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Power School Pro - CBE uses 4 indicators (1-4).

How do you accommodate diverse learners in PS? - indicate accommodations in a comment. *for a different grade level. Build in all grade outcomes for adapted programs?

New curriculum outcomes are very broad - teachers constantly spiraling concepts. Outcomes not taught as a full unit anymore - weaved together continuously.

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ePD - Why OBA? Good reasons available already - helpful, but not tangible. But, are there guidelines? Should be functional and accessible for teachers.

AP on Assessment/Reassessment - nothing specific for OBA. We have the tools, but how do we put this into a policy/guideline? Does Nadia have access to other district's policies?

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What data should we access to explore this topic?

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What data should we access to explore this topic?

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Look at other district's policies and guidelines.

Brightspace work already done - previously consultants/Ed Tech.

Which outcomes make the most sense for what teachers are already doing/provincial assessments, etc. to narrow down 20~ outcomes for D2L.

Data from UofC research? Is there research out there?

Fort McMurry Public Schools - outcomes based assessment. Connected with Cheryl.

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What research informs practice in this area?

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What research informs practice in this area?

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Let's find some research first!

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What principles guide our current practice in this area?

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What principles guide our current practice in this area?

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Behaviors/work habits/attendance not part of grades - this has been the policy for a while.

Blueprinting assignments in the grade book. Is it connected to outcomes, can you go back and review outcomes rather than re-write the whole test? At least 5 years of work in LS. How can we community this more effectively to students/parents? D2L.

JH teachers often do a good job of reporting on specific outcomes. Elementary - it's more about the skill, and not necessarily the outcome. "Why are you doing this activity?" "Because it fits my theme of penguins". Can teachers identify the outcome and what they are working towards/assessing?

Disconnect between current progress reports and the new curriculum. We have all year to achieve these outcomes! AB/EX - what is the difference? How do we know? What IS an EX?

Move toward a continuum. Where is the student at this point in time on this outcome? Rubrics, progressions of learning/understanding?

Do teachers really know the outcomes? Are they creating tools that assess how students achieve those outcomes? The outcomes are what should be guiding our practice. Help teachers to understand their outcomes - do teachers have time to do this work?

Elementary schools - no department heads, fewer PATs so more lose about what happens in classrooms.

HS - diploma course teachers know the outcomes and teach them well.

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Find out what other school boards are doing. Maybe there is a good definition?

Shelley - Rocky View

Nadia - Other districts, UofC perspective

Look in Administrative Procedures - is there anything in there?

Meeting #2:

1. Given what was explored in meeting 1, create a definition of the assessment concept you are working on (i.e. what is reassessment?)

2. How might our current guidelines need to be adapted to match this definition?

3. What guidelines might need to be added?

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1. Given what was explored in meeting 1, create a definition of the assessment concept you are working on (i.e. what is reassessment?)

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1. Given what was explored in meeting 1, create a definition of the assessment concept you are working on (i.e. what is reassessment?)

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2. How might our current guidelines need to be adapted to match this definition?

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2. How might our current guidelines need to be adapted to match this definition?

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3. What guidelines might need to be added?

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3. What guidelines might need to be added?

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Frameworks For Communicating About Student Learning - Alberta Assessment Consortium

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A number of changes have occurred over the past few years in regard to the process for reporting student learning, such as introduction of electronic reporting systems; a move by some jurisdictions to outcomes based reporting; increased awareness and implementation of assessment for learning practices; implementation of new programs of study; and heightened interest by ...

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The essence is important for outcomes based assessment

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In light of equity and EDIA conversations, this may be a good read or at least the lens underpinning practice

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In light of equity and EDIA conversations, this may be a good read or at least the lens underpinning practice

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2. Create a draft of the specific processes/procedures teachers and admin would need to follow to ensure these principles live in our schools.

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2. Create a draft of the specific processes/procedures teachers and admin would need to follow to ensure these principles live in our schools.

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Assessment guidelines we already have. ePD.

Outcomes-based becomes the vehicle.

Figure out what's happening.

Ed Tech - capacity of mastery view

Consultants - new curriculum implementation

Anticipate what is coming for secondary (by looking at what is now in elementary)

How do we actually change to OB approach?

Will look different at different levels (i.e. elementary vs high school).

