Tools to Align and Assess your Curriculum

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Tools to Align and Assess your Curriculum

• Informed Instruction Curriculum Alignment Tool
  (ICAT)
• and
• WebCCAT

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Informed Instruction Curriculum Alignment Tool

• Kerry Gain
• Region 10 ESC
• gaink_at_esc10.ednet10.net
• 972.348.1480

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Aligning High Stakes Data to Curriculum

• Normal Process
• District or campus rating
• Comparison of district or campus scores to
  comparable scores (below state average, above
  regional average, etc.)
• Determination of weak areas (TAKS objectives)
• Determination of weak TEKS
• Determination of how weak TEKS were assessed
  (Context)
• Determine curricular adjustments

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Curricular Adjustments

• Increase rigor of expected student performance,
  if necessary (complexity)
• Clarify vague or ambiguous TEKS with details
  (content)
• Determine degree of district vs. teacher control
  of content and resources
• Hold staff accountable for new curriculum (walk
  throughs, documentation)
• Adjust benchmarks or other assessments

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5th Grade Science 2004
Prairie Food Chain
Wheat Plant
Snake
??
Owl

• Hawks
• Grapes
• Toads
• Mice

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Curricular Adjustments

• Increase rigor of expected student performance,
  if necessary (complexity)
• Clarify vague or ambiguous TEKS with details
  (content)
• Determine degree of district vs. teacher control
  of content and resources
• Hold staff accountable for new curriculum (walk
  throughs, documentation)
• Adjust benchmarks or other assessments

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(No Transcript)
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Region 10 Grade 7 WritingNote Objective 4
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Grade 7 Objective 4 TEKS

• Now go to the TEKS/Items chart w/ released tests
  and look for Items and TEKS related to Objective
  4
• 7.17a Items 4, 24, and 33
• 7.18e Items 2, 7, 27, 37
• 7.17e Item 6
• 7.17b Items 22 and 35

AEIS-IT
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What are the TEKS?

• 17a write in complete sentences, varying the
  types such as compound and complex sentences, and
  use appropriately punctuated independent and
  dependent clauses.
• 17b use conjunctions to connect ideas
  meaningfully
• 17e use prepositional phrases to elaborate
  written ideas
• 18e edit drafts for specific purposes such as
  to ensure standard usage, varied sentence
  structure and appropriate word choice

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5)For more than 20 years, sailors have competed
in a race called Around Alone 6) It is a boat
race.
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Then he would move on, he would swish his tail in
Rabbits angry face.

• 33. What revision, if any is needed in sentence
  7?
• A. Then he would move on, swishing his tail in
  Rabbits angry face.
• B. Then he would move on. Swishing his tail in
  Rabbits angry face.
• C. Then he would move on and swish in Rabbits
  angry face his tail.
• D. No revision is needed.

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8)The couple had wanted to get married in the
same room, but when Malenchenkos mission was
extended, they decided not to wait for his return.
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15) After the private ceremony the bride and the
wedding party they attended a reception at a
restaurant.

• 7) What change, if any, should be made in
  sentence 15?
• Delete they
• Change attended to will attend.
• Change reception to recepsion
• D. Make no change

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11) Lu played the wedding march. 12) He used a
portable keyboard.

• 6) What is the best way to combine sentences 11
  and 12?
• F. Lu played the wedding march that used a
  portable keyboard.
• G. Lu played the wedding march and a portable
  keyboard.
• H. Lu played the wedding march and a portable
  keyboard.
• J. Lu played the wedding march on a portable
  keyboard.

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Using Informed Instruction (ICAT) to save time in
analyzing TEKS

• Live Demonstration of 17a, 17b, 17e, 18e
• Note the clarifications (content)
• Note the performance descriptors (rigor and
  backwards alignment with high stakes assessments)

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Curricular Adjustments

• Increase rigor of expected student performance,
  if necessary
• Clarify vague or ambiguous TEKS with details
  (adjust content)
• Determine degree of district vs. teacher control
  of content and resources
• Give sample activities or whole lesson plans
• Develop scope and sequence or use a Region 10
  sample SS
• Bundle/Relate TEKS for ease of planning
• Hold staff accountable for new curriculum (walk
  throughs, documentation)
• Administrators may log on and get an idea of
  level of rigor and concepts, processes, or skills
  that teachers should be using

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What other forms of alignment should we be
implementing?

• Gap Analysis
• Align to highest, most authentic levels
• Concepts and Processes
• Align with other state curricular components
• ELPS, TOP
• Align with spiraling functions (future and
  previously learned concepts) and prerequisites
• Sample Units

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TAKS-TEKS-ELPS-TELPAS Alignment and Linkages
Sheltered Instruction
Content Objectives TEKS
Language Objectives ELPS
TAKS
TELPAS
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TOP

• Beginning
• Intermediate
• Advanced
• Advanced High

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ELPS

• The ELP standards include second language
  acquisition skills that enable limited English
  proficient students to become fluent in English.
  In order for these students to learn the academic
  English necessary for academic learning, their
  second language acquisition skills must be
  addressed in all their academic classes, whether
  they are learning mathematics, science, or other
  subjects. The ELP standards also include the
  language arts skills that all Texas students are
  required to be taught.

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Where do we have ELPS

• Bilingual and ESL language arts TEKS
• Science (Elementary)
• Social Studies (all levels)
• Math (under development)

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How will ICAT and WebCCAT help to align ELPS?

