DAY 2Dr. Deborah Brady

dbrady3702@msn.com

Exit Slip FeedbackExit Slip Response

Examples of good assessments/others’ assessments/specifically one on standard

Quality Standards—and examples to critique

Peer evaluation—how to scaffold/train “Baby steps” and destination—rubrics and checklists

School-wide rubrics (NEASC) Solving Problems with Initiatives (SWOT)

Video Begin with collaborative assessment of assessments

Team Time here/more processing time Time to Plan this am and after lunch

Collaboration time Job alike sharing

How does assessment “drive” change in instruction (and curriculum)?

Big Picture for Planning for class, school, district—change and resistanceLASW, Data analysis, LATW (The task)

More depth about Formative assessment And scaffolding

Review rubrics Rubric development rubric of rubrics

Growth mindset (assessment and motivation/behavior)

How assessment can increase or decrease motivation

Moving your numbers… and more—engaging and enlightening students

Districts that have “moved their numbers” for all children have or are engaged in developing district-wide processes that allow for more collective use of relevant data to make smarter decisions, including the ongoing assessment of teaching and learning at the classroom, school, and district levels. These processes include the development, implementation, and ongoing use of teacher-developed formative assessments, and the use of grade-level/departmental/course, and vertical teams to collaboratively score these shared assessments and plan for shared instruction. They also include the use of building and district benchmark assessments.

Fullan (2008) states that principals working directly with teachers in the use of data is more than twice as powerful as any other leadership dimension, and Leithwood and Jantzi (2008) found that the reliability for assessing student learning and district decision making was one critical characteristic of effective districts.

What Matters Most: Key Practices Guide, National Center on Educational Outcomes

What Matters Most: Key Practices Guide (National Center for Educational Outcomes)

■ Key Practice 1: Use Data Well

■ Key Practice 2: Focus Your Goals

■ Key Practice 3: Select and Implement Shared Instructional Practices

■ Key Practice 4: Implement Deeply

■ Key Practice 5: Monitor and Provide Feedback and Support

■ Key Practice 6: Inquire and Learn

Hattie—Visible Learning

INFLUENCE IMPACT

Ability grouping/tracking/streaming High Medium Low

Acceleration (for example, skipping a year) High Medium Low

Comprehension programs High Medium Low

Concept mapping High Medium Low

Cooperative vs individualistic learning High Medium Low

Direct instruction High Medium Low

Feedback High Medium Low

Gender (male compared with female achievement) High Medium Low

Home environment High Medium Low

Hattie—continued

INFLUENCE IMPACT

Individualizing instruction High Medium Low

Influence of peers High Medium Low

Matching teaching with student learning styles High Medium Low

Meta-cognitive strategy programs High Medium Low

Phonics instruction High Medium Low

Professional development on student achievement High Medium Low

Providing formative evaluation to teachers High Medium Low

Providing worked examples High Medium Low

Reciprocal teaching High Medium Low

Reducing class size High Medium Low

Hattie--continued

INFLUENCE IMPACT

Retention (holding back a year) High Medium Low

Student control over learning High Medium Low

Student expectations High Medium Low

Teacher credibility in eyes of the students High Medium Low

Teacher expectations High Medium Low

Teacher subject matter knowledge High Medium Low

Teacher-student relationships High Medium Low

Using simulations and gaming High Medium Low

Vocabulary programs High Medium Low

Whole language programs High Medium Low

Within-class grouping High Medium Low

Team time or Job-Alike Time (20 min)Planning, Collaborating, Assessing

1 year, 3 years, 5 years

1. What is your destination? (and your vision—includes values not just numbers)

2. What steps will support change?– Looking at student work– Looking at student data– Looking at assessments– Looking at the tasks enacted in the classroom (walkthroughs, evaluation)– Getting formative assessment to work in the classroom (how?)– Curriculum, instruction Assessment quality—by content area– Quality rubrics and a protocol for Looking At………

■ Begin to define that destination—Imagine your “perfect world” for assessment (your class, school, or district)

■ We will have more time after lunch (after you’ve seen some of the details)

Problem Solving Protocol: SWOT (10 Min)Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats

School-Wide Rubrics

■ How do you get them to work with the whole school?

■ What are the barriers

■ How did you/might you solve it?

■ Collaborative problem solving

Strengths Weaknesses

Opportunities Threats

DEVELOPING AND ASSESSING

QUALITY ASSESSMENTSFormative Assessment is a buzzword, but it’s powerful!!!!!

Summative assessment

Evaluating ANY Assessment■ (Rigor) Aligned to the standards set

■ (Validity) Does it assess what it is supposed to assess? – Does it assess each aspect of the standard?– Does it assess the standard at the level of complexity and rigor expected?

(TOK/Bloom)– Is it an assessment in which all students can appropriately participate and allows for

accommodations for IEPs and 504 plans

■ (Reliability) Are there scoring guides or rubrics that make assessment fair? – make clear exactly what students need to do to demonstrate proficiency/mastery. – Make clear exactly what differentiates one level of the rubric from the other– Are there exemplars to support the collaborative grading (if this is a common exam)

■ If it’s formative, can it be used for students appropriate feedback so that they can improve in their next assessment or performance?

■ If it’s summative, can it provide useful data about students for planning the next unit or planning for the next year? Does it give students important feedback about their performance?

■ Does it meet District/Departmental standards? (For example, reading multiple texts (ELA), analysis of primary sources (H/SS), writing arguments (Science, H/SS, ELA, math), modeling (math)

RIGOR AND LEARNING

PROGRESSIONS Aligned with Common Core’s Rigor by Grade Level

Basic Needs ImprovemenI Proficient

Advanced

Learning Target

Pre-assess -------------------Formative Checks, rubrics, quizzes, group work --------------------------Summative

Pre-assessment Formative Summative

Scaffolding EVERY Student’s progress

Learning Progressions: Define Rigor■ The Common Core provides steps by year—levels of complexity

■ Alt Assessment Frameworks provide “modifications” of standards “Resource Guide”

■ Your district may define these progressions—benchmarking– Lucy Calkins, Fountas and Pinnell, etc.

■ Examples follow

Progression of Literacy Standards (Ela, H/SS, Science,

Tech)

9 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

8 Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

7 Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

6 Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

5 Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text

Standard 1 K-12

Figure 1.3 Anchor Standard 1: Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.

