Share with a tablemate…What was the most challenging “test” you have ever taken and why?

Essential Questions

How do we assess student learning? Understanding the difference between Formative and Summative Assessment.

What are the major reasons we use report cards and assign grades to student work?

What purposes do report cards or grades should serve?

Should Non-achievement factors impact grading?

Our Agenda…

Assessment – The Big PictureFormative and Summative Assessments

What, why how!

Using Assessments to Guide Instruction

Grading – Moving Beyond the Mystery

Divide into “Level Groups” to talk about specific grading issues and concerns.

Questions

What color car do you drive?

Are we the car we drive?Black: Powerful, Classic, Elegant

White: Pure, Pristine, Direct; Pearl: Glamorous, Exciting, Sophisticated

Silver: Futuristic, Prestigious, Elegant

Red: Sensual, Dynamic, Outgoing

Gray: Neutral, Sober, Practical

Blue: Light-Mid Blue: Calm, Faithful, True; Dark Blue: Confident, Credible, Authoritative

Orange: Artistic, Individual, Complex

Brown: Powerful, Unique; Beige: Natural, Down-To-Earth

Yellow: Joyful, Sense Of Humor; Gold: Warm, Intelligent, Glamorous

Green: Dark Green: Well-Balanced, Trustworthy, Traditional; Light Green: Organic, No-Fuss, Understated

Driving in the Fast Lane

Driving in the Fast Lane

Two Types of Assessment

Summative Assessment – The collection of information at the end of an instructional unit/course to judge the final quality and quantity to student achievement and /or the success of the instructional program.

Formative Assessment – The periodic collection of information to provide feedback concerning progress toward achieving learning goals. Along the way information – during learning!

What formative assessments have you used to inform your instruction and measure student understanding?

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/show-your-cards-student-assessment

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/daily-lesson-assessment

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/teacher-assessment-strategy

Formative AssessmentEPR

Number/Letter Cards

whiteboards

Exit slips/Exit Passes/Exit Placemats

Stoplight or Red, Yellow, Green Cards

Colored cups

Learning Logs

Clickers

Kahoot

Observations

Plickers

What other types of formative assessments did you and your group come

up with?

What summative assessments have you used to inform your instruction and measure student understanding?

What did you learn about your teaching? Your students?

Driving in the Fast Lane

Which one do you believe is the

A. diagnosing students’ strengths and weaknesses

B. monitoring students’ progress

C. guide or “drive” instruction

D. determining one’s own instructional effectiveness

E. district curriculum monitoring

F. assigning grades, placement

Tell your partner which one you believe is most important and why?

Why do we assess?

diagnosing students’ strengths and weaknesses

monitoring students’ progress

guide or “drive” instruction

determining one’s own instructional effectiveness

district curriculum monitoring

assigning grades, placement

Driving in the Fast Lane

Which one do you believe is the

A. Aligned to the curriculum

B. Designed prior to instruction

C. Matches the instruction provided

D. Tests what is taught

E. Used to drive instructional decisions; helps us know what needs to be taught and re-taught

F. Not sure/Undecided

Aligned to the curriculum

Designed prior to instruction

Matches the instruction provided

Tests what is taught

Used to drive instructional decisions

Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment is what happens in the classroom on a daily basis!

Grades are a reflection of the assessment that happens in the classroom! Both formative and summative

Curriculum

Instruction

Assessment

Decide if you Agree or Disagree if this is an appropriate assessment of student learning and is it appropriate to use for a grade in the grade book:

You have been studying about insects. You decide to have students complete a word search to look for all of the different kinds of insects and the different parts of an insect.

Aligned to the curriculumDesigned prior to instruction

Matches the instruction providedTests what is taught

Used to drive instructional decisions

Decide if you Agree or Disagree if this is an appropriate assessment of student learning and is it appropriate to use for a grade in the grade book:

You have been studying about fractions. You decide to have students complete 50 fraction problems so that you see if they really understand the concept you have taught.

