“SCHOOL HAS COME TO BE

ABOUT GRADES RATHER THAN

LEARNING.”CONKLIN (2001)

DO YOU AGREE?

WARM UP

Eye accessing cues

TEACHER QUALITY STANDARD

Policy 4.2.1

FORMATIVE AND SUMMATIVE

What’s the difference?

MANY COMMON GRADING

PRACTICES …MAKE IT DIFFICULT FOR

MANY YOUNGSTERS TO

FEEL SUCCESSFUL IN SCHOOL.

Canady and Hotchkiss (1989)

PHYSICAL VERSUS AUTOPSY

Formative assessment is designed to provide direction for improvement and or adjustments to a program for individual students or for a whole class, that is quizzes, initial drafts, attempts, homework and questions during instruction.

TRIANGULATION OF DATA

All evidence is collected over time from 3

different sources to ensure it is reliable and

valid

Observations

Conversations Products

PHYSICAL VERSUS AUTOPSY Summative assessment is

designed to provide information to be used in making judgments about a student’s achievement at the end of a period of instruction, this is test, exams, final drafts, assignments, projects and performances.

PHYSICAL VERSUS AUTOPSIES Too often, educational tests,

grades and report cards are treated by teachers as autopsies when they should be viewed as physicals.

Reeves, 2000

QUOTE DISCUSSION1. “Information about learning can be

gained from any assessment designed to produce such information, but if this is used for recording purposes or for long-term curriculum improvement, it will not help the learning of the students currently involved. It might be formative for the teacher, but not for the students.” (page 122, Assessment for Learning: Putting it into Practice)

2. Once a piece of work is marked, learning ends. (unknown)

POSTER TASK How do you turn the following

into formative assessment tools?Math TestScience LabFine arts lesson (art, drama, P.E.)

As a teacher what would you do? How would you plan and implement this?

If I were a student, what would I see and experience?

WHAT EFFECT DOES MARKING HAVE ON

STUDENTS?

Findings from Ruth Butler’s research on 132 year 7 students:

•Students given only marks made no gain from the first to the second lesson.•Students given only comments scored on average 30% higher. •Giving marks alongside comments cancelled the beneficial effects of the comments.

Research conclusion: If you are going to grade or mark a piece of work, you are wasting your time writing careful diagnostic comments.

Wiliam (1999)

GRADING PRACTICES

Fair or not?

WHAT MATTERS IS HOW MUCH

LEARNING OCCURS NOT

WHEN IT OCCURS.

WHAT DO YOU THINK? Heather’s Grim Grades – What Counts? Rick’s Mysterious Falling Grades?

WHAT DO YOU THINK? Heather’s Grim Grades –

formative and summative

What Counts? Factors determining

grades Rick’s Mysterious Falling Grades – Effort, behavior and

attendance ?

GRADE BOOKWhat could it look like?

“THE GIVING OF MARKS AN GRADING

FUNCTION ARE OVEREMPHASIZED

WHILE GIVING ADVICE AND THE LEARNING

FUNCTION ARE UNDEREMPHASIZED”

BLACK AND WILLIAM

GRADE BOOK SAMPLES Math 8 Mark book Off Target: Methods of Assessment On Target: Learning Goals Samples Discussion:

Reflect: What does my mark book look like? Discussion: What will I change in the future

from having this discussion today? How could this change benefit the students learning?

THANK FOR THE INVITATION Resources Used for Today’s presentation…1. How to Grade for Learning by Ken O’Connor

2. Smerging Data: Grading … More than Just Number crunching by AAC

3. Conversations to Enhance Learning by Anne Mulgrew and Elisa Rawe – AAC

4. Inside the Black Box: Raising Standards through Classroom Assessment Article by Paul Black and Dylan Willam.

5. Zero Alternatives Article by Thomas Guskey