Beliefs vs Practices tool

hear from teachers (all or a select group)

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1. Create a draft of the overarching principle(s) of assessment that guide practice in our district.

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1. Create a draft of the overarching principle(s) of assessment that guide practice in our district.

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Sprialling curriculum - easy for master teachers, but new/inexperienced teachers cannot.

Teachers often don't look at the curriculum.

Give teachers opportunities to visit/relearn their curriculum.

Have a vision for assessment.

Multi-tiered pilot approach.

Consultants support w/spiralling

Ed Tech - Mastery View - what it is/what it isn't.

Not much data (Scott West).

Quizzes/assignments - 5 tab spreadsheet

More context given to the pilot

what was the intention?

what were they doing/

what were they grappling with?

How did it go?

Volunteer-based. multiple schools/grades.

Need an audit on who is doing what across the district.

Gather what teachers are doing.

Who are the 'bright lights'

This is a 4-year process.

Need to map it out

Everyone is

speaking in outcomes

planning/mapping in outcomes

Report cards - obligated to use them, and creates challenges for moving towards outcomes-based assessment

elementary + secondary have similar issues w/ report cards

Start with a pilot

everyone else works on curriculum

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Why Develop outcomes for assessment and learning? 

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Why Develop outcomes for assessment and learning? 

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Outcomes: Articulating our Learning Expectations

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Outcomes: Articulating our Learning Expectations

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Parent and Student Definition of Outcomes Based Assessment

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Parent and Student Definition of Outcomes Based Assessment

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In Alberta, the curriculum is based on learning outcomes. An outcome describes what your child is expected to know, understand and do in each subject area. Outcome based learning identifies a student’s strengths, areas requiring growth and next steps for continued learning.

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Supporting Parents and Students in Learning - Outcome Based Assessment

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What is Outcome based Assessment?
In Alberta, the curriculum is based on learning outcomes. An outcome describes what your child is expected to know, understand and do in each subject area. Outcome based learning identifies a student’s strengths, areas requiring growth and next steps for continued

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Bishop Carroll - less than 1 year pilot.

Can other schools pilot at all 3 levels? Scale the BC pilot before rolling it out to the whole district.

Elementary - new curriculum = less outcomes, so easier to implement outcomes-based assessment. KUSPs are not a checklist.

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ePD Definition of Outcomes Based Assessment

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ePD Definition of Outcomes Based Assessment

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Outcomes based assessment is based on the foundational knowledge that grades have meaning, there are multiple opportunities to demonstrate learning based on feedback, and learning is focused on the outcomes, not extraneous factors such as work ethic or behaviors. When using outcomes-based assessment, teachers can easily see consistency of performance and place greater emphasis on more recent work, valuing the natural progression of learning. Assessments are broken down by outcomes and the achievement level is determined for each outcome rather than for the entire assessment. This lends well to triangulation, where teachers examine evidence from multiple sources for the same outcome(s) and can easily make adjustments based on students' strengths and areas of need.

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1. Elementary

1. new curriculum - start with the outcome and build lessons/assessments

2. no textbook - teachers have to curate resources

3. progress report stem bank

2. Secondary

1. progression documents

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Place for teachers to share

schools get together for shared pg and connection/collaboration

facebook where teachers can share ideas/ask questions

we don't have this

Alberta ed boards

no one vetting it - is it good?

Something is better than nothing!

thousands of teachers are doing the work - we should use this!

support for new teachers

Workshops/working groups

give teachers space to share what they are doing

It's not about the tool - it's about the teaching behind the tool

the resource is the starting point, teachers can make it their own.

Barriers:

PG model - rigid and teachers have choice (to go or not go)

hosting sessions around a theme at a school with multiple schools joining

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1. PG model

1. building community, getting multiple schools together

2. Who else should be part of the convo?

1. SPED, ELL

2. Ed Tech

3. Early adopters

1. they will become the biggest proponents of what you are implementing

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What is assessment?

Assessing student le​arning is an ongoing cycle of gathering, interpreting, and responding to student work. Assessment is used to inform the next steps in learning and evaluate student knowledge and understanding in relationship to the learner outcomes.

How are assessment and grading related?

