Curriculum and Assessment

Assessment for Learning Assessment for learning is the process of seeking and interpreting evidence for use by learners and their teachers to decide where the learners are in their learning, where they need to go, and how best to get there. Assessment for learning involves the use of classroom assessment to improve learning.

Key Features Central to Assessment for Learning It is embedded in the teaching and learning process Shares learning goals with pupils Helps pupils to know and recognize the standards to aim for Provides feedback which leads pupils to identify what they should do next Has a commitment that every pupil can improve Involves both teacher and pupils reviewing and reflecting on pupils’ performance and progress Involves pupils in self-assessment

Connecting Assessment to Instruction Three types of decisions using assessment results: Instructional placement decisions: What the student knows and where he/she should be Formative evaluation decisions: monitor a student’s learning while instruction is underway Diagnostic decisions: which difficulties account for the student’s inadequate progress in order to remediate Assessment criteria to address curriculum needs: Measure important learning outcomes Address all three purposes of assessment Provide clear descriptions of student performance linked to instructional actions Compatible with a variety of instructional models Easily administered, scored, and interpreted Communicate the goals of learning to teachers and students Generate accurate, meaningful information

Curriculum Instruction Assessment CIA Loop Each of the three elements is equally important for effective instruction

Research-based Principles of Assessment for Learning Part of effective planning Focuses on how students learn Central to classroom practice A key professional skill Is sensitive and constructive Fosters motivation Promotes understanding of goals and criteria Helps learners know how to improve Develops the capacity for self assessment Recognizes all educational achievement

Rethinking Assessment and Its Role in Educational Reform In the global economy of the 21st century students need to understand the basics, think critically, analyze, and make inferences. They must be able to interpret, access, and use information to make decisions. Consequently we must change assessment strategies to tie assessment design and content to new outcomes and purposes for assessment. Assessment reform is a means of setting more appropriate targets for students, focusing staff development efforts, encouraging curriculum reform, and improving instruction and instructional materials. The notion that learning comes about by the accretion of little bits is outmoded learning theory. Current models contend that learners gain understanding when they construct their own cognitive maps of the inter-connections among concepts and facts.

Matching Assessments to the Purposes of Assessment Match the assessment method to the achievement purpose and target Specify illustrative tasks that require students to demonstrate certain skills and accomplishments that demonstrate student mastery of the desired outcomes Specify the criteria and standards for judging student performance on task selected Develop a reliable rating process that allows different raters at different points in time to obtain the same results Avoid pitfalls that threaten reliability and validity Collect evidence/data showing that the assessment is reliable and valid Ensure consequential validity Use test results to refine assessment and improve curriculum and instruction Sound assessment begins when the content of the assessment is defined (the student standards or goals to be assessed) and the purpose for the assessment is clearly stated. There are two purposes for assessment: 1. To determine if students have acquired specific knowledge or skills 2. To diagnose student strengths and weaknesses and plan appropriate instruction Assessments should be well matched with the full range of goals for student performance

Guiding Principals for Addressing the Accountability Challenges High stakes accountability emphasizes the importance of collecting, analyzing, and using different data to measure student learning and to plot future education. In order to harness the value of data-driven decision making, to empower the learning community and improve schools research outlines seven guiding principles: Vision – all participants must be informed and engaged in the process. There must be a common definition of accountability with realistic expectations and the use of data should be part of the overall school vision Community – accountability must be shared among all participants Professional Development – training must be provided in order that the staff and administrator understands how collecting, analyzing, and using data apply to measuring student learning. Curriculum mapping is one means to that end Governance – placing student learning at the heart of the enterprise Integrity – stand and deliver, mirror the dynamics of data driven behavior Judgment – expect the best, forget the rest. High expectations of the staff as well as the students Assessment – speak in data, harness its power. Visualize, numbers in graphs, maps and charts to be seen in relationship to each other

Curriculum Concept of Alignment The concepts of alignment refers to the degree of match between test content and the subject area content identified through state academic standards. The analysis of alignment requires a two step process: A systematic review of standards A systematic review of test items/tasks As standards are developed the issue of how achievement will be measured should be a constant consideration. As large scale assessment becomes more visible to the public the roles of reliability and validity come to the fore Content representativeness or alignment is intricately tied to evidence of construct validity One of the core concepts for effective curricular change is alignment. It is achieved when the parts of the whole are seen in relationship to each other. For alignment the following aspects of the curriculum must be kept in focus: Goals, Purposes, Outcomes, Objectives Delivery system, Instruction, Materials, Organization Assessment, Evaluation/Testing, Measurement, Monitoring

Data Analysis: An Educators Fear Statistical strategies, not gut feelings form the hallmark of good instructional decisions Few things are more feared than the thought of statistical analysis. Statistics is seen by most as a formal domain of advanced mathematics The educators fear of statistics likely stems from a variety of factors which lack the following four important components: Instruction of statistics does not emphasize the relevance of data to the day-to-day lives of principals and teachers It does not fully integrate current technology into the teaching and learning of statistics Few if any statistics courses are designed for students enrolled in educational leadership Many statistics courses taught in colleges of education focus a major part of time on inferential statistics as a tool to improve problem analysis, student evaluation, data-based decision making and report preparation

Steps for Easing the Use of Data Data collection is not the most difficult task in data driven decision making. The following steps can make data management easier and more efficient.

Better Data, Better Learning The best data for providing feedback for both students and teachers is the: Periodic Progress Monitoring: performed three to ten times per year Daily Progress Monitoring: performed continuously for daily, even hourly feedback This type of data should be collected consistently by teachers and used as part of their growth plan for improving instruction collectively and individually with students

(Newman, Griffin, and Cole, 1989) “Instead of giving the children a task and measuring how well they do or how badly they fail, one can give the children the task and observe how much and what kind of help they need in order to complete the task successfully. In this approach the child is not assessed alone. Rather, the social system of the teacher and child is dynamically assessed to determine how far along is has progressed.” (Newman, Griffin, and Cole, 1989) Leaders succeed when armed with knowledge and the ability to use that knowledge to overcome obstacles. Understanding how to use data and its potential to inform decisions is a guiding factor in today’s educational arena