Assessment – Page 6

February 6, 2015February 7, 2015 Lisa.Taylor Assessment, Communication Tools, Communication with Parents and Guardians, Differentiated Instruction, Diverse Learning Needs, General, Planning, Report Cards

Updating the IEP

With the end of Term 1, comes the IEP review and update process. While the intention is that the IEP is regularly reviewed and updated, many IEPs lay stagnant all term and are dusted off at reporting time to be updated. Teachers are excellent at setting goals, supporting goals, working with children to achieve goals, and even revising and modifying goals along the way. We often slip up in the record keeping portion of the process. How many times have we called the parent of a student on an IEP to talk about how they are doing, what they can be working on at home to support progress, etc., and not logged it in the IEP contact record? I often forgot to include that until it was IEP review time and then I would grab my communication binder and update. It is so important to keep the IEP up-to-date always. If you set a goal for a student to be able to count up to 50 and notice that they can count to 60, that goal needs to be changed on the IEP immediately! The whole point of the IEP is to have goals that are attainable, but not too easy. The hope is that we will push the student beyond their current ability level to extend their knowledge, hopefully closing the gap between where they are currently working, and the level their class is working at.

When recording communication, goals, assessments, accommodations, etc. on the IEP, I find it helpful to include as much detail as possible. Many IEP engines have drop-down menus, check boxes, etc. This might not always provide you with everything you need to paint an accurate picture of the student. Don’t be afraid to use the “other” box and explain. If you are doing something that is “outside of the box” for a student and it is working, document it!

We like to think that those students will be at our school forever and so will we, but that is not always the case. Unfortunately, families move, teachers move, people get ill, things happen. If you are suddenly not able to be at school, it is important that those records are up-to-date. Last year, I became ill and was quite abruptly sent home from work to await surgery. I was given next to no notice that I was not going to be at work, and the duration was undetermined. In the time that I was gone, two of my students moved. Had I not had their records up-to-date, I would have had to come in off of my sick leave (which might have jeopardized my leave) to collect up my data to update their records. Keeping things thorough and detailed also means your colleagues who have the student in the future know what things have been done for the student, what works, where the strengths are, etc., without having to track down previous teachers. With Lay-Offs, School Surplus, Transfers, etc., the staff in a school can change pretty rapidly. That document might be he only thing left in the school that really knows a student by the end of the staffing process in a given year.

There are lots of sites that will help with writing goals, scaffolding to ensure goals are progressing toward a larger goal, etc. It is often easy to get the IEP completed once you sit down and get to work. It is feeling the urgency and the importance that the document holds that really motivates a teacher to keep the IEP updated on paper, not just in their daily planning.

January 20, 2015 Lisa.Taylor Assessment, Communication Tools, Communication with Parents and Guardians, Report Cards

Report Cards – Make it Personal

There is lots of talk about using comment banks to create report card comments. I remember when I started teaching, a retiring teacher handed me a USB drive and said, “I am giving you years of work, use it well!” Trying to complete my first set of report cards with that drive was a complete disaster! I didn’t teach the same things she did, nor did I teach them the same way she did, so how could her comments possibly convey what I wanted them to? And she didn’t teach the kids I was teaching, so how would her comments really and truly reflect the kids I was teaching?

After about 3 report cards, trying to find the right comments in her drive, I gave up and wiped the drive clean. Using a bank of comments that someone else has created is not terribly effective. From then on, I started writing my own comments. I am going to describe my process as I have used the same process ever since and it has always worked! We are all different, but this might help you get started!

I would start each report card writing session by taking the strands I was reporting on, and picking the overall expectations I wanted to address. I would write them down or highlight them, and then think about what we had done that term that would demonstrate that. I had done all of this previously in my planning of the unit, but it is nice to refresh and make sure that in the end, you accomplished what you set out to! Once you have established what it is you assessing, find a student you know did really well with it. Review their work and make sure they did as well as you thought, and then write their comment. Then go through and find some more students who are similar in their achievement/work style and give them the same comment, but modify it to truly make it reflect that student. These would be for your Level 3ish kids. Their next steps should be all individualized. Then bundle up your Level 2 kids and do the same. Then do it again for your Level 1 kids. Level 2 and 1 will often just need an individual comment each anyway, without any copy/paste/modify.

I use that process for subjects like the Arts, Science, Social Studies, Health, Phys Ed., etc.

For Math I do each strand individually and I generally do each strand as described above with some variations.