• View online

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Adjust benchmarks or other assessments

• Use WebCCAT to find higher level questions and
  more difficult questions as necessary to
• Do quick checks
• Create unit tests
• Create benchmarks
• Find multiple choice and more authentic
  assessments

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Item Counts

• Excel

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Vertical Alignment with Informed Instruction

• Technology based ease of search and sort
• Objectives, S.E.s, and assessments aligned to
  high stakes assessments and across grade levels
  and cross-referenced by skills, concepts, and
  processes
• Finding and filling in gaps
• Builds common vocabulary
• Escalates expectations with regard to rigor and
  sophistication
• Redundancies clarified, specific examples given,
  terms defined
• Performance descriptors that inform the TEKS

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What information does Informed Instruction
include?

• All TEKS for
• ELA Kinder through English IV
• Math Kinder through Pre-Calculus
• Social Studies Kinder through Gov/Eco
• Science Kinder through Physics

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Lets Talk TEKS

• Aligned to TAKS
• Its the law
• Aligned to textbooks (somewhat)
• Some are very specific (know these dates write
  for various purposes including to inform,
  persuade, entertain)

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Lets Talk TEKS

• Some Vague
• Some Ambiguous
• Written in terms some teachers may not understand
  (orthographic pattern?)
• Some leave content wide open for selection

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What information does Informed Instruction
include?

• Clarifications of each Student Expectation
• List of examples
• Define terms more specifically
• Clear up vagueness and ambiguity

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Example of Clarification

• K.07A describe one object in relation to
  another using informal language and
• Clarification Use terms such as over, under,
  above, and below.

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Example of Clarification

• A2.b1B In solving problems, the student
  collects and organizes the data, makes
  scatterplots (including identifying positive,
  negative, and no correlation), fits the curves to
  the appropriate parent function, interprets the
  results, and proceeds to model, predict, and make
  decisions and critical judgments.
• Clarification Parent functions to include
  linear, quadratic, exponential, logarithmic,
  rational, and square root.

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What information does Informed Instruction
include?

• Performance Descriptor for each Student
  Expectation
• Suggestions for assessment
• Address necessary level of sophistication and
  rigor
• Aligned to TAKS tests from 2003, 2004, and 2006

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Example of Performance Descriptor

• K.01A use one-to-one correspondence and
  language to describe relative sizes of sets of
  concrete objects
• Performance Descriptor Given two small cups of
  pasta, cubes, beans, etc. students will pour
  objects out and line sets side by side. They
  verbally describe their sets. "I have two more
  pebbles than you." "We have the same number of
  cubes." "You have one less bean than I do."

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Example of Performance Descriptor

• 5.03A use addition and subtraction to solve
  problems involving whole numbers and decimals
• Performance Descriptor Students will be able to
  use less than and more than terminology from a
  worded problem to apply subtraction and addition
  processes to solve (Carrie has 300 coins. She
  has 125 more than Mike and 50 fewer than Sara.
  How many coins does Mike have?) (TAKS 04).

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Example of Performance Descriptor

• 8.12A select the appropriate measure of central
  tendency to describe a set of data for a
  particular purpose
• Performance Descriptor Students will be able to
  choose the correct measure of central tendency
  for given real-world situations such as
  determining the most popular color of vehicle
  sold from a frequency table or the measure which
  would assist a store in making a week's worth of
  sales appear the most profitable (TAKS 03 and 04).

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Example of Performance Descriptor

• G.b4 The student selects an appropriate
  representation (concrete, pictorial, graphical,
  verbal, or symbolic) in order to solve problems.
• Performance Descriptor Given an illustration of
  a composite figure (trapezoid), students will be
  able to choose the equation that can be used to
  determine the total area when the length of only
  two sides is given (TAKS 03)

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What information does Informed Instruction
include?

• Shells for local additions
• Grading Period
• Activities/Lessons/Instructional
  Strategies/Resources
• Modifications ESL/Special Ed/GT
• Local Objectives
• Graduate Expectations

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What can Informed Instruction do?

• Searchable using common vocabulary
• Find gaps
• Find late starts
• Create scope and sequence
• Create curriculum guide
• Limited lesson planning capability
• Easily accessible teacher resource

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How is Informed Instruction useful to districts?

• Vertical Alignment

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How is Informed Instruction useful to districts?

• Vertical Alignment
• Horizontal Alignment
• Scope and Sequence
• Quick access to curricular information
• Accessible to all district staff
• Easy to use

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For more information

• www.ednet10.net
• Click on Online Resources
• Click on Informed Instruction

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ICAT Pricing and Ordering

• Yearly membership
• 2500 in region
• 3500 out of region
• 5.00 per teacher or lesson plan writer
• 7.50 out of region lesson plan writer
• Permission to export data under certain
  circumstances
• Fee includes training
• Virtual demos available
• Live demos in our booth

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WebCCAT Pricing and Ordering

• Yearly membership from participating ESC
• Includes guarantee of minimum 3000 new items per
  year
• For 07
• 1000-1500 new math
• Appx. 600 new Spanish
• No ELA (due to need for new TEKS)
• Science 700-800
• Social Studies 200-500

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Contact Information

• Jan Moberley, Assistant Director Division of
  Instruction
• 972.348.1426
• Jan.moberley_at_region10.org
• www.region10.org
• Online Resources
• Choose ICAT or WebCCAT

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Live Demonstration