Aligned to the curriculumDesigned prior to instruction

Matches the instruction providedTests what is taught

Used to drive instructional decisions

Decide if you Agree or Disagree if this is an appropriate assessment of student learning and is it appropriate to use for a grade in the grade book:

You have been studying about the South America. You decide to have students draw a map and label it with important you have covered during the lesson so that you see if they really understand the concept you have taught.

Aligned to the curriculumDesigned prior to instruction

Matches the instruction providedTests what is taught

Used to drive instructional decisions

Assessment Thoughts!

1. Don’t ask if you don’t want to know!

2. Don’t simply adopt methods and techniques from others, adapt them to your class.

3. Don’t ask students for feedback unless you can and will respond to it.

4. Don’t collect more data than you can easily and quickly turn into information.

Assessment Thoughts!

5. Ask first, which assessment strategy is appropriate to measure the learning; not which questions are appropriate to fit the assessment strategy.

6. Ask, how will knowing the answer to this question help me improve student learning? (If you can’t answer this question, the assessment is probably not worth doing.)

Assessment Thoughts!

7.Remember: If an assessment is worth doing, it’s worth teaching students how to do it well.

Driving in the Fast Lane

“Until you have data as a backup, you’re just another person with an opinion.”

Dr. Perry Gluckman

Think time…

What do you believe are the major reasons we use report cards and assign grades to students’ work?

Purposes of Grading

Provide information or feedback to students and parents (academic).

Provide information for student self – evaluation

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Select, identify, or group students for educational programs.

Provide incentives for students to learn (motivation)

Document students’ performance to evaluate the effectiveness of instructional programs

Provide evidence of students’ lack of effort or inappropriate “responsibility”

Failing…is NOT an option for our students!

If our students are failing we as educators are failing our students.

Mary Matthew

Some thoughts to consider…

• Grades do not prepare our students for the next grade – we do as educators!• What does an elementary student know about a

“D”?

• What does a “D” mean to a middle school or high school student?

• What does an “F” tell any student?

• How do we deal with students who refuse to do their work? Have we asked – why do kids refuse to do the work assigned?

Current Grading Scales: Elementary

Non-achievement Factors

Effort

Behavior

Attendance

Should never be part of the grading process!

Conversation Cafe

What Would You Do?

John Quiñones

You do not have to grade everything or put a grade in the gradebook for everything, but you must provide feedback to students about the learning!

Grading and Reporting will Always Involve some degree of Subjectivity!

No One Method of Grading and Reporting Serves All Purposes Well! Be strategic!

Comment SectionTo comment or not to comment…that is the question!

Grades with Comments are better than Grades Alone! (Appropriate Comments)

Report Cards (Grades) – should never be a surprise for the student or the parent!

Guidelines for Better Practice

Begin with a clear statement of purpose and specific learning goals. Use your curriculum.

Think About:Why are grading and reporting done?

For whom is the information intended?

What is the purpose?

What are the desired results?

What will you do if your students don’t understand or grasp the content/concept(s)?

Reteaching? Enrichment?

When determining what to grade..

Give priority to evidence related to most important learning goals or standards.

Give priority to most recent evidence

Never “grade” students when they are still learning (guided practice)

Eliminate “questionable” practices: Assigning a “zero” to work that is late, missed, or

neglected.

Taking credit away from students for behavioral infractions.

Using pop quizzes

Do NOT use Grades as Weapons!

Guidelines for Better Practice

Ensure that grading and reporting methods provide accurate and understandable descriptions for student learning.

Use grading and reporting methods to enhance teaching and learning.

Involve students when possible. Student self-reflection.

REMEMBER…The Report Card is only one way in which we communicate student progress and specific points in time throughout the school year!

Essential Questions

How do we assess student learning?

What are the major reasons we use report cards and assign grades to student work?

What purposes do report cards or grades should serve?

Should Non-achievement factors impact grading?

Questions…