Resource Guide

Learning Progressions

Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4 Phase 5 Phase 6

Use basic vocabulary

Use basic language

Use language accurately

Use language accurately

Use language accurately and effectively

Use oratory technique

Simple short texts

Simple texts

A limited range of texts

A range of texts

A range of texts

A wide range of texts

Interact in simple and rehearsed exchanges

Interact in basic rehearsed and some unrehearsed exchanges

Interact in rehearsed and unrehearsed exchanges

Engage actively

Engage actively

Engage actively

Understand and respond

Understand and respond

Understand and respond

Interpret and respond

Analyse and respond

Evaluate and respond

Identify and recognize

Recognize and understand

Understand

Construct meaning/ interpret

Construct meaning/ analyse

Evaluate

Common Core

SPED Framework

Developmental Continuum (Rubrics) Reading Writing

Locally Define the Progression of any task through commonly held rubrics of qualityWorld Language: International Baccalaureate

Bloom Verbs for Questions and Activities Bloom Verbs for WEBB Cognitive Complexity Matrix Levels

KnowledgeLower order thinking skill

Tell, list, define, label, recite, memorize, repeat, find, name, record, fill in, recall, relate

Recall and Reproduction (Level 1)Recall, observe, recognize facts, identify

ComprehensionLower order thinking skill

Locate, explain, summarize, identify, describe, report, discuss, locate, review, paraphrase, restate, retell, show, outline, rewrite

Skills and Concepts (Level 2) (Understand)Specify, explain, make observations, explain steps, use models to represent or explain, make estimates and explain

ApplicationHigher Order Thinking Skill (HOTS_

Demonstrate, construct, record, use, diagram, revise, reformat, illustrate, interpret, dramatize, practice, organize, translate, manipulate, convert, adapt, research, calculate, operate, model, order, display, implement, sequence, integrate, incorporate

Strategic Thinking (Level 3) (Apply)Design and investigation, use concepts to solve non-routine problems, translate between problem and symbolic notation

AnalysisHOTS

Compare, contrast, classify, critique, categorize, solve, deduce, examine, differentiate, appraise, distinguish, experiment, question, investigate, categorize, infer

Strategic Thinking (Level 3) and AnalysisCompare information across setsAnalyze author’s craft

EvaluationHOTS

Judge, predict, verify, assess, justify, rate, prioritize, determine, select, decide, value, choose, forecast, estimate

Extended Thinking (Level 4) and EvaluationGather, analyze and evaluateDraw conclusions and justify 

SynthesisHOTS

Compose, hypothesize, design, formulate, create, invent, develop, refine, produce, transform

Extended thinking (Level 4) and CreateHypothesizeDesign a model to solve real-world problemsCreate a poem that uses the techniques of the Romantic Age

Rigor Locally defined by rubricsOrganization

Language

Warning Needs Improvement Proficient Advanced

Does not answer the question because the

reading is misunderstood

and/or the question is misunderstood or not

answered

Answers the question with a quotation, but

the answer is incomplete or unexplained.

Answers the question and explains in

his/her own words that are accurate and

apt.

Answers the question in an insightful,

nuanced answer that uses appropriate vocabulary and

language

What is the next step for each student/group of students?How can you scaffold the next step?

What assessments do you make during this process? 1. Describe where the student is.2. Describe ONLY the next step.

ASSESSMENT VALIDITY

Unpacking Sample Assessment Items for

VALIDITY ■ https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/develop-quali

ty-assessments-parcc

■ Validity check of task—assesses what you have taught

■ Collaborative assessment of assessments

■ Note: PARCC provides a helpful, easy-to-follow, step-by-step process for analysis of text complexity and for aligning tasks with standards. (Summative Assessment)

24

Validity of the Assessment—Does it test what is stated in the standard?

UNPACK the areas that need to be Assessed (by grade progression—select any 2 grades below)

9 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

8 Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

7 Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

6 Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

5 Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text

■ Standard 1 K-12

■ Figure 1.3 Anchor Standard 1: Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.

What is a good match between standards and

assessment?Argument Standards Possible Assessment question/activity

Math: Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others

Provide an “incorrect” answer, ask the student to correct it and to explain why.

Science: Engage in arguments from evidence Using the data from the table or graph or experiment, what is your conclusion? How do you defend it?

H/SS: Evaluate different points of view based on the same historical event.

Analyze Wilson’s speech to Congress about entering the war with a contemporary critic’s. What does Wilson appeal to as motives? How does his critic question Wilson’s ideals?

ELA: Read, write and speak grounded in evidence

How great is Gatsby (rate 1-10). On what do you base your argument? How would Nick rate him? The film that we viewed? Explain your conclusions based on evidence.Engage in a Socratic Seminar to defend your views.

Course:

Standard(s)/Objective(s)

Step 1: Think About the kind of Thinking You Want Student to engage Ino What kind of thinking is implied by the standard(s)/ objective(s)?o What key concepts should students understand by the end of this unit?o How should students be able to use these concepts?

Step 2: Select Tasks That Require the Demonstration of That kind of Thinking

o What will students who have mastered these concepts be able to do? o What learning tasks will best help students demonstrate mastery of these concepts?

Step 3: Determine the Indicators of Mastery

o What does mastery of the identified learning tasks look like?o “indicators of success,” behaviors that indicate progress toward the goal can be helpful here

Step 4: Determine the Assessment and Standards of Quality

o What feedback methods will tell students if they have reached mastery and to what level? o Some short answer? Multiple Choice? (Lower Order Thinking Skills)o Some/one long answer with rubric developed by the department

RELIABILITYInter-Rater Reliability

Scoring Guides and RubricsExemplars

High-Medium-Low (H-M-L)

Protocol

– Each teacher brings in two or three examples of high, medium, and low level work for a specific task, test, or prompt

– A simple protocol to monitor improvement

– Teachers identify patterns in student work

– Teachers create an action plan based on the patterns

■ This protocol reduces the initial anxiety of competition since everyone will have an example of each level.

■ New groups can use this as a beginning protocol to explore and develop shared expectations for student learning and performance.

