School Leadership Team
Fall Conference
West Virginia Department of Education
Division of Educator Quality and System Support
Bridgeport Conference Center
October 18-20, 2010
The Power of a Balanced
Assessment System
Presented by:
Karen Davies, Title I Coordinator
Jan Stanley, State Title I Director
Three essential questions
What is a balanced assessment
system?
Has your school implemented a
balanced assessment system?
How do the teachers utilize a balanced
assessment system to promote
learning?
Assessment Literacy
We need to provide the
language and the tools to
administrators, teachers and
students so they can
communicate accurately
about assessment.
Common Language?
What is a balanced
assessment system?
Assessment OF Learning
Assessment FOR Learning
In an Effective School …
Continuous (Formative)
Classroom Assessment
For Learning
(part of the learning process)
Classroom Level Users
Common Formative Assessments
(developed by collaborative
teacher teams to assess the
learning targets)
Content Level Users
(Students, Teachers and
Parents)
Job-Alike Collaborative Teacher
Teams
Periodic Benchmark Assessments
(customized to assess the
learning for a specific time
period)
Program Level Users
Annual Accountability Testing
(State Summative Test)
Institutional/Policy
Users
(Teacher Teams and School
Leaders)
(School, District and State
Leadership)
Critical Questions
• What is the primary aim of
the assessment?
• Who will use the
information gathered?
• What decisions will they
make?
Primary Aim of Assessment
The primary purpose of
assessment is not to rate,
rank and sort students,
but to provide meaningful
feedback that informs
decisions.
A Balanced Assessment System
Assessment for Learning
• Classroom Assessment For Learning
– A process during learning
• Formative Assessment
– A process during learning
Assessment of Learning
•Benchmark Assessment
– An event after learning
• Summative Assessment
– An event after learning
Does
Formative?
or
Summative?
How the results are used
tells us if the assessment is
for or of learning.
Summative Assessment
(Assessment OF Learning)
• Summarizes student learning at a specific
point in time
• Not designed to give feedback useful to
teachers and students during the learning
process
• Utilized to communicate statements of
student learning status to those outside
the classroom
• Administered to demonstrate
accountability
News
Formative Assessment
(Assessment FOR Learning)
• Acknowledges the critical importance of
students and teachers working as a team
• Utilizes strategies undertaken by teachers and
by their students that provide information to
be used as feedback to modify the teaching
and learning activities in which they are
engaged (Black & Wiliam, 1998)
• Provides continuous descriptive rather than
evaluative feedback
Advice
Assessment OF and FOR Learning
Sort Activity
• Assessment for Learning
• Assessment of Learning
• Not Sure
Reflection
Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down
1. Can you explain the key differences in
summative, benchmark, formative
and classroom assessment for
learning?
2. Can you provide examples of each?
3. Can you explain how the results of
each type of assessment should be
used?
4. How will you use this information in
your work?
Has your school
implemented a
balanced assessment
system?
A Balanced Approach
“Teachers involve their students in
classroom assessment, record-keeping,
and communication during learning.
But, when it’s time for students to be
accountable for what they have
learned, the teacher takes the lead in
conducting assessments OF learning.”
-Richard J. Stiggins
Self-Assessment Tool
Activity
• This self-assessment outlines significant
commonalities among the practices of
the leaders and professional staff in
high performing schools—collaborative
processes and assessment practices
that produce quality results for student
learning.
• This self-assessment can help each
school gauge where it functions on the
continuum of implementation.
How do the teachers
utilize a balanced
assessment system to
promote learning?
Four Areas of Assessment
• Classroom Assessment for
Learning
• Common Formative Assessment
• Benchmark Assessment
• Summative Assessment
Assessment
FOR Learning
Balanced Assessment Practices
through
Collaborative Team Processes
FORMATIVE
CLASSROOM
Assessment processes
and practices teachers
and students use to
gather evidence for
the purpose of
improving
School Collaborative
Teams examine
student specific data
and establish team
SMART goals
Monitor progress of
Team SMART goals
Key Decisions
 What comes next in
the learning?
 How can instruction
be adjusted based on
results/data?
 Which learning
targets require
additional attention?
Uses
 Provides descriptive
feedback to students
 Enables students to
take responsibility for
the learning
 Supports student
motivation and growth
SCHOOL-WIDE FOCUS ON LEARNING
Addressing the Four Critical Questions
1. What do we want students to learn?
What knowledge, skills and
dispositions do we expect them to
acquire?
2. How will we know if students are
learning the essential skills, concepts
and dispositions we have deemed
most essential?
3. How will we respond when some of
our students do not learn? What
processes are put in place to ensure
students receive additional time and
support for learning in a timely,
directive and systematic way?
4.
How do we enrich and extend the
learning for students who are already
proficient?
Assessment
OF Learning
SUMMATIVE
Assessments that
provide evidence of
student achievement for
the purpose of making a
judgment about student
competence or program
effectiveness
Leadership Team
examines school data
and establishes school
SMART goals based on
summative data
Monitor progress of School
SMART goals
Key Decisions
 Are enough students
meeting standards?
 What changes need to
be made about district
and school programs and
resources?
Uses
 Measures achievement
status at a point in time
for purpose of reporting
and accountability
 Communicates evidence
of performance to parents
and community
Team Processes for Balanced Assessment Practices
in Support of Standards-Based Instruction
Assess and
monitor for
progress
Instruction
and ongoing
Assessment
Repeat
intervention
loop as needed
Intervention
and Enrichment
Cycle
Revise
curriculum,
instruction and
assessments as
needed
Create an
intervention
Plan
Analyze
assessment
results
Monitor
learning for
progress
Periodic DistrictWide Benchmark
Assessments
School Year
Summative
Establish
Assessment
school SMART
Cycle
goals (for
school year)
based on
analysis of
summative
data
Ongoing
Formative
Classroom
Assessment
Cycle
Instruction
and ongoing
Assessment
West Virginia Department of Education
Developed by School & School System Improvement
Contact Lisa Youell Or Linda Bragg at 304-558-3199
Periodic
School-Based
Benchmark
Assessments
Design
common
formative
assessments
Administer
WESTEST2 - State
Accountability
Analyze
WESTEST2
Collaborative teams
establish SMART
goals based on
grade-level/content
data
Identify learning
targets and plan
instruction
Starting points
Collaborative
Teamwork
Assessment Literacy
Brooke Godbey
Second Grade Student
Poca Elementary School
Putnam County
Suggested Resources
Books
• Assessment FOR Learning – An Action Guide for School Leaders
authors: S. Chappuis, R. Stiggins, J. Arter, and J. Chappuis
• Classroom Assessment for Student Learning
Doing It Right-Using It Well
authors: S. Chappuis, R. Stiggins, J. Arter, and J. Chappuis
• Balanced Assessment: From Formative to Summative
author: Kay Burke (new and available from Solution Tree)
Websites
http://www.allthingsassessment.info/
http://wvde.state.wv.us/oaa/ Office of Assessment
http://wvde.state.wv.us/teach21/ Teach 21 site