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TiffanyMungin, a graduatingstudentfrom EastSide Community High School, presents a long-term research projectabout U.S. soldiers duringtfieVietnam War to David Vazquez, principal at the Bronx Studio School for Writers and Artists, left, and Ben Wides, a 1 2th grade history teacher at

ASSESSMENTEditor's Note: As efforts to redefine assessmentgain steam, educators are trying new approachesto monitoring student progress. ln this Spotlight,explore how teachers are auditing theirclassroom assessments, using formativeassessment tools, and engaging students throughself-assessment.

EOINTENTS

2 NYC. High SchoolStrives for Authentic'Assessment

4 English Teachers' GroupSeeks to 'ReclaimAssessment'

eO&nMEINTP{RY

5 To lmprove Assessment,lnvest in the Classroom

5 The Role of Per{ormanceAssessments inFosterin g Opportunitiesfor Deeper Learning

7 Students Self-AssessFor Mastery

3 Reflective Activitiesto Align Assessment

Five FormativeAssessment ToolsRecommended byTeacher Experts

NY.C. High School Strivesfor Authentic' Assessment

By Calhcrpe lewertzNewYork City

iffany Mungin spent many nervousweeks researching and writing herpaper about the Vietnam War. Herhigh school graduation was on the

Unlike most New York state seniors, whovied for their diplomas by taking the state'sstandardized tests, Ms. Mungin had to writea history research paper and an analyticessay in EnglisManguage arts. She also hadto conduct an original science experimentand undertake an applied-mathematicsproject in order to graduate. The l8-year-old's work would have to be evaluated by atleast two teachers, and she would have todefend it in formal presentations to panelsof educators.

This is the way mastery is assessed at Tif-fany's school, East Side Community HighSchool in Manhattan. It's one of 48 schoolsin the New York Performance StandardsConsortium, which have permission touse projects for graduation instead ofthestate-mandated standardized tests knownas the Regents. As national debate intensi-fies about testing, East Side High offers aglimpse into an altemative way of sizing upstudent learning.

There's reason to pay attention to that al-ternative, too. Research on the consortiumschools shows that while they serve largerproportions of low-achieving students thanNew York City schools in general, they pro-duce higher graduation and college-enroll-ment rates. These students show stayingpower in college, too: Tracking data on con-sortium students shows that three-quartersenroll for a second year, a little higher thanthe national persistence rate.

At East Side, 82 percent ofstudents gradu-ate high school within four years, while city-wide, that figure is 68 percent. An average of69 percent of East Side graduates enroll inpostsecondary programs within six monthsof graduating, compared with 51 percentcitywide. Of the East Side students who go

to college, three-quarters enroll in four-yearinstitutions.

The consortium's approach to assessment

dates back to the mid-1990s, when a groupof schools won a waiver from the state de-partment of education to use more "authen-tic" ways of assessing student learning. Partof the burgeoning small-schools movementin New York City, those schools sought amore personalized way of teaching students,and emphasized project-based learning, andapplication ofideas to real-life things.

Facing the Evaluators

Ms. Mungin's 60-minute social studiespresentation reflected those values. She hadstepped outside the main focus ofher lawand justice class to research something thatintrigued her: why so many U.S. soldiers inVietnam turned against the war they wereflghting. On a mid-June morning, she tookher seat to present and defend her work,sitting opposite her teacher, Ben Wides, andthe principal of a Bronx high schooi, DavidYazqu.ez. Both had already read her eight-page paper according to the consortium'sshared grading rubrics, evaluating her anal-ysis, her viewpoint and use of evidence, hersourcing organization, and "voice."

Using the Power Point deck on her laptop,Ms. Mungin presented the highlights of herargument. She said that soldiers turned

Tiffany Mungin, a graduating

studentfrom East Side

Community High School,presents a long-termresearch project about U.S.

soldiers during the VietnamWar to David Vazquez,principal at the Bronx StudioSchoollorWriters andArtists, left, and Ben Wides,

a I 2th grade history teacherat East Side Community HighSchool in New York.

EDUCATTON WEEK SPOTLIGHT ON CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT T CdWECK.OTg

Published July 17,2015, in EducationWeek

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against the warlecause ofthe harsh condi-tions they confronted in Vietnam, and be-cause they came to believe their own gov-ernment was lying to them about the war.Both men took notes as they listened.

Then the questions began: Can you be alittle more specific about the things the sol-diers felt the government was lying about?Who was lying? You mentioned that Viet-nam was under a dictatorship; what do youmean by that? Your paper mentions howthese soldiers experienced very differentconditions and support than during WorldWar II. Can you elaborate?Was it wrong forAmericans who protested the war to bla-ethe soldiers who had gone to fight it?