Select Facilitator Individually

sort your students’ work into

High, Medium, and

Low piles

Individuallydescribe the

characteristics of each pile with rubric or

list of criteria.

As a group,share

characteristics.

As a group,develop

rubric or list of criteria

As a group, develop an action plan (next step)

for each level and for all students

Reflect on process.

Share reflections.

START HERE

PROTOCOLS

High, Medium, Low Protocol ExampleTime Process: Process Support:

2 min Before looking at the student work: Choose a facilitator Choose a timekeeper Chose a recorder

Refer to role descriptions for individual responsibilities. Facilitator: Note the time at which reflection must begin.

10 min High-Medium-Low Sorting Without consulting other group members, each person sorts student work into

High, Medium, and Low piles After everyone has sorted the work, each member briefly shares general

observations about student performance

5 min Develop a Rubric (or a general list of criteria)Each member writes general descriptors for each level, H, M, & L

15 min Share descriptors and agree on a group rubric (or, less formally, a simple list of criteria that participants used to sort the work into piles)

Recorder: Record rubric or criteria on chart paper for your group.

15 min What are the next steps for teaching the students in the High, the Medium, and the Low group

Develop an action plan for each level of student.Record on chart paper.

10 min Reflect on the protocol What was notable or surprising about the criteria your group

used to sort the work? What was notable to you about the students’ understanding? What did you gain by using this protocol? In what ways did the structure of this protocol help you and your group

understand student thinking? How could using this protocol to look at student work improve student

learning, your classroom practice, and your work with peers?

Individually reflect and write. (5 minutes)Record on chart paper. (5 minutes)

*This protocol is an adaptation of the High-Medium-Low Protocol to be used in a workshop environment.

High, Medium, and Low Protocol Action Plan

Whole Class Differentiated flexible groups

High

• All students will LASW and rank essays from ESE web site or NCS mentor (not their own work initially)

•All students will learn to assess work with NCS Mentor

•Students will self assess their ORQs or essays using rubrics

•Examples of high quality work from students will be discussed and posted in classrooms

•Students will revise ORQ answers to move up one level

Rich topic/idea development

Careful and/or subtle organization

Effective/rich use of language

Read best examples

Describe what they see

Use these descriptors on their own writing (in pairs)

Average Full topic/idea development

Logical organization

Strong details

Appropriate use of language

Substantiation from text

3 examples

Organize—time, importance, etc.

Vocabulary tune up

Low

Moderate topic/idea development and organization

Adequate, relevant details

Some variety in language

Stay on one topic

Go back to text for examples

Specific vocabulary

  6 5 4 3 2 1

Ideas Creative, original ideas Details support the main idea and make it interesting Makes sense and enjoyable to read Believable, reader cares about story

Interesting, new ideas Details explain the main ideas, making it more interesting  Makes sense Believable, reader is interested

Ideas are expressed clearly Reader can identify the main idea that is supported with details Most of the details relate to the main idea Understandable

The main idea is presented, although there are some questions Some details, but may be too general or not related to the main idea Very few new ideas presented

Is there a main idea? I’m not sure! Either very few details or too many details that aren’t connected Reader is not interested, unsure about the topic

No main idea or lots of unrelated ideas No details Writer is confused Reader is confused

Voice Unique, individual and confident voicePassionate about position, yet never overdoneUses voice to enhance meaningAppropriate voice for the topic and audience

Enthusiastic and convincing voiceInterested in topic and conveys purpose to audience Appropriate voice for the topic and audience

Occasionally original and/or confident voice Writer sounds Interested in topicAppropriate voice for the topic and audience

Sometimes you can hear the authors voiceVoice might changeMay convince the reader, not always sureUsually appropriate for the topic and audience

Too informal, chatty, whiney or sarcasticNot very interested in the topic, just listing factsVoice doesn’t match audience

Cant find a voiceAuthor not interested in topic at allBoring or confusing to readVoice does not match the audience

WHY

SIX

LEVELS?

What is a SIX? 6-Trait; Lucy Calkins’Score Description Six Trait

6 Rich topic/idea development Careful and/or subtle organization Effective/rich use of language

Ideas Exceptionally clear, focused, interesting Main ideas stand out Rich details, well suited to audience, purposeOrganization Order/structure move reader through text Effective/creative beginnings/endings Smooth transitions Details fit where placedVoice Exceptionally strong sense of audience, topic, purpose Strong sense that the topic has come alive Engaging, lively, honest, exciting, humorous Obviously aware of readerSentence Fluency Effective flow and rhythm Sentences flow effortlessly into one another Extensive variation in sentence structure, beginnings Strong control over simple/complex sentence structureConventions No significant errors Easy to read Little or no need for editing

Research indicates that the level of specificity and detail in rubrics promotes higher achievement.

Exemplar of 6-Trait writingCollege Entrance Essay

I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. I have been known to remodel

train stations on my lunch breaks, making them more efficient in the area of heat retention.

I translate ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees. I write award-winning operas. I manage time

efficiently. Occasionally, I tread water for three days in a row.

I woo women with my sensuous and godlike trombone playing. I can pilot bicycles up severe

inclines with unflagging speed, and I cook thirty-minute brownies in twenty minutes. I am an

expert in stucco, a veteran in love, and an outlaw in Peru.

Using only a hoe and a large glass of water, I once single-handedly defended a small village

in the Amazon Basin from a horde of ferocious army ants. I play bluegrass cello. I was scouted

by the Mets.

The laws of physics do not apply to me. I balance, I weave, I dodge, I frolic, and my bills are all paid. On weekends, to let off steam, I participate in full contact origami. Years ago I discovered the meaning of life but forgot to write it down. I have made extraordinary four-course meals using only a mouli and a toaster oven.

I breed prize winning clams. I have won bullfights in San Juan, cliff-diving competitions in Sri Lanka, and spelling bees at the Kremlin. I have played Hamlet, I have performed open-heart surgery, and I have spoken with Elvis.

But I have not yet gone to college.

