ddi and assessments in ela designing assessments that provide meaningful data david abel, fellow for...
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DDI and Assessments in ELA
Designing Assessments that Provide Meaningful Data
David Abel, Fellow for Curriculum and Assessment/ELA
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Session Objectives
We will learn…• About the elements of a high-quality Common
Core-aligned ELA assessment• How to create and choose assessment tasks that
are rigorous, measure the standards and give comprehensive information about students at all levels
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Why do we assess…?
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Let’s begin…
Take 10 minutes to read the 6th grade passage (Sweet Science Comes Baked In), annotated test item, and student work samples 1-3 and answer this question …
Given the standard the question is measuring, what can we say we know about the students in student responses #1-3?
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The question• MEASURES CCSS RI.6.5:
Analyze how a particular sentence, paragraph, chapter, or section fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the ideas.• HOW THIS QUESTION MEASURES RI.6.5:
This question measures RI.6.5 because it asks students to analyze how a particular sentence fits into the overall structure and meaning of the text. More than one response may be correct, but a correct response will focus on Morgan’s background and family experience with baking science, as well as her aspirations.
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Student Response #1
• What do we know about this student, based on this response?
• What DON’T we know about based on this response?
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Student Response #2
• What do we know about this student, based on this response?
• What DON’T we know about based on this response?
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Student Response #3
• What do we know about this student, based on this response?
• What DON’T we know about based on this response?
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The Known UnknownWhen working with open-response questions that require COMPREHENSION and ANALYSIS as demanded by the standards, student responses such as #1 and, to an extent, #3 do not give you information about whether students didn’t perform well because they couldn’t meet the demands of the standard or because they couldn’t comprehend the complex text.
“... there are known knowns; there are things we know that
we know. There are known unknowns; that is to say, there
are things that we now know we don't know. But there are also
unknown unknowns – there are things we do not know we don't
know.”
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The formative assessment advantage
• Formative assessments can yield student work that gives richer information, given that they can be administered
Without the same time constraints/pressure that accompany the 3-8 ELA test
In a manner that connects directly to targeted instruction
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Common Core-aligned ELA assessment
• What are the elements of a high-quality Common Core-aligned ELA assessment?
The CCSS for ELA/Literacy require comprehension, analysis and communication (writing/speaking) using evidence from text(s)
Open response writing items and/or performance tasks are the types of assessment questions that best provide a means for communication using evidence from text(s)
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Common Core-aligned ELA assessment
Grade-level standards add specific demands to the skills and knowledge of students on track for college and careers
Therefore, given the emphasis on textual evidence and the specific demands of grade-level standards, you need to use texts that can support measurement of the grade-level standards.
Example: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.6 Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author distinguishes his or her position from that of others.
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TEXT SELECTION IS THE FOUNDATION OF CCSS ELA
ASSESSMENTTexts at
grade-level complexity
Questions that measure
the CCSS
Rubrics to evaluate student
work
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Or to put it another way…
• The crucial components of CCSS ELA assessment are:
Texts that can support questions that measure the CCSS
Questions that measure the CCSS Rubrics that give you good and actionable info
about student performance
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Selecting texts
• 3-8 Assessment design documents begin on page 9 of your packet and include:
Passage selection guidelines New York State Passage Selection Resources for
Grade 3‐8 Assessments
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Features of a Complex Text
• Subtle and/or frequent transitions
• Multiple and/or subtle themes and purposes
• Density of information
• Unfamiliar settings, topics or events
• Lack of repetition, overlap of similarity in words and sentences
• Complex sentences
• Uncommon vocabulary
• Lack of words, sentences or paragraphs that review or pull things together for the student
• Longer paragraphs
• Any text structure which is less narrative and/or mixes structures
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Take out your Homework…
• Does the text you used in your assessment meet the demands articulated in these review docs?
• How about text #1? #2? • Which text would be better to measure the
CCLS as articulated on pages 16-30?• Discuss with a partner
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Questions that measure the CCSS
• Extended Response types measure CCSS Writing Standards (W1, 2)
CCSS Writing standards integrate Reading and Language Standards (W5, W9)
• Short response types Claim + evidence
• Claim = statement of comprehension/analysis required by the standard
• Evidence = proof of comprehension/analysis required by the standard
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Questions that measure the CCSS
• Claim + evidence short response questions Depending on the text, you can progress through
the reading standards …• from high-level comprehension/what is a central idea of
this text/(R2) …• to the more granular (R2-3)…• to craft and structure (R4-6)…• and, if using multiple texts, integration of knowledge
and ideas (R7-9)…• All requiring a set number of details (at least 2) in
support of the claim.
Once in this place, you can build on this to assess other standards (Writing, S&L, Language) with extended response questions and performance tasks
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Questions that measure the CCSS
How to write these questions?
Don’t do the analyzing for the kids in your efforts to be specific, but...
Don’t be so broad that nearly anything (or almost nothing) answers the question!
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Questions that measure the CCSS
Examples: (using Text #1)How does the author's perspective build suspense for the reader?
How does the author support the idea that the narrator felt “detached” from his injured leg?
Non-examples: (using Text #1)How would you feel if you were in this situation? What would you do?
How does the accident result in "an uncrossable gap” between the climbers?
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Take out your Homework…
• Do your questions measure the CCSS(pages 16-30) ?
• Do they provide actionable information about student ability to comprehend and analyze complex texts?
• What are the strengths or weaknesses of your questions? Discuss with a partner.
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Rubrics
• Form follows function! How much information do you need?
• Do you want a quick view of the student’s ability to display comprehension and analysis and mostly measure reading standards? Go holistic a la short response rubric
• Do you want to measure an extended writing assignment that can measure the reading, writing, and language standards? Use the extended response rubric and get granular.
Sample rubrics on page 43-45
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Return to the student work packet…and
student #1• Next steps could be: Referring to an earlier close reading
lesson/unit in which scaffolded instruction has happened targeting and assessing that standard• If the student struggled with the culminating
assessment aligned to that standard, then it is possible the student is struggling with the standard
• If the student performed well on the assessment, then it is possible that the student is struggling with comprehension of complex text
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Return to the student work packet…and
student #1• Next steps could be: Administering an assessment targeting the same
standards via a read aloud to see if the student can meet the standard via speaking and listening• Students who are not reading on grade level are often
capable of making inferences and conducting sophisticated analyses!
Targeted skills and comprehension strategy work with differentiated groups, followed by claim and evidence style questions to monitor comprehension • Students’ reading levels must be built up, via targeted
interventions and a volume of independent reading.
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But!
But you will need to make time to overwhelm the problem!
Without this the data will just tell you what you may already know….running in place.
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Partner Practice
• With a neighbor, think about how you might need to adjust your assessment with students who are struggling to comprehend grade-level complex texts?
Do you need to select a new text? Revise the questions? Both?
What else can you do to get good data?
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SUMMING UP
• Text selection matters• The standards can not be met without
comprehension• This is challenging and time-consuming…But
worth it!
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THANK YOU
David Abel
https://www.engageny.org/3-8
https://www.engageny.org/resource/regents-exams
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