Dr. Gregory E. Thornton CEO, Baltimore City Public Schools

Presentation to Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners

August 11, 2015

Linda Chen, Chief Academic Officer

Theresa D. Jones, Chief Achievement and Accountability Officer

Assessment Strategy 2015-2016

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Agenda

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1. 2015-2016 Academic Priorities

2. Assessment Theory of Action

3. Assessment Types and Purposes

4. Assessment Changes vs. Last Year

5. Proposed Communication Plan School Leaders: ILT Tool Plan

Teachers: Professional Development Plan

Students and Parents: Community Engagement Plan

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Embracing Equity, Access, and Agency

Student Intellectual

Engagement

Racial Equity

(Know your students)

Instructional and Leadership

Frameworks

(Know your pedagogy)

Maryland College

and Career Ready & Other State Content

Standards

(Know your content)

Monitor, Measure, and Modify Instruction

City Schools’ Assessment Plan allows teachers and principals to monitor, measure and modify instruction and enables equity, access and agency for all students.

Assessment for Learning

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Assessment for the purpose of improving student learning is best understood as an ongoing process that arises out of the interaction between teaching and learning.

The New Zealand Curriculum. (2003)

Popham, W.J. (2003)

Assessment Theory of Action

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We believe that assessment supports

students and aligns with our instructional priorities by:

• Requiring students to grapple with rigorous, differentiated learning experiences

• Engaging students in creative problem solving, critical thinking, and innovation

• Providing students with tools to understand their unique strengths and areas for improvement

Assessment Theory of Action

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If Baltimore City Public Schools supports a plan for assessment that results in rich data around student growth and provides teachers with pertinent development opportunities related to this plan, then parents and students will be able to partner with school faculty to promote overall growth toward college and career readiness, teachers will have the tools that they need to modify instruction to meet the needs of all students, and district-level teams will be able to evaluate and amend the curricular decisions and systemic development opportunities in order to increase academic outcomes for all students.

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Assessment for

Learning

Teachers

Students

Parents District

Principals

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Assessment for

Learning

Teachers

Students

Parents District

Principals

ST UDENT S

-Access to their own achievement data -Set and monitor goals -Plan proactively for college and career readiness -Improved engagement through targeted instruction -Provides common language for articulating achievement with parents/teachers/principals/district

PARENT S

-Compare student’s growth with norms -Use tools and strategies to support student’s achievement -Advocate for student’s academic needs -Plan proactively for college and career readiness -Provides common language for articulating achievement with students/teachers/principals/district

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Assessment for

Learning

Teachers

Students

Parents

District

Principals

P R I N C I P A L S -Monitor and measure MCCRS achievement -Provide teachers with professional development to support teaching and learning -Informs allotment of school resources -Provides common language for articulating achievement with students/parents/teachers/district

D I S T R I C T -Monitor and measure MCCRS achievement -Create professional development to support teaching and learning -Align and adjust curriculum to student needs and standards -Informs allotment of school resources -Provides common language for articulating achievement with students/parents/teachers/principals

T E A C H E R S - Monitor and measure MCCRS achievement -Modify instruction for students/ inform grouping -Differentiate core curriculum for targeted needs -Provides common language for articulating achievement with students/parents/principals/district

Formative Assessment

Ongoing to Inform Instruction

• Amplify’s Reading 3D (DIBELS and TRC)

• Curriculum Associates’ iReady

• Early Learning Interim Assessment

• Math Interims for Grades 1 and 2 Note: formative data is available to teachers within 24-hours to enable adjustments to instruction

Summative Assessment

Periodic to Assess Mastery

• KRA* • MSA/Alt-MSA/NCSC* • HSA/NCSC* • PARCC* • Midterm and Final exams • WIDA’s ACCESS for

ELLs*

Assessment Types and Purposes

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* M S D E R E Q U I R E M E N T

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PARCC Changes for SY2015-16

SY2014-15 SY2015-16

2 - twenty day Testing Windows 1 - thirty day Testing Window

2 Administrations: 1st - After 75% of instruction

2nd - After 90% of instruction

1 Administration: After 90% of instruction

8-9 Test Units 6-7 Test Units

0

2

4

6

8

10

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Grade 3 Grade 4-5 Grade 6-8 High School

SY2014-15

SY2015-169.75

8.25

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8.5

10.8 9.7

HO

UR

S

9.2

11.1

Total Testing Time: SY2014-15 versus SY2015-16

Estimated:

- 90 minutes less testing time

in all grades.

