The ABCs of Assessment

• To develop efficient and effective responsive teaching practices based on data gathered from assessments

Outcomes:• To develop school-wide, consistent understandings and use of language regarding assessments

The ABCs of Assessment

Team-Talk

Reflect as a team….1.What are our personal definitions of

assessment?2.What role does assessment play in the learning/teaching process?3. When we think of assessment….• What do we feel very confident about, and

feel we do effectively?• What do we find frustrating, need more

support behind, or want to know more about?

Community Circle Sharing

When I think of assessment….

• One Thing I feel very confident about, and feel I do well is…

• One thing I find frustrating, need more support behind, or want to know more about is…

The ABCs of Assessment

The Act of Assessment… The Types of Assessment… The Tools of Assessment…

Assessment is a system.

The system has 3 important components

The ABCs of Assessment

“Assess: Etymology: Middle English, probably from Medieval Latin

assessus, past participle of assidEre, from Latin, to sit beside, assist in the office of a judge” (From MerriamWebster.com)

The Act of Assessment…

In Everyday Life, assessments are judgments we make about people or thingsbased on data we gather through our experiences and senses,and compare to our personal standards and criteria of what is correct, or successful.

In Education, assessments are judgments we make about students and their performancebased on data we gather through instruments and/or observation,and compare against given standards, such as the Sunshine State Standards, according to given criteria, and definitions of correctness and success.

The ABCs of AssessmentThe Act of

Assessment…

•Provide feedback to students that will lead to personal goal-setting and working towards success.

The ABCs of AssessmentThe Act of

Assessment… The Goals of the act of assessment are to:

•Provide accurate information to teachers, students and parents about current levels of student success

•Provide data to inform instruction in a way that leads to success for all students

The ABCs of AssessmentTypes of Assessment

… AKA What kinds of judgements can we make?

•Formative

•Summative

•Screenings

•Diagnostic

•Progress-Monitoring

•Norm-referenced

•Criterion-referenced

Formative,Summative,

Screenings…OH MY!

Formative AssessmentFormative assessments are assessments that are given during a sequence of instruction.

The goals of formative assessments are to…

2. provide feedback to the teacher so that s/he can modify instruction to meet the needs of the learner. (remediation/extension)

1. provide feedback to the learner so that s/he can set personal goals and work towards success.

Summative Assessment

2. provide feedback to the teacher so that s/he knows how effective his/her instruction was.

Summative assessments are assessments that are given at the end of a sequence of instruction. They are primarily used to assign grades, or levels of accomplishment

The goals of summative assessments are to…

1. provide information about the student’s level of success with the objectives/standards s/he was taught.

Criterion-Referenced

The goal of criterion-referenced assessments is to provide information about a learner’s level of masteryof objectives and standards in a given subject area.

Criterion-Referenced assessments are assessments that are given to determine a student’s success based on his/her knowledge and mastery of standards and objectives.

Norm-Referenced

The goal of norm-referenced assessments is to…

Compare a student’s level of success against that of other students in his/her age/grade level, or “norm” group.

Norm-Referenced assessments are assessments that are given to determine a student’s level of mastery with objectives and standards as compared to others in his/her norm group..

Screening Assessments

The goals of screening assessments are to…

1. Provide information about general areas of student weaknesses and strengths .

2. provide feedback to the teacher so that s/he can modify instruction to meet the needs of the learner.

Screening assessments are assessments that are given to assess the performance level of all students in relation to the Sunshine State Standards.

Diagnostic Assessments

The goals of diagnostic assessments are to…

1. Provide information about specific areas of student weaknesses and strengths .

2. provide feedback to the teacher so that s/he can modify instruction to meet the needs of the learner.

Diagnostic assessments are assessments that are given to identify the specific area(s) of need for a struggling student identified by the screening instrument.

Progress-Monitoring

The goals of progress-monitoring assessments are to…

1. Provide information about student progress towards achieving mastery of SSS Standards and Benchmarks.

2. provide feedback to the teacher so that s/he can modify instruction to meet the needs of the learner.

Progress-Monitoring assessments are assessments that are administered throughout the year to measure the progress of all students towards achieving the Sunshine State Standards and Benchmarks.

