SLS:Eknowledge SeriesMarch 7, 2012

UNIT PLANNING AND FORMATIVE

ASSESSMENTS

Facilitators:

Lynn Radicello, OCM BOCES Curriculum, Instruction, and AssessmentAuddie Mastroleo, OCM BOCES Network Team

Board of Ed

Superintendents

Princip

als

Teachers

CCLS

DDI

APPR

The Big Picture

READINESS GUIDE

Awareness

Connections

Integration

QUALITY UNIT DESIGN

QUALITIES OF UNIT DESIGN

Begin by selecting the standards to teach

Standards are addressed with essential questions and guiding questions

Incorporates both formative and summative assessment

Assessment criteria communicated to learners prior to beginning the work

Knowledge and skills are identified

Instructional strategies carefully and purposefully planned

Which ones to teach?

PRIORITIZING THE

STANDARDS

Criteria

Prioritizing the

Standards

• Does the value extend beyond a single test?

Endurance

• Is the value multi-disciplinary?Leverage

• Necessary for success in the next grade?

Readiness for the

next level of

learning

Criteria

Prioritizing the

Standards

• Does the value extend beyond a single test?

School

• Is the value multi-disciplinary?Life

• Necessary for success in the next grade?

State Test

Prioritizing the

Standards

Endurance

Leverage Readines

s

SchoolLife

State Test

What do your students need for success – in this school year, next year, and so on

(leverage; readiness), in life (endurance), and

on your state tests?

Guiding Questions

for Prioritizing Standards

What essential

understandings and

skills do our students

need?

Which standards

and/or indicators

can be clustered or incorporated into others?

A Protocol for

Prioritizing Standards

• Identify the standards/indicators that are non-negotiable

On your own

• Compare choices• Note

similarities/differences• Reach initial consensus

Talk with your

colleagues

• Grade Above & Grade Below

• Align all grade spans

Vertical Alignme

nt

Prioritize the

Standards in the Unit

WITH YOUR GROUP….First, independently identify non-negotiable standards

Compare choices and reach a consensus

Align standard selections by comparing a grade above and below (vertical alignment)

LINKED TO STANDARD

S

Essential Questions

Guiding Questions

When is war

justified?

What makes art

art?

Are numbers

real?

Essential Questions

A universal question that has no definitive answer

Provides a compelling and relevant “hook” into the student’s experience

Encourages multiple perspectives as well as ongoing inquiry and interest

What were the causes

and consequence

s of 20 th century

American wars?

What are the effects of erosion

on our beaches?

Guiding Questions

Specific and answerable questions

Support inquiry based instruction linked to the essential question

Provides the cohesive thread in the unit’s lessons

What do students need to

know and be able to

do?

IDENTIFY KNOWLEDGE

AND SKILLS

Analyze standards for

CONTENT

what students need to know

SKILLSwhat students

need to be able to do

UNWRAPPING

Let’s unwrap RL6-8.1!

Underline the nouns

Circle the verbs

Enter these

into the unwrappi

ng template

Bloom’s or DOK?

UNWRAPPING

Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences

drawn from the text.

Underline the nouns

Circle the verbs

Enter these

into the unwrappi

ng template

Bloom’s or DOK?

UNWRAPPING

SKILLS (verbs) CONCEPTS (nouns) BLOOM’S/DOK

Students need to be able to do…Students need to know

about…What kind of

thinking?

• Cite

• Support

• Draw (prior knowledge)

• Textual evidence

• Analysis of explicit text

• Inferences (prior knowledge)

• DOK 3

• Bloom’s 3-4

Topics/Big Ideas/Essential Questions

• Supporting analysis with details and examples

• How does textual evidence support and strengthen our thinking?

