ICTM State Conference

1
CONNECTING
TEACHING ASSESSMENT
TO
STUDENT LEARNING

• ICTM State Conference
• October 2008
• Jeff Bivin
• Lake Zurich High School
• Lake Zurich, IL 60047
• jeff.bivin_at_lz95.org
• www.lz95.org/lzhs/math/faculty/bivin

2
Objectives

• The participant will be able to

1. Use targets in their teaching practices.

• Incorporate concepts of formative assessment in
  their teaching practices.

To accomplish this

• We will look at my journey with these objectives.

• We will look at some classroom practices that
  link teaching and assessment to student learning.

• We will look at what the literature tells us
  about assessment and student learning.

3
My Journey
4
Assessment Principle
NCTM's
5
When assessment is an integral part of
mathematics instruction, it contributes
significantly to all students' mathematics
learning. When assessment is discussed in
connection with standards, the focus is sometimes
on using tests to certify students' attainment,
but there are other important purposes of
assessment. Assessment should be more than merely
a test at the end of instruction to see how
students perform under special conditions
rather, it should be an integral part of
instruction that informs and guides teachers as
they make instructional decisions. Assessment
should not merely be done to students rather, it
should also be done for students, to guide and
enhance their learning.
NCTM
Assessment Principle
6
When assessment is an integral part of
mathematics instruction, it contributes
significantly to all students' mathematics
learning. When assessment is discussed in
connection with standards, the focus is sometimes
on using tests to certify students' attainment,
but there are other important purposes of
assessment. Assessment should be more than merely
a test at the end of instruction to see how
students perform under special conditions
rather, it should be an integral part of
instruction that informs and guides teachers as
they make instructional decisions. Assessment
should not merely be done to students rather, it
should also be done for students, to guide and
enhance their learning.
NCTM
Assessment Principle
7
When assessment is an integral part of
mathematics instruction, it contributes
significantly to all students' mathematics
learning. When assessment is discussed in
connection with standards, the focus is sometimes
on using tests to certify students' attainment,
but there are other important purposes of
assessment. Assessment should be more than merely
a test at the end of instruction to see how
students perform under special conditions
rather, it should be an integral part of
instruction that informs and guides teachers as
they make instructional decisions. Assessment
should not merely be done to students rather, it
should also be done for students, to guide and
enhance their learning.
NCTM
Assessment Principle
8
When assessment is an integral part of
mathematics instruction, it contributes
significantly to all students' mathematics
learning. When assessment is discussed in
connection with standards, the focus is sometimes
on using tests to certify students' attainment,
but there are other important purposes of
assessment. Assessment should be more than merely
a test at the end of instruction to see how
students perform under special conditions
rather, it should be an integral part of
instruction that informs and guides teachers as
they make instructional decisions. Assessment
should not merely be done to students rather, it
should also be done for students, to guide and
enhance their learning.
NCTM
Assessment Principle
9
Assessment should enhancestudents' learning.
NCTM

• Research indicates that making assessment an
  integral part of classroom practice is associated
  with improved student learning.
• Black and Wiliam (1998) reviewed about 250
  research studies and concluded that the learning
  of students, including low achievers, is
  generally enhanced in classrooms where teachers
  include attention to formative assessment in
  making judgments about teaching and learning.

Assessment Principle
10
Good assessment Feedbackcan enhance students'
learning
NCTM

• The tasks used in an assessment can convey a
  message to students about what kinds of
  mathematical knowledge and performance are valued
  and can influence the decisions students make
  about their study efforts.
• Feedback from assessment can also help students
  understand the characteristics of a complete and
  correct response.

Assessment Principle
11
Assessment is a valuable tool for making
instructional decisions.
NCTM

• Assessment provides the information teachers need
  to make appropriate instructional decisions.
• Instructional decisions about reviewing
  prerequisite material, revisiting a difficult
  concept, or adapting tasks for students who are
  struggling or for those who need enrichmentare
  based on inferences about what students know and
  what they need to learn.

