AssessmentSystem-wide Professional Learning

November 8, 2011

Henry County Cluster

CLASS KEYS STANDARD

AL1.2 The teacher uses formative assessment strategies to monitor student progress and to adjust instruction in order to maximize student achievement on the Georgia Performance Standards.

“Does calling a product or practice “formative” make it so?”

(Chappuis, 2009 p.4)

Welcome Fourth and Fifth Grade Teachers!!

Opening Task

3 Charts are posted around the room: Common Formative Assessment, Formative Assessment, Summative Assessment

Take a few sticky notes and write examples of these or words to describe them

Place the sticky notes on the appropriate chart

Common Formative Assessment

Definition:

A collaborative team of teachers responsible for the same course or grade level creates a common formative assessment…members agree on the standard students must achieve to be deemed proficient and establish when they will give the assessment.

Formative Assessment

Definition:

A formative assessment is an assessment for learning, a tool used to inform both the teacher and the student

for the student: their current level of achievement

for the teacher: their path of instruction

To be formative, the teacher and student must recognize the problem and develop strategy or plan to resolve the problem that is impeding the student’s learning

Summative Assessment

Definition:

Summative assessment is an assessment of learning…a tool to answer the question, “Did the student learn by the deadline?”

Examples

Formative Assessment

Summative Assessment

Common Formative Assessment

Conferencing Notes/Teacher Reflections

4th Grade NY State Test

5th Grade CFA

Review Charts

Were there any sticky notes placed on a chart that you would move based on these definitions?

Were there any sticky notes placed that you have questions about?

Discuss in your groups.

The Power of Effective Formative Assessments

“…the achievement gains realized by students whose teachers rely on formative assessment can range from 15 to 25 percentile points or two to four grade level equivalents…”

“…this kind of score gain if applied to performance on recent international assessments would move the United States’s rank from the middle of the pack of 42 nations tested to the top five.”

(Chappuis, 2009 p.3)

Formative or Summative?

It’s all about how the data is used…

Activity: Assessment Sort

Each envelope contains two labels: Formative & Summative

Sort the types of assessment based on how the data will be used in one category or another

Hand Signals

To review the work done here, we will gauge understanding by taking a thumbs up/thumbs down approach.

Formative or Summative?Type of Assessment How will it be used? Formative or Summative?

State test Determine AYP Summative

State test Determine program effectiveness

Summative

State test Comparison of schools/districts Summative

State test Develop programs/interventions for groups or individuals

Formative

District benchmark, interim, or common assessment

Determine program effectiveness

Summative

District benchmark, interim, or common assessment

Identify program needs Formative

District benchmark, interim, or common assessment

Plan interventions for groups or individuals

Formative

Classroom assessment Determine report card grade Summative

Classroom assessment Revise teaching plans for next year/semester

Formative

Classroom assessment Plan further instruction/differentiate instruction for these students

Formative

Classroom assessment Provide feedback to students Formative

Classroom assessment Self-assess, set goals for further study/work

Formative

3 Things Must Happen to Make an Assessment Formative

1. The assessment is used to identify students who are experiencing difficulty in their learning

2. A system of intervention is in place to ensure students experiencing difficulty devote additional time to and receive additional support for their learning

3. Those students are provided with another opportunity to demonstrate their learning and are not penalized for their earlier difficulty

Graphic Organizer

Homework Journals

Conference Dry Erase Boards

Flash Cards

Pyramid

Think about the words you described and/or guessed…

Are these assessments you currently use in your classroom?

How could these be grouped into one category?

Formal versus Informal

What makes a formative assessment formal or informal?

Formal: assignments, tests, quizzes, performances, projects, and surveys

Informal: questioning and dialogue, observing, anecdotal note taking

A Wave of Ideas

“Are all of the tests and practices labeled as “formative” truly formative?”

(Chappuis, 2009 p.4)

Using the index card on your group table, one volunteer will write down their thoughts about the question and then the person to the right will add to that idea. This process will continue until everyone at the table has shared in the idea wave.

Break!

Please be back to your seat in 15 minutes

Ticket in the DoorThink-Pair-Share

Please answer the question on the ticket you received as you entered the room.

When the timer goes off, please turn and discuss your thoughts with a neighbor.

When the timer goes off for the second time, share your thoughts with your group.

Text Rendering Activity

Read the article, “What Can Informal Formative Assessment Do for Your Students?” independently

While reading…

Highlight a sentence from the article that you feel is particularly significant

Highlight a phrase from the article that you feel is particularly significant

Highlight a word from the article that you feel is particularly significant

Discuss as a group

A Few Examples of Informal Formative Assessment That Can be Incorporated into a Journal

12 word summary: In 12 words or less, summarize important aspects of the article.

Quick write: Write for 2-3 minutes about what you read

3-2-1: Jot down 3 ideas, concepts, or issues presented. Jot down 2 examples or uses of idea or concept. Write down 1 unresolved questions or a possible confusion

Work Time

Complete your assigned journal entry and share your thoughts on the article based on your assigned task.

How can we use these strategies in our classrooms?

Sentence Strip Booklet

Take five sheets of paper and fold into hamburgers. Cut along the fold lines making ten half sheets.

Fold each sheet in half like a hot dog.

Place the folds side by side and staple them together on the left side.

One inch from the stapled edge, cut the front page of each folded section up to the mountain top. These cuts form flaps that can be raised and lowered.

Taking Inventory

Let’s think of the formative (informal) assessment strategies that we’ve done so far. What have they been?

Let’s inventory these strategies into our sentence strip books.

Jot down some ideas about how these can be used in your classroom for different subject areas.

Break

Please be back to your seat in 15 minutes

Square, Circle, Triangle

In terms of formative informal assessment strategies…

Square = What squares with my thinking?

Circle = What’s still rolling around in my head?

Triangle = What do I need to change?

Complete your sheet independently then share as a group.

Task 1 – Children at Work

Graphic Organizer

Four Corners

3 Minute Paper

Task 2 – Left Over Cakes

Watch, Look and Listen/Fishbowl

Transfer and Apply

Closing Activity

Take 3 sticky notes and write down One “Tomorrow I will…”

One “Ah-Ha”

One “Question I still have…”

Place the stickies on the appropriate chart

Thank you!!

Enjoy the rest of your afternoon in your building