The two educators took Ms. Mungin out-side the scope ofher paper, too, asking her tomake corurections between that period andthe Iraq war, and to expand on her thoughtsabout why governments lie, and whetherthey still do so today.

They thanked her and asked her to stepinto the hall. Mr. Wides and Mr. Vazquezshared their thoughts and notes on her pre-sentation, judging her opening remarks andher response to questions separately Theyevaluated them against the multiple factorsin the consortium's shared rubrics, ratingeach one "outstanding" "good,"'tompetent"or "needs revision." They agreed that herthesis should be clearer, and that she shouldstrengthen her evidence that soldiers wereactually being lied to, notjust feeling de-ceived.

Shifting from foot to foot in the hallway,Ms. Mungin said it was "nerve-wracking"to wait for their findings. "They didn't showany facial expression, so I couldn't tell, wasI doing good or not?" she said.

As it turned out, she worried needlessly.When Mr. Wides and Mr. Vazquez invitedthe teenager back into the classroom, theytold her that her project met the standardfor high school graduation. They detailedtheir feedback on each aspect of the paperand presentation, and most of it fell in the"good" or "competent" range. The only revi-sion required for graduation would be prop-erly formatting her bibliography. Their othersuggestions were optional fixes she couldmake to improve the paper, which counts for30 peicent ofher social studies grade.

Working Up To lt

Students at East Side spend months, evenyears, getting ready for these presentations.The school enrolls 650 students in grades 6to 12, and all students do 30-minute "round-table" presentations in their core subjectstwice a year. Requiring analysis and oralexplanation, they're smaller versions of thehigh-stakes projects that Ms. Mungin did

to graduate. Students who spend all sevenyears at East Side will produce about 50such offerings by the time they receive di-plomas.

In one classroom in mid-June, 9th gradescience students were presenting round-tables to groups ofteachers and fellow stu-dents. One girl was explaining a home en-ergy audit she had conducted, and anotherwas explaining how she had used a soundmeter to monitor the volume in an iPhone,an inquiry into averting possible hearingdamage. Around the corner, an 8th grademath student stood in front of two teach-ers and a fellow student, using an overheadvideo projector to explain how he did thecalculations to expand an image by 50 per-cent.

Staunch advocates ofEast Side's way ofIearning, and testing, argue that it buildsnot only content knowledge, but the skillsto apply it to real-life situations, to make ar-guments and interpretations with it, and topresent and defend it orally. Principal MarkFederman said that those skills----even morethan the content-offer students enduringstrengths in college.

3&

Ifyou want kids to writewell, to handle multiple

points ofview, do

science and not just read

it, apply math and notjust do it, read books and

discuss various aspects

ofliterature,

then you havE to teach

them in a way that helps

kids get those kinds ofskills."

"Especially for kids who are used to feel-ing marginalized, to be .ul" i" *"irirrt" " lln.ook Founder, Urban Acaderny,

"o["g" irrd speak up, to tell an ;;lt;hr; New York

you think and why, creates a sense ofen-titlement, an empowerment, they didn'thave before," he said. "Arrd that carries overto things like getting what you need at thehousing of&ce. Getting your work noticed.They can advocate for themselves."

Those strengths may be showcased in theperformance assessment, but they're builtthrough a different kind ofteaching consor-tium advocates said.

"If you want kids to write well, to handlemultiple points of view, do science and notjust read it, apply math and not just do it,read books and discuss various aspects ofliterature, then you have to teach them ina way that helps kids get those kinds ofskills," said Ann Cook, who founded oneof New York's best-known small schools,Urban Academy, and helps lead the consor-tium.

"That means a different kind of teach-ing. Inquiry-based, emphasizing thinkingin depth rather than coverage. You have tofind a way to have students take ownership,so they care about the projects they do, andthe papers they write. You have to create aculture of revision, like, That's a good point,extend it. Do another draft."'

That's the culture Javier Montero carnefrom as an East Side High graduate. Nowa rising junior at the State University ofNew York at New Paltz, Mr. Montero has a3.0 grade-point average and plans a careerin mechanical engineering. He said that

I

EDUCATION WEEK SPOTLIGHT ON CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT I edweek.org

while fellow students in his Englishcomposition

"ib'J"e. "freaked out"

about writing flve-page papers, hewas calm, because he was used towriting papers two or three timesthat long.

"The way I study for my math andscience exams now is the way I pre-pared for my roundtables and [end-of-year presentationsl at East Side,"he said. "I would study everythingfrom the entire semester, not juststuff for my project, because I knewthere would be a lot ofquestions andanswers, and I had to know every-thing."