Assessment Principle
12
Assessment should reflect the mathematics that
all students need to know and be able to do
NCTM

• Assessment should focus on students'
  understanding as well as their procedural skills.
  
• Teachers need to have a clear sense of what is to
  be taught and learned, and assessments should be
  aligned with their instructional goals.

Assessment Principle
13
Assessment Usage
NCTM

• When done well assessments help teachers make
  decisions about the content or form of
  instruction (often called formative assessment)
  can also be used to judge students' attainment
  (summative assessment).
• To maximize the instructional value of
  assessment, teachers need to move beyond a
  superficial "right or wrong" analysis of tasks to
  a focus on how students are thinking about the
  tasks.

Assessment Principle
14
WOW!
This is a powerful document!
I liked what this document had to say!
I agreed with what this document had to say!
NOTHING
And, I did ?
Forgotten
15
ASSESSMENT

• OF Learning
• and
• FOR Learning

Summary of CEC Summer Institute with Rick
Stiggins Associates August 2006
16
Our schools were designed to leave lots of
students behind they were designed to rank
sort students based on achievement by the end of
secondary school.
Gleanings from Stiggins Conf.

• RESULT ---

Winners Losers
17
Successful Students(on winning streaks)

• Driven by growing confidence
• Optimism rules expect a positive result
• Strong desire to succeed
• High level of effort
• Ok to risk trying --- stretch, I can get this.

Gleanings from Stiggins Conf.
18
Failing Students(on losing streaks)

• Driven by intense vulnerability
• Pessimism expect to fail
• Feeling a sense of futility hopelessness
• Waning effort self-criticism
• Denial cover up
• Defensiveness trying is just too risky

Gleanings from Stiggins Conf.
19
Historically
After all student, I taught it, you just didnt
do your part!

• Assessment has been seen as the great
  intimidator.
• In order to maximize learning ? teachers should
  maximize the anxiety so that students will try
  harder.
• If the teacher judges you to have failed (or
  threatens to), it will cause the student to try
  harder.
• If a student gave up in hopelessness and stopped
  trying, it was the students problem not the
  teachers nor the schools .

Gleanings from Stiggins Conf.
20
We must remember

• There is a profound relationship between
  assessment and student motivation.
• The learner is in control of the learning? If
  kids dont feel able to learn, there will be no
  learning.
• ALL students must master basic standards learn
  how to take responsibility for their own
  learning.
• Yes, we are accountable and must ensure that
  students learn!

Gleanings from Stiggins Conf.
21
Two uses of assessment

• Summative assessment of learning
• How much have students learned as a particular
  point in time?
• Formative assessment for learning
• How can we use assessment information to help
  students learn more?

Gleanings from Stiggins Conf.
22
Clear distinctionTwo critcal Questions

• Summative assessment of learning
• How much have students learned at a particular
  point in time?
• Formative assessment for learning
• How can we use assessment information to help
  students learn more?

Gleanings from Stiggins Conf.
23
Teachers Role in Assessment FOR Learning

• Know each standard
• Deconstruct each into enabling targets
• Transform into student-friendly version
• Transform to accurate classroom assessments
• Use those in collaboration with students to track
  growthto promote winning streaks

Gleanings from Stiggins Conf.
24
Sound ClassroomAssessment Practice

• Clear Purposes
• Assessment processes and results serve clear and
  appropriate purposes assessment of or for
  learning?
• Clear Targets
• Assessments reflect clear and valued student
  learning targets
• Sound Design
• Learning targets are translated into assessments
  that yield accurate results
• Effective Communication
• Assessment results are managed well and
  communicated effectively to the intended user
  Descriptive feedback
• Student Involvement
• Students are involved in their own assessment

Gleanings from Stiggins Conf.
25
Formative Assessment

• Three Guiding Questions
• Where are you trying to go?
• Where are you now?
• How can you get there?
• Student version
• Where am I going?
• Where am I now?
• How can I close the gap?