R E D U C E D T E S T I N G T I M E F O R S P R I N G A D M I N I S T R A T I O N

iReady Growth Assessment

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City Schools has contracted with Curriculum Associates to implement the nationally normed student growth assessment iReady® - this serves as the

new interim assessment system for SY15-16!

Student growth assessment system

in mathematics and English

Language Arts (ELA)

Enables teachers to measure student

progress throughout the school year and from one year to

the next

Students in grades 3-12 will be

assessed three times per year instead of four

Includes professional

development for teachers and

administrators on using the results to inform instruction

Administration Window #1

(9/8 – 9/30)

Administration Window #2

(12/1 – 12/23)

Administration Window #3

(3/1 – 3/24)

T E S T I N G W I N D O W S

Schools will decide when to administer within each testing window.

Communication Proposal: Delivering Data to School Leaders

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1. In conjunction with Teaching and Learning and academics offices, Knowledge Management is updating The Instructional Leadership Team tool (ILT Tool) for SY15-16 to include new assessments.

2. ILT Tools will be released monthly prior to the principal learning sessions and will be available on Principal’s Dashboard for school leaders to view.

Reading 3D

ILT Tool

iReady

Communication Proposal: Professional Development for Teachers

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Foundational Knowledge Courses *

Assessment Literacy

What do we hope to gain

from the assessments

that we implement?

Data Literacy How do we access and

read the data that we have

collected?

Next Steps in Data Literacy

How do we make

instructional decisions based

on data?

* Courses are self-paced and available online to teachers at any time.

Communication Proposal: Community Engagement Plan

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1. Host a Board Public Forum to engage various stakeholders in a discussion of local and state assessments for students in all grade levels.

2. Partner with Communications to contribute assessment resources to Teaching and Learning Toolkits for schools and families that are in development

Teaching and Learning Toolkits

may incorporate assessment resources:

• Family-friendly guides to what children learn at each grade level and how learning and growth are monitored

• A special package for high school students and families focused on college/career readiness, including information on key assessments

• One-page assessment information sheets, to be distributed at the school level

• Resources for a series of school-based presentations for families, including information about assessment and data literacy for families

• Expansion of Teaching and Learning Video Library, proposal to include data stories

(sample: https://vimeo.com/119473903)

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Community Engagement Plan: Draft Assessment Information Sheet

Comments or Questions?

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Rachel Haynes

Office of Teaching and Learning

rfhaynes@bcps.k12.md.us

Carol Wilson

Office of Achievement and Accountability

cwilson@bcps.k12.md.us

Appendix A – Assessment Glossary

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T e s t i n g t i m e s a r e e s t i m a t e s a n d m a y v a r y b a s e d o n a c c o m m o d a t i o n s .

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T e s t i n g t i m e s a r e e s t i m a t e s a n d m a y v a r y b a s e d o n a c c o m m o d a t i o n s .

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Assessment Glossary: Formative Assessment Type and Grade Levels

Description and Purpose

Reading Diagnostics, K-2nd grade

• Reading 3D provided by Amplify, includes DIBELS and TRC measures • Administered 3 times a year –Beginning, Middle, and End of Year – with progress monitoring available and recommended • Track and monitor foundational reading skills, inform targeted instruction

iReady Assessment, 3rd – 12th grade

• iReady provided by Curriculum Associates • Computer-based and adaptive • Administered 3 times a year with progress monitoring available • Track and monitor standards-based reading and math growth, inform targeted instruction