UNWRAPPING TEMPLATE

Unwrapping the

Standards in the Unit

WITH YOUR GROUP….Select a priority standard to unwrap

Underline nouns and circle the verbs

Select level of thinking and key vocabulary

Instructional Strategies

Required Knowledge

Required Skills

Opportunities to make meaning

Real world connection

s

Rigor and complex thinking

skills

Provides scaffolding

and extension

ASSESSMENT TYPES

DATA RESOURCES

LET’S BE CLEAR

Assessment for

Evaluation

Assessment for

Instruction

Summative

Formative

Formative vs.

Summative

AT YOUR TABLES….

Brainstorm

Craft a definition for each

Share

A science teacher has students complete a graphic organizer identifying the different parts of a cell. He grades the assignment and returns it to students. He speaks privately with a few students (who did not pass) to tell them that they’ll need to study more since this information will be on the unit test at the end of the chapter.

FORMATIVE? SUMMATIVE?

A Kindergarten teacher asks her students to write their first name and draw a self-portrait. She identifies those students who can’t spell their name and targets them for specific sound/letter instruction.

FORMATIVE? SUMMATIVE?

Each student in Jazz Band played an on-demand musical piece as part of their final exam. The score was factored in and became a part of their final average.

FORMATIVE? SUMMATIVE?

Formative vs.

Summative

Occurs during the learning process

Identifies students

experiencing difficulties

Results are used to help students continue to learn

(informs instruction)

Informs teachers as to the

effectiveness of instruction for

current students Informs students

in regards to progress in becoming proficient (provides feedback)

Typically are NOT used to assign

grades

An assessment is formative if it…

Examples of Formative

Assessments

Exit/Entrance

SlipsJournals

Questioning Discussions

Observations

Whiteboards

Formative vs.

Summative

Occurs after the learning process

has ended

Is not used to improve students’

understanding of content

Results are used to inform

stakeholders of individual student

achievement

Informs teachers as to the

effectiveness of instruction for

future students

Informs students about their academic

standing in relation to others

Assigns a grade to indicate

student progress at a specified point in time

An assessment is summative if it…

Examples of Summative Assessment

s

End of Unit or Chapter

Tests

State Assessmen

ts*Benchmar

k Assessmen

ts

Final Exams

Placement Tests

Achievement Tests

WHAT ARE SOME WAYS YOU USE

FORMATIVE AND SUMMATIVE

ASSESSMENTS?

Balanced Assessment

Common

Summative

Formative

What does

common

mean?

The 5th grade team collaboratively designs an assessment that is focused on common learning goals. Each teacher grades his/her own assessments & they reconvene to discuss the results. During the analysis, one teacher reveals she gave an additional week’s worth of instruction to students prior to administering it because she felt they needed more time to master the material.

COMMON? NOT COMMON?

What does

common

mean?

Three English 7 teachers each develop a section (accompanied by an answer key or rubric) for a short story unit assessment and combine them into one. All students will take the assessment, but some of the assessment items are generic so the teachers can modify them to fit the stories taught.

COMMON? NOT COMMON?

What does

common

mean?

COMMON? NOT COMMON?

A team of 10th grade Geometry teachers agree to administer the quiz located at the end of each chapter to all students. They don’t teach the same units at the same time, but all the units are taught before the end of the year.

COMMON? NOT COMMON?

What does

common

mean?

Is developed collaboratively by

teachers who teach the same grade level or

content

Uses a common process for

determining the criteria for quality

work

Measures the same learning

targets no matter the teacher

Administered systematically

and timely to all students enrolled

in a course or grade

Results are scored and analyzed

collaboratively

Facilitates a systematic, collective

response to struggling students

An assessment is common if it…

Teach, test, and hope for the best

Spray and pray

I taught it, they just

didn’t learn it.

SOUND FAMILIAR?

Putting It All

Together

The more you teach without finding out

who understands the information and who doesn’t, the greater the likelihood that

only already-proficient students

will succeed. Grant Wiggins, 2006

Balanced Assessment System

WHERE DO INTERIM ASSESSMENTS FIT?