Gleanings from Stiggins Conf.
26
Lets look deeper

• Where am I going?
• Provide a clear and understandable vision of the
  learning target.
• Use examples and models of strong and weak work.
• Where am I now?
• Offer regular descriptive feedback.
• Teach students to self-assess and set goals.
• How can I close the gap?
• Design lessons to focus on one aspect of quality
  at a time.
• Teach students focused revision
• Engage students in self-reflection, and let them
  keep track of and share their learning.

Gleanings from Stiggins Conf.
27
Also important

• If everything is graded, then there is no chance
  to recover.
• Everything counts, not everything is graded.

Gleanings from Stiggins Conf.
28
Gleanings from Stiggins Conf.
29
How Did I Respond?

• First response ? Information Overload
• I then began to focus on helping students know
  where they were going
• and to help students begin to track and/or
  monitor their progress

Gleanings from Stiggins Conf.
30
How can I (we) help students know where they are
going?

• Student Friendly Targets
• Provide students with clear and understandable
  vision of the learning targets.

What does that look like?
31
Chapter 1 Objectives

• 1. Add, subtract, multiply and divide real
  numbers.
• 2. Evaluate an algebraic expression.
• 3. Solve
• ? a linear equation
• ? a literal equation for one of its
  variables
• ? an absolute value equation
• 4. Solve and graph
• ? a linear inequality
• ? an absolute value inequality
• 5. Create algebraic models for real-life
  situations.
• Use problem-solving strategies to solve real-life
  problems.
• 7. Use tables and graphs to organize data.

32
Student Targets

• 1. I can solve 1-variable, 1st degree
  equations.
• 2. I can solve literal equations.
• 3. I can solve absolute value equations.
• 4. I can solve and graph linear inequalities.
• 5. I can solve and graph compound linear
  inequalities.
• I can solve and graph absolute value
  inequalities.
• I can solve and graph absolute compound
  inequalities.
• 8. I can solve higher degree (in factored
  form) inequalities.
• 9. I can apply the above algebraic concepts to
  a variety of problem solving situations.

33
Targets with examples

• 1. I can solve 1-variable, 1st degree equations.
• ex. 1 4(7x 3) 2(4 3x) 8(3 x) (x
  5)
• ex. 2
• 2. I can solve literal equations
• ex. 1 Solve for x in 3xy 4x 5y 7x 4y
  11
• ex. 2 Solve for y in 5xy 7xyz 9
• 3. I can solve absolute value equations
• ex. 1 3x 4 7
• ex. 2 34x 8 3x 5
• ex. 3 2 3x 7x 5
• 4. I can solve and graph linear inequalities
• ex. 1 5x 9 lt 15
• ex. 2 8x 19 gt 9(2x 5)

34
Two types of Design

• Backward design
• Look at the assessment and define the targets
• Forward design
• Look at the objectives ? define the targets and
  then write the assessments

35
A look at my Targets

• Semester 1
• Semester 2

36
How can we use the Targets?

• Daily notes
• Review
• Class warm-ups
• Student self evaluation and accountability
• Assessment development
• Teacher accountability

The targets must become a part of daily classroom
practice/usage!
IMPORTANT
We must make a connection of the targets to our
assessments!
37
What are your thoughts?
How can you help students understand where they
are going?
How can you help students monitor their progress?
38
NOT --- NOT --- NOT --- NOT ---NOT --- NOT ---
NOT --- NOT ---NOT --- NOT --- NOT --- NOT ---
Using Student Targets/Objectives Concept is A
NEW IDEA
NOT --- NOT --- NOT --- NOT
Mike HendricksBlue Ridge High SchoolFarmer
City, IL
Used objectives with students in the early 80s.
39
A 2nd grade example
Mrs. SeverinoThree Oaks ElementaryCary, IL
40

