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Moving Beyond“Can Do It, Can’t Do It”
Margaret HeritageCindy Bagwell
Amy ScrinziDenise Nelson
Innovative Approaches to the Assessment of Students in Grades K-3
CCSSO National Conference on Student Assessment
June 22, 2015 | San Diego, CA
Overview
• Assessment Perspective
• Project Overview
• Challenges & Lessons Learned
• Validation Study
• Questions & Answers
Formative Assessment
• Assessment for Learning (Black & Wiliam, 1998; Black, Harrison, Lee, Marshall & Wiliam, 2003; Gipps, 1994)
• Proximate to Learning (Erickson, 2007)
• Assessment in the flow of activity and interactions in the classroom (Heritage & Heritage, 2014; Swaffield, 2011)
Assessment to Support Learning
• Where am I going?
• Where am I now?
• Where to Next?
Black & Wiliam, 1998, Hattie & Timperley, 2007; Harrison & Howard, 2009; Sadler, 1989
What Research Tells Us
• Educational researchers• Economists• Neuroscientists• Developmentalists• Molecular biologists• Genomic scientists
• The PK-3rd grade years are the most promising window of opportunity during which to influence children’s lifelong trajectories.
Kauerz, 2013
K-3 Formative Assessment
Formative AssessmentA process used by teachers and students during instruction that provides feedback to adjust ongoing teaching and learning to help students improve their achievement of intended instructional outcomes.
AERA/APA/NCME, 2014
CCSSO, 2006
What is essential?
How do we measure
this?
How do we implement for sustainability?
What is working? What could be?
Focus Groups & Input Sessions
External Reviewers
KEA Pilot
State-levelAdvisory Group
Kindergarten Teacher Survey
NC K-3 Formative Assessment Process
NC K-3 Assessment Think Tank
Proposes claims, or learning goals, for each domain
Emphasizes a focus on the whole child
Promotes the use of a formative assessment process
Early Childhood Educators
Early Childhood Educators
Content ExpertsContent Experts
SpecialistsSpecialists
TeachersTeachers
Catherine Scott-LittleUNC Greensboro
Catherine Scott-LittleUNC Greensboro
Margaret HeritageCRESST/WestEd
Margaret HeritageCRESST/WestEd
NC K-3 Formative Assessment Process:Kindergarten
Domain Constructs
Approaches to Learning Engagement in Self-Selected Activities
Cognitive Development Object Counting
Emotional-Social Development Emotional Literacy
Health & Physical DevelopmentFine Motor DevelopmentMidline Motor Development
Language Development & Communication
Following DirectionsLetter Naming Book Orientation & Print Awareness
Construct ProgressionsDescribes how students’ learning of important concepts and skills
develops over a period of time.
SKILLS: Identify the competencies within each “understanding”, ranging from simple to more complex
SKILLS: Identify the competencies within each “understanding”, ranging from simple to more complex
PERFORMANCE DESCRIPTORS: Paint a picture of performance, providing examples of how students could demonstrate their understanding
or skill at each stage of the progression
PERFORMANCE DESCRIPTORS: Paint a picture of performance, providing examples of how students could demonstrate their understanding
or skill at each stage of the progression
UNDERSTANDINGS: Identify the major concepts within a particular construct
UNDERSTANDINGS: Identify the major concepts within a particular construct
NC K-3 Formative Assessment
• Situations– Intentionally planned instructional activities
designed to give teachers guidance on or examples for how to set up a learning situation to learn about students through observation & probing.
General Specific
General Situation
• Select Learning Targets
• Identify Opportunities for Eliciting Evidences of Learning/Probing
• Interpret the Evidence
• Adapt/Respond to Learning Needs
Specific Situation
• Select Learning Targets• Preparation• General Description• Elicit Evidences of
Learning/Probing• Interpret the Evidence• Adapt/Respond to Learning
needs
Family Contributions
• Use of Family Questions to support home-school partnerships– Face-to-face conversations
• Home visit• Conference
– Phone calls
Family Questions
•What is your child most excited about learning?
•How does your child typically approach new things, such as meeting new people or going to new places? How do you help your child prepare for new experiences?
•What new things would you like your child to learn? Why are these things important to you?
Family Questions, continued
•How does your child show emotions (e.g., happiness, sadness, surprise, frustration)? How do you respond to each emotion?
•What does your child like to do at home or with family and friends (e.g., favorite games, books, toys, activities)?
•What can we do to help your child be successful?
Write a Construct
Progression
What can the child MAKE, SAY, DO or
WRITE?
Be aware of GRAIN SIZE
Include: UNDERSTANDINGS, SKILLS, PERFORMANCE
DESCRIPTORS and SITUATIONS
Formative Assessment
Process
HOW NC Approached Writing Construct Progressions…
• What does the NC Think Tank Report state?
