Scott HabeebHigh School Principal

Salem High School400 Spartan DriveSalem, VA 24153

P: (540) 389-2610E: shabeeb@salem.k12.va.us

T: @scotthabeeb

The Cornerstones of Personalization:Formative Assessment & Standards Based Learning

http://theassessmentnetwork.com

Curtis HicksAssistant Superintendent

Salem City Schools510 South College Avenue

Salem, VA 24153

P: (540) 389-0130E: chicks@salem.k12.va.us

T: @chicksuva

APersonalized

Learning Experiences for

all Students

AssessmentFOR

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StandardsBased

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Step 1: Eye-Opener Step 2: ReflectionReflection Questions:• Do students’ scores on externally moderated

benchmarks routinely differ from their class progress?

• Do students regularly ask teachers for opportunities to earn more points - as though points matter more than learning? Are those point-earning opportunities given?

• Would “83” be an appropriate answer to the question of “How is my child doing in class?”

Step 3: DiagnoseIf any (or all) of the following are true...• The grade a student earns is in large part a reflection

of who the teacher is, rather than what was learned.• The “Quest for Points” is more a focal point than the

“Quest for Learning.”• Academic progress is measured and reported solely

or primarily in terms of a student’s “average.”• Grades are not strongly correlated to external

measurements. ...then yourCornerstones need work.

It’s Time to Build Your Cornerstones with an Assessment Journey!

(but HOW and WHERE….)

So where should you start?

A core philosophydetermines & drivesdecisions long-term.

Top-down mandates lead to short-term change (at best) but also resentment and/or distrust and/or tuning out…)

Build With: The End in Mind...Assessment Philosophy

1. Learning is more important than grading.

2. We assess, first and foremost, so students will learn.

3. Grades communicate mastery - they are not to be used as compensation or consequences.

4. Mastery means learning the standards/content/competencies.

5. A mathematical average of all work completed is different from communication of mastery.

Build With: The End in Mind...Assessment Philosophy

v. A.F.L.Assessment FOR Learning

The First Cornerstone:A Philosophical Understanding of

Formative Assessment

=Assessment

FORLearning

Assessment FOR Learning

It’s not what the assessments are…It’s how the results of the assessments will beused.

Check-Up

v.

Autopsy

AFL v. Summative Assessment FOR Learning

A teacher’s daily reflection:• Did I leave class today with the assessment data/info I

need to know for sure how well my students - as a group and/or individually - understood the lesson I just taught them?

• Did my students leave class today with the assessment data/info they need to know for sure how well they understood the lesson I taught them?

The Heart of AFL• Frequent (daily) assessments for

the purpose of helping students learn – as opposed to Assessment FOR Grading only

• Teacher using feedback to guide instruction – that day as well as in the future

• Students using feedback to guide their own learning – that day as well as in the future

• Grading systems that allow for assessments to be used as practice – to help learning

S.B.L.Standards Based Learning

Once we think in terms of AFL,it’s time to communicate in terms of:

Standards Based LearningA Working Definition:• Instruction, assessment, and communication are based on

standards.• Feedback and communication for students/parents is based

on progress toward standards mastery.• Re-teaching and re-learning occurs based on the

communicated progress (individual and collective) toward the mastery of standards.

• Learning – not grading – is the goal. Grades accurately reflect how well a student has mastered standards rather than the average of all work accomplished.

SBL Thinkingleads to

COMMUNICATIONthat

INCREASESLEARNING

What should the teacher and/or students focus on during the upcoming week of practice?

StudentCurrent Grade

Kelsey 90

Matthew 86

Kaitlin 99

McKenna 74

Does this data help you decide better?

StudentCurrent Grade

SpeakingOral

ComprehensionWriting Grammar

Kelsey 90 70 90 100 100

Matthew 81 64 75 95 90

Kaitlin 99 100 99 98 99

McKenna 74 50 76 85 85

The Inchworm:

An SBL Analogy

Two Kinds of Growth (Progress)

1. Front End Growth : Acquiring New Knowledge

2. Back End Growth: Strengthening Old Knowledge

Front End:

New Material

Back End:

Old Material

Two Kinds of Growth (Progress)

1. Front End Growth : Acquiring New Knowledge

2. Back End Growth: Strengthening Old Knowledge

Ignoring “Back End Growth” leaves students overextended.

Effective

SBL COMMUNICATION

requires us to RE-THINK

GRADEBOOKS

Traditional Gradebook Model SBL Gradebook Model

Traditional v. Standards BasedWhich is a more accurate depiction of mastery?

Which does a better job showing growth?

StudentCurrent Grade

SpeakingOral

ComprehensionWriting Grammar

Matthew

818693

99

64708095

758095

100

95100100100

909595

100

OR

64+70+80+95+75+80+95+100+95+100+100+100+90+95+95+100 = 1434/1600 = 90

Faculty members who...

● Value learning over grading● Value assessing regularly to provide practice and

to gain/give feedback - not just to determine a grade

● Understand the importance of measuring growth against learning standards - not against grades

A School Leader’s Goal

...develop assessmentstrategies that increase learning.

Additional Assessment Resources

• theassessmentnetwork.com

• @RickWormeli2 & rickwormeli.net

• Fair Isn’t Always Equal by Rick Wormeli

• @kenoc7

• 15 Fixes for Broken Grades by Ken O’Connor

• #SBLchat (Wednesdays at 9 pm EST)

• @garnet_hillman & garnethillman.com/blog

Digital Assessment Resources• Google Forms – www.google.com/forms

Make a survey or poll, give students a quiz, or collect information. Responses will automatically be sent to a spreadsheet.

• Kahoot – getkahoot.comCreate fun learning games in minutes made from a series of multiple choice questions so you can quickly assess your students’ understanding.

• Kubbu - www.kubbu.comCreate and share sorting games and practice activities for any content area plus track student progress.

• Plickers – www.plickers.comQuick checks for understanding to know whether students are understanding concepts and mastering skills, even if students do not have electronic devices.

• Poll Everywhere – www.polleverywhere.comVisit a web page, send a text, or use Twitter to respond to a poll embedded within a presentation or web page. Results update in real time. Text comments to a presentation and text questions to a presenter.

• Quia - www.quia.comCreate your own games, quizzes, surveys, and web pages and search millions of games and quizzes created by educators around the world.

• Quizizz - www.quizizz.comWhile your students having fun, you are provided with detailed class and student-level data.

• Quizlet - www.quizlet.com - and Quizlet LiveSearch millions of study sets or create your own. Improve your grades by studying with flashcards, games and more. With Quizlet Live you can create collaborative sorting activities.

• Socrative – www.socrative.comAssess students on tablets, laptops and smartphones. Use instant result aggregation and visualization to gauge the class’s current level of understanding.