Early Learning Interim Assessments, PK and K

• Produced in-house by Early Learning Programs • PK – ELA and Math: Administered 3 times a year at Beginning, Middle, and End of Year • K – Math only: Administered 3 times a year at Beginning, Middle, and End of Year • Based on MCCRS and used for instructional decisions at the classroom, school and district level

W-APT*, various grades

• Both provided by the WIDA organization • Administered one-time a year for placement purposes • Used to determine English proficiency levels for ESOL students, to assist schools in scheduling ESOL classes, and to inform professional development for teachers

* M S D E R E Q U I R E D

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Assessment Glossary: Summative

Assessment Type and Grade Levels

Description and Purpose

Math Interim Assessment, 1st and 2nd grade

• Produced by the Office of Teaching and Learning and administered through Data Link • Administered 4 times a year – at the end of each quarter • Track and monitor standards-based mastery, inform targeted instruction

High School MOC/MT and EOC/Final, 9th – 12th grade

• Math, English, Science and Social Studies MOC/MT and EOC/Final assessments are created in the Office of Teaching and Learning and made available through Data Link • Based on MCCRS and used for instructional decisions at the classroom, school and district level as well as student grading per board policy

ACCESS*, various grades

• Both provided by the WIDA organization • Given annually in order to monitor students’ progress in acquiring academic English

Alt-MSA Science* (3-8, and 10), NCSC* (3-8, and 11)

• Created and provided by MSDE • Eligibility determined by students’ IEP requirements •Alt-MSA Science assesses the student’s attainment of their instructional level science mastery objectives; aligned with grade level Maryland Content Standards; portfolio-based • NCSC Reading and Math (online-assessment, replaces Alt-MSA); ensures students leave school ready for post-secondary options

* M S D E R E Q U I R E D

Assessment Glossary: Summative

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Assessment Type and Grade Levels

Description and Purpose

Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA)*, K

• Created and administered by MSDE • Allows teachers to measure each child’s school readiness across multiple domains including Social Foundations, Math, Science, Social Studies, Language and Literacy, Physical Well-being and Motor Development, and Fine Arts

High School Assessments (HSA) and Maryland School Assessments (MSA - 5th and 8th grade)

• Created and provided by MSDE • MSA Science is required in 5th and 8th grade to measure progress on science standards • HSA Biology and HSA American Government are required to measure standards in their respective curricular areas

PARCC Assessment*, 3rd through 12th grade

• Provided and administered through the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career (PARCC) • A summative assessment of math and ELA given annually, results of the PARCC Assessment informs families and teachers about how students are progressing along the continuum of standards preparing them for college and career

* M S D E R E Q U I R E D

Assessment Glossary: College Board

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Assessment Type and Grade Levels

Description and Purpose

AP Exams, multiple grades

• Optional college readiness assessments created and administered by College Board • These assessments determine whether students have earned college-credits or advanced placement status for course work that they have completed in high-school

PSATs, 9th and 10th grade

• Optional college readiness assessments created and administered by College Board • This assessment checks progress toward college and career readiness

SAT, 11th and 12th grade

• Optional college readiness assessments created and administered by College Board • These assessments are designed to assess college readiness and provide pathways to college acceptance and various kinds of financial assistance

* M S D E R E Q U I R E D

Board Of School Commissioners Marnell Cooper, Chair

Tina Hike-Hubbard, Vice-Chair

Lisa Akchin

Cheryl Casciani

Linda Chinnia

Martha James-Hassan

Peter Kannam

David Stone

Jonathan Townes, Student Commissioner

Senior Management Team Gregory Thornton, Chief Executive Officer

Naomi Gubernick, Chief of Staff

Linda Chen, Chief Academic Officer

Lisa Grillo, Chief Human Capital Officer

Theresa Jones, Chief Achievement and Accountability Officer

Donald Kennedy, Sr., Chief Financial Officer

Karl Perry, Sr., Chief School Supports Officer

Keith Scroggins, Chief Operations Officer

Kenneth Thompson, Chief Technology Officer

Tammy Turner, Chief Legal Officer

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