let’s get it done session four: standards-based reporting

Let’s Get It Done

Session Four: Standards-based Reporting

Our Framework

The MMSD Framework is based on three fundamental concepts:

student engagement, learning and relationships are equally important;

systematic, district-wide supports are critical; and a collaborative culture in which adults share

responsibility for all students is essential.

MMSD Framework

“the primary purpose for grading … should be to communicate with students and parents about their achievement of learning goals.”

Brookhart, S., Grading, Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall, Columbus, OH, 2004

“By … offering separate grades for different aspects of performance, educators can provide better and far more useful information (than single grades that include achievement and behaviors).”

Guskey and Bailey, Developing Grading and Reporting Systems for Student Learning, Corwin, 2001, 82

Items that we will explore

Click on the links below to go to that area

The current report card draft Accommodations, modifications, and differen

tiation Formative and summative assessments Trend scores and grades Some possible computer time The End

The Report Card

Exploring the

Current Draft

MMSD Mission

The mission of the Madison Metropolitan School District is to assure that every student has the knowledge and skills needed for academic achievement and a successful life.

The Report Card Draft

Questions to ponder as you peruse the draft:

– What information do I use to report out to parents in order to clearly communicate student understanding?

– What additional evidence of student learning do I need to gather?

Turn and talk to the people at your table. Record your thoughts on the report card draft to

provide feedback on the post-survey.

Academic Performance Level Rubric Draft

This is a general academic rubric. Content specific rubrics will be created from

this base document. Comments and feedback are welcomed.

How can the rubric be adapted for your specific content area(s)?

Back to the selection screen

Forward to the next section– Accommodations, Modifications, and Differentiation

Accommodations, Modifications, and Differentiation

Special Education

How do we make accommodations and modifications for students with special needs?

John HarperSpecial Ed. Program Support Teacher

John HarperSpecial Ed. Program Support Teacher

John HarperSpecial Ed. Program Support Teacher

Accommodations: Changes in the way instruction is provided or in the way a student is expected to respond.

What accommodations have you implemented in your classroom?

John HarperSpecial Ed. Program Support Teacher

John HarperSpecial Ed. Program Support Teacher

Grading Students with Disabilities

If students are working on the same curricular goals and

Are expected to become as proficient as peers

. . .Then the student should receive a trend score or letter grade.

Remember: It is not permissible to lower or alter a grade when students receive accommodations.

John HarperSpecial Ed. Program Support Teacher

Modifications:Significant changes in content or level of curriculum taught

When is it appropriate to use Modified Expectations (ME)?

How might this impact communication of student understanding with parents?

ESL and Bilingual Students

How do we scaffold learning for ESL and Bilingual students?

Silvia Romero-JohnsonBilingual Program Support Teacher

Silvia Romero-JohnsonBilingual Program Support Teacher

Silvia Romero-JohnsonBilingual Program Support Teacher

ESL and Bilingual Reporting

How might we separate content learning from language acquisition in reporting?

Welda SimousekTalented & Gifted Coordinator

Differentiation for the Talented and Gifted

What opportunities can you provide students to move them to the next level of learning?

Back to the selection screen

Forward to the next section– Formative and Summative Assessment

Formative and Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment

Formative assessments are “designed to provide direction for improvement and/or adjustment to a program for individual students or for a whole class.”

O’Connor, Ken, Guidelines For Grading Which Supports Learning And Student Success, Online Journal, Classroom Connections International, Courtenay, BC 2003

Formative Assessment Action Question #1

A student shows a 3 or 4 level of performance on a standard in a pre-assessment or an early formative assessment.

– What might this tell you about the student?– What additional information might you need to

gather?– What accommodations might you make to your

curriculum to help this student grow and not stagnate?

– Who might you collaborate with to achieve these goals?

Formative Assessmentand the Final Grade

“The thrust of formative assessment is towards improving learning and instruction. Therefore, the information should not be used for assigning “marks” as the assessment often occurs before students have had full opportunities to learn content or develop skills.”

Manitoba Education and Training, Reporting on Student Progress and Achievement: A Policy Handbook for Teachers, Administrators, and Parents. Winnipeg, 1997, 9

Summative Assessment

Summative assessments are “designed to provide information to be used in making judgments about a student’s achievement at the end of a sequence of instruction.”

O’Connor, Ken, Guidelines For Grading Which Supports Learning And Student Success, Online Journal, Classroom Connections International, Courtenay, BC 2003

The need for multiple attempts

Any one assessment can inaccurately portray a student’s level of understanding. Thus it is important to give multiple assessments measuring student understanding of a standard.

Assessment: Bias and Distortions

Student issues:– Reading skills– Emotional upset– Poor health– Test taking skills– Evaluation anxiety

Problems that can occur with the setting:– Physical conditions – light, heat, noise, etc.