'Ready to Excel' in College

Darryl Jones is the senior associ-ate director of admissions at Get-tysburg College in Pennsylvania.He recruits students from East SideHigh, and he says their college prep-aration stands out as solid.

"I have sat in on classes, and theteachers teach the classes as if theywere teaching college," he said."They emphasize more thought,more reasoning, more critical analy-sis. There is a lot ofdiscussion in theclassroom, and less is done by rotememory, so these kids are ready toexcel in college. They're not sittingpassively and just absorbing a lec-ture. They're learning to ask theright questions. When you look athighly selective colleges, thaf,s whatit's all about."

Gettysburg is one of a growingnumber of colleges that make ad-missions tests like the ACT and theSAT optional, instead evaluatingstudents on their grades, essays, andother things. But selective collegesthat require national admissionstests can pose barriers to some con-sortium students, since many comefrom low-income famfies with littlehistory of formal education, fac-tors iinked to lower scores on suchexams. Nearly nine in L0 East Sidestudehts take the SAt but theiraverage score on the math andcritical reading portions totals 863out of 1600. Their average score onNew York State's English Regentsexam--the only one of the fivestate-mandated exams that consor-tium students must take-is 67 outof 100. The passing score is 65.

Advocates ofthe consortium's ap-proach to learning and testing con-tend that those results show a mis-

match between the deep leaming inthe network's classrooms and thekinds ofknowledge that are testedon the Regents, which are domi-nated by multiple-choice questionsand require no writing longer thana short essay.

Strands ofskepticism have doggedthe schools' approach to declaringgraduationJevel competency, how-ever. One state department ofedu-cation staff member who is familiarwith the consortium's work said thatin most cases, the assessments are"quite rigorous," but in some, theinteractions during testing haveraised doubts about the tests'valid-itv.

"You see these cases where ateacher, because she cares about thestudent, is walking her through herpresentation, pushing the qualityof what she knows she can deliver.It's not cheating, but it s a confusedinteraction," said the staffer, whoasked not to be named. "It's not to-tally about proficiency and mastery.It's about what you can producewith the right support. Many of thekids who can do it are ready for col-lege. But many can't do it withoutthe support, and that support won'tbe there when they go to college."

Tom Mullen, one of East SideHigh's assistant principals, con-ceded that the distinction betweenassessment and instruction can be"a touchy point," Iargely because theconsortium is gtounded on the beliefthat roundtables and year-end pre-sentations are as much a learningexperience as classroom instruction.

"Critics say they're fluffu," he said."It's tough: If we wade too much intohaving lyear-end presentationsJ bea teachable moment, they won't be avalid assessment. We have to watchthat line. But we do.

uWe're teaching, and assessing,what we think really matters. Andjudging by our students' experiencesin college, I'd say we're onto some-thing."

Couerage ofthe implemzntation ofcollzge- and career-ready stan dardsis supported in part by a gant frotnthc Bill & Melinda Gates Foundatinn.Education Week retairx sole editorialconlrol oaer th.e. content ofthis cooerage.

Published March 3,2015, in EducationWeek'sC urriculun M atter s Bl o g

English Teachers'Group Seeks to'Reclaim Assessment'

By Catherine GewerE

ith anti-testing battles simmering all overthe country, the National Council ofTeadr-ers of English is advancing a message thatseems to go against the grain; ftedeim ss-

sessment.lhe 104-year-old association of EnglisManguage arts

teachers has been hard at work on a project to protectand preserve assessment. And let's be clear: They're nottalking about testing.

This organization, whose members are maniacallydevoted to wordsmithing and all the other literary arts,wants you to feel the difference behneen testing-thestandardized exercises for which thousands ofteachersprep students-and assessment, a carefirlly thought outset ofpractices that can gauge each childs learning andreshape instruction to enhance that learning.

The NCTEhAssessment Story hoject has been reach-ing out to teachers in K-12 and college to find out aboutwhat kinds of assessment are valuable to their practice.If,s conducting a survey, in which it seeks-no shockhere-narative responses about the kinds of practices

that help teachers respond best to studenls as they learn.Teachers are welcome to share their thoughts through

the fivequestion suwey, which is still available online.When the survey period closes, the NCTE will compilethe responses into a report it hopes will offer somethingofa profile ofthe kinds ofassessment practices English/language arts teachers consider important.

Lc a recent online chat that NCTE hosted about re-claiming assessment, teachers' responses illustrated thedistinction between testing and assessment. Here's anexample:

"Literacy assessment is starkly different than literarytesting. One iirforms my practice; the other intemrpts it."--@KevinEnglish

A post on the NCTE blog offers a few early highlightsofteachers'responses to the survey about assessment.What begins to emerge is a portrait of formative assess-

ment, a set ofpractices that are woven into a teachet'sdaily work to inform its shape and to support studentsas they work toward mastery.