Language and Learning Skills, I take an entirely different approach. I generally set a timer for 10 or 15 minutes, depending on how much time I am feeling like I need. If I have gone through portfolios and have lots of evidence and details to support where that child is working, 10 minutes should be lots. If I need to double check portfolios, etc., then 15-20 might be necessary. I give myself just that much time per student per strand. It seems like a lot of time, but I know I can give each child an individualized account of their abilities, strengths, needs, and next steps, and be sure in my mind that it is accurate and that I have seen the evidence as I was writing it. Learning Skills is usually more 10-15.

I generally do Language in the middle, after I have done a few of the smaller ones (Science, Social, Arts, etc.), and Learning Skills are generally at the very end for me, once I have had a thorough look at that student and all of my records, notes, anecdotals, etc.

Writing report card comments is a very personal, involved process. As a parent, I have read comments that were from a teacher that I could tell knew my child, and I have read comments that were obviously stock comments applied to the whole class or a bunch of kids, that did not reflect my child at all. Once you see a comment like that on a report, it is difficult to take anything else on the report seriously. Take the time and make it meaningful. You don’t have to fill the box, just put something meaningful in the box so parents see that you know their kid and you know what they are capable of.

**Note that I always wrote the IEP comments last as they were pretty quick and easy to write**

January 13, 2015January 13, 2015 Beverly Papove Assessment, Communication with Parents and Guardians, General, Report Cards

No Report Card Surprises

Way back in October before the first reports were issued, I was busy inviting half of the parents into my class for heads-up interviews regarding their child’s progress. So many of my students were reading and writing below grade level, had serious behaviour issues, or were just plain struggling to meet the basic demands of the grade 3 French Immersion curriculum. Many students had the “progressing with difficulty” box checked off. In fairness and for reasons of professional integrity, parents need to know before the reports go home. Experience has told me that, although the conversation may be difficult, especially if it’s being heard for the first time, inviting parents in with the idea of forming a support team for their child is a smart way to start off the school year. Start the collaboration early and it can be so much easier if, later on down the road, there is some information you need to share that will be difficult for them to hear.

So, the highest needs were addressed, all parents were contacted and the pre-Parent Teacher Interviews went really well. By seeing many parents in the weeks before the official Parent-Teacher Interview period, I was able to have enough time to discuss in more detail how things were going in school and to have a more relaxed conversation than the 15 minutes provided on interview night allows. Some parents confirmed by examples from home what I was drawing to their attention, while others were positive about setting up supports for their child. However, when the proverbial dust had settled in the weeks following the Progress Reports, and I thought that I had touched base with the administration, learning support colleagues and parents regarding the progress of all the students with the highest needs, I suddenly realized that there was one student who had received `progressing well` on the report, but who was not progressing as well as I had originally believed. In hindsight, I realize that I had been focussing on behaviour goals with this student more than academics, and this is what had overshadowed the challenges the student was experiencing in the first few reading and writing assignments completed in class. What to do?

Firstly, I let the administration, learning support teachers and the parents know. Since lines of communication were already well established with the parents, I was able to be honest with them and explain that while progress was being made in the area of behaviour in class, their child was exhibiting difficulties with more demanding assignments. Showing samples of work done in class following the progress report period highlighted the need for help to meet the demands of the grade 3 curriculum.

Secondly, I was able to attend a Student of Concern meeting with the administration and the learning support teachers where we explored how we could determine areas of need for this student, the kinds of supports we could provide at school and what the parents could seek, if they chose to.

Thirdly, I scrutinized assessments, samples of work, and my note book, to make sure I had an accurate profile of the student, and to make sure that the parents had all the necessary information to pave the way for the first Report Card in February. Although the Fall Progress Report may have indicated a student who in general at the time did not appear to be progressing with difficulty, the first term Report Card will indicate what the child`s challenges are in detail, and thankfully, the parents are already aware.

The value of communicating regularly with parents cannot be underestimated. In this case, it was beneficial to avoid any confusion or defensive reaction and to convey the fact that I have the child`s best interest at heart. The positive effects of Parent-Teacher collaboration for the child are also significant and hold each of us accountable.

January 4, 2015 Alison.Board Assessment, Classroom Management, Differentiated Instruction, Integration, Planning, Report Cards, Use of Technology

Starting Over

January can feel like September. It is an opportunity to initiate new routines and expectations or inject something new into your current program. For many teachers, the last weeks of school in December before the break is challenging. Students are excited about the anticipated break; programs are interrupted with practices for concerts and special assemblies; and teachers are hanging on as they maintain or try to maintain a normal environment.

