Secondary Credit

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• Secondary Credit
• Assessment System
• Edward Roeber
• Kim Young
• Office of Educational Assessment and
  Accountability

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What is the Secondary Credit Assessment System?

• A balanced assessment system comprised of
• End-of-course assessments (summative assessment)
• Assessments to be used throughout the school year
  (interim benchmark assessments)
• Assessments to be used on a daily basis by
  teachers (formative assessment)
• All assessments measure the High School Content
  Expectations (HSCEs)

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Balanced Assessment System

• We need a balanced assessment system - one that
  honors the work in classroom assessment and is
  aligned to the state and district assessments
• A variety of approaches to assessment are needed
  - perhaps more assessment, but of different kinds
• All assessments need to work in the same
  direction - a coordinated system of assessment

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What is a Balanced Assessment System?

• Formative
• Supports on-going learning in the classroom
• Interim
• Provides periodic snapshots of student
  achievement at the district level
• Summative
• Assesses student learning at the conclusion of a
  phase of learning
• All parts work together and are equally important

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Balanced Assessment Systems

• Assessment should be continuous - the assessments
  should measure student progress over time (days,
  weeks, months, and the school year)
• Are a variety of formal and less formal
  assessment methods used on an on-going basis?
• Assessment is integrated - does the assessment
  system fit into the larger educational system?
• Is assessment seamlessly integrated into
  instruction?

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Balanced Assessment Systems

• Are a variety of high quality assessments being
  used?
• Do all assessments meet professional standards
  (reliability, validity, and so forth)?
• Are the assessment purposes clearly spelled out
  and are assessments used that can achieve these
  purposes?
• Do all students participate in assessments
  appropriate for them?
• Do assessments have positive consequences - for
  students, educators, parents, and others?

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What are Summative Assessments?

• State Level
• Michigan Educational Assessment Program
• Michigan Merit Examination
• MI-Access
• English Language Proficiency Assessment
• Secondary Credit Assessment System
• District Level
• Norm-referenced tests

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Uses of Summative Assessments

• Determine the extent of student learning at the
  end of each course/credit area
• Determine if students have earned the credit
• Help determine if the rigor of the course/credit
  area is adequate
• Improve the rigor and content of the
  course/credit area
• Key Question Did students learn what they should
  have?

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Other Uses of Summative Assessment

• Determine priority schools for the interventions
  required by Federal (and state) law
• Guide state-level assistance to high priority
  schools - those continuing not to make Adequate
  Yearly Progress
• Fund schools - could be general state aid and/or
  special programs to impact struggling schools
• Allocate human resources - such as providing
  staff or consultants to provide supportive
  management advice and strategies to schools

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What are Interim Assessments?

• Periodic assessments given school- or district-
  wide during the school year
• Measure the schools or districts curricula in
  important content areas
• Provide evidence that all students have been
  taught key skills
• Serve to reinforce a common curriculum and sets
  of learning experiences

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Interim Assessments

• District-constructed assessments, or
• Commercially-available assessments
• Replicas of the MEAP or other state assessments
• Pacing assessments that follow the curriculum
• Assessments that do not follow MEAP nor the
  district curriculum
• Key Question Are students in each school on
  track for proficiency?

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Interim Assessments

• Unit tests given at the end of each instructional
  unit throughout the course/credit
• Advantages
• May determine if students are learning the
  enabling skills
• Might catch students who are experiencing
  difficulties in learning before they fall far
  behind
• Challenges
• Instructional sequences are not always universal
  - are multiple forms of the assessments needed?
• Are the assessments of high quality and/or match
  instruction?

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Uses of Interim Assessment

• Inform students and parents about the level of
  student achievement and improvement efforts under
  way
• Assure consistency of instruction across schools
  and the district
• Increase instructional alignment - horizontal and
  vertical
• Program evaluation - evaluate the effectiveness
  of new initiatives

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Rick Stiggins, 2002

• If we wish to maximize student achievement in
  the U.S., we must pay greater attention to the
  improvement of classroom assessment. Both
  assessment of learning and assessment for
  learning are essential. But one is currently in
  place, and the other is not.

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What is Formative Assessment?

• Classroom-based assessments used on an on-going
  basis in every classroom
• Carefully thought-out strategies to engage
  students in learning in and outside of the
  classroom
• May encourage different ways of learning - moving
  from passive to active student learning
• May encourage student self-assessment/self-monitor
  ing

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CCSSO Draft Definition of Formative Assessment

• Formative assessment is a process used by
  teachers and students during instruction that
  provides feedback to adjust ongoing teaching and
  learning to improve students achievement of
  intended instructional outcomes.
• FAST/SCASS Austin, Texas October 2006

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Formative Assessment

• Teachers are engaged actively in the assessment
  process by
• Sharing instructional targets with students
• Questioning students
• Observing students
• Examining and evaluating student work
• Providing feedback to students
• Determining instructional implications of the
  assessments
• Conferencing with students, other teachers and
  parents

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Formative Assessments

• Students are actively engaged in the assessment
  process by
• Learning what is expected of them
• Taking responsibility for their own learning
• Actively participating in the learning process
• Participating in how students document what they
  have learned and how they learned it
• Demonstrating their learning to peers, educators
  and their parents

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Uses of Formative Assessment

• Guide student learning on a daily basis by
  providing information about what critical skills
  were and were not learned
• Provide extra learning opportunities to students
  who are struggling academically
• Provide additional learning opportunities for
  students who are doing well academically
• Report student progress to students, parents, and
  other educators
• Key Question Has each student learned?

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What are ways we can assess students?

• Selected-response tests - multiple-choice,
  true-false, matching
• Written response - short-answer, extended
  response
• Observation
• Structured
• Unstructured
• Samples of Student Work

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What are ways we can assess students?