That kind of assessment, however, is typically over-shadowed in school by the other kind: standardized tesling. Even as we speak, Congress is debating the role thattesting will play in K-12 education as it weighs a rewriteof the No Child Left Behind Act. What it decides couldtell us a good deal about the relative influences that test-ing and assessment will exert on teachers'day-to-daywork.

EDUCATION WEEK SPOTLIGHT ON CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT

Publisfud October 6,2014, in EducationWeek's Leaming Deeply Btog

COM M ENTARY

To lmprove Asses$ment,lnvest in the Classroom

By Heidi Andrade

I was pleased to moderate the discussion

I atJobs for the Future's launch event. on

I September 30, for its new Deeper Learn-I ing Research Series of while papers.The ideas about teaching learning and as-sessment presented by the panelists-DavidConley and James Taylor--are not new orradical, but they are critically important andextremely timely.

Why "not new"? Because we have knownfor decades that it is necessary and en-tirely possible to teach students to mastercore content, think critically, communicateeffectively, work collaboratively, and man-age their own learning. These are enduringeducational goals with ample support fromresearch, and it makes perfect sense that weare still talking about them.

What was so exciting about the DeeperLearning event was the fact that we are nowtalking in concrete terms about what comesnext in terms of assessment in this country.The educational community is disillusionedand exhausted by NClB-inspired test-ing and it is ready for alternatives. As theDeeper Learning panel highlighted, thereis no shortage ofgood ideas and classroom-tested practices available to us. We knowwhat good assessment looks like (as my col-leagues and I describe in this 2012 paper forJFF), we have many of the tools needed todo it, and we are in the process of creatingcoherent systems that make it practical.

A shift to better assessment will meaninvesting Iess in standardized testing andmuch more in classroom assessment--theminute-to-minute and day-to-day assess-ments that teachers and students use toget meaningful feedback on learning andto make productive adjustments to instruc-tion arld studying. High quality assessmentsbased on classroom tests, assignments,homework, projects, portfolios, and exhibi-tions have been shown to have a sigaifi.cant,positive influence on learning and even onstudents'motivation. This too makes sense,because the basic idea is simple:

Good assessment informs both teachersand students ofwhere they are going (the

learning goals and performance targets fora particular class and task), where they arenow in relation to those goals and targets,and what they need to do to close any gapsbetween the goals and their current per-formance. "Ah-ha!" moments abound whenclassroom assessment is structured to pro-vide guidance, not just a rating or ranking.For teachers, those ah-ha moments oftenarise in response to clear information aboutthe exact difficulties their students are hav-ing and precisely what they can do to helpthem. And for students, the ah-ha momentsofben sound something like this: "Now Iknow what to dol" That's when learninghappens.

This is all lovely, but ofcourse there's arub: Too few states, districts, and schoolshave invested in classroom assessment ingenera-l and teachers'assessment literacy inparticular. In order for assessment that ac-tually promotes Iearning (not just measuresit) to become widespread, we need resources.Thus, I hereby propose taking a small frac-tion ofthe billions ofdollars states currentlyspend on standardized testing and devotirgit to the development of powerfirl classroomassessments. Who! with me?

This post is by HeidiAndrad.e, School ofEd.trcatian Associalz Dean for Academb Affairs,and, Assuiate Professor of Educational Psychnlagyand, Methadology, Uniuersity at Albany, Nbany,lrr

Published May 6,2015,in EducationWeek'sLearning Deeply Blog

COM M ENTARY

Tre Role ofPerformaltbAssessmetts_-m FostermEOpport IIHEsfor DeeperLearTffiI

By Elizabeth Leisy Stosich

here has been growing interestamong educators and policymak-ers in using classroom-based per-formance assessments as a means

for promoting deeper learning emong stu-dents. Since performance assessmentsrequire students to construct an originalresponse, rather than simply recognize acorrect arrswe4 they cal assess many of theso-called 21st century skills"-critical think-ing inquiry, communication, collaboration--that are essential for success in our rapidlychanging world but poorly measured bymany assessments.

I recently had the opportunity to learnfrom a tesm offour experienced fourth-grade teachers while conducting researchon how teachers in high-poverty schoolsare changing their practices to meet theCommon Core State Standards. These fourwomen were early adopters of the CommonCore State Stardards, and they were alllearning to use performance assessmenLsfor the first time. These teachers describedusing performance assessments that en-gaged students in conducting research,planning for and leading debates about realworld problems, and communicating theirideas through multimedia presentations.For these teachers, the process ofusingmodel performance assessments and devel-oping their own performalce assessmentshelped them learn how to create authenticlearning experiences that would preparetheir students for success in adult life.