Hallmarks of Interim

Assessments

Developed collaboratively & may mimic high-

stake tests

Given quarterly (not unit tests) to

all students enrolled in a

course or a grade

Aligned with standards/state

tests/college readiness

Cumulative (reassess

previously taught standards)

Collaboratively scored and analyzed

Result in action planning

Involve students in the process

Are the starting point of

instruction

Balanced Assessment System

In-the-momentFormativ

e

Provides a link between the two

Larger year-end goal

Interim

Summative

DESIGNING QUALITY ASSESSMENTS

Designing Quality

Common Assessmen

ts

A Seven Step

Process

Decide What to Assess

Decide How to Assess

Develop Assessment

Plan

Determine the Timeline

Write the Assessment

Review the Assessment

Set Proficiency

Criteria/Gather Data

Step

1DECID

E WHAT

TO ASSES

S

Examine your learning targets

Which targets

are most likely to cause certain

students difficulty?

Which targets

are prerequisite skills

for informati

on to come

later in the unit?

Which targets

are absolutel

y necessar

y for students to know?

Clear? (student-friendly language)

Focused? Appropriate?

LEARNING TARGETS

Identify the type of learning target

Knowledge

Reasoning Skill Product

LEARNING TARGETS

Understands Knows

Understanding…

…”Understanding”

Know Your

Learning Targets

Knowledge Reasoning Skill Product

KnowList

NameIdentify

TellExamine

RecognizeExplain

UnderstandDescribeDefine

CompareContrast

DistinguishAnalyzeOrganize

InferDeducePredict

InterpretHypothesize

SortEvaluate

ProveJudge

Support Justify

Classify

PlayDoUse

ObserveMeasureExplore

DemonstrateCarry out

ModelListen

PerformQuestionConductSpeak

MakeGenerateDesign

ConstructInvent

ProduceDrawWrite

CreateDevelop

Knowledge Reasoning Skill Product

ELA

Recall details and examples from a text

Compare and contrast the point of view in different stories

Write an opinion piece on a topic.

Produce clear and coherent writing

EXAMPLES OF LEARNING TARGETS

Step

2DECIDE HOW

TO ASSES

S

Determine your assessment

strategy

Selected Respons

e

Constructed and

extended written

response

Performance

assessment

Step

2DECIDE HOW

TO ASSES

S

Assessment Strategy

ConsiderationsAccurate

ly measure

the intended LT at the level of thinking it was

taught?

Provide timely

turnaround?

Require a

rubric?

DESIGNING QUALITY ASSESSMENTS

Learning Target

Assessment Method

ASSESSMENT METHODSMethod Ideal for

assessingExamples Scoring

Selected Response

Knowledge-level learning targets

Multiple ChoiceFill-in-the-blankT/FMatching

Number or percent of points

Rubric

Extended written

response

Chunks of knowledge that

interrelate & student reasoning

EssayShort Answer

Performance Assessment

Learning best achieved through

observable actions (skills) or the

development of products

Playing an instrument

Changing the oil in a car

Conversing in a foreign language

Step

3DEVELOP

THE ASSESSMEN

T PLAN

Design the Assessment

Measure what

you’ve taught

(identified learning targets)

Assess student

learning at the

cognitive level the

information was taught

Step

3DEVELOP

THE ASSESSMEN

T PLAN

Consider the sample size

How many items do I need to

accurately assess a learning target?

Triangulate

Step

4DETERMIN

E THE TIMELINE

Frequent assessmen

t

Increased student

achievement

Time to plan

Time with

students

Time to turnarou

nd

Time to intervene TIME!

Step

5WRITE THE ASSESSMEN

T

General Guidelines

Selected Response

Items

Constructed

Response Items

Advantages• Can measure a

variety of objectives

• Easy to score• Can cover lots of

material efficiently

• Carefully crafted distracters can provide diagnostic information

Disadvantages• Multiple-guess• Can be difficult to

identify plausible distractors

MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS

WRITING QUALITY MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

#1 Keep the wording simple

Not this… When scientists rely on magnets in the development of electric motors they need to know about poles, which are?

