Are you ready to take the plunge? Is the water too cold or too warm? Do you take a tentative step with the big toe or throw caution to the wind and commit to an adventurous leap – uncertain of the outcome? Either works, depending on your style, whether in swimming, living, or building common assessments. Read more
Topic: Assessment Architecture
Most Recent? Most Frequent? Most Accurate?
One of the fundamental tenets of standards-based grading is that greater (if not exclusive) emphasis is placed on the more recent evidence of learning. For years now, the consensus among both experts and practitioners is that the combination of old and new evidence (most often via calculating a mean average) distorts the accuracy of reported achievement levels (O’Connor, 2011; Guskey, 2015; Reeves, 2015). As students move through their natural learning trajectories, they should be given full credit for their learning, regardless of how low or slow the start. Read more
Designing Assessment through the Lens of Engagement
It is not often that teachers consider engaging student work when designing assessments. The technical aspect of identifying standards or learning goals and matching them to items and tasks is certainly an important aspect of design, but it cannot be the only thing. There are times when educators talk of engaging instruction and design lessons and activities that captivate students. Read more
Achievement—It’s More Than a Number
Post 1 of 4 on Using Assessment to Improve Achievement
A person who never made a mistake, never tried anything new.
Einstein
The primary mission of schools is to help kids learn. That’s it. That’s the bottom line. It stands to reason, then, that the primary indicator of success will always be achievement scores. But our work with making decisions about learners must remain far more humane then making decisions about learners based on a set of cold, calculated scores (and it doesn’t matter if those data come from the grades in our gradebooks or external test scores). The measure of achievement should never mask the face of the learner. This is personal. And, it’s very serious work. Read more
Why Assess?
The question of “Why Assess?” is one that is posed in schools and districts everywhere. It’s important to challenge educators to think about their assessment practice and how they derive information about student progress. If the purpose of assessment is merely to rank and sort, then little needs to change from the assessment practices of previous generations. If, instead, the purpose is to focus on student learning, then educators need to examine whether their current practice is aligned with that outcome. Read more
Powerful New Book Promotes Collaborative Assessment Practices
This is a guest post by Kelly Rockhill, Solution Tree
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bloomington, Ind. (January 25, 2016)—Solution Tree, a premier educational publisher and professional development provider, announces the release of a powerful new book that seeks to reinvigorate teaching and learning through collaborative assessment practices.
In Collaborative Common Assessments: Teamwork. Instruction. Results., author Cassandra Erkens outlines the practical steps teacher teams must take to establish clear, comprehensive assessment systems that guide instruction and strengthen professional learning communities. “When common assessments are developed and employed properly, as a collaborative, formative system aimed at improving learning for teachers and learners alike,” writes Erkens in the introduction, “the gains in teacher efficacy and student achievement can be staggering.” Read more
Effective Feedback—Inspiring our Students
Last week when I picked up my 5-year old daughter from gymnastics I asked how she did. She excitedly replied, “My teacher said I did a good job with my forward rolls, and I need to start working on my strong arms and straight legs in my cartwheels.” During previous weeks, we had similar conversations and had gone home with a clear goal in mind. Read more
Assessment and Hope: Not an Oxymoron
The words assessment and hope are not often used in the same sentence. The mere mention of the word assessment can cause stress and angst. At the Assessment Center we aim to change that visceral reaction. At its core, assessment fosters hope, builds efficacy, and increases achievement (Shepard, 2000; Zimmerman & Schunk, 2011; Brookhart, 2013; Andrade, 2010; Hattie & Timperely, 2007; Brown & Harris, 2013). Read more
Leading for Assessment Literacy
It isn’t about grades. We must stop focusing our conversations on grading and what a paradigm shift it is to grade based upon standards. Certainly we have been grading “against standards” for years, otherwise against what measure are we grading? The purpose of assessment, and the importance of the proper use of it, is about educating the children of today and ensuring that they are ready for life beyond high school. Read more
Observation as Assessment and Feedback
My sister was helping out in her Kindergartener’s classroom. I had previously shared with her a bit about my work and passion in helping teachers use assessment to see students as possible and then tap that information to engage them to learn. She wondered if her story had anything to do with my work. It is an incredible example of the kind of observations that changes students’ lives. Read more