When these teachers first saw a model

curricular unit and perforrnance assessment,all four teachers viewed the materials as toodifficult for their students. A special educationteacher on the team described the experience:

"The students had to look at political car_',oons. They had to read articles. My firstthought was, this is way too hard for my stu_dents. But we low teacher teami spent monthson it. We just picked apart every article.... Weused graphic organizers. Then tley were ableto meet those Common Core standards of writ-ing opinion pieces using evidence from the ar-licles. I-yag very shocked at how well my stu-dents did. I feel like the Common Coreiroldsyou to these high staadards and these highexpectations, and youd be surprised what yiucan_ do and what your students can do ifyoustick to these standards.,,

This teacher and her three colleagues alldescribed changing thei expectations for thekind of work they and their students could ac-complish afur their success engaging studentsin this indepth learning experiu.rc" ara perfo._mance assessm€nt. Usrng, developing scoringand ana-lyzing information from performanceassessments can serye as a powerful learningexperience for teachers about the implicationlofstandards for their classroom practice andsupport them in leamingto teach to the moredemanding expectations of the Common CoreState Standards. Although using performanceassessments for the fust time required a greatdeal of collaborative work for teachers,"theyviewed this extra work as worthwhile becauslof the meaningf:l leaming it promoted amongtheir students.

. What limited opportuaities for deeper learn-ing among students in these teachers,class_rooms? The new state tests. The district andstate in which these teachers worked encour-aged teachers to engage students in extendedprojects and performance assessments in theirclassrooms. Howeve4 the state developed itsown end-of-year assessments that were de_scribed as "aligned" to the Common Core StateStandards but relied heavily on multiple_choice test items designed to assess discreteknowledge and skills rather than the appli-cation of this knowledge. These four teac-tiersviewed the state tests and their efforts to useperformance assessments in their classroomsas, in the words of one teacher,,.two totally dif_ferent things." This teacher explained, ,We,llstart ofldoing Common Core up until Febru_a41 and then it's test prep.,,In her view, teach_ing to the Common Core meant engaging stu-dents in rich and authentic opportunities forIearning and application; whereas, the end-Jyear state assessments were a one_time eventthat required frequent practice with test_prepworkbooks.

In contrast to the state assessments de_scribed above, the new consortia assessments,the Smarber Balanced Assessment Consor-

tium and the Partnership forAssessment ofI"fly":. for College and Careers (PARCC),include short, constructed-response items anjmore extended performance tasks that allowstudents to apply their knowledge or explainthei aaswer. The consorhia .ss"-sr-"rrts a""a great improvement over many previous as_sessments. Nevertheless, the consorbia assess_ments cannot measure students,abilities toplan and conduct extended research, collabo_rate with others to define and solve problems,communicate orally, or use scientific tools.Systems of assessment that draw on multipleforms ofassessment are necessary to create amore complete picture of students,readinessfor college arrd career.

fu David Conley and Linda Darling_Ham_mond have documented, when state istemsot assessment focus on nar.row measures ofperformance-multiple-choice items measur_ing discrete bits of information-rather thanopportuaities for students to demonstrate abroad range ofknowledge and skills neededfor success in college and career, assessmentsconstrain rather than promote opportunitiesfor deeper learning. This carl havu p"rti."frrfvharmfirl consequences for students in higi-poverty schools, since these schools are typically under the greatest pressure to improiestudents' perfonnance on assessments.

In some states, the work these four teach_ers were doing to engage their students inauthentic opportunities for applying theirknowledge through performance assessmentu an essential element of their systems of as_sessment. The krnovation Lab Networks (ILN)Performance Assessment project, a workinggroup ofthe Council ofChiefState SchoolOfficers (CCSSO), supports member statesin developing systems of assessment that in-clude performance tasks designed to measuredeeper learning. Led by the Stanford Centerfor Oaportunity Policy in Education (SCOPE),the Stanford Center for Assessment. Learn-ing, and Equity (SCALE). and the EducationalPohcy Improvement Center (EPIC), the ILIrrsPerformalce Assessment project is developingan online resource bank of performan.e taskland the resources that support their use, in_cluding high-quality performance assessmentsthat have been piloted with teachers; profes_sional development resources in deveioping,using and scoring performance assessments;and policy frameworks for integrating perfor_m€urce assessment in systems of assessment.The ILN's Performance Assessment ResourceBank will include highquality tasks that en_gage students in multiple-step arld extendedperformances, such as or"*ahirrg rrd devel_opingmathematical models to write an articleon the rising cost of college tuition. As tasksDecom_e more complex and require greater stu_dent direction they assess more complex andintegrated aspects of leaming and reiuire the

plaaning, problem-solving, and persistencethat are necessary for success in the real world.

