Formative Assessment… Just like hitting a bucket of golf balls!

Why Formative Assessment? When students are required to think about their own learning, articulate what they understand, and what they still need to learn, achievement improves. (Black and William, 1998; Sternberg, 1996; Young, 2000)

Attention to results generated from formative assessments ｷ In addition to specific goals, teachers focus on what students learn, which calls for frequent formative assessments. (DuFour, 2002) ｷ Collaborative teams engage in continuous, collective analysis of student assessments in order to improve and adjust instruction. (Schmoker, 2004) Canby School District... Analyzing results through common formative assessments from the team goal is built in to the collaborative meeting protocols

Formative assessment Assessment For Learning What is it? Transforms standards into explicit classroom targets Part of the learning process instead of an end of unit activity Helps teachers diagnose and respond to student needs Adjust instruction based on results Offer descriptive feedback to students Involves student in the process Like transforming your golf game from the driving range to the golf course. From practice to the real thing. How do you get there?

Formative Assessment Assessment for Learning What is it not? Achievement test Final exam Placement test Event after learning An assessment with the goal of mastery You wouldn’t hit a bucket of a 100 golf balls without making changes to your swing if you kept shanking it.

Critical Distinction between Assessment of Learning and Assessment for Learning The “of”- How much have students learned as of a particular point in time? Getting your final handicap at the end of the golf season The “for” - How can we use assessment to help students learn more? (based on SMART Goals) Checking your handicap throughout the season, and having a coach provide ongoing feedback

What is your bucket of golf balls? Think of a time when you were assessed and it was a negative experience? What made it negative? Think of a time when you were assessed and it was a positive experience. What made it positive?

5 Key structures to a Quality Formative Assessment 1. Clear Purpose 2. Clear Target 3. Sound Design 4. Effective Communication 5. Student Involvement Would these key structures help your golf game?

Key 1: Clear Purpose What’s the purpose? Who will use the results? What will they use the results to do? Is intended purpose clear? Is the purpose to summarize learning or to gather evidence to improve learning? Golf teacher watches me address the ball 5 times before having me hit the ball…why?

Key 2: Clear Targets What is the intended learning? Is the statement clear and in student friendly language? Are they appropriate? Are the targets translated into student friendly statements? Are they related to your SMART goal? Are they related to your Power Standards?

Turning Learning Targets into Student Friendly Statements… Students will compare and contrast elements of text. How can we make this a SMART goal How might this sound from a student’s perspective “I can…”

How do I know if I’m hitting the target? Knowledge (facts and concepts) Reason (mental processes that engage students thinking skills) Performance Skill (demo, performs) Quality Products (creates work sample, constructs bar graph) Positive Affect (sees self as capable, desires to learn)

Examples of Targets? Knows how to measure cardio respiratory fitness Plans and conducts a simple investigation Formulates testable questions Constructs a museum-type display to explain an historical event Able to read 65 words fluently in a minute.

Key 3: Sound Design What method does your team use to see if students hit the target? How does the team create quality questions to see if students hit the target? How does the team provide access for each student?

A Menu of Assessment Options 1) Selected Response and Short Answer 2) Extended Written Response 3) Performance Assessment 4) Personal Communication * You are already doing this.

Key 4: Effective Communication How do we manage feedback and include students in 2-way communication? Does it relate directly to learning targets written as a SMART goal? Does it occur during the learning process? Does it set the stage for continual learning? How would I get better at golf if my teacher told me I got 6 of the 10 parts of a swing correct?

Research on the Effects of Feedback on Student Learning Research shows that feedback that emphasizes learning goals leads to greater learning gains than feedback that emphasizes self-esteem (Ames, 1992; Butler, 1998) Feedback is effective when it offers information about progress relative to the intended learning goal and about what action to take to reach the intended learning goal (Hattie & Temperley, 2005) When teachers substitute comments for grades, student engaged more productively in improving their work. (Black, et al, 2002)

Evaluative and Descriptive Feedback Evaluative: Sums up achievement and assign a label. It expresses judgment You were able to reach 150 yards with your 5 wood 8 out of 10 times. Descriptive: offers information about the work, product, or performance relative to the intended learning. When you reached 150 yards you stopped your backswing just above your shoulders and didn’t break your wrists.

Evaluative or Descriptive Feedback? Try harder next time 70% What you have written is a hypothesis because it is a proposed explanation. You can improve it by writing it as an “if…then…”statement. You maintained eye contact with the audience throughout your whole presentation. Table 3 is ready for lunch. They have their desks clear, they are sitting down, and they are quiet B+ Good Work

Key 5: Student Involvement Students need to know the purpose and the target. Students can track progress and communicate about their learning Students can use results to self assess and set goals for further action

How can I take assessments I am already using and make them more “in”formative? Is it an accurate assessment? How are you using it as a tool for 2-way communication and getting student involvement? Let’s take a look at a few…

Strengths… Purpose: Formative Target: Use patterns to make predictions and analyze how repeating and growing patterns are generated, using addition, subtraction, and numbers to 100. SMART Goal: by 10/15 each student will be able to predict the 20th train in a pattern using complex calendar patterns.

What would the feedback sound like and how could I get the student involved? Pose additional questions to further thinking (rationale) Alter the question for the student who is unable to begin the problem. Create your own pattern that we might use in class Interview the student Pose a question for them to reflect on their own progress

Strengths: Student engagement Data available to target instruction Purpose: to gather information (aka formative) Target: Topic is chemical dependents and the human body

Things to consider Strengthening the target Does the student know why they are taking this? How does it relate to a SMART goal or Power Standard? What kind of feedback will the students get from this?

Strengths… Purpose: Formative or Summative Target: Relationship between parallelogram and quadrilaterals Canby Power Standard: Justify and use theorems involving quadrilaterals,circles, polygons and their components parts. Item analysis

Considerations… Sharing the data with students and team Involve students by asking them to mark strengths, weaknesses, and challenges Create an item analysis per sub topic

How can I take assessments I am already using and make them more “in”formative? Is it an accurate assessment? Check against the first 3 key elements. How can you build in 2-way communication and get student involvement in the assessment?

Your Team’s Next Step to create a Formative Assessment 1) Start with your SMART goal 2) Brainstorm possible instructional strategies 3) Identify the curriculum that will be used? 4) Determine how will you differentiate for your chief challenges? 5) Can your goal be assessed via a formative assessment? Why or why not? Brainstorm possibilities about what your assessment could look like.

Why Formative Assessment works? When students are required to think about their own learning, articulate what they understand, and what they still need to learn, achievement improves. (Black and William, 1998; Sternberg, 1996; Young, 2000)