Texas Assessment Conference Five Myths about District Benchmarking

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Texas Assessment ConferenceFive Myths about
District Benchmarking

• December 11-13, 2006

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Everything I know about Benchmarking I learned
By doing it!
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Marshall ISD

• Title One district with about 6000 enrollment
• 11 campuses and two satellites
• 2006 Ratings
• 1 exemplary and 4 Recognized campuses

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The Main Thing

• To ensure that all students have access to a
  viable curriculum
• AND that they learn it.

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Why do we benchmark anyway?

• Assure equity of curriculum and instruction
  across campuses-Are teachers following the
  district curriculum?
• Hold campuses accountable to each other-a huge
  issue with Elementary

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Disclaimer
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• There should be two systems at work
• The Campus Assessment System
• The District Assessment System
• This session addresses the District Assessment
  System only

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Who we are accountable to?(or to whom are we
accountable?)

• It is not the districtit is to each other as
  teachers

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When we are late to a meetingwhat do we do?

• Apologize to the person who called the meeting??

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Why are we benchmarking?
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Webster

• A point of reference from which measurements may
  be made something that serves as a standard by
  which others may be measured or judged

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There can be two reasons for District Benchmarking

• To help ensure that teachers are following the
  articulated curriculum
• To see where you are on the road to TAKS success

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Myth One-the most dangerous myth

• Benchmark grades should be a mirror of the
  grade book/report card grade

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The biggest hurdle

• 50 (45-55) correct on a benchmark means the
  student is on track

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Margaret Kilgo Principle

• On a benchmark, a quality teacher following the
  scope and sequence will have a range of scoresa
  few at the top, a few at the bottom, and some in
  the middle.

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A Spread
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Goal To get to Houston

• I see you have only reached Lufkin so
  fartherefore, you have not met your goal, so you
  are a failure

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ButIf the goal is to get to Houston and

• You are in Carthage (and its December) then we
  have to accelerate your progressbut you are not
  a failure

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• if 70 on a benchmark reflectedC workthat
  would mean that you are in Livingston but not in
  Houston yet so you are almost a failure??

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The Connie Principle70 on a benchmark

• Reflects outstanding student achievement if it is
  a good benchmark and the teacher is following the
  scope and sequence

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If all the students get 80-95 correct

• The benchmark is too easy-Its full of low level
  easy questions
• Students are sharing answers
• Gage results from top to bottom-83-35, not 100-0
• You may have no 100s, because the journey is not
  over yet

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Myth Two

• I need the benchmark scores back so I can know
  who needs to be in tutorials on Monday.

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Thats the job of the Campus assessment system
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Myth Three

• Benchmarks are intended to predict TAKS success

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Why benchmarks cant predict TAKS success

• Benchmarks tell us where we are on the journey
• So we can decide what we need to do to get where
  we want to bewhere curriculum and instruction is
  (not the students)
• Your classroom assessments should tell you where
  a student is weak

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Eureka!

• I know how to predict TAKS success

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If a campus really wants to to predict TAKS
success

• Give a release test two weeks before the live
  TAKS--You will probably come within 5 points.

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Butwhat good does it do to find out two weeks
before TAKS

• The of students who will probably fail?

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ITS TOO LATE
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Its too late

• For the district to provide needed resources
• For the district and principal to provide
  professional development
• For the team to make instructional decisions that
  would improve student performance

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Myth Four-I hate this one most of all-- it is
just plain wrong

• We can use benchmark data to rank teachers and
  campuses

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Classes/students/campuses are different (duh)

• 100 with 22 students
• Some teachers have more students than others
• Some classes have more advanced students because
  of schedules
• Some classes have more challenges
• Some classes dont have the resources that other
  classes have

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Duh, cont.

• Some teachers are new, but committed
• Some teachers have not had the professional
  development that others have had

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Benchmarks are business

• Not personal

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Lets just forget the whole thing

• Would we fall apart without district assessments?

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Absolutely

• NOT!

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Benchmarking/assessing

• The non-TAKS tested grades/subjects

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Last year, when your fifth graders were in fourth
grade, the district provided 4 benchmarks in
Science

• Of the six elementary campuses how many do you
  think participated?

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Last year, when your fifth graders were in fourth
grade, they took 4 benchmarks in Science

• How many do you think would have taken them
  without the district providing the benchmarks?

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Last year, when your fifth graders were in fourth
grade, they took 4 benchmarks in Science

• The teachers on those campuses were held
  accountable for the teaching and learning of
  science

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The District supports campuses by

• Providing benchmarks
• The campuses support the district by providing
  data

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Pleaseknow

• That we will make mistakes
• Forgive us when we make a mistake
• Know that we are all in this together
• Theres no such thing as a perfect benchmark
  but..