ILN states have already taken importantsteps in developing systems of assessmentthat provide more coherent gu.idance for themeaning$:l learning opportunities in whichthey expect all students to engage. For exam-ple, New Hampshire,s approach to developinga system ofassessments is based on the prin_ciple that "large-scale assessment should sig_nal the kinds of learning expectations coheren'twith the intent of the standards and the kindsof leaming demonstrations we would like tosee in classrooms." New Hampshire,s perfor_mance Assessment for Competenry Education(PACE) system uses common performancet_asks with high technical quality and locallydesigted performance tasks withclear techni_cal guidelines to assess how well students canapply complex skills and transfer knowledgeto demonstrate essential competencies fircareer and college readiness. T,his approachintegrates assessment in students, classroomleaming experiences and reduces the level ofstandardized testing.

Similarly, Kentucky has multiple effortsunder way to incorporate performance tasksin their systems of assessment. Educationleaders in Kentucky recognize that mu.ttiple_choice tests cannot measure students, abilitiesto engage in haads-on investigations or usescientific tools and are working with teachersto develop perforrnance tasks that assess theNext Generation Science Standards.

, For students to have opportunities for deeperleaming, state systems of assessment mustinclude opportunities for applying knowlefueand skills to the real problems siudents willlface in college and career. Ihe Innovation LabNetwork's Perforrnance Assessment ResourceBank will launch at the end of this summerarrd provide high-quality resources__perfor_mance tasks, task development guidance,scorer training resources, policy recommenda_tions, arrd more-to support states and disfuictsin designing systems of assessment that pro_mote meaningful opportr:nities for learningand application.

This post is by Elbabeth Ipisy Stosirh research and.poliq ftlktw ofthe Stanford Center for OpportunfuPolicy in E du.cation ( S C OpE).

EDUCATION WEEK SPOTLIGHT ON CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT

Publistud Junc 9, 2015,in E d.u cati o n Wiik Te ac her

COM M ENTARY

S fref s SelfAssessFor M astery

By Starr Sackstein

ou might be wondering if students arecapable of gading themselves after ayearworth of work.

You may be asking ifthey can objec-tively review their growth and then take all oftheir understanding of mxtery and parlay it intoa letter grade that suits the old system.

Perhaps a year or two ago, I too would scoffatthe idea ofstudents being able to really reflect ontheir abilities and determine an honest level ofmastery that would yield an appropriate grade.

However, aft,er a year of breaking down the tra-ditional mindset, it was time to put the fuIl powerinto my students' hands.

Uneasily, I let go, providing them ample oppor-tunity to review their body of work with a formalchecklist and set ofstandards and instead ofbeing the arbiter, I was an attentive listener.

Students were given a choice as to how theywanted to do their self-assessments: written,voice, video, screencast or in-person conference.Choices were made, schedu-les adjusted arrd thenstudents were provided time to prepare.

Looking back on their body of work, they wereencouraged to review reflections, feedback andtheir e-portfolio work so they were able to provideevidence of their level of mastery.

So far I've been blown away by the level of can-dor and self-awareness my students have dis-played. With varying Ievels of preparedness, I'veeagerly listened to them share their ideas abouttheir growth.

After listening to the students speak and alsoreviewing their notes or written assessments, I'mhappy to have my own opportunity to reflect andadjust the curriculum as needed. Ihere have beenmany things I would consider a success this year,but I have a way to go for full adoption of thisgrowth.mindset.

Students, parents arrd colleagues are eager tomaintain the status quo if for no other reasonthan its simFlicity If anything has convinced methat this way is a better, more comprehensive wayto track student growth, it's the students'abilityto articulate actual learning.

Too often we are afraid that kids will fall shortin this area, but it just isn't the case. If we pro-vide many opportunities for them to practice andmeaningfully reflect tlrroughout a year, then thegrowth is exponential and far more meaningfulthan a teacher provided assessment.

EDUCATION WEEK SPOTLIGHT ON CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT I edweek.oTg

Published April 29, 20 1 5, in Education Week's Finding Common Ground Bl.og

COM M ENTARY

3 Fbflect ive Act ivit iesto Align Assessnent

By Jennifer Borgioli

I magrne looking up at the night sky on

I a spring night with no light pollutiont to mar the view, nothing but sparklesI and twinkles overhead. Some starsappear bright enough that you couldreach out and touch them, some aremuted and subtle against the black back-drop. Numerous constellations are easilyidentifiable. Suddenly, an asteroid comescareening through the sky, blocking outthe twinkles, pulling your attention awayfrom the constellations and lovely spar-kles.

