Where Do I Start Learning What

You Know?Assessment in English

Centre of Gravity

How can I use assessment to support the learning of my students rather than worrying about the next standardized test?

TED TALKSTED is a small

nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth

Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a

conference bringing together people from

three worlds: Technology,

Entertainment, Design.

Sir Kenneth Robinson

Today is not about standardized

testing . . .but assessment . . .

“sitting alongside.”

Students How am I doing?What shall I do next?

Portfolio entries (self-evaluation); feedback from classroom work

Teachers Have the kids met my learning goals? How did my teaching go?How can I help Amy? Should Amy enter X?

Portfolio entries and work samplesCurriculum-embedded testsInformal diagnostic toolsAn array of converging evidence

Parents How is my child doing? Compared with average?

Portfolio/work samplesNorm referenced tests

Administrators How effective is our program? How are our teachers doing?

Aggregated data of some sort.

Policy Makers How well are schools meeting public expectations?

Trends over time on some aggregated data like norm-referenced tests.

Taxpayers How well is our money being spent?

As above.

Students How am I doing?What shall I do next?

Portfolio entries (self-evaluation); feedback from classroom work

Teachers Have the kids met my learning goals? How did my teaching go?How can I help Amy? Should Amy enter X?

Portfolio entries and work samplesCurriculum-embedded testsInformal diagnostic toolsAn array of converging evidence

Parents How is my child doing? Compared with average?

Portfolio/work samplesNorm referenced tests

Administrators How effective is our program? How are our teachers doing?

Aggregated data of some sort.

Policy Makers How well are schools meeting public expectations?

Trends over time on some aggregated data like norm-referenced tests.

Taxpayers How well is our money being spent?

As above.

What kids think of the OSSLT

Luce-Kapler, R., & Klinger, D. (2005). Uneasy writing: The defining moments of high-stakes literacy testing. Assessing Writing, 10 (3), 157-173.

Yeah we work on paragraphs, main ideas of the story and supporting details in our English class. All the classes give you sheets to work on, the opportunity to do English tests. There are stories and questions, after you read the story you have to answer the question. This is just for the literacy test. (IU3)

The literacy test mainly just probably helps out people that want to be writers or something. It doesn’t really help out people . . . like if someone wants to get into accounting then shouldn’t they have a math test to pass high school or people that want to be mechanics something like that. If they are going to do a literacy test to pass then they should make people see a point. (IS3)

Not really, because the test is for writing and English and all that. It’s not really towards like the physical scientific parts so it’s probably not too important. (IS6)

I think it’s more of a formula. It was so structure based that even . . . not that the content didn’t matter, obviously it mattered, but I think it was more like do you know how to do the structure of this, do you know the structure of that, so it was formula more than English, more of what you have to say. So people could just get through with if they put the right things in the right place they’d pass. You really didn’t have to be creative or imaginative at all. (FS3)

Good EnglishTeachers

look at the drafts of writing students

look at the students’ responses to reading, to examine how deeply and critically they are entering into a book, or essay, or poem.

keep anecdotal notes on students and know enough about those kids to suggest ideas for writing and books they might be interested in reading.

ask open-ended questions that push students to think more deeply about all that their reading brings to mind, about themselves, about the world, and about the intentions of the authors.

Good Teaching . . .

Assessing Oral Language

Clarity and Coherence Grade 9 Applied

2.3 communicate in a clear, coherent manner for a few different purposes (e.g., present a speech with a clear beginning, middle, and end; ask clearly phrased questions after a guest speaker’s presentation; orally restate the main facts from a simple informational text in the correct sequence 9)

Producing Media Texts Grade 10 English Academic

3.4 produce media texts for a variety of purposes and audiences, using appropriate forms, conventions, and techniques (e.g., a sports magazine cover for a teenage audience; posters promoting their independent reading selections for display in the school library; a commercial promoting the contributions of Aboriginal people)

Assessing Media Literacy

Evaluating Visual-Verbal Projects

Assessing WritingFrom Grade 9 and 10 Literacy Skills

2.1 write texts of different lengths and for different purposes and audiences using a variety of forms (e.g., a summary of a magazine article for a class report; a short narrative about a celebrity or superhero for the school magazine; a support- ed opinion piece presenting their point of view on a community or global issue for a class assignment)

Illustrating Your Own Writing

Assessing Reading

From Grade 9 Academic

Variety of Texts 1.1 read student- and teacher-selected texts from diverse cultures and historical periods, identifying specific purposes for reading (e.g., compare the portrayal of adolescent issues in two short stories from different cultures; identify the theme in a Young Adult novel and a related poem in preparation for a book club discussion;1 compare two newspaper articles on the same topic, identifying where the authors agree and where they differ; 2 create a bibliography of several online resources on a topic of interest)

Using the Handout

Responding to NovelsIn groups of 3 or 4, choose one of the

methods of responding.

Decide what particular skills might need to be taught in addition to reading the novel.

Decide what you want to assess with this assignment.

Decide how you will assess it.