Our engine of change is authentic assessment

                                                             MOST            LEAST

*Seamless Curriculum                             3                     6

*Real Life                                                                       6

*Meaningful Evaluation                           3                     1

*Building Citizenship                               5                     4

*Teacher Teamwork                                1

*Achieving Vision                                     6                     2

Notes for ASSESSMENT IN ACTION  (NW Ed., Fall 1996)

1.  Computer Adaptive Testing - student responds to several?s to determine ability - moved to performance task that best meets their ability level

2.  Enhanced Multiple Choice - more that one response - explain response

3.  Extended-response, open-ended - not just one answer Ex.  Essay/lab

4.  Group performance (group setting) individual ratings based on performance in group

5.  Individual performance - student performs - observed ex. community service - write report on it, perform a lab

6.  Interview - student responds to verbal /s from assessor

7.  Nontraditional test items - other than multiple choice, agreed upon set of performance criteria - scoring guide - rubric or comparison to benchmark papers or performances

8.  Observaton - task observed - rated with agreed upon set of scoring criteria.

9.  Portfolio - accumulation of student's work over time that demonstrates growth toward the amstery of specific performance criteria against which tasks included in protfolio can be judged.

10. Project, exhibition/demonstration - complec task over time that requires demonstrating mastery of a desired outcome - perf. criteria

11. Short answers - fill in blank

What is taught often doesn't match what is tested.  Learn deeply and critically, analyze, dissect information, apply knowledge creatively to face social, economic, environmental challenges.

Students mingle, share, collaborate - projects - portfolios - experiments - essays, reports - make speeches

Teachers confer with students and keep folders - document progress/ reflect on learning.

Humans learn best from things that are meaningful, useful and relevant!  Make meaning = connect it to their leives.

ARTER - learner constructs - personal meaning from information and experiences by linking new info. with preexisting knowledge and understanding.  Self-reflection, group collaboration , teacher = facilitator

Cognitive Constructivists "see performance tests as a form of testing that parallels their view of how pupils learn and should be taught."   Audrey Noble and Mary Lee Smith

In performance tests = a student creates an answer.

1992 Grant Wiggins "authentic" assessments mimic real life tasks. ex. Policy analyst = predict the future of a country /archaeologist = determine culture or time frame of mystery

Unleash deep creative and cognitive powers - spark interest "students can demonstrate the depth of their understanding when the task mirrors real-life situation."

ARTER - assessment and teaching = "seamless web" - assessment is woven invisibly into instruction.

Students changing roles not passive test takers, active self assessors - devising rubrics, rating own work, versed in standards know what is expected of them, choose and define criteria and learn to judge themselves agaisst it.

Reflective and self-evaluation

Students control their own progress - become independent learners.  Ownership of the process

Teacher Narratives, Benchmarks, Continuums = sharpen observations, deepen undeerstanding student's growth, replaced report card.  Time to complet all this is needed = biggest drawback to portfolios.  Celebrate growth and measure grade level and district progress.

IN linking and blending portfolios = they have their power:

everyday activity; principals committed to process - willing to lead /support; provide extensive staff dev. for new/old staff; give process room to grow, change, evolve - to meet teacher/student needs;ALIVE process - constant input;keep parents informed and updated; dev. system tailored to local needs, designed by teaching staff to ensure ownership and committment 

Time to discuss and reflect - internalize concepts and build from what they know and what works. 

Criteria

To allow greater teacher flexibility in creating assessments that service a  diverse student body.

To develop a variety of assessments such as portfolios, labs and write ups, interviews, performances that are video taped, artifacts with rubrics etc.  that help learners become self-assessors.

Students are encouraged to self-reflect on a regular basis using their own previous work. 

In order to assess learning a teacher must collect data.

In order to improve assessment a teacher must analyze the collected data.

In order to improve the assessment technique a teacher must reconstruct the original assessment to meet the new needs based on data collection.

To help students discover and receive recognition for their individual abilities and contributions.