But rather this… What are the poles of a magnet called?

WRITING QUALITY MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

#2 Ask a full question in the stem (the part that precedes the

options)

Not this…Between 1950 and 1965a. Interest rates increased.b. Interest rates decreased.c. Interest rates fluctuated

greatly.d. Interest rates didn’t change.

But rather this…What was the trend of interest rates between 1950 and 1965?a. Increased onlyb. Decreased onlyc. Increased, then decreasedd. Remain unchanged

WRITING QUALITY MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

#3 Eliminate clues to the correct answer within the question

Not this…All of these are examples of a bird that flies, except ana. Ostrichb. Falconc. Cormorantd. Robin

But rather this…Which of the following is an example of a bird that can NOT fly?a. Ostrichb. Falconc. Cormorantd. Robin

WRITING QUALITY MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

#4 Highlight critical, easily overlooked words i.e., NOT, MOST, LEAST, EXCEPT

Not this…Which of the following is an example of a bird that cannot fly?a. Ostrichb. Falconc. Cormorantd. Robin

But rather this…Which of the following is an example of a bird that can NOT fly?a. Ostrichb. Falconc. Cormorantd. Robin

WRITING QUALITY MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

#5 Remove repetitive words within each option; instead, reword the stem

Not this…Between 1950 and 1965a. Interest rates increased.b. Interest rates decreased.c. Interest rates fluctuated greatly.d. Interest rates didn’t change.

But rather this…What was the trend of interest rates between 1950 and 1965?a. Increased onlyb. Decreased onlyc. Increased, then decreasedd. Remain unchanged

WRITING QUALITY MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

Reduce the “guessing” games

Eliminate “throw away” choices

Put choices in a logical

order such as

alphabetical or small

to large

Avoid equal-

sized lists in

matching questions

Choose distractors carefully; plausible,

yet illuminate errors in thinking

WRITING QUALITY CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE

QUESTIONSProvide context for student

answersEnvironmental issues can have social,

economic, and political effects on our country. For example, the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico affected our economy through the tourism industry – an economic effect. The

greenhouse effect has resulted in many new laws reducing car emissions – a political effect. Choose one environmental issue that has such an impact and explain what the social, political,

and economic impact was.

WRITING QUALITY CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE

QUESTIONS

Novel PromptDescribe the effects of the Civil War on the economy of the South.

Recall?OR

Applying to a new

situation?

Step

6REVIEW

THE ASSESSMEN

T

Are the directions

clear?

Will students

understand what you are asking them to do and why?

Are the learning targets

accurately assessed

and represente

d?

Are the questions

written according

to best practice?

Step

7SET

PROFICIENCY CRITERIA

AND DECIDE HOW TO GATHER

DATA

What does proficiency look like for each learning target being assessed?

IS IT VALID?Validity Accura

cy

We identified specific learning targets.

We determined the level of

rigor for each target.

We matched the

assessment to the identified

level of thinking.

IS IT RELIABLE?Reliability Consisten

cy

We used a sufficient number of questions.

We agree on proficiency

levels & how items will be

scored.

Step

7SET

PROFICIENCY CRITERIA

AND DECIDE HOW TO GATHER

DATA

How will the data be gathered?

TargetStudents needing

intervention

Students needing

more practice

Students needing

enrichment

Target One

Target Two

Designing Quality

Common Assessmen

ts

A Seven Step

Process

Decide What to Assess

Decide How to Assess

Develop Assessment

Plan

Determine the Timeline

Write the Assessment

Review the Assessment

Set Proficiency

Criteria/Gather Data

SO NOW WE KNOW

What students should know

and do

How teachers and students will know they are successful