Pequannock Township School District Assessments for Learning

District-wideProfessional Development 10/31/2014Dr. Rosalie WinningPequannock Township School DistrictAssessments for Learning Assessment VoyageThe standards drive the lesson.The activities drive the questions.The content drives the discussion. The assessment drives instruction.

Our Journey

Pequannock Township District Goal 2014-2015 By June 30, 2015, all grade levels and/or subjects will create and administer a standards-based assessment to be used as a baseline for future student growth objectives.

- adopted Pequannock Township Board of Education 9.22.2014School Goals2014-2015Elementary Goal #1 To work with staff and elementary school administrative team to create and administer standards-based assessments in Mathematics, English Language Arts, Science and Social Studies, Art, Technology, Health/PE and Music for grades K-5.

Elementary Goal #2During the 2014-2015 school year, students will be assessed in each classroom using no fewer than 7 PARCC- aligned, open-ended, constructed response items.

Why Focus on Assessments?

Assessment ImpactsSGP Student Growth PercentilesAnalysis of Pequannock Township 2013-2014 scores overall High Proficiency Low Advanced Proficiency

What does that tell us?

We are working hard and covering the standards. Our students are proficient We need to improve in the higher level thinking instruction/assessments

Total Proficiency Peq. Twsp.88.2DFG87.5State79.3

Assessment ImpactsSGOs Student Growth Objectives

With comprehensive, K-12 district-wide assessments:

1. Each staff will have additional benchmark data to use as data for SGO development. Example: Grade 3 teachers will have district comprehensive scores from grade 2. 2. Each staff will have an established benchmark assessment that can be used to measure student growth.Example: Grade 3 teachers can then use the benchmark to assess their students.

SGO Quality depend upon Assessment Quality Poorly designed assessments do not accurately measure student knowledge and learning

If SGOs are based on low-quality assessments, then the SGO process cannot yield accurate or meaningful results

If SGOs do not yield accurate or meaningful results they will fail to promote good instruction and improve student learning AchieveNJA+ Common AssessmentsWhat do good assessments look like?Planned and Purposeful Backward Design- What is critical for students to know at the end of this unit of study?Balanced- Assessing all levels of knowledge (Blooms Taxonomy) and a number of questions for each targeted standard. Designed to inform learning- Differentiation- What do my students know and what can they do? How do I ensure the knowledge/skills have been mastered or what will I do to bridge the gap?Evidence- based questions- Aligned to the CCSS questions demand support and evidence in responseProvide effective feedback- Anecdotal feedback helps students improve learning.

Learner gives priority to evidence in responding to questions

Learner determines what constitutes evidence and collects it.

Learner is directed to collect certain data

Learner given data and asked to analyze

Learner is given data and told how to analyze How do we promote Evidence- base responses ?What is the instructional progression?Learner formulates explanation from evidence

Learner formulates explanation after summarizing evidence

Learner is guided in process of formulating explanation from evidence

Learner is given possible ways to use evidence to formulate explanation

Learner is provided with evidence

Why Change?Why should my assessment format change?

Classroom Assessment unites efforts to improve both teaching and learning. (Cross &Angelo, 1988)Student achievement will improve when students experience PARCC-like instruction and assessments

Pre- PARCC vs. PARCC-likePRE-PARCCIn a typical current 10th grade test, students might be asked to write a letter to the cafeteria supervisor suggesting new menu items explaining why they should be added. While this does require writing and making a persuasive argument, it doesnt require them to use evidence from the text.

PARCC-LIKEA sample 10th grade PARCC test item requires the student to read passages of the Declaration of Independence and a Patrick Henry speech and watch a short video. Then students must write about the purpose of government, according to the colonists, based on the texts and the video. Difference????Pre- PARCC vs. PARCC-like

A.(11)+(17)+(12)+(27) C.(172)+(171) E.

F.Which model(s) below could represent the solution to this problem? 17 X 12 Select all that apply.

B.

D.Pre- PARCCThere are 52 weeks in a year. If Sandra reads 175 pages each week for a year how many pages will she read?

1750C. 52003900D. 9100PARCC- like14

PARCC- like Questions..Constructed Responses Constructed Response is a general term that describes any type of item where students must develop, build or construct a response to a question or prompt.

Students need to engage in what they know so they are able to TRANSFORM it into something new.

Constructed response questions require thinking that DOES NOT just REPRODUCE the same knowledge.

Constructed Response vs. Traditional Open endedConstructed Response are like open-ended questions except they extend the demands made on the students to include more complex situations, more difficult reasoning, and higher levels of understandings.

Constructed Response assessments are designed to provide opportunities for students to apply their knowledge on a more complex performance-oriented task. The ability to reason and apply skills what demonstrates mastery of content.Tankersley, 2007

Developing a Constructed Response Begin with the standard/ skill you want to assess. Your question needs to align to the standard and focus on a particular skill or concept.

Generate a question that is higher level* and will cause the learner to transform the information.

*Evidence seeking*Application*Reasoning

Thoughts to consider as you create PARCC-like Constructed Response ItemDoes the item target a specified learning objective?Is the level of reading skills required by this item below that of student ability?Does the item allow for variation in the response?Can most students answer the item in the allotted time?Are higher level thinking verbs like predict or compare and contrast used rather than recall verbs like list and name or ambiguous verbs like discuss and tell?Will scoring insure that your judgments of each essay are protected from bias?

Examples:Substandard item- Why did America enter World War II?

Better item- State three reasons cited by historians that you feel best explain Americas entry into World War II. Use evidence to support your claims.

Examples:Substandard item- Name an area of the world that has a severe hunger problem and list its causes.

Better item- List two factors that contribute to hunger in a developing country. Choose one of these factors and explain a long-term solution for it. The explanation should include both an advantage and a disadvantage of this solution.

Science Examples

Substandard item- You just moved into a new house and you want to plant a vegetable garden in the backyard. However, the backyard is on a pretty steep hill. How might you design your vegetable garden to protect it from the effects of erosion?

Better item- You just moved into a new house and you want to plant a vegetable garden in the backyard. However, the backyard is on a pretty steep hill. After a quick Google search you find an article, The Dirt About Soil Erosin (excerpt below). How might you use the information in the article to design your vegetable garden to protect it from the effects of erosion?

PARCC in the Related ArtsIndigenismoWorld Scholar: Latin America & the Caribbean, 2011Indigenismo refers to the intellectual and political constructions of Indigenous peoples by outsiders motivated either by paternalistic notions of acting on the behalf of others or a desire to exploit Indigenous issues to advance their own political agendas. Rather than a movement advocating for the liberation of Indigenous peoples, indigenismo is best understood as a counterpart to the ideology of mestizaje, which celebrated the emergence of mestizo identities. Although indigenismo has deep roots in Latin America, the ideology reached its zenith during the middle of the twentieth century, when it emerged as a strong political force in Mexico and Peru. Many different groups of people engaged in indigenista discourse, including archaeologists, anthropologists, theologians, novelists, artists, philosophers, politicians, and political activists. Indigenous and leftist critics condemned indigenismo for its individualistic and assimilationist approaches to persistent problems of inequality and marginalization. These critics viewed indigenismo as a mechanism of the oligarchy to repress Indigenous liberation movements that threatened to mount structural challenges to the power base of the ruling elites.

Frida Kahlo represents herself in Self-Portrait With Monkey. She is quoted, I wish to be worthy, with my paintings, of the people to whom I belong and to the ideas which strengthen me. Compare and contrast the elements of this painting and Indigenismo that highlights her political beliefs. Next steps..