Daily, ongoing assessment and report cards are not separate. They inform each other. Both are based on outcomes and Front Matter from the Programs of Study and inform next steps for learners and teachers. Formative assessment supports learning, summative assessment verifies learning, grading and reports cards summarize learning.​

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What is assessment? Assessing student le​arning is an ongoing cycle of gathering, interpreting, and responding to student work. Assessment is used to inform the next steps in learning and evaluate student knowledge and understanding in relationship to the learner outcomes. How are assessment and grading related?

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Parents come into the schools

learning about learning/assessment

giving their voice

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Edmonton Public AP Assessment but not outcomes based- still a good read

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Edmonton Public AP Assessment but not outcomes based- still a good read

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What is critical thinking?

Teaching students to think critically and solve problems is a widely pursued goal in higher education. Definitions of critical thinking vary but basically come down to having students examine an ill-defined or messy problem and carefully apply the knowledge and skills they have acquired during the instructional process to analyze the problem and suggest a solution.

To learn to think critically and solve problems, students must take an active role in constructing and defending their knowledge. The best way for students to demonstrate critical thinking is to attempt one or more outcomes-based assessments.

Outcomes-based learning and assessments
What will my students do "out there"-in the real world of family, work, and community-as a result of what we do "in here"-in my classroom? 1
This question presents a useful way to think of student learning outcomes and enables us to envision a broad, overall view of course content and goals. Sometimes this is termed "backward design" or "designing down," referring to a process of defining intended outcomes first, and only then defining the content and designing the instruction.

Defining the desired outcomes first is relatively easy for information technology courses. It is not difficult to envision what IT students will do "out there," because of the discipline's relatedness to employability skills. We have always been comfortable with helping students bridge classroom and real-life experiences.

Once intended outcomes for a course or unit of instruction are determined, a student engages in observation, practice, and other learning activities to demonstrate mastery of the knowledge and skills associated with the course content. A student is then prepared to engage in an outcomes-based assessment, actively engaging the student in learning to think critically and solve problems by making judgments and taking appropriate actions that are observed and evaluated, simulating what occurs in real life.

Skill development

Discussions and evidence of critical thinking determined from outcomes-based assessments typically include the differentiation between novice and expert work. Authors such as Willingham and Riener and McTighe and Ferrara look at the progress of the students in terms of moving from novice to expert. Think of student performance as a continuum of competency; for example, the varying belt colors one can earn while studying martial arts.

Students develop critical-thinking skills by observing excellent work and engaging in learning activities to obtain the knowledge and skills necessary to achieve the outcome. Student skills eventually become routine compared to the beginning of their learning when careful thought was required.

For example, you can relate the learning process to how individuals learn to play a video game. They watch a friend, the expert, play a game and then gradually, with practice, learn the game mechanics. Additional practice leading to mastery moves them from novice to expert to eventually being able to strategize the game play and become an expert.

Assessment of critical thinking

An outcomes-based assessment is also referred to as an authentic assessment in the sense that the assessment is realistic. An authentic assessment engages students to apply the knowledge and skills they have acquired during the instruction in ways that reflect problems they would encounter in the real world. Such an assessment has no right or wrong answer but rather reflects the thinking of an expert in the field.

The outcomes-based assessment provides the opportunity for students to apply their knowledge and skills to ill-defined problems like those in real life. Doing so requires integrating the discipline-based knowledge and skills they have acquired with completing various learning activities. Students learn to think critically by attempting an outcomes-based assessment that is representative of a current problem an expert in the discipline would encounter.

Both the student and the instructor apply an analytic rubric to the result, discuss the results, and based on the instructor's feedback, the student may attempt the outcomes-based assessment again until the work is of professional quality as determined by the rubric. When students attempt outcomes-based assessments, they are likely to be more effective as professionals.

How to develop an assessment for critical thinking

As instructors, we know that developing and grading an assessment that has no right or wrong answers can be time-consuming. Fortunately, there is abundant research and examples of how to do this, and many Pearson textbooks include outcomes-based assessments. For example, the GO! Series for Microsoft Office 365 uses an outcomes-based framework, and each unit of instruction includes numerous critical-thinking assessments and accompanying rubrics. Each instructional project includes a critical-thinking quiz so the student can immediately review the project and identify the purpose and benefit of creating the information.