• Improving Student Learning with Standards,
  Assessments, and Grading

Summary of Workshop with Thomas Guskey Fall 2006
41
Important Concepts(Assessments)

• Assessments must be Sources of Information for
  Students and Teachers
• Assessments must be followed by High Quality
  Corrective Instruction
• Students must be given a Second Chance to Show
  Improvement
• Begin with Clearly Defined Achievement Targets

Gleanings from Tom Guskey
42
Important Concepts(Grading)

• Grading and reporting are NOT essential to the
  instructional process
• No one method of grading and reporting services
  ALL purposes well
• Grading and reporting will always involve some
  degree of subjectivity
• Mathematical precision does not yield fairer or
  more objective grading
• Grades have some value as rewards but NO value as
  punishments
• Grading and reporting should always be done in
  reference to learning criteria never on the
  curve
• High percentages are NOT the same as high
  standards

Gleanings from Tom Guskey
43
Another Theme of Dr. Guskey
Report cards Report cards Report cards

• Grades must be standards based
• Performance grades must not be mixed with
  behavior influences

44
What Hit Me

• We must use grading and reporting practices to
  enhance teaching and learning.
• A students grade should reflect the level of
  student learning not their behavior.
• Students must be given a second chance to show
  improvement.
• Our job is to develop success
• reward it not sort it.

Gleanings from Tom Guskey
45
(No Transcript)
46
Students must be given a Second Chance to Show
Improvement How can I do it?
This is my approach
Quizzes are viewed as a learning tool. Their
purpose is to give you feedback and direction for
review and/or re-learning of concepts. If you
have completed ALL homework for a given chapter
and your performance on a chapter test is better
than your quiz average for that chapter, then
your quiz average will be adjusted to reflect the
improved performance on your chapter test. There
may be a few (not many) quizzes that this will
not apply, but you will be foretold of any of
these. This is shared with my students on
opening day.
47
Example 1
75
If all HW completed
85
.85(60) 51
- 45
6
48
Example 2
86.7
85
No adjustment
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(No Transcript)
50
Formative AssessmentMore than second chances

• James Popham defines formative assessment as a
  planned process in which assessment-elicited
  evidence of students status is used by teachers
  to adjust their ongoing instructional procedures
  or by students to adjust their current learning
  tactics.

Popham, W. James (2008). Transformative
Assessment Alexandria, VirginiaAssociation for
Supervision and Curriculum Development
51
What are your thoughts?
How can you use formative assessment concepts in
your classroom?
52
Ahead of the CurveThe Power of Assessment to
Transform Teaching and LearningDouglas Reeves,
Editor (2007)
53
Ahead of the CurveThe Power of Assessment to
Transform Teaching and LearningDouglas Reeves,
Editor (2007)

• Thomas Guskey writes
• Teachers need to see their assessments as an
  integral part of the instructional procss and as
  an essential element in their efforts to help
  students learn. (p 16).
• Teachers must
• 1) use assessments as sources of information for
  both students and teachers
• 2) follow assessments with high-quality
  corrective instruction
• 3) give students second chances to demonstrate
  success (p 16).
• effectiveness in teaching is not defined on the
  basis of what they do as teachers. Rather, it is
  defined by what their students are able to do.
  (p 20).
• Assessments must be followed by high-guality
  corrective instruction designed to help students
  remedy whatever learning errors identified with
  the assessment (p 21).

54
Ahead of the CurveThe Power of Assessment to
Transform Teaching and LearningDouglas Reeves,
Editor (2007)

• Anne Cavies writes
• When evaluative feedback is decreased, and
  specific, descriptive feedback is increased,
  students learn more. (p 33).
• When teachers inform students of the focus of
  learning (the standards they must achieve),
  students have a chance to engage, bring their
  prior knowledge to the learning, feel a sense of
  ownership, and become more effective partners in
  the learning-assessment process. (p 37).
• Merely explaining to students what they will be
  learning and what this learning might look like
  is not enough. (p 38).