The ABCs of Assessment“3-5th Grade” Tools of

Assessment… AKA… How Do We Get Information?• DRA

• DIBELS

• Word Reading

• FCAT-Like Reading Tests• Reading Record

• Running Record• Writes Traits Rubrics• Florida Writes Rubric

• FCAT Tests: Reading, Writing, Math• Retellings• DRA”lette”

The ABCs of Assessment“3-5th Grade” Tools of

Assessment… AKA… How Do We Get Information?• Classroom Tests

• Math/Reading Conference Observation

• One on One or Group Conference/Map

• Projects• Portfolios

• Developmental Spelling Inventory

• Quarterly Math Pre/Post Tests

Categorizing Assessments

How do the Types and Tools of Assessment Fit Together?

Your Mission: Work as a team to decide which type of assessment each tool fits under!

P.S. BE prepared to explain your choices when we’re done!

Caution: SOME may fit into more than one category.Write the names of the assessments on sticky notes and place under the assessment type signs on the table.READY…SET…GO…

Digging Deeper…How do Assessments help us get the “Inside

Scoop”?

AND THE VERDICT IS….

Data is only as usefulas the questions itmakes us ask, and theanswers it inspires usto seek!

Stanford, DIBELS, Baseline Florida WritesTeacher ObservationLiteracy AssessmentsMath PretestsFCAT Tests

Let’s Put the Pieces Together…..

What?GeneralInfo

Why?

Specific Teacher Observation, DRA, Individual Conferences, Literacy Assessments, Florida Writes, Diagnostic Spelling Inventory, Stanford Math Diagnostic

What will we do about it?

How will we know if it worked?

Specifics

DIBELS, Florida WritesTeacher ObservationLiteracy AssessmentsMath PosttestsDRA, Running Records

Action Plans;Documentation

Digging Deeper…How do Assessments help us get the “Inside

Scoop”?

What are some questions data from daily observation of a struggling student might lead you to ask yourself?

What are some questions data from a screening like DIBELS or the Baseline Florida Writes Test might lead you, as a classroom teacher, to ask yourself?

Digging Deeper…How do Assessments help us get the “Inside

Scoop”?

2. What further questions does the data and my knowledge lead me to ask?

Using “struggling student” data your team has brought we will create a student profile together.

Things to think about…..1. What does my knowledge about the learning process tell

me about how this student is performing developmentally?

3. If I don’t know how to find the answers, Who do I ask?

How Do We Use This Information

to Inform Instruction? (Putting the

Puzzle Together!)

How do we use data from assessments to inform ourinstruction?

What is responsive teaching?

Before we use the data in our student profile to talk about remediation, let’s talk about how we use data to informinstruction daily in our classrooms….

How Do We Use This Information

to Inform Instruction? (Putting the

Puzzle Together!)

Now that we have a student profile, let’s look at “Thinking Maps” and Documentation Tools we use that require us to use screenings, diagnostics, and progress monitoring assessments to ask ourselves questions,and discuss an action plan to meet the need of our student who is struggling.

AIP

Differentiated Instruction: Remediation

An Academic Improvement Plan is an action plan to meet the needs of a struggling student. On it, we can also document the outcomes of our plan.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA REASON:

DIAGNOSTIC RESULTS:

Intervention Strategies

Progress Updates

Let’s Put the Pieces Together….. THE AIP and the Assessment Process

How Do We Use This Information

to Inform Instruction? (Putting the

Puzzle Together!)

When as classroom teachers, we see a mismatch between performance and ability, or ability and process, or a direct correlation between behavior and poor performance, it’s time to go further. This is when we decide to bring a student to child study to get an even more thorough, and formal diagnosis of the problem.

When the “Usual Things” AREN’T Working…

Let’s look at how the child study packet fits into our assessment system…..

Pre-Intervention Data

Specific Observation Documentation

What will we do to help the student improve? (Intervention Plan)-Minimum of two interventions which are related to the problem

Assessment tool used to measure progress?

Parent Conferences:Pre/Post

Why is the Problem Occurring? (Hypothesis)

Let’s Put the Pieces Together…How Does the Child Study Packet Fit?

Observation Form and Problem-Solving Worksheet Parent Conferences