To develop an assessment for critical thinking, one useful device is the GRASPS model developed by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe and detailed in Designing Authentic Performance Tasks and Projects. The acronym GRASPS stands for:

G-a realistic goal

R-the role of the student

A-the audience

S-the real-world situation

P-the product or performance the student will demonstrate

S-the criteria for judging success

For example, in a class where you are teaching Microsoft Excel, you could use the GRASPS model to develop an assessment for critical thinking as follows:

You are an assistant in the Supply Chain and Logistics department of an online vitamin company (role). Your manager asks you to create an inventory status report (real-world situation) to present to the Chief Financial Officer (audience) of the company so the company can estimate warehouse costs for new products (goal). Based on inventory data, you develop an Excel workbook (product) that presents the inventory information in a way that makes it easy for the Chief Financial Officer to visualize warehouse needs (criteria for success).

How to grade an assessment

Students learn to think critically by attempting outcomes-based assessments that are representative of a current problem an expert in the discipline would encounter. Multiple exposures to outcomes-based assessments provide students the opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills to ill-defined problems like those in real life. To do so, students must integrate the discipline-based knowledge and skills they acquired during the instructional process.

An analytic rubric distinguishes novice work from expert work. On completion of an outcomes-based assessment, both the student and the instructor apply an analytic rubric to the result and discuss the results. Based on the instructor's feedback, the student attempts the outcomes-based assessment again until the work is of professional quality as determined by the rubric.

An analytic rubric divides a product or performance into distinct traits or dimensions. As the instructor, you can judge and score each trait separately. The rubric is known ahead of time by both the student and the instructor. The analytic rubric gathers evidence of the student's performance against a set of pre-determined standards. By applying the rubric, both you and the student can place the performance on a qualitative continuum.

For teaching productivity software, here is an example of an analytic rubric that can be applied to any critical-thinking assessment such as the GRASPS example above:

Your completed project is of Professional Quality if you: Your completed project is Approaching Professional Quality if you: Your completed project Needs Quality Improvements if you:

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Outcomes-based assessment. The key to teaching critical thinking.

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Teach IT students to think critically with outcomes-based assessments.

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https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1AJ8nejDeNfwnn2ETbxjwc5-HZVl4-Dy042KGIpSF6E4/edit?usp=sharing

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Outcomes Based Grading and Assessment AP Buffalo Trail

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Outcomes Based Grading and Assessment AP Buffalo Trail

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Northern Lights School Division AP Assessment and Reporting

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Northern Lights School Division AP Assessment and Reporting

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Parents and guardians of students in Grades 1-4 receive three summative report cards each year. Report cards are distributed at most schools in November, March and June. The fall and spring report cards are followed by opportunities for parents and guardians to meet with teachers to discuss student progress.

Outcomes Based Report Cards

For students in Kindergarten to Grade 4, Northern Lights Public Schools primarily uses Outcomes-Based report cards. These look a little different than what some parents may remember from their own report cards, as it does not include traditional letter grades (A, B, C, D, F) or percentages.

In Alberta, curriculum is based on outcomes. An outcome clearly describes what a student is expected to know, understand and be able to do in each subject area. An Outcomes-Based report card focuses on descriptions of how well a student has acquired the key learning outcomes in each subject. It identifies a student's strengths, areas requiring growth, and the next steps for continued learning and success.

The goals of an Outcomes-Based report card are to:

provide parents and guardians with a realistic description of their child's learning;

confirm the student's achievement relative to provincial expectations, without comparison to others;

provide parents with a summary of their child's behaviour and attitude at school and how much effort their child has invested in learning; and,

suggest strategies for parents/guardians and students with respect to the next steps in the learning process.

Achievement Descriptors

Four achievement descriptors are used for students in grades 1 to 4:

Exemplary (E)
The student has an in-depth understanding of the outcomes and produces excellent quality work. This student is capable of working independently in order to understand the outcomes, skills and strategies.

Proficient (P)
The student has a consistent understanding of the outcomes and produces high quality work. The student requires minimal assistance or support in order to understand the outcomes, skills and strategies

Approaching (A)
The student has a basic understanding of the outcomes and produces work of a satisfactory quality. The student requires some assistance in order to understand the outcomes, skills and strategies.