EXTERNAL MEASURES: EXEMPLAR

State College Level ExpectationsFrom: High School and College Alignment Sample English Language Arts Course Outlines, Assignments, Assessments, and Student Workhttp://www.doe.mass.edu/hsreform/alignment/

Short Essay 1: Summary, Paraphrase, Quotation“Hundreds of millions of people buy fast food every day without giving it much thought, unaware of the subtle and not so subtle ramifications of their purchases. They rarely consider where this food came from, how it was made, what it is doing to the community around them. They just grab their tray off the counter, find a table, take a seat, unwrap the paper, and dig in. The whole experience is transitory and soon forgotten” (10).Eric Schlosser wrote Fast Food Nation in part to make people more aware of their actions and choices. In this first graded essay assignment of the semester, you will not only think more carefully about the role fast food plays in the American culture, but also more carefully about how you summarize, paraphrase and use quote a text. You’ll choose either the introduction to Fast Food Nation or Chapter 5, “Why the Fries Taste Good,” and then summarize, paraphrase and quote the key points.Particular Requirements:•Rather than write a general summary of all the key points, develop a specific, yet still objective summary by playing the role of a person with a particular interest who is reporting on Schlosser’s book for his/her colleagues. Select the perspective from the list below:

A health official (a nutritionist, doctor, nurse, etc.) A fast food industry official A farmer A teacher A cook A business person An advertising executive A scientist (chemist, biologist, etc.) A parent

•Paraphrase at least two passages.•Include at least 4 quotations—including one block/indented quotation and one that uses an ellipsis.•Develop a unified piece. That is, use paraphrase and quoting to provide examples to the points that you summarize.•At the end of the essay, write a one-paragraph response to the essay’s main idea from the perspective that you have selected. Do you agree with Schlosser? This will serve as your conclusion.•Include proper citations and a works cited section using MLA format.Length: 3-4 pages

EXTERNAL MEASURES: ASSIGNMENT

Private College RubricWriting Rubric

5 – Excellent comprehension of both the content and rhetorical structure of the reading; an intelligent balance between summary and analysis, such that a reader who did not know the passage has a clear sense of its contents and the writer’s view of it; ability to advance an interesting argument and support it with apt citations, which are intelligently analyzed. Paragraphs are coherent, fully developed, and resourceful in the way they help the reader understand the flow of the argument. The student's style is itself varied, polished, persuasive, and lively. The writing is grammatically and mechanically correct.4- Very good comprehension of the reading on the level of content, though less alertness to rhetorical structure. The essay strikes an appropriate balance between summary and critical analysis; the passages selected for discussion are apt. The argument, while not necessarily original, is well thought out and sustained through the whole essay. Paragraph structure is solid. The writing may exhibit a few insignificant mechanical problems (spelling, comma use, but not agreement/fragment). The student writes with confidence and a good degree of rhetorical sophistication.3 – Comprehension of the reading is adequate, as reflected in the summary, but the summary and critical analysis are not well integrated into a whole essay. Or, the critical analysis is lively and interesting but seems overly subjective and disconnected from the reading. Errors in prose mechanics, while not impeding your comprehension of the student's ideas, are beginning to detract from the quality of the prose. Essays in the 3 range are generally shorter than those in the 4 range. The use of quotations is also less effective, with citations used more to illustrate the student’s point rather than to deepen the level of analysis through sustained interpretation of the author’s words and ideas. The student shows an awareness of the structure of paragraphs, but these are less well developed. Despite the problems, you still feel confident that the student has understood the reading and knows the difference between summary and analysis.2 – The problems of the "3" paper are in evidence, only here mechanics errors become an issue. Fundamental errors in grammar and usage appear, along with spelling and punctuation. The student's grasp of the reading is marginal, as evidenced by a barely adequate summary and superficial citation of passages largely disconnected from any sustained argument. Because the comprehension is weak, the critical analysis also lacks persuasiveness. The student may not entirely follow directions (summary but no analysis; analysis but no summary). Paragraph structure is shaky. The thesis is either absent or difficult to locate. The prose style reaches only a minimum standard for college composition.1 – All of the problems of the "2" paper are in evidence, but in addition the student shows almost no comprehension of the reading and does not write English prose at a level minimally acceptable for college. Errors in prose mechanics are abundant and various. The student shows little understanding of the conventions of correct quotation. The content of the reading has not been grasped with any degree of clarity. Paragraph structure is non-existent. It is likely that ESL issues are involved. The essay is short; the student does not follow directions. The problems here suggest more than a failure to understand the reading.

EXTERNAL MEASURES: RUBRIC

1. The writer has a clear position on the topic.

2.The writer uses clear topic sentences to explain the purpose of each ¶.

3. The writer develops the ¶ with a relevant, specific example.

The writer shows good unity by concluding the argument firmly and reasserts the thesis.

In general, the essay is a little repetitive, but our readers understand that it was written under pressure. While it is not perfect, it shows all of the things that we listed in our letter to you. We expect that a student writing at this level will be successful in College Writing I.

U. Lowell entrance essay excerpted.

While the ideas of "happiness" and "success" seem related at first glance, I believe they are two separate categories and represent two different ways of looking at the world.1 First of all, happiness is a feeling, which success is not. A person doesn't need to be successful to be happy, because a wide variety of things can make a person feel happy, and those things might not be the same from person to person. Success isn't an emotion; it's a judgment of its own kind. To say a person is successful or unsuccessful is a way of evaluating that person, and deciding whether they measure up to a standard. It's important to see the difference between those two things, or you could end up missing out on happiness.

Happiness can come from a sense of personal accomplishment or achievement, which is why happiness and success are easily confused. It feels really good to reach a goal, especially if you've set a goal that is meaningful to you.2 For example, in my high school, there is a history teacher that everyone thinks is a tough grader. Mr. Anderson teaches a European history class that is not required, and usually only the smartest students take that class because of its reputation for being difficult.3 I'm not at the very top of my class, but I liked the other history classes that I'd taken, so I was considering signing up for it.4 I had a hard time deciding. I didn't want to get a bad grade, but a friend of mine who took that class last year gave me good advice. She told me that I shouldn't worry about it, because the class would be good, so I signed up for it. At the start of the year, Mr. Anderson told us how much he expected from us, and I thought about switching to another class because it seemed impossible. I got a couple of bad quiz grades, but I stayed for extra help and my grades started to get better. Right now, I have a B in that class, and I'm very happy with that. This kind of happiness is based on how I feel about myself. I tried to do something that was difficult, and even though some people might not think of a B as a success, I'm happy with it. I know how hard I worked to get it, and that makes me feel like a success.

