ASSESSMENT LITERACY: A NECESSARY FOUNDATION IN THE STATE OF MICHIGAN

February 19, 2014 MSTC Clinic A 10:20-11:35 am

Session Purpose & Outcomes Familiarize with NEW MI Assessment

Literacy Standards

Explore implications of assessment literacy for variety of stakeholder groups

Gather your feedback regarding desired/necessary future PD, resources, tools.

OUR CONTEXTSetting the Stage…

Remember society’s demands of its school: ALL students lifelong learners Narrow achievement gap

among students Universal graduation for

students All students ready for colleges

or workplace training Raise achievement levels

students

excerpted Rick Stiggins MDE- DAS 2013 Fall Conference presentation

So, how are we doing so far? NAEP scores have flat-lined for decades Drop out rates remain stable and high;

some are astronomical USA’s place in international rankings

stable Excellent teachers and new teachers are

leaving the profession in unprecedented numbers

excerpted Rick Stiggins MDE- DAS 2013 Fall Conference presentation

Our Context: assessment in all of this…

Public accountability for test scores supposed to improve schools (local, state, national, international)

Linking federal funding to test scores supposed to improve schools

Writing tougher standards & tests—raising the bar supposed to improve schools

Competing for federal $ -- RtT, NCLB, -- supposed to improve schools…

Evaluating teachers based on annual test scores is supposed to improve schools

Adapted from Rick Stiggins MDE- DAS 2013 Fall Conference presentation

How is this possible?

No assessment training for teachers or admins

Lack of assessment literacy among policy makers at local, state, and federal levels

Little awareness throughout of how to link assessment to teaching and learning

No norm for quality assessment in higher ed.

Aggressive selling of test services to unqualified users

Standards of quality ignore 99% of assessments

Technical apps exacerbate quality problems

excerpted Rick Stiggins MDE- DAS 2013 Fall Conference presentation

What is “Assessment Literacy”?

When thinking about a person being assessment literate, what might he/she believe, know, and be able to do?

Pause and Self-Assess

What does assessment involve? Making expectations explicit and public Setting appropriate criteria and high

expectations for learning quality Systematically gathering, analyzing, and

interpreting evidence to determine how well performance matches those expectations and standards….and

Using the resulting information to document, explain, modify, and improve performance.

ASSESSMENT LITERACY STANDARDS

Overview…

ALS Development The MAC has developed assessment literacy

standards

These standards will describe the dispositions, knowledge and skills needed by all parties regarding student assessment

The goal is to provide a common basis for work to help all become more assessment literate

ALS Development After internal review and revision, several

external reviewers were asked to comment on the standards. These included: Susan Brookhart Carol Commodore Margaret Heritage Ken O’Connor Jim Popham Rick Stiggins MASSP, MEMSPA and MASCD

Students and Parents

Teachers

Building Administrators

DistrictAdministrators

Local and State Policymakers

Assessment Literacy Standards

Pre-service teachers

Administrator Certification

Assessment Literacy Standards

I. DispositionsII. KnowledgeIII. Performance

Standards are lettered and numbered for easy reference.

Individual Reflection on the Standards

Silently read and record on the standards document:

Feedback on the standards: Clarifications/suggested revisions Deletions Additions Strengths/positives regarding the standards Implications for your practice

A Method to Review Multiple Standard Sets

Jigsaw Groups of 3 or 4 receive a specific set of standards.

The group jigsaws reading and reports the assigned reading to their group.

Once each group has read and reviewed their entire assigned set of standards, they report out to the whole group what their set of standards included.

WHILE READING, the group members record their feedback on the standards (clarifications, additions, etc.).

They discuss this and report it to the whole group.

What are the Implications? What are your thoughts about

implications of the Assessment Literacy Standards …

For you?For your building?For your district?For higher education?

Silently record your thoughts on an index card.

STUDENTSAssessment Literacy for…

Student Assessment LiteracyThe documentation of student learning and progress now plays a primary role in how our schools and educational programs are evaluated. Assessment in all its forms (e.g., formative, summative, self-assessment) has become one of the biggest discussion points in education today. Educational accountability, must now be demonstrated in the classroom through the documented collection of student learning evidence.

-- Dr. Raymond Witte

In the words of Popham…“…assessment illiteracy is professional

suicide…”

James Popham

TEACHERSAssessment Literacy for…

Consider this… Research suggests that teachers spend

from one-quarter to one-third of their professional time on assessment related activities.

Almost all do so without the benefit of having learned the principles of sound assessment.

Rick Stiggins, 2007

Reflection – Agree or Disagree? “A solid understanding of assessment

issues should be part of every teachers’ knowledge base, and teachers should be encouraged to equip themselves with this knowledge as part of their ongoing professional development.”

Dr. Sara Cushing Weigle, Georgia State University

Final Reflections “We owe it to ourselves and our students

to devote at least as much energy to ensuring that our assessment practices are worthwhile as we do to ensuring that we teach well”

Dr. David Boud, University of Technology, Sydney

BUILDING and DISTRICT ADMINISTRATORS

Assessment Literacy for…

Assessment Literacy Standards for Building-Level Administrators

There are different purposes for student assessment.