With the much needed break, students and teachers return to school refreshed. Many will not admit it, but look forward to the return of a regular routine. Take this opportunity to get your students quickly involved in new learning that may have been hard to tackle in December. There are at least three weeks of school before the cut-off for term one reporting. Assigning projects the first week back will focus the students directly, and provide you with assessments needed at the end of January.

Over the holidays, I have prepared an outline for the Biodiversity Infographic that I will be assigning my Grade 6 students the first week back. It will provide assessment both in Science and Media Literacy. I have also been considering an autobiography or biography project for my class. I am still working on the outline but I am thinking about a booklet that will include entries in writing and art. To differentiate to all levels for both projects, I will provide graphic organizers, allow choice of topics, and encourage students to create their works in print or with technology.

Take something that has inspired you over the holidays, (travel, nature, art, movies) and find a way to bring that interest to the classroom. It is surprising the connections you will make to the curriculum and the enthusiasm that you will share with your students.

December 31, 2014December 31, 2014 Shawna Rothgeb-Bird Assessment, Communication Tools, Communication with Parents and Guardians, General

Engaging Parents in Assessment and Evaluation

One of the most common questions a teacher gets asked by parents is, “How is ______ doing?” The question pops up no matter where or when you run into the parent of a student. I’ve had parents ambush me with this question at these (and other) times:

– During school hours when dropping off their child’s lunch, with the entire class sitting there patiently waiting.

– On the yard at recess when I was on yard duty.

– On field trips, usually on the school bus, always surrounded by students.

– At school events, like the book fair, art show, or holiday concert.

– The second day of school.

– The last day of school, after report cards have already been sent home.

It’s a perfectly legitimate question, one that parents and guardians are always entitled to ask, but I am often asked this question at a time when I’m not really able to answer it properly. Either my students are eavesdropping, I haven’t had time to formulate what I want to say, or I have other duties to attend to and can’t give the conversation the attention it deserves.

It didn’t take me long to realize that I needed to find a way to be more open with parents on an ongoing basis so that they didn’t feel as though they needed to ask this question every time they saw me. A few years later, I think I have a few good strategies/suggestions for how to keep parents in the loop and prevent any surprises when report cards come around.

1. “Ask Me About” – In students’ agendas, they write an “Ask me about… _________” sentence a few times a week. This is supplied by me and is usually about a specific topic we are studying in class or an upcoming school event. It gives parents something to prompt their child with and keeps kids accountable for knowing what is going on at school.

2. Send Assessment Plans Home Before Starting – Any time I assign a new task with a rubric, set of success criteria, or other assessment scheme, I send the assessment home BEFORE students start the task. Parents are expected to sign it to indicate that they’ve seen it and are aware of the deadline, expectations, and criteria for the assignment. This keeps students accountable for getting their work done on time.

3. Send Completed Assessments Home, Too! – Once a project has been completed and assessed, I send it home again, with strict instructions to bring it back to school signed by a parent/guardian. Parents get to see their child’s work along with the mark they were given. They’ve already seen the criteria, so the mark shouldn’t be a mystery to them when they see it.

4. Collect Completed Assessments in a Portfolio – I keep all of my students’ assessments at school. I don’t keep every piece of work, but I do keep the rubric, checklist, etc. that was used/sent home/signed in a duo-tang for each student. This allows me to pull it out and show parents/students the progression of the student’s work over the year and also gives me back-up in case any of my grades are called into question. (I’ve never had a grade called into question, but there’s a first time for everything.) I also put any tests/quizzes in those duo-tangs along with the GB+ reading assessments that I complete.

Those are four really simple little things, but they’ve made a world of difference in my teaching in terms of keeping parents apprised of what is happening with their child’s education. It has stopped nearly all questions about students’ academic progress outside of parent/teacher interview times.

Anything to save me from those awkward, flustered conversations where I try to answer the “How is ____ doing?” question in a vague but diplomatic way so that my room full of students doesn’t overhear anything they shouldn’t!

December 31, 2014January 2, 2015 Lisa.Taylor Assessment, General, Student Ownership

Student Self Assessment

Our students need to be reflecting on their own learning and skills to ensure they are understanding. Having a child that is struggling with a concept and knows it is much better than having a child who is out to lunch and believes they are on the right track. We need to teach our children to reflect on their learning regularly and ask questions about their learning. Do I understand this? Could I do this on my own? How is this different? How is it the same?

Self Assessment isn’t the only assessment, we aren’t setting ourselves up to not need to assess our students by any means. But we do need to teach our students how to accurately self assess. There should be no surprises for them. If they don’t understand something, they should know that. It is essential that they are able to self assess so they can seek assistance when needed.

