Performance-Based Assessment for English Language Arts: Grades K–5

CFN 609 and 604Professional Development | March 2012

Myra R. RoseEducational Consultant | Pearson School Achievement Services

Performance-Based Assessment for English Language Arts: Grades K–5

Outcomes

create and evaluate performance-based assessments

use the sample performance tasks in Appendix B as a model for creating performance-based assessments

use student samples in Appendix C as a model to evaluate student work

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At the conclusion of this workshop, you will be able to

Agenda

Section 1: A Foundation for Understanding Performance-Based Assessment

Section 2: Performance-Based Assessment Design

Section 3: Performance-Based Assessment Evaluation

Section 4: Implementation of Performance-Based Assessments

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Section 5: Review and Closing

A Recap of What We Know About theCommon Core State Standards

• They are aligned with college and work expectations• They are focused and coherent• They are rigorous in content and application of knowledge through

high-order skills• They are intended to build on strengths and lessons of current state

standards• They are internationally benchmarked so that all students are

prepared to succeed in our global economy and society• They are based on evidence and research • They are state-led and coordinated by the National Governors

Association Center for Best Practice and the Council of Chief State School Officers

Activating Background Knowledge: Assessment Snowstorm

Write one fact or idea you have about assessment.

Write one question you have about assessment.

A Foundation for Understanding Performance-Based Assessment 1

Section 1 Big Questions

How is assessment changing in response to the Common Core State Standards?

What are performance-based assessments?

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Assessment Basics

(Garrison and Ehringhaus 2007)

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Formative Assessment Summative Assessment

Purpose To inform both teachers and students about student understanding at a point when timely adjustments can be made

To gauge, at a particular point in time, student learning or competency relative to content standards

Administered Happens often and throughout instructional process

Periodically, after instruction

Examples • Observation • Activity designed to allow

student to practice a skill

• State assessments • District benchmark or interim

assessments • End of unit chapter tests

Impact of Common Core State Standards (CCSS) on Assessment

Focus on mastering twenty-first century proficiencies and college and career readiness

Require schools to align instruction, student practices, and assessment to standards

PARCC VS. SBAC

PARCC Key Elements

• 40 – 65 questions• Computer-based, with mixed items

type; computer scored• Scores from focused assessments and

end of year test will be combined for an annual accountability score

• Will include a Through course assessment that includes 1 – 3 tasks that assess a few ‘keystone’ standards/topics

• Computer delivered results on the Through Tasks provided within 2 weeks

• Through tasks given at 3 points during the school year, near the end of quarters

SBAC Key Elements

• Measure depth of understanding, research skills and complex analysis

• Includes 40 – 65 questions per content area

• Computer adaptive assessments given during the final weeks of the school year (during the last 12 weeks)

• Multiple item types scored by computer

• Re-take option, as locally determined

• Demonstrates achievement and growth over time on a College and Career ready trajectory

• Scored within 2 weeks

• Tasks for Grades 3 -8:– One ELA and One Math Each year

• Tasks for Grades 9 – 11– Accumulates up to 6 ELA and 5 Math over 3 years

CCSS Assessments

(PARCC 2010; SBAC 2011)

Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College of Careers (PARCC)and

SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC)

• Require preparation on the part of schools• Shift from one summative assessment to “sum of assessments”• Online testing and use of enhanced technology• Propose to measure the rigorous CCSS with complex performance-based

assessments

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Performance-Based Assessments

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To determine what you already know about performance-based assessments, complete the activity on page 8 of the Participant Workbook.

Revisit the Section 1 Big Questions


How is assessment changing in response to the Common Core State Standards?

What are performance-based assessments?

Performance-Based Assessment Design2


What are the qualities of an effective performance task?

What steps are involved in the design of performance tasks?

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Qualities of an Effective Performance Task

Students should be active participants.

Intended outcomes should be clear and measure something important.

Students should engage in higher-order thinking to complete the task.

Task should demonstrate mastery of knowledge.

Sample Performance Task

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Students ask and answer questions about animals (e.g., hyena, alligator, platypus, scorpion) they encounter in Steve Jenkins and Robert Page’s What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? [RI.K.4]

(Common Core State Standards Initiative 2010c, 36)

Sample Performance Task


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Students explain how Melvin Berger uses reasons and evidence in his book Discovering Mars: The Amazing Story of the Red Planet to support particular points regarding the topology of the planet. [RI.4.8]

Step One: Identifying the Learning Outcomes

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What do you want students to be able to understand or do?

Is this learning outcome measurable?

Step Two: Determine the Essential Elements of the Task

Context ResourcesDemonstration of the

Learning Outcome

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Step Three: Build the Performance Task

Sample text frame: You are a [role] in a [description of

context]. Given [resources], produce [product or performance] for [audience] in order to [purpose]. Your [product or performance] must [description of standards]. You will have [time] to complete the task.

(Prince George’s County Public Schools 2011)

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What are the qualities of an effective performance task?

What steps are involved in the design of performance tasks?

Performance-Based Assessment Evaluation3


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What tools will aid the evaluation process?

How can Appendix C of the CCSS be used as a tool for evaluation?

Evaluation Basics

At the core, what is evaluation really about?

Evaluation Tools: Rubrics

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CCSS Evaluation Example

Review the student sample of writing on page 11 of Appendix C, also found in the Participant Workbook on page 16.

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CCSS Evaluation Example

Review the student sample of writing on page 25 of Appendix C, also found in the Participant Workbook on pages 19–21.