Once you stop to consider the difference between happiness and success, it becomes clear that while they might sometimes happen together, those two ideas are not necessarily connected.8 You might have a humble job that doesn't have much prestige, but you might enjoy it. Or, you might not like your job that much, but you might have a great life at home that makes you happy. On the other hand, you might have an impressive career that gives you a lot of money and respect, but you might hate your work, or you might be unhappy with your life outside of work. If you look at the way things are in society, it is obvious that happiness and success get confused all the time. Happiness is a feeling that exists inside a person; success is too often a measurement that is based on what other people think of us. You have to know the difference if you want to be happy, and being happy with yourself is a kind of success that everyone should be able to experience.

EXTERNAL MEASURES: ANNOTATED EXEMPLAR

WHAT IS A QUALITY RUBRIC?

HolisticAnalytic

Educational Rubrics

40copyright 2008 Ribas Associates

Steps to Developing a Rubric gb179-181

■ List the criteria

■ Articulate gradations of quality

■ Avoid A,B,C grade conversions

■ Allow class time for “trial runs” of the rubric with students

■ Expect to revise it several times

■ Use language that will enable students to use the rubric for self and peer assessment

■ You need examples of quality at each level

Better still,

Have students revise and own the rubric in their own language and with their own examples over time

A rubric takes a lot of time so do one ONLY for essential and central tasks: Reading, writing, speaking, listenting, analyzing, participating in group work, presenting, etc.

Rubric Introduction

■ Rubric Introduction (See roobrix.com for calculating a rubric’s value.)

■ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vEldvPK6rc

copyright 2008 Ribas Associates 41

Exemplars and Anchor Papers gb184

■Exemplars– Are examples of a product or performance task

completed successfully

■Anchor Papers– Are samples of actual student work that correspond to

different levels of proficiency within a rubric

■Both – Provide consistency when grading– Increase students’ understanding of teacher

expectations and levels of quality

copyright 2008 Ribas Associates 42

Rubric “Cut Scores”

■ Create a “growth” rubric and describe a typical year’s growth

■ Translate into 100%

■ www.roobrix.com

Product Criteria for Quality: Rubrics Support Quality Standards when Provided at the Beginning of a Unit

Design Original design meets client’s criteria:contains three or more transformations, using at least two of the following: rectangle, parallelogram, trapezoid, or regular polygon at least one of which has been mapped onto itself.

Drawing on Graph Paper and Fabric Sample (or drawing)

Fabric sample (or drawing of fabric sample) is an accurate representation of the drawing on graph paper. Graph paper drawing and fabric sample make appropriate and accurate use of tools (i.e., ruler, protractor, technology, etc.).

Written Explanation

Written description contains details about the transformations used in the pattern and how the pattern was developed. A complete and accurate set of instructions for reproducing the design are included which

describe the sequence for each of the transformations used. The figure that was mapped onto itself is identified and the rotations and reflections that carried it onto itself are described.

The transformations used are also described as functions that take points in the drawing as inputs and give other points as outputs.

All geometric terms are used in appropriate context with precise language. Appropriate notation is used throughout . Explanation and drawings show connections between graphical, symbolic, and verbal explanations of the sequence of transformations used.

Congruency is demonstrated by comparing corresponding parts of the pre-images and resulting images. The definition of congruence in terms of rigid motions is used to show and explain the congruence of figures in the design.

Presentation Oral presentation shows, explains, and justifies the design and the mathematical reasoning that went into creating the design.

Connections between different representations of the design (verbal, words, graphical, and symbolic notation) are clear and logical.

Appropriate vocabulary is used correctly in context.

4 Texture: Crunchy outside; moist inside cookie and slightly melting chocolateAppearance: Glossy from the use of real butter; fits in the palm of your hand, variation in shapes and modulation of surface perhaps of gourmet or home made origin; see substantial chocolate chunks.Taste: Cookie melts in your mouth and the chocolate is high quality, in chunks, and possibly imported dark chocolateTemperature: Warm, just out of the oven and cooling on a cooling rack

3 Texture: Cake-like, chocolate is at room temperatureAppearance: Flat surface, slightly smaller than the palm of your hand, some variation in sizes and surface modulation indicates it may be home made, see some possible bites without chocolate. Looks like commercial chocolate bits.Taste: Cookie is mostly crunchy. The chocolate tastes like commercial chocolate chips.Temperature: Room temperature.

2 Texture: Somewhat dry.Appearance: Flat surface, small, almost skimpy size; maybe from a cafeteria. Many bites without chips.Taste: Somewhat dry. Chocolate is not of high quality; may be old.Temperature: Cool, maybe from cafeteria refrigerator or freezer.

1 Texture: Dry, cold, crumbling Appearance: Porous, skimpy portion, uniform shapes, perhaps commercially madeTaste: Dry and chocolate has a white coating as if it is old or of poor qualityTemperature: Cold

Chocolate Chip Cookie/Holistic Rubric

copyright 2013 Ribas Associates

Rubric of Rubrics

Analytic RubricCriteria Exceptionally Good Adequately Good Needs Some

ImprovementNot Especially Good

Texture Crunchy outside; moist inside cookie and slightly melting chocolate

Cake-like, chocolate is at room temperature

 

Somewhat dry. Dry, cold, crumbling

 

Appearance Glossy from the use of real butter; fits in the palm of your hand, variation in shapes and modulation of surface perhaps of gourmet or home made origin; see substantial chocolate chunks.

Flat surface, slightly smaller than the palm of your hand, some variation in sizes and surface modulation indicates it may be home made, see some possible bites without chocolate. Looks like commercial chocolate bits

Flat surface, small, almost skimpy size; maybe from a cafeteria. Many bites without chips.

Porous, skimpy portion, uniform shapes, perhaps commercially made

 

Taste Cookie melts in your mouth and the chocolate is high quality, in chunks, and possibly imported dark chocolate

Cookie is mostly crunchy. The chocolate tastes like commercial chocolate chips.

Somewhat dry. Chocolate is not of high quality; may be old.

Dry and chocolate has a white coating as if it is old or of poor quality

Temperature Warm, just out of the oven and cooling on a cooling rack

 

Room temperature. Cool, maybe from cafeteria refrigerator or freezer.