To most students moving through pub-lic education, their experience is verymuch like that night sky. Each [ght rep-resents a moment in which he or she isasked to show what they know or haveIearned, a moment that adults refer to as"an assessment'.

Consider a middle school student:n Frst EriE - she writes her findings in a

Iab report in Science,n SecE furid - she completes a readels

response in ELA.n Third Feritd - her writing conference

with her teacher is recorded so she canreview it later.

n F&rth Ferid - She uses a graphic orga-nizer to cite her sources for a discussionin Socia-l Studies.

n Ffth furid - Lunch to catch her breath...n $xth RriE - Completes a ticket out the

door in Art class summarizing what shefound surprising that daSr

n Sevetrh Feri fd - In PE, she gives heropinion about a new game they playedby using her phone to respond to a sur-vey.

Like the stars, each assessment is inde-pendent but also part of a larger patternand system. Some of these moments burnbright and leave a permanent impres-sion. In this case, our student practicedfor that Socratic Seminar for weeks; itbecame a veritable north star on her ho-rizon. The quick text after PE, though,

was more muted, barely noticeable. It wasjust something quid: she did to share herthinking with her teacher.

For a student, a constellation is analo-gous to an individual teacher's assess-ment system. Not all assessments maybe formalized, but each teacher has rou-tines, habits, and techniques that providea shape or structure to his or her assess-ment system.

Meanwhile, we've increasingly seen theeffects of trying to replicate that careen-ing asteroid; oftrying to add more andmore asteroid clones into the night sky,making it harder to see the stars, or insome cases, even crowding them out sothat they are all but gone.

Documenting and reflecting upon aclassroom assessment system throughan audit or review is akin to setting upa telescope and creating a star map ofaconstellation and the surrounding sky.

Reflective Activities for Teachers

An individual classroom teacher cantake stock ofhis or her own classroomsystem by engaging in a series of reflec-tive activities. The first is to generate aIist of all classroom assessments usedduring a specific time period (i.e., month,quarter, marking period, semester, etc.).The list should include all of the differ-ent ways in which the teacher has col-lected evidence ofstudent learning. (e.g.,

worksheet on pivotal battles on the West-ern front; recording ofstudents doing aSocratic seminar around the essentialquestion, "Is war inevitable?"; World WarII test; For Whom the Bell Tolls project;ticket out the door). The goal is to capture,in writing, a sampling of the ways stu-dents are asked to show what they knowor have learned before, during and a{terinstruction.

A second activity involves ponderingquestions like: Why did you become ateacher? What is your goal for your stu-dents? Using words, phrases, or pictures,the teacher should try to capture whatit is he or she hopes students get out of

EDUCATION WEEK SPOTLIGHT ON CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT T edweek.oTg

being in his or her classroom. The goal ofthis step is to invite the teacher to re-con-nect with what matters to him or her.

The third activity involves comparing theinformation generated by the first two ac-tivities. That is,in what ways is he or shemeasuring what matters? Each assessmentcan be coded. Those that aligrr with or helpsupport the teacher's educational philoso-phy can be coded with a check. A check pluscan be used for those assessments that il-lustrate the teacher's most valued outcomesor embody his or her reasons for becoming ateacher. Finally, a check minus can be usedfor assessments that have little or no per-ceived value to the teacher.

The alignment between a teacher's philos-ophy and her or his assessment system canserye as a fi.rst step in taking stock. Thereare a variety of other entry points or lensesteachers could use to enrich or expand theirreview For example, they could look for pat-terns in the:

n flJrp[ses fD the assessme[s: when aremost of the assessments administered;before, during or after instruction has oc-curred?

n Types ff assessnetrs used: are the as-sessments mostly multiple choice? Arestudents asked to create products or toodemonstrate or perform what they'veIeamed?

n lJsefulGss tr the assessnetrs: Are assess-ments structured to give students feed-back that helps them get better the nexttime they tackle a similar task? Do theysupport future curriculum or lesson plan-ning activities?

n FairGss tr the assessneEs: Are the assess-ments as free of bias as possible? Weresteps taken to reduce measurementerror? If a student fails an exam, it's be-cause ofa gap in their learning not a flawin the exam?

n Aigfretr tEstatdards:Are particular stan-dards targeted? What steps are ta-ken toensure that assessments are aligned tothe standards?

Collecting data by doing this kind of a re-view is just the first step. Some reflectivequestions to consider after the analysis in-clude:

n What patterns do you notice?n 14r[a1 imFlications do those patterns hold

for you?n What revisions could you make to the as-

sessments you coded with check minusesso that you can turn them into checksand check pluses?

n Who could you share the patterns ofyourdata with to increase the health and bal-

ance of the assessment systems in yourschool?

