Collaborative Assessment for Planning and Achievement

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Collaborative Assessment for Planning and
Achievement

• Initial Visit Orientation
• 4-day

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Agreements

• Ask questions for your understanding and support
• Conduct discussions in a professional manner
• Agree to listen, honor and respect all
  perspectives
• Be mindful of the patterns of participationgive
  everyone an opportunity to speakrefrain from
  side conversations
• Use the parking lot
• Put cell phones on silent

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Workshop Handouts

• 4-day Handbook
• Teaching and Learning Tool
• 4-day Protocols
• Agenda
• PowerPoint
• Reflection Form
• REL Forum Flyers

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Agenda

• Agenda Background
• Preparing for the Visit
• What occurs on a visit
• CAPA Teaching and Learning Tool
• Classroom Walkthroughs
• Summary Report
• Follow Up
• Reflection

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In this session, you will learn

• What is CAPA?
• Who receives a CAPA Visit?
• How to prepare for a CAPA Visit?
• What occurs before, during and after a CAPA
  visit?
• Who to contact with questions about a CAPA visit?

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CAPA is

• A teaching and learning collaboration between the
  New Jersey Department of Education, districts,
  local educators and parents designed to empower
  schools and districts to go beyond current
  efforts to improve student achievement.

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CAPA is

• A process involving an external team of educators
  and parents working in collaboration with school
  and district personnel to pinpoint obstacles to
  student achievement, identify needs and develop
  solutions to improve school performance.

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Purpose

• To provide feedback that will assist the school
  in developing and committing to the execution of
  an action plan to further student advancement
• To jointly determine the root causes hindering
  student advancement

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Who receives a visit?

• Schools listed as in need of improvement in
  year three of school improvement status

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Federal Requirements

• The federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)
  requires all states to establish standards for
  accountability for all schools and districts in
  their states.
• The foundation for the accountability system is
  based on a states academic content standards and
  aligned assessments.
• The accountability system looks at the degree to
  which students across schools and districts are
  mastering the state standards.
• NCLB has set the goal of 100 proficiency by the
  year 2014 with states setting incremental
  benchmarks.

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New Jersey Requirements

• Schools are evaluated using adequate yearly
  progress (AYP) indicators.
• Student achievement is determined by grade span
  and each content area.
• There are 40 indicators that must be met
  (including participation and proficiency rates)
  plus secondary indicators.
• A safe harbor calculation is applied to measure
  significant progress if AYP is missed
• When a school does not meet AYP, it may be
  designated as a school in need of improvement.

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State Benchmarks for AYP
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School Improvement Continuum Chart

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School Improvement Continuum Chart

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Student Subgroups

• Total
• White
• African-American
• Hispanic
• Asian/Pacific Islander
• Native American/Indian
• One or more Races (multiple category)
• Economically disadvantaged
• Students with disabilities
• Limited English proficient

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IEP Students

• IEP exempt from Passing
• Used for Graduation requirement
• NCLB requires that all students be tested

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Proficiency Comparisons
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Language Arts Clusters
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Math Clusters
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Corrective Action

• Corrective action is a significant intervention
  in a school that is designed to remedy the
  schools persistent inability to make adequate
  progress toward all students becoming proficient
  in reading and mathematics.

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Approvable corrective actions

• In addition, the LEA must take at least one of
  the following corrective actions1116(b)(7)(C)
  200.42
• Institute a new curriculum grounded in
  scientifically based research and provide
  appropriate professional development to support
  its implementation
• Extend the length of the school year or school
  day
• Replace the school staff who are deemed relevant
  to the school not making adequate progress

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Corrective Actions

• Significantly decrease management authority at
  the school
• Restructure the internal organization of the
  school
• Appoint one or more outside experts to advise the
  school (1) how to revise and strengthen the
  improvement plan it created while in school
  improvement status and (2) how to address the
  specific issues underlying the schools continued
  inability to make AYP

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Collaborative Teams
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External CAPA Team

• Team Leader
• Principal
• Language Arts Literacy Specialist
• Mathematics Specialist
• Special Education Specialist
• ELL Specialist
• School Climate Specialist

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Internal CAPA Team

• District Liaison
• LAL Coach, Lead Teacher or Department Chair
• Math Coach, Lead Teacher or Department Chair
• Inclusion Coach, Lead Teacher or Department Chair
• ELL Lead Teacher or Department Chair
• School Culture Expert
• Union Representative

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Subteams
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Get Ready - Teams
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Team Leader Planning Day

• Team leaders are allocated one day to assist the
  school in preparation for the visit
• Principal and planning committee should determine
  how best to use this planning day
• Examples of assistance development of schedule,
  selection of staff for focus groups, presentation
  to staff, explanation of administrative
  walkthrough or data analysis

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What should be done to prepare for a CAPA visit?
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Prior to the visit

• Explain the process to the school faculty
• Select school team members
• Establish a CAPA planning committee
• Involve the NCLB Planning Committee and/or SLC
• Involve building union representation

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Planning Committee
Teaching Learning Standards 1, 2, 3
Leadership Standard 7
School Culture Standards 4, 5, 6
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Document Review - Prior

• Internal and external team members should become
  familiar with the following documents prior to
  the visit
• State assessment data by grade and cluster
• Restructuring plan
• NCLB unified plan
• Other assessment data
• School Improvement Status Summary
• Adequate Yearly Progress Status

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What occurs during a CAPA visit?