Problems that can occur with the assessment itself:– Directions lacking or unclear– Poorly worded questions/prompts– Insufficient time

Adapted from Ken O’Connor, How to Grade for Learning PPT, 2004

Issues Related to Specific Assessment Strategies

Problems with multiple choice tests:– More than one correct response– Incorrect scoring key– Incorrect bubbling on answer sheet

Problems with essay questions:– Writing skills– Scoring criteria lacking or inappropriate– Inaccurate scoring

Problems with performance assessment:– Scoring criteria lacking or inappropriate– Inaccurate scoring

Adapted from Ken O’Connor, How to Grade for Learning PPT, 2004

Formative Assessment Action Question #2

A student is consistently showing the same low level of performance in all the formative assessments for a particular standard.

– What might this tell you about the student?– What additional information might you need to gather?– What accommodations might you make to your

curriculum to help this student grow and not stagnate?– Who might you collaborate with to achieve these

goals?

Formative and Summative

Formative and summative assessments can be interchangeable tools.

The difference between the two assessments is:– in the purpose for which the information is being

gathered and – in how that information is ultimately used.

Homework

Extends the learning time. Is relevant and customized.

Provides additional practice.

Promotes communication between home and school.

Back to the selection screen

Forward to the next section– Trend Scores and Grades

Trend Scores and Grades

Parachute Exercise

Four students enroll in a parachute packing course. Each has seven opportunities to correctly pack a parachute. The four students must each earn 60% or higher out of 100% in order to achieve mastery.

Parachute Exercise

0102030405060708090

100

1st T

ry

2nd Tr

y

3rd Tr

y

4th Tr

y

5th Tr

y

6th Tr

y

7th Tr

y

Student AStudent BStudent CStudent D

Parachute Assessment

Student A - Reached mastery on four tries.– Range of scores 40-90– Mean = 70

Student B - Reached mastery on four tries.– Range of scores 40-95– Mean = 70

Student C - Reached mastery on four tries. – Range of scores 40-95– Mean = 70

Student D - Reached mastery on five tries.– Range of scores 40-65– Mean = 59

Reflections …

1. Which student would you choose to pack your parachute? Why?

2. Which student(s) would pass/fail packing a parachute if grading was based on the mean? (passing = 60%)

3. Is there a difference in the answers you provided for questions 1 and 2? Why?

Activity adapted from O’Connor, Ken, How to Grade for Learning, 2002

Trend Scores

Click image to play

“Teachers must look for consistency in the evidence they’ve gathered. If that evidence is consistent across several indicators and a student’s scores or marks are fairly uniform, then deciding what grade to assign is a relatively simple task.

If the evidence is not consistent, however, then teachers must look deeper and search for reasons why. They must also face the difficult challenge of deciding what evidence or combination of evidence represents the truest and most appropriate summary of the student’s achievement.”

In such cases we recommend three general guidelines:

1. Give priority to the (most) recent evidence;

2. Give priority or greater weight to the most comprehensive forms of evidence (e.g. rich performance tasks like inquiry-based research);

3. Give priority to evidence related to the most important learning goals or standards.

Adapted from O’Connor, Ken, How to Grade for Learning PPT, 2004Originally adapted from Guskey and Bailey, Developing Grading and Reporting Systems for Student

Learning, Corwin, 2001, 141-142

You don’t need to use all the scores!

“Educators generally recognize learning as a progressive and incremental process. … If at any time in the instructional process students demonstrate that they have learned the concepts well and mastered the intended learning goals, doesn’t that make all previous information inaccurate and invalid? Why then should such information be “averaged in” when determining students’ grades?”

Guskey, T.R, “Computerizing Gradebooks and the Myth of Objectivity,” Kappan, 83 (10) June 2002, 777-778

Power Standard Performance Levelsand Letter Grades

Click image to play

The “Sandbox”

All middle school teachers will have access to the IC “Sandbox” to explore the standards-based capabilities of Infinite Campus.

Note: The Sandbox is not connected to IC and thus will not affect your regular IC grade book.

We invite any and all interested teachers to try out the new standards-based capabilities and track the achievements of one class in the “Sandbox.”

Feedback will be gathered later in the fourth quarter.

Link to Additional Resources

Available at: http://dww.madison.k12.wi.usTeaching and Learning

Middle School Report Cards

Resources include:– Grade book templates– Professional learning resources including copies of the

DVDs and this presentation– A list of most middle school courses with standards and

learning skills

Ask your T&L resource teacher for any content specific resources that might be available.

Back to the selection screen

Forward to the next section– The End

Brought to you by:– Teaching and Learning – Educational Services

Special thanks to:– Media Services – Printing Services– Ken O’Connor

The End