Karen Lloyd

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Assessment in the School Library Media Center
Working together to close the gap

• Karen Lloyd
• lloydk_at_gcsnc.com
• Ferndale Middle School
• Guilford County Schools
• Angie Morris
• amorris2_at_wcpss.net
• Ligon Middle School
• Wake County Schools

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Background

• Who are we?
• What are we hoping to accomplish here today?
• Handouts

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2006 American Association of School Librarians
Fall Forum Re-cap
Zmuda 2006
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• Zmuda 2006
• American Association of
• School Librarians Fall Forum
• Sunday General Session
• October 15, 2006
• Allison Zmuda, Presenter
• azmuda_at_hughes.net

Zmuda 2006
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• Where does your authority come from?
• True authority does not come from the
• superintendent, principal, or even the
• teachers worked with every day it
• comes from a very large achievement
• gap. . . The chasm between the
• academic expectations for learners and
• the current achievement levels of
• students within the schools.

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What you need to exert Authority--- Without the
data to illustrate achievement gaps, it looks
like a rhetorical contention based on the
unabashedly biased viewpoint of those
professionals that seem to have the most to
gain. Get the data.
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• Questions to guide the data collection process--
• What do we have to find out?
• 2. What data are currently available?
• 3. What new data do we need?
• 4. How do we obtain data?
• 5. How can we collect data in a valid and
  reliable form?

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Guidelines to support the effort-
Measure what is necessary, not what is
convenient Keep focused on what is being
evaluated STUDENT LEARNING Involve school
staff in dialogue about the intent of the data
collection process and involve them in the
collection and analysis Use data to produce a
collective mandate for change.
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Commonly cited reasons why there is an
achievement gap- Inability to
analyze/interpret texts and events students end
up just retelling Note-taking method makes it
difficult for students to access/remember key
ideas in the text Failure to use the research
process if not prompted to do so Treats every
research task the same -- failure to stop and
consider what does this
question/task/problem demand? Presents
information without connecting to own ideas
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Essential questions guiding our work-- How do
we know if our students are successful? What do
we do if they arent? What do we talk to each
other about? How do those conversations impact
student achievement? What time, resources and
strategies do we need to accomplish our agreed
upon vision?
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The effectiveness of our school is measured by
what students have learned, not what teachers
covered and how it was taught. Assessment
proves/evaluates what was learned. The power
of data is contingent upon the quality of the
assessments. Measure what matters, not what is
convenient.
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• (continued)
• Data analysis empowers staff to strategize how
  to close the gap between where we are and where
  we want to be.
• Progress comes from working together
  effectively to accomplish, agreed upon measurable
  goals.
• Students deserve timely, targeted, honest
  feedback to create genuine motivation and lasting
  achievement.

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A call to action Grades communicate data about
student achievement. Student achievement data
provides evidence of the success of the school.
Gaps between current reality and vision
of success are the engine of change and the focus
of school improvement resources. Without taking
part in the grading of student achievement, the
work of library media specialists is relegated to
nice but not necessary.