• OVERVIEW

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Schedule for Internal/External Team

• Planning Day
• One hour visit planning for district/school and
  external team
• External/internal team reviews data, NCLB unified
  plan plan and school portfolio
• Begin interviews and visits

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Schedule for Internal/External Team

• Days Two and Three
• Interviews
• Classroom visits
• Subteam debriefing of findings
• Debriefing of full group
• Begin writing findings

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Schedule for Internal/External Team

• Day Four
• Team debriefing for assigned indicators
• Writing and reviewing information
• Holistic Scoring by subteams
• Subteams present findings, recommendations,
  performance levels, proposed action plans

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Team Lead Follow Up Day

• Within two weeks of visit
• Work with internal team to refine action plans
• Review final summary report for accuracy
• Assistance with presentation to faculty

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What occurs during a CAPA visit?

• DETAILED DESCRIPTION

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Schedule

• For staff--some individual or small group (no
  more than 6-8)
• For the NCLB planning team--whole group
• For parents--scheduled in groups no fewer than
  10
• For studentsrepresentation of all grade levels
  abilitiesformally and informally

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Interview Schedule

• Teachers
• Child Study Team
• Administrators
• Guidance Staff

• IRS Committee
• NCLB Committee, site-based management team or SLC
• Parents
• Students (randomly selected across grade levels)

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Team Needs

• Room for debriefing and document review
• Room for interviews focus groups
• Computers, LCD projector, photocopying
• Emergency numbers

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Team Folder

• School vision mission
• Master scheduleindividual staff schedules
• Staff roster
• Bell schedule
• Floor plan
• NCLB committee names
• Background information form

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School Culture Survey

• Instructors
• Administrators
• URL Available from Team Leader

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What is in the School Portfolio?
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School Portfolio Examples

• NCLB Unified Plan
• Suspension Reports
• 10 Report Cards
• 10 PIPs and evaluations
• Professional Development Plan
• School/ Community Survey Parent Involvement
  Policy

• Meeting Minutes
• Parent Information
• Meeting Agendas
• Curriculum Documents
• HQT Documents
• Curriculum Reports
• Code of Conduct Policy

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Classroom Portfolio Examples

• Lesson Plans
• Student Work
• Student Portfolios
• Student Projects
• Student Journals
• Student Assessments
• Grade Books

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District Document Examples

• Curriculum
• DINI Plan (if applicable)
• Technology Plan
• Parent Involvement Policy
• NCLB SES Communications Reports
• Comprehensive Equity Plan

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Interviews

• For staff can be either individual or small group
  (6-8 people)
• For the NCLB planning team or SLC should be whole
  group
• For parents should be scheduled in groups as
  many as possible
• Interview 10 of student bodyformally and
  informally

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Interviews to be scheduled

• Teachers
• Paraprofessionals
• Child Study Team
• Administrators
• Guidance Staff
• District Administrators

• Security Staff
• Nurse
• Social Worker
• NCLB Planning Committee or SLC
• Parents
• 10 of students (randomly selected across grade
  levels)

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Classroom Walkthroughs

• A random selection of classrooms will be visited
• The classrooms are chosen by the team leader
• The principal determines the classrooms visited
  for the administrative walkthrough

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Walkthrough Process

• Walkthroughs provide a school wide snapshot, over
  time, of classroom environments, learning
  experiences and student perspectives
• Walkthroughs are not part of the evaluation
  process
• Walkthroughs are a catalyst for reflective school
  wide discussion

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Rationale

• Promote a collaborative atmosphere for the visit
• Help gauge the overall school environment
• Help provide a shared language for teaching and
  learning
• Teams all see the same data

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What guides the initial visit?
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CAPA Teaching Learning Tool

• Used to help determine specifically where you are
  regarding goals and benchmarks for higher student
  achievement
• Also used to help determine what action steps the
  school and/or district need to take to meet
  benchmarks at the desired levels of success

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Focus on Research-based Strategies

• Curriculum where it exists and is good, is it
  what guides daily instruction?
• Instructional leadership leaders who have an
  unrelenting focus on learning, therefore on
  instruction
• Teamwork and professional learning communities
  opening up the teaching practice of individuals
  to their colleagues, so that they can learn from
  those who do it well.