The definitions of and uses for different types of assessment

The differences between the types of assessment tools.

Promoting assessment literacy for self and staff

Assessment Literacy Standards for Building-Level Administrators

Providing time and support for staff to implement a balanced assessment system by providing opportunities to develop skills in: Scoring/Analyzing results

Leading dialogues with staff in interpreting results

Clearly explaining how to analyze and use assessment results

Clearly communicating results to various constituents

Assessment Literacy Standards for District-Level Administrators

There are different purposes for student assessment.

The definitions of and uses for different types of assessments

The different types of assessment methods and when educators should use each

How to develop or select high quality assessments

Promoting assessment literacy with staff

Assessment Literacy Standards for District-Level Administrators

Assuring that each and every staff member is: A confident, competent master themselves of the targets that they

are responsible for teaching Sufficiently assessment literate to assess their assigned targets

Assisting teachers to collaboratively analyze and use data

Leading dialogues with staff in interpreting results and creating goals for improvement

Clearly communicating results to various constituents

Assessment Literacy Standards and the School Improvement Framework

Standard 3:AssessmentG.Assessment System• Implements a balanced assessment system and ensures that summative and on-going formative assessments are aligned to curriculum and instruction

• Classroom assessments are designed to be developmentally appropriate and are aligned to the depth of knowledge required to demonstrate proficiency with standards

Assessment Literacy Standards: Teachers Knowledge• The definitions of and uses for different types of assessments

• How to unpack standards into clear learning targets and that are written in student-friendly language and that are used as the basis for the everyday curriculum.

Assessment Literacy Standards and the School Improvement Framework

H.Shared Understanding

• All educators can communicate the appropriate purposes and uses of assessment.

• Reports of student data are communicated to students and parents in a manner that they can understand.

Dispositions• An effective assessment system must balance different purposes for different users and use varied methods of assessment and communication.

Performance• Communicate effectively with students, parents, other teachers and administrators about student learning.

Assessment Literacy Standards and the School Improvement Framework

I. Data Analysis and Decision-Making• Educators use a combination of student achievement, demographic, process and perception data over time to make informed instructional decisions to meet individual student needs

• Assessment data are used to place students, monitor progress and drive timely interventions.

Knowledge• There are different purposes for student assessment: Student improvement; Instructional program improvement; Student, teacher or system accountability: Program evaluation; Prediction for future performance or achievement

• Different users have different assessment purposes

• Different assessment purposes may require different assessment methods

Assessment Literacy Standards and the School Improvement Framework

J. Student Involvement in the Assessment Process• Students understand the criteria and expectations for demonstrating their learning.

• Students receive descriptive feedback based on student performance, as well as guidance on how to improve.

• Students are taught how to self-assess and plan for improvement.

• Students learn to track and use their own achievement data and related feedback to monitor, evaluate, and reflect on how to improve their own performance.

Knowledge• How to engage students in using their own assessment results for reflection and goal setting

• How to provide effective feedback from assessments suitable for different audiences: descriptive vs. evaluative

Performance• Support student use of assessment feedback to improve attitudes, aspirations, mindsets and achievement.

POLICYMAKERSCase Study…

Assessment Literacy Standards for Policy Makers

Balance is needed in an assessment system because: 1. Different users have different assessment purposes

2. Different assessment purposes may require different assessment methodsThere are different purposes for student assessment: 1. Student improvement

2. Instructional program improvement3. Student, teacher or system accountability4. Program evaluation5. Prediction of future

performance/achievement

Assessment Literacy Standards for Policy Makers

The differences between the types of assessments in a balanced system of assessment:

1. Summative Assessments2. Interim Benchmark Assessments3. Formative Assessment

There are different ways to measure student achievement; each has advantages and challenges.

Assessment Literacy Standards for Policy Makers

There are different ways to report results:1. Norm-referenced interpretations2. Criterion-referenced interpretations3. When each type of interpretation may be more useful

There are several essential technical standards for high quality assessments:

1. Reliability – Do the assessments produce replicable scores?

2. Validity – Is there evidence that supports the intended uses of the assessment?Assessments can be purchased or developed locally; each approach has advantages and challenges.

Assessment Literacy Standards for Policy Makers

There are a number of steps in the assessment development process to produce high quality assessments.

Quality assessment of any type requires adequate funding and time.

Users of the assessment require time to learn to administer and use the assessment results appropriately, and resources may be needed to carry out these activities.

Should know which student measures are appropriate for teacher and administrator evaluation.

RESOURCES AND NEXT STEPS

Assessment Literacy…

Putting the Standards to Use

Professional development for K-12 teachers, administrators, etc. Workshops, full-length courses, tools and resources, etc.

Higher Education Pre-Service Teachers, Administrator Certification

Future collaboration with other organizations (PD, development of public policy, etc.)

Time to Process Now, think about two questions:

If Michigan educators had achieved these standards, what would be different in Michigan’s students?

If this is a preferred future, what would need to be done to push this vision forward?

You may wish to turn and talk about this for a few minutes add, to your index cards – we would like to collect these.

Thank You!