Not Yet (NY)
The student is not meeting grade level expectations, and requires significant assistance to understand the outcomes, skills and strategies.

Learner Attributes

Report cards also include information on Learner Attributes. Learner Attributes are learning skills and work habits that are important factors in a student's success. These include responsibility, independent work, initiative, organization, collaboration, and self-regulation. These are reported separately from student achievement.

The following indicators are used when reporting on Learner Attributes:

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Parents and guardians of students in Grades 1-4 receive three summative report cards each year. Report cards are distributed at most schools in November, March and June. The fall and spring report cards are followed by opportunities for parents and guardians to meet with teachers to discuss student progress.

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Perhaps someone could attend or reach out to these facilitators for the high school transition if that is the route to be taken. 

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Perhaps someone could attend or reach out to these facilitators for the high school transition if that is the route to be taken. 

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Outcomes-Based Assessment for High School Learning - Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation

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This course is the first in a series titled Outcomes-Based Planning, Assessment, and Reporting for High School Learning. This learning series strives to help teachers of high school courses gain the clarity, tools, and volition to provide equitable learning and assessment opportunities for students to demonstrate mastery and achieve individual success. The first course within […]

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Edmonton Public: Schools individually choose how to assess and report with the following as a guideline.

Given perimeters, yes.  There are requirements outlined in our division document: Implementation Guide for Reporting Student Achievement.  Here's the excerpt:

Reporting Student Achievement, Grading and Conferences

All Divisions

a.                   A standard Division Progress Report template must be used at the end of each reporting period to report student achievement for all students being taught outcomes from the Alberta Curriculum.

b.                   Students who meet special education eligibility criteria are required to have an Individualized Program Plan (IPP). The IPP must describe progress towards achieving goals in each component of the student’s program. If a student is working on the graded curriculum in one or more subject areas, a Progress Report must be used for those subjects. If a student is working on a non-graded curriculum, a Progress Report must still be issued. The code NGC would be used on the Progress Report in addition to a comment directing parents/guardians to the child’s or student’s Individualized Program Plan (IPP).

c.                   Schools must determine and communicate, for each course, how they will report grades/marks. All grades/marks will be based on the teacher’s professional judgment (see the Professional Judgment section of this document).

d.                   Teachers must provide:

a listing of the learning outcomes from the Alberta Curriculum that were the major area of focus during the reporting period

written comments in the Progress Report which describe the major focus of instruction during the reporting period, the student’s strengths, areas for growth and any specific strategies the student can implement or practice to improve achievement in relation to the Alberta programs of study/curriculum. Refer to Appendix V - Discussion: Effective Progress Report Comments.

a grade or a mark (Grade 1 to Grade 12)

5. Copies of Progress Reports and/or Division-approved alternatives [e.g., Early Years Evaluation-Teacher Assessment (EYE-TA), IPP] must be made accessible for the Assistant Superintendents of schools immediately following the release of the first reporting period as part of the procedures for monitoring the implementation of the Administrative Regulation GKB.AR Standards for Evaluation.

5. Schools must ensure that all Progress Reports, IPPs and English as a Second Language (ESL) Proficiency Benchmarks are included in the official student record, as per Administrative Regulation HO.AR Student Records.

5. Parent-teacher conferences should be formatted to best address the needs of the school community (e.g., goal setting, student-led celebration of learning), clarify and illustrate standards of performance that are used when reporting grades/marks, articulate strategies to help each student improve future academic achievement and foster discussions about behaviour, effort and work habits that might impact each student’s learning.

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Not outcomes based but the AP is good to skim and the reference section could be helpful (dated but anchor literature)

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Not outcomes based but the AP is good to skim and the reference section could be helpful (dated but anchor literature)

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CBE:

Does your district already use outcomes-based assessment reporting?

If no – then no further questions!

Yes

If yes:

Is there a procedure or overarching document that would outline how your district approaches or administers this? YES/NO

yes

Is it across all grades and subjects? YES/NO

no

What platform are you using to report grades to parents (i.e. PowerSchool/Brightspace)?

powerschool

Any other comments on how it is working or its implementation?

Slow role out to support teachers in their learning (scaffold the learning)

Time is required for teachers to calibrate student work using a proficiency scale