• Performance Events
• Individual interviews
• Hands-on performance assessments
• Performance Tasks
• Individual assessments
• Group performance assessments
• Projects
• Datafolios
• Portfolios

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Secondary Credit Assessment System

• Measure the same skills using different measures
  of the same skills
• Develop and make available the following
  assessments
• End-of-course exams used at the end of the year
• Interim assessments used at the end of
  instructional units
• Formative assessments used in daily instruction

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Developing the Needed System

• Examine the high school content expectations
• Select the high priority skills for the summative
  exams
• Create instructional modules around which to
  build interim assessments
• Determine the instructional sequences within
  which to create instructionally-embedded
  assessments
• Determine what types of measures will be used?
• Selected-response and constructed-response items
• Performance assessments
• Other assessment types

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Developing the Needed System

• Use existing item development contractor in the
  short-run to develop assessments needed in 2008
• Competitively bid the SCA system
• Create 3 versions of each summative assessment
  annually
• Offer summative assessments in paper-based and
  electronic formats
• Create 2 versions of each interim assessment
  annually
• Offer interim assessments electronically or give
  districts a pdf of each assessment

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Developing the Needed System

• Select a separate contractor for work with local
  educators on formative assessments
• PD on creating classroom assessments
• Practice unpacking the standards
• Develop instructional strategies related to the
  HSCEs
• Create assessments embedded within instructional
• Support the work of local learning communities as
  they use the instructional strategies and
  assessments
• Utilize a statewide network of ISD/RESA and local
  district trainers to support local district work

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How Will Formative Work be Carried Out?

• Develop ISD/RESA teams to sponsor work groups of
  local educators
• Leadership team from one or more ISDs/RESAs plus
  LEAs
• Working groups of teachers and curriculum
  specialists in the four content areas
• Professional development assistance provided by
  MDE and others
• Use other existing resources with an interest in
  improved instruction and assessment

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How Will Formative Work be Carried Out?

• There are existing learning communities, formal
  and informal, across the state already engaged in
  thinking about
• How students learn best
• How teachers can draw out the best from students
• How we know whether students have learned
• How educators can learn more about learning,
  teaching and assessment
• Develop other learning communities in the state

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Want More?

• Dr. Rick Stiggins Creating a Balanced Assessment
  System for Student Success
• Wednesday, March 7, 2007
• 1000 1130 am
• www.mistreamnet.com
• To be archived at www.mistreamnet.com

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Even More Than That?

• High Schools of PurposeLearning for All!
• With Karen Bailey
• May 1 2, 2007 Holiday Inn-South, Lansing
• May 3 4, 2007 Grand Traverse Resort, Traverse
  City
• HS Learning Teams of 3 7, cross content, within
  content, cross ISD teams

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What Work Will be Done?

• Develop model instructional lessons that address
  parts of the high school content expectations
• Build a variety of assessments within these
  instructional ideas
• Try out these lessons and assessments with
  students
• MDE Collect, select and share the ideas
• SCAS website www.michigan.gov/scas

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Balanced Assessment Leadership Group

• ISD/RESA/ESA
• Local
• Professional Groups
• Administrators
• Teachers
• Policy
• Promotion of balanced assessment literacy
• advisory

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Beginning the Journey..
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Phase 1
Building Background Knowledge of Learning Teams
Keys to High Quality Assessment
Common Assessments
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Phase 2
Learning Teams Continue The Learning
Grading HQ Rubrics
Examining Student Work
Building Knowledge Within the School
LT facilitates learning with colleagues
Classroom embedded practice
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Areas to be Developed

• English Language Arts
• English 9, 10, 11, and 12
• Mathematics
• Algebra I
• Geometry
• Algebra II
• Pre-Calculus
• Data and Statistics

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Areas to be Assessed

• Science
• Biology
• Chemistry
• Physics
• Earth Science
• Social Studies
• American History and Geography
• World History and Geography
• Economics
• Civics

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2006-2007 Priorities

• Complete the prototype assessments
• Algebra I
• Geometry
• Offer the prototype assessments to local
  districts via pdfs in the spring
• Permit local district that wish to use the
  prototypes to assess students to do so

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2007-2008 Priorities

• Depending on the level of funding available next
  year, create the following assessments
• Mathematics Algebra I and Geometry
• Science Biology
• English English 9
• Social Studies None?
• Begin working to create an electronic delivery
  system for the interim and summative assessments

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Beyond 2008

• As resources permit, create the additional
  assessments
• Try to develop the assessments needed by students
  as they progress through high school
• Attempt to fully develop the system by 2010
• Try to build both the interim and summative
  assessment components at the same time, and
  create new forms of each annually to keep the
  test pool fresh
• Work with other partners (e.g., states,
  contractors, and others) who share a common
  interest in collaborative work

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Summary

• Our goal is to seek to improve how students are
  taught, as well as how they are assessed
• Emphasize improved student learning, not just
  higher test scores.
• Continue to seek to improve educator skills in
  instruction, as well as assessment
• Build a balanced assessment system with
  coordination among the parts

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Summary

• The requirement to assess the High School Content
  Expectations will be used as the basis for
  modeling a balanced assessment system that
  includes formative and interim assessments
• Engage educators across the state in developing
  these formative and interim assessments
• Begin this activity this year and support it as
  it grows and spreads
• Recruit local and ISD educators who want to be
  part of building this new system

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For Questions and Comments

• Edward Roeber
• Kim Young
• Michigan Department of Education
• Office of Educational Assessment Accountability
• P.O. Box 30008
• Lansing, MI 48909
• RoeberE_at_michigan.gov
• YoungK1_at_michigan.gov