Evergreen School Division

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Evergreen School Division

• Assessment
• Purpose, Issues and Research
• October 25, 2004

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Why Are We Here Today?

• Evergreen School Division has identified
  assessment as one of our priorities for
  2004-2005.
• Outcomes have been identified in the 2004-2005
  Strategic Plan.
• Recommendations must come forward today regarding
  Standards Tests, Assessment and Evaluation Policy
  and Reporting.

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Assessment Outcomes2004-2005 Strategic Plan

• By June 2005, 90 of all students will be
  performing at grade level in Early and Middle
  Years Numeracy.
• By June 2005, improve student achievement in
  Senior Years Mathematics to Provincial average.
• By June 2005, evaluate the level of
  implementation of K S4 Science implementation.
• By January 2005, review standards testing policy
  and practice.
• By January 2005, revise Assessment and Evaluation
  Policy.
• By June 2005, implement policy and recommended
  strategies related to classroom-based assessment.
  
• By June 2005, collect and analyze student
  assessment data for the purpose of informing
  instruction.

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Why Change Classroom Assessment?

• High school graduation is now a necessity for
  all. The educational community is being asked to
  ensure that all graduates are equipped with
  proficiency in complex thinking skills,
  problem-solving abilities, and effective
  communication skills in order to meet the demands
  of todays society.
• Learning was long thought to be an accumulation
  of atomized bits of knowledge that are sequenced,
  hierarchical, and need to be explicitly taught
  and reinforced. Learning is now viewed as a
  process of constructing understanding by
  attempting to connect new information to what is
  already known.
• Educators have traditionally relied on assessment
  that compares students with their peers as a
  means to motivate students to learn. Recent
  research (Stiggins, 2001) suggests that students
  will likely be confident and motivated learners
  when they experience progress and achievement
  rather than failure and defeat.
• WNCP (2004)

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Purpose of Student Assessment

• The purpose of student assessment is to help
  improve students learning. This done is several
  ways
• Informing students and parents of their progress
• Helping teachers design instruction
• Helping students know what needs improvement
• Providing information to schools and divisions
  about areas requiring greater attention
• Informing the public a s a whole as to how well
  students are doing

Ben Levin (2004)
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Purposes of Classroom Assessment

• Assessment for learning designed to give
  teachers information to modify and differentiate
  teaching and learning activities.
• Assessment as learning process of developing
  and supporting metacognition in students.
• Assessment of learning summative in nature and
  used to confirm what students know, demonstrate
  whether they have met the standards and/or show
  how they are placed in relation to others.

WNCP (2204)
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Key Assessment Purposes

• Assessment FOR Learning
• Checks learning to decide what to do next
• Involves specific and descriptive feedback in
  relation to criteria
• Focuses on improvement
• Involves the student the person most able to
  improve the learning
• Used for next teaching and learning steps

• Assessment OF Learning
• Checks what has been learned to date
• Usually summarizes information into marks, scores
  or grades
• Usually compares the students learning with
  either other students or the standard for the
  grade level
• Used to communicate progress towards standards

Anne Davies (2004)
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Student Assessment and Evaluation
Triangulation of Evidence
FOR" learning
OF" learning
Observation of Process Running Record List of
Books Read Vocabulary Checklists Notes from
Literature Circle Observation Checklist
Conversations Self Assessments Student
Conference Notes Teacher Conference Notes Journal
AS" learning
student-involved
Collection of Products Assignments Notebooks Test
Scores Reader Responses Portfolios Checklists Pee
r Assessments
self-assessment
as inquiry
Anne Davies (2004)
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Assessment, Evaluation, and Reporting
ASSESSMENT Collecting Data Collecting
Samples Recording Information EVALUATION Summari
zing Making Decisions Self-Evaluation REPORTING
Synthesizing Interpreting Communicating
Campbell Hill, B. et al. (1994)
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Why Have a Student Assessment and Evaluation
Policy?
student
teacher
Accountability Planning Communication
parent
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A Policy Enhances Accountability

• Reveals beliefs about teaching and learning
• Clarifies purposes for assessment, evaluation,
  and reporting of student learning
• Reinforces multiple methods of assessment,
  evaluation, and reporting student learning
• Demonstrates how the principles of fair
  assessment are reflected in practice

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Uncovering Beliefs
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Connecting with ResearchAssessment FOR
Learning and Teaching

• Black and William (1998) studied over 250
  classroom assessment research studies. Three
  questions were asked
• Does classroom assessment make a difference? YES
• How much difference does it make? SIGNIFICANT
• What kinds of things make that difference?
• Involve students in the process
• Increase descriptive, specific feedback
• Decrease evaluation feedback
• Characteristics of high quality formative
  assessment are not well understood by most
  teachers and it is weak in practice.

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Testing, Motivation, and Learning Harlan and
Wynne, 2003

• Do More
• Explaining and discussing the purpose and
  relevance of learning.
• Provide choice and scaffolding students towards
  responsibility.
• Providing opportunities for students to learn
  with others.
• Providing specific, descriptive feedback and
  involving students in assessment, setting
  criteria, and setting goals.
• Involving students in ongoing self-assessment,
  especially helping students give themselves
  feedback in relation to clear, easily understood
  criteria for success.
• Encouraging students to value effort and helping
  students se that success has many different looks.

• Do Less
• Testing.
• Drill and practice for test taking.
• Self-evaluating (asking students to judge their
  work in terms of scores or grades.
• Comparing students in terms of test results and
  evaluations.
• Encouraging of competition for marks or grades
  amongst students.

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Learning Pathways through Statutory
AssessmentThe Daugherty Assessment Review Group
- 2004

• Teachers judgments about student learning
  should be the basis for measuring and reporting
  student progress.
• Whatever the goals for learning may be, the way
  the system chooses to measure what learners are
  able to do can have a powerful impact on the
  achievement of those goals.