Moving Beyond
“Can Do It, Can’t Do It”
Margaret Heritage
Cindy Bagwell
Amy Scrinzi
Denise Nelson
Innovative Approaches to the Assessment of Students in Grades K-3
CCSSO National Conference on Student Assessment
June 22, 2015 | San Diego, CA
Overview
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Assessment Perspective
Project Overview
Challenges & Lessons Learned
Validation Study
Questions & Answers
Assessment Perspective
Assessment: Two Views of the Learner
Past-to-Present:
Retrospective
Present-to-Future:
Prospective
Heritage, 2013
Formative Assessment
• Assessment for Learning (Black & Wiliam,
1998; Black, Harrison, Lee, Marshall & Wiliam, 2003;
Gipps, 1994)
• Proximate to Learning (Erickson, 2007)
• Assessment in the flow of activity and
interactions in the classroom (Heritage &
Heritage, 2014; Swaffield, 2011)
Learning as Progression
Assessment to Support Learning
• Where am I going?
• Where am I now?
• Where to Next?
Black & Wiliam, 1998, Hattie &
Timperley, 2007; Harrison & Howard,
2009; Sadler, 1989
Wherever you
are is perfect…
Wherever you
are is perfect…
for now.
Project Overview
What Research Tells Us
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Educational researchers
Economists
Neuroscientists
Developmentalists
Molecular biologists
Genomic scientists
• The PK-3rd grade
years are the most
promising window of
opportunity during
which to influence
children’s lifelong
trajectories.
Kauerz, 2013
Race to the TopEarly Learning Challenge Grant
NC State Law “Read to Achieve”
NC’s K-3 Assessment Vision
Third Grade
Second Grade
First Grade
Kindergarten
KEA
13
5 Domains of Learning and Development
K-3 Formative Assessment
Formative Assessment
A process used by teachers and students during
instruction that provides feedback to adjust
ongoing teaching and learning to help students
improve their achievement of intended instructional
outcomes.
AERA/APA/NCME, 2014
CCSSO, 2006
What is working?
What could be?
What is
essential?
How do we
implement for
sustainability?
How do we
measure
this?
NC K-3 Formative Assessment Process
Kindergarten
Teacher Survey
Focus Groups &
Input Sessions
External
Reviewers
KEA Pilot
State-level
Advisory Group
What is
essential?
NC K-3 Assessment Think Tank
 Proposes claims, or
learning goals, for
each domain
 Emphasizes a focus
on the whole child
 Promotes the use of a
formative assessment
process
How do we
measure
this?
Margaret Heritage
CRESST/WestEd
Early Childhood
Educators
Content Experts
Specialists
Teachers
Catherine Scott-Little
UNC Greensboro
NC K-3 Formative Assessment Process:
Kindergarten
Domain
Constructs
Approaches to Learning
Engagement in Self-Selected Activities
Cognitive Development
Object Counting
Emotional-Social Development
Emotional Literacy
Health & Physical Development
Fine Motor Development
Midline Motor Development
Language Development &
Communication
Following Directions
Letter Naming
Book Orientation & Print Awareness
NC K-3 Assessment Design Team
w/Dr. Margaret Heritage
Construct
Progressions
Assessment
Means
Construct Progressions
Describes how students’ learning of important concepts and skills
develops over a period of time.
UNDERSTANDINGS: Identify the major concepts within a particular
construct
SKILLS: Identify the competencies within each “understanding”, ranging
from simple to more complex
PERFORMANCE DESCRIPTORS: Paint a picture of performance,
providing examples of how students could demonstrate their understanding
or skill at each stage of the progression
Assessment Means
NC K-3 Formative Assessment
• Situations
– Intentionally planned instructional activities
designed to give teachers guidance on or
examples for how to set up a learning situation to
learn about students through observation &
probing.
General
Specific
General Situation
• Select Learning Targets
• Identify Opportunities for
Eliciting Evidences of
Learning/Probing
• Interpret the Evidence
• Adapt/Respond to
Learning Needs
Specific Situation
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Select Learning Targets
Preparation
General Description
Elicit Evidences of
Learning/Probing
• Interpret the Evidence
• Adapt/Respond to Learning
needs
Family Contributions
• Use of Family Questions to support homeschool partnerships
– Face-to-face conversations
• Home visit
• Conference
– Phone calls
Family Questions
• What is your child most excited about
learning?
• How does your child typically approach
new things, such as meeting new
people or going to new places? How do
you help your child prepare for new
experiences?
• What new things would you like your
child to learn? Why are these things
important to you?
Family Questions, continued
• How does your child show emotions
(e.g., happiness, sadness, surprise,
frustration)? How do you respond to
each emotion?
• What does your child like to do at home
or with family and friends (e.g., favorite
games, books, toys, activities)?
• What can we do to help your child be
successful?
Development Process
Think Tank Report
Research
Write
w/Guidance
from
Margaret
Peer
Feedback &
Revisions
Classroom Teachers
School Administrators
Content Experts
Specialists
External
Feedback
Revisions
w/Guidance
from
Margaret
Think Tank Members
Classroom Expertise
Pilot
Final
w/Guidance
from
Margaret
Content Experts
Specialists
Challenges & Lessons Learned
Your
mission…
should you decide to accept it…
What can the child
MAKE, SAY, DO or
WRITE?