The powerful thing about this processis the reminder that, unlike the night skywhich is immovable and outside our sphereof influence, a classroom assessment sys-tem can be tweaked and modified. Evenwith (perhaps especially because of) thebrightness of the asteroid, we need to re-member that we have much influence overthe learning and assessment experiencesat the classroom level. The act of doingthese kinds of review serve two powerfulpurposes. First, it helps teachers and ad-ministrators ensure that focus remains onthe stars, the curriculum-embedded assess-ments, even as attention is captured by theasteroid. Secondly, it can be the check andbalance to ensure the assessments studentsexperience are beneficial, useful, and pur-poseful so that when that asteroid comesby, it's a predictable, routine event that doesnot distract from the beauty ofthe starsand constellations.

Published June 1 8, 2 0 1 5,in EducationWeek's The Startup Blog:Ed Tech F'rom thn Ground Up

COM M ENTARY

FMe FormatMeAssessmefToolsReDmmeftedby TeaLLbrErpertsBy Swaroop Raju, co-founder of educanon

oujust asked a question to yourclassroom of 30 students. Onestudent raises her hand and givesthe correct answer. It would be

easy to assume that your class has gottena grasp ofthe concept and is ready to moveon to the next learning objective. The real-ity, however, is that one student's responsedoes not reflect the overall level of under-standing in your classroom.

One possible solution is that you could de-liver a quiz to each student. But the grad-ing would take up too much class time andyou'd be left without time to remediate mis-conceptions the quiz reveals.

Fortunately, there are a handful of toolsthat make formative assessments a fastand fun process. We asked a few teacherexperts what their favorite formative as-sessment tools are.

1. Stbrati\E

Mike Voth, AP phy sics teacher,McKinney,Tex.

"Socrative provides quick and easy forma-tive assessments. It is a great tool for mak-ing AJ,L students think about and respondto a question or discussion item. It works onalmost every device and is completely free."

2. IElaptvleet

Satnanthn Stebfiins, high school mathteacheti Riuerside, Calif.

Meanwhile, we've increasingly seen theeffects of trying to replicate that careeningasteroid; of trying to add more arrd moreasteroid clones into the night sky, makingit harder to see the stars, or in some cases,

EDUCATION WEEK SPOTLIGHT ON CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT

even crowding apt them so that they areall but gone.

Documenting and reflecting upon aclassroom assessment system throughan audit or review is akirr to setting upa telescope and creating a star map ofaconstellation and the surounding sky.

Reflective Activities for Teachers

An individual classroom teacher cantake stock ofhis or her own classroom sys-tem by engaging in a series ofreflectiveactivities. The first is to generate a list ofall classroom assessments used during aspecific time period (i.e., month, quarter,marking period, semester, etc.). ?he listshould include all of the different ways inwhich the teacher has collected evidenceofstudent learning. (e.g., worksheet onpivotal battles on the Western front; re-cording ofstudents doing a Socratic semi-nar arould the essential question, "Is warinevitable?'; World War II test; For Whomthe Bell Tolls project; ticket out the door).The goal is to capture, in writing, a sam-pling ofthe ways in students are askedto show what they know or have learnedbefore, during and after instruction.

A second activity involves ponderingquestions like: Why did you become ateacher? What is your goal for your stu-dents? Using words, phrases, or pictures,"Setting up TodaysMeet literally takesminutes. After the setup, you have a quickand easy way to communicate with yourstudents, deliver formative assessments,and gauge the efficacy of a lesson."

3. Hicrers

John Greenwood,4th grade teach.enHuntsaille, Ala.

"Our school hasn't gone 1-to-1 yet, andmy students don't have devices they canbring to class. Plickers is an easy wayfor me to get a sense for each student'sunderstanding without any fancy tech.Students hold up a card for their answerchoice and my iPhone carnera automati-cally grades each response, giving me aquick visual of responses."

4. kahffi!

Johnnell Ramlow, 6th gradt English-language arts tuatheti Ozark, Mo.

"I use Kahoot! regularly. My studentsIove the competitive side of this onlinequiz game. I love the instant feedback toknow what I need to re-teach or spendmore time on. I also love that I can flndpublished quizzes to use, or make myown, orhave kids make a quiz-they lovethat too."

5. eduGrrn

Tlent Goldsmith, o,c.counting, e conannicsand, business teacher, Lansing, Mich.

"I use eduCanon in my classroom dueto its compatibility with a blended class-room. EduCanon allows my students tocreate a !ath' and to take ownership fortheir own learning of concepts. It frees meup to teach application of these conceptsin class. Furthermore, it allows me tocheck for understanding (through ques-tioning during the videos), and it allowsstudents to 'get caught up' if they aregone."

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