55
Ahead of the CurveThe Power of Assessment to
Transform Teaching and LearningDouglas Reeves,
Editor (2007)

• Rick Stiggins writes
• Both student and teacher must know where the
  learner is now, how that compares to ultimate
  learning success, and how to close the gap
  between the two. (p 62).
• For communication to be effective in the context
  of formative assessment, it needs to inform the
  learner about how to do better the next time
  that is, it must be descriptive rather than
  judgmental. (p 68).
• we use assessment as a road map to ultimate
  success, with signposts along the way for both
  students and their teachers. (p 72).

56
Ahead of the CurveThe Power of Assessment to
Transform Teaching and LearningDouglas Reeves,
Editor (2007)

• Larry Ainsworth writes
• The true value of assessment is its ability to
  help educators make accurate and timely
  inferences about student progress so that they
  can modify instruction accordingly. (p 80).
• numerous short assessments given over time
  provide a better indication of a students
  learning than one or two large assessment given
  in the middle and at the end of the grading
  period (p 80).
• Formative assessments allow teachers to receive
  regular and timely feedback regarding student
  attainment of the most critical standards. (p
  95).

57
Ahead of the CurveThe Power of Assessment to
Transform Teaching and LearningDouglas Reeves,
Editor (2007)

• Robert Marzano writes
• telling students they were correct or incorrect
  in their answers had a negative effect on their
  learning, whereas explaining the correct answer
  and/or asking students to continue to refine
  their answers was associated with a gain in
  achievement of 20 percentile points. (p 104).
• Feedback should provide students with
  information about how to improve their progress
  on learning goals and encourage students to
  improve. (p 112).
• the heart of formative assessment examining the
  gradual increase in knowledge for specific
  learning goals throughout a unit. (p 118).

58
Ahead of the CurveThe Power of Assessment to
Transform Teaching and LearningDouglas Reeves,
Editor (2007)

• Ken OConnor writes
• Grading as it has been done traditionally
  promotes a culture of point accumulation, not
  learning. . . . It makes all assessment summative
  (assessment of learning) because everything
  students do gets a score, and every score ends up
  in the grade book. (p 127).
• Teachers should provide feedback on formative
  assessments (those assessments for leaning ),
  but determine grades only from the evidence from
  varied summative assessments (p 138).
• students should be given opportunities for
  second-chance or make-up assessments it is a
  waste of everyones time for students to have a
  second opportunity if they have not done anything
  to increase their likelihood of success. (p 139)
• Teachers must be accountable, not just
  accountants! (p 144).

59
Ahead of the CurveThe Power of Assessment to
Transform Teaching and LearningDouglas Reeves,
Editor (2007)

• Dylan Wiliam writes
• effective formative assessment consists of five
  key strategies
• Clarifying leaning intentions and sharing
  criteria for success
• Engineering effective classroom discussions,
  questions, and learning tasks that elicit
  evidence of learning
• Providing feedback that move learners forward
• Activating students as the owners of their own
  learning
• Activating students as instructional resources
  for one another (p 192).

60
How to Give Effective Feedback to Your
StudentsAssociation for Supervision and
Curriculum DevelopmentAlexandria, VASusan M.
Brookhart, (2008)

• Feedback isnt feedback unless it can truly
  feed something. Information delivered too late to
  be used isnt helpful. Make sure when you give
  feedback that there is time built in to actually
  use the information. Otherwise students will
  quickly learn to ignore feedback. pg. 57.

61
The Best Value in Formative AssessmentEducational
LeadershipDecember 2007/January 2008Stephen
Chappuis Jan Chappuis

• Feedback in an assessment for learning context
  occurs while there is still time to take action.
  It functions as a global positioning system,
  offering descriptive information about the work,
  product, or performance relative to the intended
  learning goals. ... Effective descriptive
  feedback focuses on the intended learning,
  identifies specific strengths, points to areas
  needing improvement, suggests a route of action
  students can take to close the gap between where
  they are now and where they need to be.

