting and accountability

Major Testing Problems Under NCLB High stakes accountability sanctions based on one-shot, on-demand, large-scale tests that focus on rote, lower-level learning Teaching to the test (current ‘interim’ tests) Narrowing the curriculum Pushing students out to raise scores Gaming the results – inflated scores Increased testing to prepare for the big test De-professionalization of teachers

FEA Assessment Plan Federal Help to States and Districts to Construct Assessment Systems That Include These Components:

Performance Assessments Evaluate complex thinking and the ability to apply knowledge Allow students multiple ways to demonstrate their knowledge Connect to real-world problems, issues, ways of thinking and doing Guide students toward deeper understanding

Performance Assessments (2)  From short tasks to extended projects  Teachers help design them  Some are reviewed, approved, and ‘banked’ to be used when teachers deem appropriate  Electronic platforms as appropriate

Performance Assessments (3)  Performance assessments can be instructionally valuable & incorporate assessment for learning opportunities (interwoven instruction and assessment)  Some could be used as on-demand, large- scale assessment tasks  Can be used as part of summative evaluations or accountability

Local Assessments and Classroom- Based Evidence of Student Learning For teaching, learning, and reporting on students: formative, interim, summative Best evidence of student learning is from ongoing student work (samples, portfolios; see In and across subject areas Use in evaluation and accountability of educators, schools, districts - pilot projects Rescoring/moderation procedures to address comparability: uncommon tasks proving evidence on common goals

Local Assessments and Classroom- Based Evidence of Student Learning (2) Report annually using local and large- scale evidence Nebraska developed a local assessment system for accountability Other nations use school or classroom- based evidence in evaluations New York Performance Standards Consortium – summative and interim performance assessmentsNew York Performance Standards Consortium

Limited Large-Scale Testing Accountability assessing in only selected grades (e.g., ; every other year) Large-scale test data as one component of assessment information used for accountability and system improvement Sampling Improve NAEP

Assessments that Meet the Needs of all Learners English Language Learners Students with Disabilities ‘Cultural’ diversity (race, ethnicity, geography…) Universal Design Address specific needs of diverse groups Multiple sources of evidence Report by groups - disaggregate

Measure Growth Using Multiple Sources of Evidence Current ‘value added’ not ready for high stakes uses – BOTA FEA supports use of status, improvement (groups) and growth (individuals) Use multiple sources of evidence of student learning for all of these It is technically feasible

Professional Development Collaborative, school-based (e.g., NSDC) Strengthen teacher capacity to assess well Assessment for and of learning Constructing performance assessments Using performance assessments Scoring assessments collaboratively Using assessment information for school improvement

Trust but Verify Teachers as skilled professionals: pre- service training, professional learning Evaluate teachers on a full range of professional requirements, using multiple, varied sources of evidence Use moderation, triangulation and similar processes to evaluate schools and districts Use assessment data in school-based, educator-led improvement efforts

In Conclusion: Federal Role Support performance assessments Support local assessments (formative; classroom-based) Require limited large-scale testing Promote assessing that meets needs of all learners Require growth models to use multiple sources of evidence Fund, promote and guide professional development Help states develop systems based on “Trust but verify”

Forum on Educational Accountability See Joint Statement, Empowering Schools and backup reports