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Assessment for Teaching - Chapter 1 (P Griffin & P Robertson) (1)

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Assessing student learning (G Masters) (1)

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- Stop asking why a student cannot and instead ask/think what is this students ready for next?
Teaching should be based on students’ current developmental level, not on whether they meet a fixed year-level standard (just like that convo we had about the early year grade level expectations). The focus is growth and progression, not comparison. (Jacquie)

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Mastering a skill, not focussing on the score being given 

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Mastering a skill, not focussing on the score being given 

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- Grades, percentages, and rankings do not explain what a student actually knows or can do.

- Assessment should identify specific skills and knowledge.

- Progress should be measured against a student’s previous performance and thee growth shown over time (Jacquie)

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Targeted Instruction - what a teacher can do

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Targeted Instruction - what a teacher can do

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We know students in a class are not all at the same readiness level. Students can be grouped into 3–5 readiness groups/as ready as possible groups! Teaching must be adjusted to match these groups. They should be fluid groups with constant change and rigor.
Instruction becomes more effective when it is aligned with what students are prepared to learn next. (Jacquie)

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Assessment should determine where students are in long-term learning progressions and uncover how they are thinking, not just measure how well they recall taught content. Assessment should look for:

Conceptual structure (knowlkege and skills)

Ability to transfer (in and out of context/transferable the next day/week/continuous learning)

Depth of understanding (is it surface level learning or is it deep knowledge a child is gaining)(Jacquie)

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my context and wondering - finding that balance is tricky with what NEEDS to be mastered 

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my context and wondering - finding that balance is tricky with what NEEDS to be mastered 

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I sit here and think, this is really interesting to me. I've worked 10 years in a PYP school that was IB and also a Workshop model based school. A book I've read a lot is Shifting the Balance (Katie Cunningham) The science behind reading, writing and language skills. It's very tricky to find a balance between inquiry based learning through the lens of conception understanding and recording how kids grow, versus consolidating the language skills a child absolutely needs to acquire in order to move on. I see value in both. As I skim read these articles, I say to myself, but how do i get little Johny to write in full sentences? How do I get little Johny to remember those periods? How do I get little Johny to research and take notes, while not plagerising? So, for me, I just wonder how I can create a balance of this in my classroom and how I can cater for inquiry, free inquiry learning, while also making sure a child masters those important skills (And I guess these are the skills we were talking about earlier, saying it doesn't have to be 'grade level specific, but developmental growth.) This was a lot of info here - sorry (Jacquie)

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Of course assessment to inform has consequences! Assessment capable teachers should be recognizing the range of student capacity, ability etc and they should be using that information to teach accordingly. (Kristen)

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Old, outdated models (formative/summative, quantitative/qualitative) need to shift to showing growth over time rather than measuring understanding of a static set of concepts. Reporting tools need to reflect this change by showing ongoing growth. (Jessica)

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From yesterday's session the realization was made that scores alone are not helpful neither is comparing one student to their peers. Instead that student should be compared to themselves to see the progression in their own learning.

The evidence based approach ensures that teacher inferences or bias is founded on observable and recordable data. Of course teachers will always have intuitions, and when those intuitions are tested and confirmed teacher confidence is built. (Kristen)

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Mindset shift must see assessment as nothing more than a measure of where students are at the moment. Using this to frame practices helps parents and students understand that the goal is information SO THAT goals can be made and next steps identified. Rather than showing where learning is against others or a pre-conceived expectation, assessment should be a personalized validation of what has been integrated into a learner's schema of understanding and where they need to go next. (Jessica)

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Teachers' roles in assessment should be to be detectives about student growth. As in other professions, teachers should see assessment not as a way to judge students but as a means to understand where students are, so they can make informed choices about next steps in planning for the class and individual students. (Jessica)

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Assessment is more than just giving a test and assigning a grade. Differentiating instruction, teaching and supporting skills, relying on teacher intuition, observations, and teacher efficacy, play a huge role in accurately assessing students. As teachers focus on students and meet them where they are, they can provide meaningful feedback and help students move forward. (Heather)

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"When the purpose of assessment

is to explore and understand where students are in their learning, there must be a willingness to use the methods best able to provide this information, whatever form they take." (p. 3, Masters)

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Where are you in your learning? Because it matters!

Advances in our understandings have unlocked new approaches to assessing and monitoring. Not that the old ways were wrong, or shouldn't be done but we can do better.

ALMOST all students are capable of learning, they just need a little help! It's our responsibility to maximize their learning potential by following the evidence based approach to ensure we are meeting the students where they are in their learning progression. Then assisting them in moving towards their goal by designing appropriate learning challenges. (Kristen)

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Assessment is an ongoing process that relies on checking for student understanding several times rather than one-and-done. Assessment is a check-in on what students know and are able to do in that exact moment, not what they come to understand later. All learners are capable of learning the same things, but how and when they learn them is different and should be taken into consideration when assessing and supporting students. In the end, if assessments are used to inform teaching and learning, the type of assessment used doesn't matter, as long as multiple opportunities for demonstration of knowledge are offered. (Heather)

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Helping parents and students see the variety of levels inside a grade level to help all members of a learning community expand their understanding of success. Progressions and continuums in reporting tools can help showcase growth and development rather than deficits. (Jessica)

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Incorporating progress monitoring, which includes skill development, encourages students to check in on their growth over time. Students measuring themselves against their previous level to their current level promote confidence and self-belief and develop into assessment-capable students in the future. (Jessica)

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Within the classroom there is a variety of learners with diverse needs and learning progressions.

Assessment should be no different, if we know and understand their strengths and abilities we should use those to foster learning in other areas by co-creating appropriate forms of representing their understanding.

That doesn't mean that each individual student should get their own assessment, although considerations and accommodations should be made to ensure teacher are meeting students where they are at.

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Shifting the focus from teacher work to student evidence is powerful in helping teachers remain focused on evidence of learning and stay rooted in the shared goal of developing ALL students as successful learners. Moderating in these groups holds teachers accountable to solely intuitive thinking and promotes an "our student" versus "my student" mindset. (Jessica)

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Assessment should help us understand where students are in their learning and how they are growing over time, not just test how much they can remember. Learning is a journey, so good assessment should give useful information that helps teachers teach and students learn. Traditional tests and grades often don't show what students really understand. They can hide progress and create stress or competition that gets in the way of learning. Instead, assessment should support a positive learning environment, that finds out what students need, uncovers what they're confused about, and helps them take the next steps forward.(Frida)