Formative
Assessment
Process
Write a
Construct
Progression
Include: UNDERSTANDINGS,
SKILLS, PERFORMANCE
DESCRIPTORS and
SITUATIONS
Be aware of
GRAIN SIZE
HOW NC Approached Writing
Construct Progressions…
• What does the NC Think Tank Report state?
• What does research say?
• What do we know from personal and
professional expertise about how children
learn?
• What do content specialists say?
HOW NC approached writing
Construct Progressions…
• And then…
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We begin to write…and write…and write…
Are we getting the grain-size right?
Gather input from the field
Discussions and “meeting of the minds”
Edit, edit, edit…revise, revise…edit, edit,
edit…revise, revise…edit, edit, edit…
Formative Assessment Process
…finding
the balance….
• The Assessment Design Team had to
– Work under rigorous timelines while
considering other commitments
–Manage the work of multiple
constructs and groups
–Know when to stand firm and when to
compromise
Lessons Learned…
What We Know Now…
• Feedback is necessary
– varied stakeholders, many perspectives
• Response to feedback is key
– positive comments of appreciation from pilot
schools
• Being cutting edge is both rewarding &
challenging
– not for the faint of heart but requires heart
Lessons Learned…
What We Know Now…
• We did it!
– we know we are moving in the right direction – it’s
what is best for children
WHEREVER WE ARE IS PERFECT …
FOR NOW!
Validation Study
Purpose of the NC Kindergarten Pilot
• Provide feedback on…
– Professional development
– Assessment content and format
– Electronic platform
– How assessment worked in practice
NC Kindergarten Pilot
• UNC-Charlotte Research Activities:
– Teacher Survey
– Classroom Observations
– Teacher and Administrator Interviews
– Examination of Evidences
NC Kindergarten Pilot
• Who?
– 248 Kindergarten Teachers
– 5,000 Kindergarten Students
• Where?
– 81 Schools across the state
• When?
– 1st 60 days of school
NC Kindergarten Pilot Findings
Commonalities in Classrooms
Successfully Implementing KEA
 Small class size: averaged 14 students
 Students independently transitioned from one
classroom activity to another.
 Teachers used self-created implementation
resources to assist with documentation.
Commonalities in Classrooms
Successfully Implementing KEA
 Formative assessment practices were
imbedded into all classroom activities, so KEA
data collection fit into teachers’ previously
established routines.
“I want to warn you that you’re not going to see some
prepared ‘something’ today; you’re just going to see
what I do everyday.”
~Pilot Teacher
Commonalities in Classrooms
Struggling to Implement KEA
• Large class size: averaged 22 students
• Students struggled to transition independently
between classroom activities.
• Classrooms were located in schools/districts
without a strong history of formative
assessment practices.
Commonalities in Classrooms
Struggling to Implement KEA
• Teachers approached KEA implementation
as they would a summative assessment:
• Created additional activities to “test” each
child’s ability individually or as a group.
NC KEA Content
• Developmental Appropriateness:
– 71% of survey respondents felt the content was
developmentally appropriate for kindergarten.
“This really validates what we do and deal with
everyday…there’s so much that needs to happen before
you see a lot of academic changes. These young children
are going to be growing socially tremendously [in the
beginning of the year] and administrators need to
understand [teachers] have all this other stuff to get in
place before they can start moving academically.” ~ Pilot
Teacher
NC KEA Content
• Some participants felt that while the content was
developmentally appropriate, the KEA was still not
suited for current kindergarten classrooms:
“Is this developmentally appropriate? Yes, but to be
honest we don’t have the ‘freedom’ to use it. We are
mandated by so many other expectations for our children
that there is no way to do the KEA the way it should be
done and still be responsible for the content we must
teach and then assess them on (state mandated
summative tests by the way).” ~Pilot Teacher
NC KEA Content
• Some participants felt that while the content was
developmentally appropriate, the KEA was still not
suited for current kindergarten classrooms:
“If this was 5 years ago this would have been perfect,
but kindergarten is looking more and more like first
grade. So while this IS developmentally appropriate,
unfortunately it’s now more suited for PreK because
kids are expected to enter Kindergarten with most of
these skills.” ~Pilot Teacher
• Teachers…
 See the value of a formative process
 Love the whole child focus
 Appreciate support for motor and emotionalsocial constructs
 Have become more reflective
• Teachers…
• Are overwhelmed
• Need a lot of professional development & support
• Struggle to see the connection b/t the assessment
content & what they do with students
• Worry about how the information will be used
NC Pilot Implications
• Professional Development
– Emphasize critical components of the formative
assessment process
– Provide real world examples of formative
assessment in action
– Include support staff (e.g., teacher assistants,
specialists)
– Devote adequate time and intensity with
technology platform
– Incorporate implementation resources
NC Pilot Implications
• Supportive Conditions
– Strong background in formative assessment
– Existence of PLCs focused on data-driven
instruction
– Implementation teams at the state, region,
district, and school levels
– Administrators with experience in early
childhood
Questions?
Contact Information
Margaret Heritage
Cindy Bagwell
CRESST/WestED
NC DPI Project Manager
mheritag@ucla.edu
cindy.bagwell@dpi.nc.gov
Amy Scrinzi
Denise Nelson
NC DPI Project Lead
NC Assessment Design Team
NC Regional Implementation Team
amy.scrinzi@dpi.nc.gov
deniseasplus@gmail.com
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