Some tools that I have used in my class that I have found to be extremely successful:

Post-it chart – Give each student a post-it and have them answer a question on a topic and put a smile, straight face or sad face on the back and put their answer on their number square of the chart when they leave (for lunch, gym, etc.). Kind of an exit slip, but with some self reflection. The happy, straight, sad face corresponds to how they feel about their answer – did they get it, kind of, not at all.

Stop Lights – I love this one! Give them a question or activity and have them work through it, and when they hand it in, they put it in the green, yellow, or red bin. They hand their work into the red bin if they feel like they aren’t really getting it, yellow if they are kind of getting it, and green if they think they have it. You can also do stop lights as a post-it activity. I used to keep a laminated stop light on my wall for post-its to be handed in. They just numbered their submission on the back so no one knew where they were putting it.

Self Assessment Form – In Math, I have a standard assessment form for problem solving that I staple to each problem. It has the rubric I use and space for comments, etc. This year I modified it to include a self assessment portion and now the student staples it to their work and fills in the self assessment portion before they submit their problem to me. This way, I have their problem, and their self assessment together and I can refer to them both in my assessment which is all on the same little sheet.

Make sure you do something with student self assessments. It is just as important that you check to see that they are accurate and talk to them about it. It is tricky to tell a child that they aren’t getting it when they think they are, and that is one of the very difficult parts of this job, but it is necessary. Students need to know what they can do and where their needs are so they can seek help and work to become more successful.

Work self assessment into everyday if you can. Even if it is small, like in a game, it is necessary.

December 7, 2014 Alison.Board Assessment, Classroom Layouts, Differentiated Instruction, Diverse Learning Needs, Math, Planning, Professional Learning and Growth, Resources

Teaching Math

I have always considered myself more of an “English Language” teacher. So, when I moved into the junior and intermediate classroom, I felt less confident in my abilities to teach math. When planning for the year, I surveyed some other junior/intermediate teachers for recommended resources. And when planning for the classroom environment, I made sure to have a corner dedicated to math, which includes a gallery wall, manipulatives, math dictionary and texts as well as tools like calculators.

Although I was given a set of textbooks, I don’t plan or teach from the textbooks. I print the curriculum expectations specific to the grade for each strand, and use them as my guide in planning the units. Then I refer to some other resources for ideas in activities that involve group work or problem solving. Some of favourites to support my math program are:

Introduction to Reasoning and Proof, Grades 6-8: The Math Process Standards Series, by Denisse R. Thompson and Karren Shultz-Ferrell
Nelson’s Ontario Numeracy Assessment Package
Good Questions: Great Ways to Differentiate Mathematics, by Marian Small

By referring to these resources, I am able to understand the concepts that need to be taught and how to differentiate using broader questions for the range of math learners in my classroom. I enjoy providing mini-lessons on strategies to support the students as well as encouraging them to share their strategies with me and the rest of the class. Our math class has become engaging and interactive, not repetitive and boring as I had feared.

We use a gallery wall to display group answers to problems. This has become an invaluable way to quickly assess understanding. Students are given the opportunity to view the gallery, see how others have solved the problem, respond with their own ideas or suggestions and acquire new learning. A week of math classes includes a range of instructional strategies, independent work, paired and group work. One of our common “go to” questions is “Does this make sense?” We are aiming for understanding rather than rote learning of facts and steps (as I learned in elementary school). So, I am enjoying learning with my students as I discover new ways to approach and solve math problems.

December 7, 2014 Alison.Board Assessment, Classroom Management, Differentiated Instruction, Diverse Learning Needs, Learning About Your Students, Planning

From Teacher Directed to Student Directed Learning

As a new teacher or a teacher with many years experience, you hear about the importance of planning for student-directed learning in the classroom. Keeping this approach in mind as you plan in all subject areas benefits student learning and also benefits the teacher. Benefits include:

Engaged students – most students want the opportunity to talk as they learn, not just listen. When made to only listen, they look for distractions and classroom management issues often arise. If students are provided time to collaborate on a topic that interests them, they are engaged in the process and positive learning outcomes are the result.
Student interest – this leads to the content. Provide students with choice and select topics within the curriculum expectations that are of interest to your group of students. Students will demonstrate more initiative and take more responsibility for their own learning if they have choice of relevant topics. For example, in my grade 6/7 class, I modelled writing a monologue from the perspective of a character. Then, the students were all provided with a rubric to create their own dramatic monologue based on a character of their choice from a book from their choice.
Differentiated instruction – allowing choice of topic or type of presentation/project differentiates for the range of learners. Again, as an example from the monologue assignment, struggling readers selected books like Diary of a Wimpy Kid, while others selected more challenging texts like Journey to Jo’burg. Similarly, students will select an option for a project on what they are comfortable with (creating a slideshow vs. a video). By allowing students choice, you are more inclusive, not lowering your expectations for those who can surpass them, or challenging your lower level students to frustration. And as a result, the students who select the more accessible choice, often learn from the students who are demonstrating success with a more challenging topic or type of presentation.
Assessment – student-directed learning allows time for ongoing assessment. I have spoken to teachers who plan detailed lessons and present to the class in a lecture style format with little time for collaboration or independent research. These teachers lament that student’s aren’t “listening” enough. They also wait until the end of unit to assess students with a paper/pencil task. By facilitating students in a more self-directed approach, teachers can support student where they are at with resources and mini-lessons for those who need it. Why provide the same lesson to the whole class if they do not all need it? When students are working in small groups or pairs, or even independently, the teacher is provided the time to interact with students, find out where they are in their understanding and provide the necessary support (assessment for learning).

Student-directed learning isn’t students learning on their own. It is more like students learning within a framework set up by the teacher, and supported by the teacher. It benefits all those involved!

December 7, 2014December 8, 2014 Mike Beetham Assessment, Before School Starts, Challenging Topics, Classroom Layouts, General, Learning About Your Students

Divide and Succeed

One of the biggest concerns a teacher is faced with is the number of students they have to work with and thus the needs to be met in their classroom. Amongst that class of students will likely be special need students from both an academic and/or behavioural need, students who work very quickly and students who need extra time to consolidate their learning, students working below grade level, at grade level and above grade level. The class profile has a direct impact on the teacher’s plan of action. A successful strategy that has allowed me to ensure that I have direct, 1:1 contact with every student is a divide and succeed.

What I do is to start with a two week cycle (10) school days. I then look at my class number (I will use 30 for a working example) and divide that group into 5 groups. Thus I will end up with 6 students in each group. Each group will be assigned a conference day. Group 1 will get Mondays, Group 2 will get Tuesdays and so on. I then divide those 6 students into 2 groups of 3. Student A, B and C in Monday’s group will meet with me on week 1. Students D, E and F will meet with me on week 2. That means that during each academic day I have to build in time to meet with 3 students. That is a doable strategy. The end result is that I get to meet 1:1 with each student at least once every two weeks. What occurs during that quality time is up to you. I currently use it to conference on reading, writing and personal check-ins.

As I get more efficient in my conferencing and pinpoint exactly what I want to check up on, assess or discuss I am able to move it to a 1 week cycle where I now meet with 6 students a day. At this point I know my students very well and know which students need more conference time and which students need less time. There are many ways to revise this strategy such as when week 1 is used to conference with all students and week 2 is used for necessary follow-ups or teaching students to lead their own conference. There is no interrupting (unless an emergency) during a conference. The class has built in peer supported strategies when the teacher is in a conference. All of the above require routines that need to be taught to the class. This time serves me so effectively when reporting times arrive as I know so much more about my students.

November 24, 2014November 24, 2014 Mike Beetham Assessment, Differentiated Instruction, Learning About Your Students, Questioning, Student Ownership

Shifting to Assessment As Learning

How did I do teacher? Did I do it right? Is this what I am supposed to do? These are the questions that I have heard over and over my entire career. I began to wonder why is it that my students always need to have me tell them how they are doing. As my understanding of good assessment practices evolved, so did my understanding of assessment as learning. This is the ultimate goal of what effective assessment practice strives to create in learners.

Once students not only know what they are doing, but what a successful product looks like (success criteria), they shift from teacher focussed to student directed. At first my practice consisted of the criteria being established by me and then shared with my students. As I continued to enhance my understanding of effective assessment practice (Damian Cooper – Talk About Assessment 2006) I began to experiment with student created criteria. Lo and behold, not only did my students get it, they now owned it and the task became contextually valid to them.

My current pedagogy that I am phasing into my practice is a daily debrief on the day’s learning. I will often use it at our final circle time of the day, journal writing or individual conferencing. The following questions are my guide:

What did you learn today? How do you know you learned it?

How well did you learn it? What helped you learn it?

What did you find difficult to learn today? Why?

What could you do tomorrow to make it easier to learn?

Where can you use what you learned today?

I usually choose two questions and focus on a specific area. What did you learn in mathematics today? I am very happy with the beginning results I am obtaining. I have just recently started to take a few notes from the discussion and remind students the following day so that they can use their own feedback to assist with the new day’s learning.

If you have any other prompts or guiding questions that you use, please post them for other to use.