Cold

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/quality-evidence-rubric-student-assessment

Mathematicians vs Arith-maticians

Defining Quality Work

Score MCAS LONG ESSAY

6 Rich topic/idea development

Careful and/or subtle organization

Effective/rich use of language

5 Full topic/idea development

Logical organization

Strong details

Appropriate use of language

4 Moderate topic/idea development and organization

Adequate, relevant details

Some variety in language

3 Rudimentary topic/idea development and/or organization

Basic supporting details

Simplistic language

2 Limited or weak topic/idea development, organization, and/or details

Limited awareness of audience and/or task

1 Limited topic/idea development, organization, and/or details

Little or no awareness of audience and/or task

EXTERNAL MEASURES: RUBRIC

Open Response Question 2008 Grade 4 Average

The response is a clear, complete, and accurate description of the challenges Annie Smith Peck faced throughout her life. The response includes important details from the article.4

3The response is a mostly clear, complete, and accurate description of the challenges Annie Smith Peck faced throughout her life. The response includes relevant but often general details from the article.

2The response is a partial description of the challenges Annie Smith Peck faced throughout her life. The response includes limited details from the article and may include misinterpretations.

1

The response is a minimal description of the challenges Annie Smith Peck faced throughout her life. The response includes little or no detail from the article and may include misinterpretations. ORThe response relates minimally to the task.

0 The response is incorrect, irrelevant, or contains insufficient information to demonstrate comprehension.EXTERNAL MEASURES: RUBRIC

Annotated Exemplar

Answer and explanation in the student’s wordsSpecific substantiation from the text

RUBRIC Summary■ Rubrics are for objectifying those areas that

traditionally are hard to assess objectively. They are not for everything. You don’t need a rubric to assess students’ mastery of the multiplication tables up to 9 times 9.

■ They describe quality

■ There are many rubrics that can be used as a starting point (6-Trait, Lucy Calkins for writing, for example, and CEPA rubrics for performance assessments for reading, writing, presenting, and group work.

■ Teachers and students need to “own” their rubrics by using them and sometimes making them

student friendly.

copyright 2008 Ribas Associates 52

Miniature Golf Problem http://www.achieve.org/ccss-cte-classroom-tasks

■ The local miniature golf course would like to increase their profits by increasing the difficulty and number of holes in the course. The owners believe players will like being able to play more holes for their money and then may spend more at the concession stand.  In order to find designs for three new holes, they have decided to hold a design contest. Each design will be judged on the most creative use of materials, the least likelihood that someone will score a hole-in-one, and the best use of the available space. The contest requires documentation of your design, including a scale drawing of the design with dimensions, all of your calculations, and a report to the owners that explains your design.

■ Tasks:

1. Sketch a miniature golf hole design including any obstacles or general items required. The designed hole must fit within a rectangle of no more than 128 square feet of area. Draw your design to scale, using appropriate tools, and include all measurements. Make sure your dimensions will allow for a player to comfortably approach the ball within the golf hole area. Identify the cup, the tee box, obstacles, and all angles of approach. For purposes of computing area, your design should be composed of two-dimensional shapes for which you can find the area.

2. Show that your design will fit within a rectangle of dimensions that meet the 128 sq ft specification. Be sure to use as much of the area as possible, while still maintaining a creative design.

3. Calculate the total area of your golf hole design and the percentage of this total area you have used. Show all your work. (Remember: You will be judged partially on the best use of space.)

4. Research and describe the regulation size for a golf cup for consideration and placement in your design.

5. Identify and sketch two possible paths from tee to cup, with at least one path being a bank shot. Explain the possible approaches and show and calculate all angles associated with your bank shot(s).

How could you scaffold this proposal?

■Write a report to submit with your design to explain why yours should be selected.

■Include information regarding the creativity of your design, the level of difficulty, and the best use of available space.

Essay Prompt from TextRead a primary source about Mohammed based on Mohammed’s Wife’s memories of her husband.

Essay: Identify and describe Mohammed’s most admirable quality based on this excerpt.

Then, select someone from your life who has this quality. Identify who they are and describe how they demonstrate this trait.What’s wrong with

this prompt using a primary source and a district-required

text-based question?

Table Vote

Thumbs UP? Halfway? DOWN?

Scoring Guides from Text

■ Lou Vee Air Car built to specs (50 points)

■ Propeller Spins Freely (60 points)

■ Distance car travels– 1m 70– 2m 80– 3m 90– 4m 100

■ Best distance (10,8,5)

■ Best car(10,8,5)

■ Best all time distance all classes (+5)

■ 235 points total

A scoring guide from a textbook

for building a Lou Vee Air Car. Is it good enough to

ensure inter-rater reliability?

Table Vote

Thumbs UP? Halfway? DOWN?

PE Rubric in

Progress.Grade 2

for overhand throw and catching.

Table Vote

Thumbs UP? Halfway? DOWN?

Table Vote

Thumbs UP? Halfway? DOWN?

Music: Teacher and Student Instructions Table Vote

Thumbs UP? Halfway? DOWN?

SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT

Performance AssessmentAuthentic Tasks

Performance tasks:

• Include both process and product.

• Provide feedback at every stage.

• Are manageable for both students and teachers.

• Are purposeful.

• Include clearly defined criteria and standards.

• List well-defined steps to guide the students

through this process.

• Align with Mastery Objectives copyright 2008 Ribas Associates 61

Creating an Effective Performance Assessment (Stuart 2003) gb151 fig.4-7

Summative AssessmentHow can I create an authentic Performance Task that

fosters understanding?Use GRASPS to assist in the creation!

■ G - Goal (What task do I want the students to achieve?)

■ R - Role (What’s the student’s role in the task?)

■ A - Audience (Who is the student’s target audience?)

■ S - Situation (What’s the context? The challenge?)

■ P - Performance (What will students create/develop?)

■ S - Standards (On what criteria will they be judged?)

Remember: Make the tasks real world problems to solve!