62
Classroom Assessment Minute by Minute, Day by
DayEducational LeadershipNovember 2005Siobhan
Leahy, Christine Lyon, Marnie Thompson, and Dylan
Wiliam

• Five Assessment-for-Learning Strategies
• Clarify and Share Intentions and Criteria
• Engineer Effective Classroom Discussion
• Provide Feedback That Moves Learners Forward
• Activate Students as Owners of Their Learning
• Activate Students as Instructional Resources for
  One Another

63
Seven Practices for Effective LearningEducational
LeadershipNovember 2005Jay McTighe and Ken
OConnor
Practice 7 Allow new evidence of achievement to
replace old evidence.
Classroom assessments and grading should focus
on how wellnot on whenthe student mastered the
designated knowledge and skill.
64
Did you see any of these when you drove across
the state to get to Peoria?
Lets take a look back
65
Guidelines for success

• Think BIG but Start SMALL
• Dont attempt too much to soon
• Ensure that Assessments become an Integral Part
  of the Instruction Process
• Quizzes and Tests should be Learning Tools, not
  simply evaluation devices that mark the end of
  learning
• Link New Assessments with Existing Classroom
  Assessment Practices
• Blend Traditional approaches with Alternative
  assessments

Gleanings from Tom Guskey
66
Did I accomplish the Objectives?

• The participant will be able to

1. Use targets in their teaching practices.
Can you?

• Incorporate concepts of formative assessment in
  their teaching practices.

Can you?
Now, will you?
1. I can use targets in my teaching practices.

• I can incorporate concepts of formative
  assessment in my teaching practices.

67
Reference List

• Reeves, Douglas (2007). Ahead of the Curve,
  Bloomington, Indiana, Solution Tree.
• Stiggins, Arter, Chappuis Chappuis (2006).
  Classroom Assessment for Student Learning Doing
  it RightUsing it Well, Princeton, New Jersey,
  Educational Testing Service.
• Popham, W. James (2008).Transformative
  Assessment, Alexandria, Va Association for
  Supervision and Curriculum Development.
• Schmoker, Mike (2006). Results NOW, Alexandria,
  Va Association for Supervision and Curriculum
  Development.
• Guskey Bailey (2001). Developing Grading and
  Reporting Systems for Student Learning, Thousand
  Oaks, CA, Corwin Press, Inc.
• Brookhart, Susan M. (2008). How to Give
  Effective Feedback to Your Students,
  Alexandria, Va Association for Supervision and
  Curriculum Development.
• Principles and Standards for School
  Mathematics, National Council of Teachers of
  Mathematics. (2000) Reston, Virginia.

68
Reference List

• Stiggins, Rick (2005). From Formative Assessment
  to Assessment FOR Learning A Path to Success in
  Standards-Based Schools, Phi Delta Kappan, 87(04)
  324-328.
• Guskey, Thomas R (2003). How Classroom
  Assessments Improve Learning, Educational
  Leadership, 60(5), 7-11.
• Black Wiliam (1998). Inside the Black Box
  Raising Standards Through Classroom Assessment
  Phi Delta Kappan, 80(2).
• Available at http//www.pdkintl.org/kappan/kbla98
  10.htm.
• Reeves, Douglas B. (2008). Effective Grading,
  Educational Leadership, 64(5) 85-87, February
  2008.
• Balanced Assessment The Key to Accountability
  and Improved Student Learning, National
  Education Association, (2003).

69
Reference List

• Several articles in
• Educational LeadershipDecember 2007/January
  2008Vol. 65, No. 4.
• Several articles in
• Educational LeadershipNovember 2005Vol. 63, No.
  3.