• What does research say?
• What do we know from personal and professional expertise about how children learn?
• What do content specialists say?
HOW NC approached writing Construct Progressions…
• And then…• We begin to write…and write…and write…• Are we getting the grain-size right?• Gather input from the field• Discussions and “meeting of the minds”• Edit, edit, edit…revise, revise…edit, edit,
edit…revise, revise…edit, edit, edit…
Formative Assessment Process …finding the balance….
• The Assessment Design Team had to
–Work under rigorous timelines while considering other commitments
–Manage the work of multiple constructs and groups
–Know when to stand firm and when to compromise
Lessons Learned…What We Know Now…
• Feedback is necessary– varied stakeholders, many perspectives
• Response to feedback is key– positive comments of appreciation from pilot
schools
• Being cutting edge is both rewarding & challenging– not for the faint of heart but requires heart
Lessons Learned…What We Know Now…
• We did it!– we know we are moving in the right direction – it’s
what is best for children
WHEREVER WE ARE IS PERFECT …
FOR NOW!
Purpose of the NC Kindergarten Pilot
• Provide feedback on…
– Professional development
– Assessment content and format
– Electronic platform
– How assessment worked in practice
NC Kindergarten Pilot
• UNC-Charlotte Research Activities:
– Teacher Survey
– Classroom Observations
– Teacher and Administrator Interviews
– Examination of Evidences
NC Kindergarten Pilot
• Who?
– 248 Kindergarten Teachers
– 5,000 Kindergarten Students
• Where?
– 81 Schools across the state
• When?
– 1st 60 days of school
Commonalities in Classrooms Successfully Implementing KEA
Small class size: averaged 14 students
Students independently transitioned from one classroom activity to another.
Teachers used self-created implementation resources to assist with documentation.
Commonalities in Classrooms Successfully Implementing KEA
Formative assessment practices were imbedded into all classroom activities, so KEA data collection fit into teachers’ previously established routines.
“I want to warn you that you’re not going to see some prepared ‘something’ today; you’re just going to see
what I do everyday.”~Pilot Teacher
Commonalities in Classrooms Struggling to Implement KEA
• Large class size: averaged 22 students
• Students struggled to transition independently between classroom activities.
• Classrooms were located in schools/districts without a strong history of formative assessment practices.
Commonalities in Classrooms Struggling to Implement KEA
• Teachers approached KEA implementation as they would a summative assessment:• Created additional activities to “test” each
child’s ability individually or as a group.
NC KEA ContentNC KEA Content
• Developmental Appropriateness:– 71% of survey respondents felt the content was
developmentally appropriate for kindergarten.
“This really validates what we do and deal with everyday…there’s so much that needs to happen before you see a lot of academic changes. These young children are going to be growing socially tremendously [in the beginning of the year] and administrators need to understand [teachers]
have all this other stuff to get in place before they can start moving academically.” ~ Pilot Teacher
NC KEA ContentNC KEA Content
• Some participants felt that while the content was developmentally appropriate, the KEA was still not suited for current kindergarten classrooms:
“Is this developmentally appropriate? Yes, but to be honest we don’t have the ‘freedom’ to use it. We are
mandated by so many other expectations for our children that there is no way to do the KEA the way it should be done and still be responsible for the content we must
teach and then assess them on (state mandated summative tests by the way).” ~Pilot Teacher
NC KEA ContentNC KEA Content
• Some participants felt that while the content was developmentally appropriate, the KEA was still not suited for current kindergarten classrooms:
“If this was 5 years ago this would have been perfect, but kindergarten is looking more and more like first
grade. So while this IS developmentally appropriate, unfortunately it’s now more suited for PreK because kids are expected to enter Kindergarten with most of
these skills.” ~Pilot Teacher
• Teachers… See the value of a formative process Love the whole child focus Appreciate support for motor and emotional-
social constructs Have become more reflective
• Teachers…• Are overwhelmed • Need a lot of professional development & support• Struggle to see the connection b/t the assessment
content & what they do with students• Worry about how the information will be used
NC Pilot Implications
• Professional Development– Emphasize critical components of the formative
assessment process – Provide real world examples of formative
assessment in action– Include support staff (e.g., teacher assistants,
specialists)– Devote adequate time and intensity with
technology platform– Incorporate implementation resources
NC Pilot Implications
• Supportive Conditions– Strong background in formative assessment – Existence of PLCs focused on data-driven
instruction– Implementation teams at the state, region,
district, and school levels– Administrators with experience in early
childhood
Contact Information
Margaret HeritageCRESST/WestED
Cindy BagwellNC DPI Project Manager
Amy ScrinziNC DPI Project Lead
Denise NelsonNC Assessment Design TeamNC Regional Implementation Team
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