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Research Base

• CAPA Descriptors, 2006, NJ DOE
• Classroom Instruction that Works, Marzano, 2001,
  ASCD
• The Art and Science of Teaching, Marzano, 2007,
  ASCD
• Leadership for Learning, Carl Glickman, 2002,
  ASCD
• The Differentiated Classroom, Carol Tomlinson,
  1999, ASCD
• Results Now, Schmoker, 2006, ASCD
• The Basic School, Boyer, 1995, Carnegie
  Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
• The Learning Leader, Reeves, 2006, ASCD
• Turnaround Leadership, Michael Fullan, 2006,
  Jossey-Bass
• National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades
  Reform New Jersey Schools to Watch Self-Study
  and Rating Rubric
• Bridging the Gap between Standards and
  Achievement, Richard F. Elmore, 2002, Albert
  Shanker Institute
• The Leadership We Need, Waters and Grubb, 2004,
  McREL Mid-continent Research for Education and
  Learning
• Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium
  (ISLLC) Standards Education for the Future the
  School Portfolio, 2000, Council of Chief State
  School Officers
• Planning Change for Restructuring Schools,
  Mid-Atlantic Comprehensive Center, 12/2006
• Arizona School Reform Tool
• The Great Maine Schools Project School Change
  Rubric, 2005
• Pennsylvania Department of Education 2006-2007
  Review Criteria for Getting Results! SIP
  Framework, 2004

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Structure

• Structure of Teaching and Learning Tool
• A single tool for identifying best practices,
  collecting and analyzing documentation, interview
  results, begin formulating recommendations,
  recording strengths and challenges and providing
  a rating.
• Domains
• Standards
• Indicators
• Subindicators

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Standards Indicators

• Within each of the 7 Standards, there are 23
  specific subsections labeled indicators.
• The team will write a Finding and assign a
  Performance Level rating for each indicator.
• Within each of the indicators is an essential
  question
• Within each of the indicators there are
  sub-indicators.

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Standards

• Curriculum
• Assessment Evaluation
• Instruction
• School Climate Culture
• Student, Family Community Support
• Professional Learning, Growth Development
• Leadership Governance

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Indicators

• Within each of the 7 Standards, there are 23
  specific subsections labeled indicators.
• The team will write a Finding and assign a
  Performance Level rating for each indicator.

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Performance Levels

• Holistically, the subteams will reach consensus
  and assign a performance level, or level of
  proficiency, to each indicator. The subteam
  presents findings to entire internal external
  team.
• Level 4 is Exemplary level of development
• Level 3 is Fully functioning and operational
• level of implementation
• Level 2 is Limited development and partial
• implementation
• Level 1 is Little development and
  implementation
• Level 0 is No development and implementation

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Essential Questions

• Do all teachers use the curriculum in planning
  instruction?
• How do students know what is expected and are
  they able to articulate expectations share their
  work and reflect on others work?
• To what extent are all students engaged in
  learning?

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Using the Tool

• Standard 6 The school provides for staff
  research-based, results-driven professional
  development opportunities that are consistent
  with the districts professional development
  plan, and implements performance evaluation
  procedures in order to improve teaching and
  learning. (Objective)
• Indicator 6.1 - The school and district devote
  resources to content-rich professional
  development that is connected to reaching and
  sustaining the school vision and goals for
  increasing student achievement and is
  differentiated by teacher and student needs.
  (Strategy)
• Sub-indicators Professional development is
  embedded, intensive, of high quality, ongoing,
  and relevant to various grade level education and
  provides opportunities for learning that increase
  knowledge and skills, challenge outmoded beliefs
  and practices, and provide support in the
  classroom. (Actions)

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Triangulation

• Seen in classrooms
• Read in documents
• Heard in interviews

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CAPA Teaching Learning Tool

• Available at
• http//www.nj.gov/education/capa/docs/
• Click Teaching Learning Tool

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Summary Report/Action Plan

• Addresses essential questions from rubric
• Notes strengths, areas of concern and
  recommendations
• Team determines most critical recommendations
• Separate school and district sections
• Incorporated into the schools NCLB plan

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Summary Report

• FINDINGS Compilations of data about the school
  substantiated by TRIANGULATION (at least three
  sources of data such as an observation, an
  interview, or written documentation).
• RECOMMENDATIONS Research-based strategies and
  best practices suggested by the team for each
  standard. Subteams determine 2-3 high priority
  recommendations.
• ACTION STEPS The team prioritizes and develops
  a short plan for implementation of 3
  recommendations.

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Recommendations

• Based on triangulated data
• Focused on key areas academic performance,
  learning climate, leadership
• Question for prioritizing
• If the school does this well, will it
  significantly advance student achievement?

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Action Planning

• Action Steps
• what needs to be done to implement the
  recommendation action steps
• for each action step
• what strategy will be used
• expected results
• measures
• time lines
• people responsible and accountable

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Benchmark Meeting Process

• While the school is in status
• One-day follow-up with team member
• Purpose To review the progress the school is
  making regarding student learning, instruction,
  climate and leadership by observing and
  discussing implementation of strategies from the
  NCLB Unified Plan CAPA Action Plans

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Breakout Sessions

• Leadership
• School Culture
• Language Arts
• Mathematics
• Special Education
• English Language Learners
• Please complete the reflection handout so we can
  continue to improve our assistance

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A Parting Thought

• Nothing, and we mean nothing, is more critical
  to the future of the world than rapidly and
  constantly improving systems of public schooling
  that serve all students.
• Breakthrough, Michal Fullan, Peter Hill, Carmel
  Crevola