Miniature Golf Problem http://www.achieve.org/ccss-cte-classroom-tasks

■ The local miniature golf course would like to increase their profits by increasing the difficulty and number of holes in the course. The owners believe players will like being able to play more holes for their money and then may spend more at the concession stand.  In order to find designs for three new holes, they have decided to hold a design contest. Each design will be judged on the most creative use of materials, the least likelihood that someone will score a hole-in-one, and the best use of the available space. The contest requires documentation of your design, including a scale drawing of the design with dimensions, all of your calculations, and a report to the owners that explains your design.

■ Tasks:

1. Sketch a miniature golf hole design including any obstacles or general items required. The designed hole must fit within a rectangle of no more than 128 square feet of area. Draw your design to scale, using appropriate tools, and include all measurements. Make sure your dimensions will allow for a player to comfortably approach the ball within the golf hole area. Identify the cup, the tee box, obstacles, and all angles of approach. For purposes of computing area, your design should be composed of two-dimensional shapes for which you can find the area.

2. Show that your design will fit within a rectangle of dimensions that meet the 128 sq ft specification. Be sure to use as much of the area as possible, while still maintaining a creative design.

3. Calculate the total area of your golf hole design and the percentage of this total area you have used. Show all your work. (Remember: You will be judged partially on the best use of space.)

4. Research and describe the regulation size for a golf cup for consideration and placement in your design.

5. Identify and sketch two possible paths from tee to cup, with at least one path being a bank shot. Explain the possible approaches and show and calculate all angles associated with your bank shot(s).

How could you scaffold this proposal?

■Write a report to submit with your design to explain why yours should be selected.

■Include information regarding the creativity of your design, the level of difficulty, and the best use of available space.

Massachusetts Model Curriculum CEPACURRICULUM EMBEDDED PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT (PERFORMANCE TASKS)

■ You are a financial planner (Louis Barajas*). You have three clients with different careers, lifestyles, and expenses (Eddie Romero*, Connie Tuckman, and Lashonda Jackson).

■ Each client has sent you an email describing their particular concerns, along with a little background about their lifestyles and financial interests.

■ Your goal is to provide the best possible financial plan to address your clients’ financial concerns and help them make sound financial decisions. Your company offers five primary financial investment and savings options; you will evaluate the alternatives and respond to your clients’ emails with recommendations.

■ In your emails, you will provide clear evidence to support your advice, including mathematical models for the different situations, graphical and symbolic representations of the inverse functions that model each client’s situation, and professional communication that provides a mathematical justification for your recommendation.

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/rhetorical-devices-equipWhat kinds of assessment are at work here?

From Massachusetts Curriculum Units (DESE)

Context: The lesson is the third in the unit. The unit continues after this 2-day lesson. Lesson 3 provides students with the opportunity to analyze ethos, pathos, logos, and other rhetorical elements in Brutus’s and Marc Antony’s speeches from Julius Caesar. They will see/hear the speeches, then they will work in pairs or small groups to complete SMART Charts and discuss why the rhetorical techniques are effective. Students will read each speech to the class informed by their understanding of the rhetorical elements.

■ Standards: CCSS.ELAKLiteracy.RI.11K12.6 Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to the power, persuasiveness, or beauty of the text.

■ CCSS.ELAKLiteracy.SL.11K12.3 Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, assessing the stance, premises, links among ideas, word choice, points of emphasis, and tone used.

■ CCSS.ELAKLiteracy.L.11K12.3 Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.

Students will:

■ Identify and evaluate the effectiveness of speakers’ use of ethos, pathos, logos, and the rhetorical elements that contribute to them.

■ Analyze how perspective and purpose influence rhetorical choices and compare the effectiveness of rhetorical strategies in Brutus and Marc Antony’s speeches in Act 3, Scene 2 of Julius-Caesar.

What should an Authentic Performance Task ask students to do?

Contextualize it to a real-world situation.

Require students to use judgment and innovation.

Call for exploration of the subject like a professional in the field.

Replicate challenging situations in which people are truly “tested” in life and work.

Compel students to use a repertoire of knowledge and skill to negotiate a task

Allow opportunities to rehearse, practice, consult resources, get feedback, and refine performance.

Use the Six Facets of Understanding

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT:

You’re doing it All the time!

What are the assessments that take place in this kindergarten class?

Praise the process:

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/praise-the-process-perts

NOTE: Social/Emotional Learning plus academic learning plus Differentiating instruction!

■ Self-Assessment is off the charts for impact if used well

copyright 2008 Ribas Associates 71

Research has shown (Black and William, 1998) that one of the most powerful ways of improving learning and raising standards is through assessment for learning (Formative assessment/Feedback). gb201

Research on Formative Assessment

■Systematically eliciting evidence of student learning day-by-day and minute-by-minute can provide invaluable information to teachers.

■By highlighting student thinking and misconceptions, and eliciting information from all students, teachers can collect representative evidence and therefore better plan instruction based on the current understanding of the entire class

Turn and Talk

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/quality-evidence-rubric-student-assessment

Mathematicians vs

Arith-maticians

StudentsDefine Quality Work

Why Formative Assessment is MORE important than Summative Assessment

■When compared to teachers in the control groups, teachers who consciously used Formative Asessments had a better understanding of their students’ abilities and were better able to predict performance.

■RESULTS? In addition, students in these classes outperformed their peers on a mathematics achievement test.

■WHY DOES THIS WORK? The researchers hypothesized that the teachers’ ability to understand the processes that students were using may have helped them to adapt instruction; they would try different activities, resulting in higher achievement.

Turn and Talk

Vygotsky’s Schemas: ZPDSocial Construction of KnowledgeTEACHER—Gradual Release of ResponsibilitySTUDENT’S JOURNEY (ACQUISITION OF MASTERY)

Setting Clear Goals or Targets Introduction Guided PracticeCoached Practice

Independe

nt Practice

Independent Mastery

Starting to “own” ideas

Students set their own goal for mastery

Unclear understanding

Misconceptions and mistakes begin to get clearer

Use ideas on their own

Some level of mastery

How do you know where all of your students are on this scale? What do you do about it?

What does scaffolding and flexible grouping and differentiating look like?