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Creating a Rubric

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4 names the topic

3 supplies some facts about the topic

3 provides some sense of closure

4demonstrates command of some of the conventions of standard written English

Creating a Rubric

4introduces a topic clearly, states an opinion, and creates an organizational structure in which related ideas are grouped to support the writer’s purpose

3provides reasons that are supported by facts and details

3links opinion and reasons using words and phrases

3demonstrates exemplary command of the conventions of standard written English

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What tools will aid the evaluation process?

How can Appendix C of the CCSS be used as a tool for evaluation?

Implementation of Performance-Based Assessments4


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How will performance tasks be implemented into curriculum?

What instructional considerations should be considered when writing performance tasks?

Local Assessment Work

Using the CCSS for ELA and your curricular materials, develop a performance task or series of performance tasks that you would use for a formative or summative assessment within a unit you teach. Use page 19 of the Participant Workbook to get started.

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Peer Evaluation

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Feedback

1. The performance task all yield appropriate evidence of the targeted standard(s)/understanding.

2. The task is contextualized, which means there is enough information provided for the student to fully understand the expectations.

3. The task directions for students are clear.

4. The task(s) require(s) explanation and/or support—not just an answer.

Incorporating Student Choice

Students locate key facts or information in Claire Llewellyn’s Earthworms by using various text features (headings, table of contents, glossary) found in the text. [RI.1.5]

(Common Core State Standards Initiative 2010b, 36)

Supporting Struggling Readers and Writers

Students read fables and folktales from diverse cultures that represent various origin tales, such as Rudyard Kipling’s “How the Camel Got His Hump” and Natalie Babbitt’s The Search for Delicious, and paraphrase their central message, lesson, or moral. [RL.2.2]

(Common Core State Standards Initiative 2010b, 53)

Instructional Consideration: Supporting Struggling Readers and Writers

Students read Paul Fleischman’s poem “Fireflies,” determining the meaning of words and phrases in the poem, particularly focusing on identifying his use of non-literal language (e.g. “light is the ink we use”) and talking about how it suggests meaning [RL.3.4]


Revisiting the Section 4 Big Questions


How will performance tasks be implemented into curriculum?

What instructional considerations should be considered when writing performance tasks?

Review and Closing 5Section 5 Big Question

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What have you learned during today’s session?

Reflection

What is one goal you would like to accomplish in the next month regarding performance-based assessments?

What is one goal you would like to accomplish in the next year regarding performance-based assessments?

How will incorporating performance-based assessments change your instruction?

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Outcomes Review

Create and evaluate performance-based assessments.

Use the sample performance tasks in Appendix B as a model for creating performance-based assessments.

Use student samples in Appendix C as a model to evaluate student work.

Pearson Professional Development

pearsonpd.com

Closing

Performance-Based Assessment for English Language Arts: Grades K–2

Myra R. Rose

Date: March 2012

References

Common Core State Standards Initiative. 2010a. “Common Core State Standards for English

Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects.” Accessed January 1, 2011. http://www.corestandards.org/the-standards.

———. 2010b. “Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects: Appendix A: Research Supporting Key Elements of the Standards and Glossary of Key Terms.” Accessed January 1, 2011. http://www.corestandards.org/assets/Appendix_A.pdf.

———. 2010c. “Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects: Appendix B: Text Exemplars and Sample Performance Tasks.” Accessed January 1, 2011. http://www.corestandards.org/assets/Appendix_B.pdf.

———. 2010d. “Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects: Appendix C: Samples of Student Writing.” Accessed January 1, 2011. http://www.corestandards.org/assets/Appendix_C.pdf.

Garrison, Catherine, and Michael Ehringhaus. 2007. “Formative and Summative Assessments in the Classroom.” National Middle School Association. Accessed June 28, 2011. http://www.nmsa.org/Publications/WebExclusive/Assessment/tabid/1120/Default.aspx

Gingrasso, Susan, Tim Krause, Patricia Ploetz, Jasia Steinmetz, Pam Terrell, and Dona Warren. 2009. “Performance Tasks.” The Center for Academic Excellence and Student Engagement at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point, for the 3rd Annual Critical Thinking Conference. Accessed July 24, 2011. http://www.uwsp.edu/admin/acadAffairs/caese/sites/Events/Conferences/PerformanceTasksRev.pdf.

McTighe, John. 2010. “Designing Authentic and Engaging Performance Tasks.” Columbia, MD: Jay McTighe. Accessed July 18, 2011. http://contemporaryissuesatrutgers.wikispaces.com/file/view/Develop+Performance+Tasks.pdf

Mueller, Jan. 2011. “Authentic Tasks.” Accessed June 28, 2011. http://jfmueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/tasks.htm

PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers). n.d. “Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers Race to the Top Assessment Proposal Summary.” Accessed January 1, 2011.

Prince George’s County Public Schools. 2011. Accessed June 28, 2011. http://www.pgcps.org/~elc/designsteps6.html

Saphier, Jon, Mary Ann Haley-Speca, and Robert Gower. 2008. The Skillful Teacher: Building Your Teaching Skills. Acton, MA: Research for Better Teaching.

SBAC (SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium). 2010. “Appendix A3-3: Sample Items.” In Race to the Top Assessment Program Application for New Grants.” Submitted by Washington State, on behalf of SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium. Accessed February 19, 2001. http://www.k12.wa.us/SMARTER/pubdocs/SBAC_Appendices.pdf.

Documents

Performance-Based Assessment for English Language Arts: Grades K–5