Assessment for Learning (formative)

Assessment of Learning(summative)

Embedded in the teaching and learning process and is ongoing

Typically occurs at the end of a unit of study

Focuses on how and what students learn

Focuses solely on what students learn

Teachers work individually & in teams to construct assessments

Teachers use commercially produced tests gb 201

copyright 2008 Ribas Associates 76

Application: Formative Assessment over Time

Criteria Levels Day 1

Day 2

Day3 Day 4

Mastery Objective

Write argument

Advanced(stretch)

Insightful Analysis

Proficient(stretch)

Competent Analysis

NI(scaffold)

Needs at least 3 examples

NI(Scaffold)

Needs clearer claim

NI (Scaffold)

Needs to explain connection

Basic(re-teach)

Needs evidence and claim

77

Group Work/Partner work

Protocols (warm/cool)

Direct Instruction

Modeling thinking out loud

Sentence Frames as models

Visuals, realia

Questioning

Graphic Organizers, Images, Diagrams

for Schema

FeedbackSelf-MonitoringPeer Feedback

Guardrails

Schema

RubricsCheckli

sts

Scaffolding Options

Use “guardrails” as students

acquire independen

ce

Assess and Scaffold with Exit Tickets■ https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/teacher-assessment-strategy

(Math)

copyright 2008 Ribas Associates 79

The Stoplight Method: An End-of-Lesson Assessment■ https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/daily-lesson-assessment (Any

class)

copyright 2008 Ribas Associates 80

copyright Ribas Associates 2009

Definition of Feedback gb200

Feedback is direct, usable actionable information to the learner on his/her current performance in relation to a target performance so that the learner can self-assess and make improvements.

Effective Feedback Grades versus Formative Assessment?

Think Coaching not Correcting

■ 1 or 2 important areas

■ “Surface errors” are not as important as the ideas. Save them for last.

■ Train peers to give feedback as you teach what the expectations are

■ Use a Rubric, checklist, or provide examples of “the next steps.”

Time Saving Possibilities

■ Have students self-assess

■ Train peers to use checklists and rubrics and to give warm (and eventually cool) feedback

■ Don’t accept a paper without a peer’s initials

My Favorite No: Learning From Mistakes (ROUTINE)■ https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/class-warm-up-routine

copyright 2008 Ribas Associates 83

Formative Assessment Example

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

(5 min

Elementary science)

84

Scaffolding Socratic Seminars(accountable talk “frames”)

■ Multiple voices

■ Scaffolding the Socratic Seminar

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/using-socratic-seminars-in-classroom

Edutopiahttp://www.edutopia.org/critical-thinking-discussion-HS-resources?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=roundup-HS-critical-thinking-discussion-resources#graph1

Scaffolding Discussions

■Students begin to put the ideas in their own words

■Theoretical Underpinnings: Vygotsky—“social construction of learning.” We learn by rehearsal through progressively more articulate “speech,” from inner speech to social speech.

Peer Feedback: Formative Assessment

and coaching■ Peer review as a formative assessment for revision.

■ https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/revising-essays-nea

■ 9th grade

■ Specific Questions

■ 6-Traits Rubric

copyright 2008 Ribas Associates 87

Feedback: How does this clip relate to our discussion about feedback?

■ Giving Feedback: Say No to No

■ https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/building-student-confidence

■ Grade 3 1 minute

■ “Levels of approximation”

copyright 2008 Ribas Associates 88

The Assessment Resources ■ https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/develop-quality-assessments-parcc ela

■ https://https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/develop-worthwhile-math-problems-parcc MATH

■ https://prc.parcconline.org/assessments/parcc-released-items?title=&field_subject_tid=&field_grade_level_unlimited_tid=All&page=6 Analysis of test items with examples

■ Science: http://www.nextgenscience.org/resources

Examples of PARCC questions

■ http://parcc.pearson.com/sample-items/ Literacy and Math

■ https://vimeo.com/95297242 Calibration of Teachers; Presentation

■ Tch123

■ Achieve the Core Videos, student work, annotated videos of core content areas http://www.teachingthecore.org/view/183

“Juried” Resources for Math

■ Massachusetts Model Curriculum Hundreds of Units K-12 ELA, Math, SS, Sci. (http://www.doe.mass.edu Ask to see them and provide email.)

■ ENGAGE New York https://www.engageny.org/common-core-curriculum

■ A Case for Using Reading and Writing in a Mathematics Classroom Speaking from her own experiences as a math teacher, Sarah Kasten tells how -- and why -- she introduced reading and writing in her classroom. She shares how she directed her classes to do 5-minute, impromptu writing assignments, explain their problem-solving process, or even explain a new concept and create their own example problems.

■ Using Writing in Mathematics This article includes specific suggestions for managing journals, developing prompts for writing, and providing students with feedback on their writing. In addition, the site includes two sample lessons for introducing writing activities in a math classroom.

■ Writing in Mathematics A brief teacher-to-teacher article on getting started with writing in math class — moving from think-pair-share to a less-known model: think-write-pair-share.

■ Bias Sampling The purpose of this activity, designing a survey, is “to demonstrate how the results of a poll or other scientific study can be biased by selecting special types of people to respond or by asking only certain questions.” In this well-constructed lesson, students gather opinions on how much homework time is appropriate. Who should they interview? What questions should they ask? The task culminates in a persuasive, hopefully unbiased, report to the school principal.

■ Math Out Loud! In this one-pager, Robyn Silbey, a school-based math specialist, contends that “speaking and writing in math offer students an opportunity to synthesize their thinking and articulate it for others.” Moreover, she offers practical ideas for carrying out the classroom process.

■ 59 Writing Prompts for Math Teachers Teachers will find these prompts useful for students who are writing in math journals, learning logs, and classroom reflections.

■ Math and Communication You’ll find solid tips on encouraging and supporting math talk in this brief piece by well-known math teacher Kay Toliver.

■ Adapting Literacy Strategies to Improve Student Performance on Constructed-Response Items This article discusses ways of adapting various reading strategies to help students improve their answers to extended-response questions on the mathematics portion of high-stakes tests. A practical article directed to teachers.

■ More MATH RESOURCESAssessment Tasks for grades 6 - 12http://map.mathshell.org/materials/tasks.phpAchieve.Org math tasks for gr 6 - 12http://www.achieve.org/ccss-cte-classroom-tasksResource for understanding Math Practice Standards:http://insidemathematics.org/index.php/mathematical-practice-standards

■ http://writingtotextbrady.wikispaces.com/Weymouth Middle School