GRADING ON THE NEW CURVE:
21ST CENTURY INSTRUCTION & ASSESSMENT
Presented by:
Kathleen R. (Kate) Wiles, Ph.D.
Stark State College North Canton, Ohio
kwiles@starkstate.edu
HAVEN’T WE BEEN HERE
BEFORE?
“A NATION AT RISK” (1983)
“GOALS 2000”
“NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND” (2002)
SUBJECT AREA STANDARDS:
MATH – 1980
AAHPERD
- 1995
ENGLISH & SCIENCE – 1996
SOCIAL STUDIES -
1997
A BRIEF HISTORY OF MATH EDUCATION
•
Teaching Math in 1950: - (traditional math)
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of
production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit?
•
Teaching Math in 1960:
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of
production is 4/5 of the price, or $80. What is his profit?
•
Teaching Math in 1970: - (new math)
A logger exchanges a set "L" of lumber for a set "M" of
money. The cardinality of set "M" is 100. Each element is
worth one dollar. Make 100 dots representing the elements of
the set "M." The set "C", the cost of production contains 20
fewer points than set "M." Represent the set "C" as a subset
of set "M" and answer the following question: What is the
cardinality of the set "P" of profits?
• Teaching Math in 1980: (Competency-Based)
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for
$100. His cost of production is $80 and his
profit is $20. Your assignment: Underline the
number 20.
• Teaching Math in 1990: - (Outcome-Based)
By cutting down beautiful forest trees, the
logger makes $20. What do you think of this
way of making a living? Topic for class
participation after answering the question: How
did the forest birds and squirrels feel as the
logger cut down the trees? There are no wrong
answers.
• Teaching Math in 2000:
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His
cost of production is $120. How does Lehman
Brothers, Inc. determine that his profit margin is
$60?
AND TODAY:
• El hachero vende un camion de carga por $100.
El costo de production es........
NOW,
THE “COMMON CORE” STANDARDS
Common Core Standards
English Language Arts Standards
Mathematics Standards
21ST CENTURY SKILLS
Summed up in one word: HOTS!
(Higher Order Thinking Skills)
Partnership for 21st Century Skills:
http://www.p21.org
Curriculum Development:
A Work in Progress
A PROPOSED NEW PARADIGM FOR
TEACHING, LEARNING, & ASSESSMENT
Learners who are:
• Engaged
• Thinking
• Deciding
• At Risk
• Using Tools
Where’s the
teacher?
QUITE A DIFFERENT MODEL
GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE . . .
Conversation Starter #1:
Authentic data derives from
standards-based
assessments.
EXAMPLE #1
Grade 7 WRITING Standard:
Conduct short research projects to answer
a question, drawing on several sources and
generating additional related, focused questions
for further research and investigation.
DATA COLLECTED
Short Research Project Rubric
Name: Sam K.
Points
Title Page
Intro Paragraph
3 “Body” Paragraphs
Concluding Paragraph
MUGS
Reference Page
Submission Timeline
(5 points per check)
Points Achieved
2
5
15
5
10
3
2
4
12
3
9
3
15
____
15
___
55
48
87%
What does this demonstrate about
Sam’s mastery of this standard?
EXAMPLE #2: MATHEMATICS GRADE 5
“ADD, SUBTRACT, MULTIPLY, AND DIVIDE DECIMALS TO HUNDREDTHS, USING
CONCRETE MODELS OR DRAWINGS AND STRATEGIES BASED ON PLACE VALUE,
PROPERTIES OF OPERATIONS, AND/OR THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ADDITION AND
SUBTRACTION; RELATE THE STRATEGY TO A WRITTEN METHOD AND EXPLAIN THE
REASONING USED.”
Circle the correct answer.
1. .48 X .48 =
a. 1
b. 0
c. .23
d. .96
2. The result of multiplying .48 by .48 will be
a. one
b. less than one
c. zero
d. more than one
3. In your Math Journal, describe (in words and pictures) how to
multiply decimals. Include one calculated example. Then answer this
question:
What can you always predict about your answer when you multiply two
decimals, each less than 1?
DESIGNING AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENTS
Consider the intent of the target standard.
Grade 8 WRITING: “Demonstrate command of the conventions of
standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.”
1. Circle the correctly spelled word.
a. business
b. bussiness
c. businness
d. biusiness
2. Find and correct any misspelled words in this sentence.
The family bussiness had operated sucessfully for
over fourty years.
3. (Dictated direction) “Write an original sentence using
the word ‘business’ correctly.”
MOVING TOWARD AUTHENTIC
ASSESSMENTS IN ALL SUBJECT AREAS
Grade 8 Physical Science: “Describe how the change in the
position (motion) of an object is always judged and described in
comparison to a reference point.”
INauthentic assessment: Calculate how far a car will roll down a
30 degree ramp if the car weighs 2,300 pounds.
More Authentic:
After observing a car roll down a ramp, describe (in writing) how
the car’s speed and distance can only be correctly judged by
using a reference point.
GRADE 7 PHYSICAL EDUCATION
AAHPERD Standard: “Utilize self-assessment of physical fitness
to identify strengths and weaknesses and use this information to
develop a personalized fitness program.”
INauthentic assessment: Complete the Presidential Physical
Fitness Exercise Challenge.
More Authentic:
Document your personal strengths and weaknesses (from
assessment tests, surveys, and behavior logs) in each of these
areas: exercise, nutrition, chemical exposure, and emotional
wellness. Then develop a written personal improvement plan (for
a 6-week period) to describe what you will do to maintain or
improve each of these four areas.
GRADE 1 SOCIAL STUDIES
NCSS Standard: “Describe human adaptations to variations in
the physical environment including: food; clothing; shelter;
transportation; recreation.”
Inauthentic assessment: “Print the letter of the continent where
you would find each of the things shown in the pictures.” (Pictures
include igloo, pineapple, rickshaw, baseball, sarape, etc.)
More authentic:
“Look at each picture of a different place in the world. One is very
cold, with lots of snow. Another is hot and dry all the time. The
third one is mostly mountains, with no roads or airports. Under
each picture, draw what you think people eat there. Then draw
what their houses might look like. Then draw how they would
travel from place to place. . . .”
YOUR TURN!
Using the sample Common Core Standard that you have
received, and your GIGO (Give One, Get One) worksheet,
describe at least three AUTHENTIC assessment alternatives
for this standard, one in each box of the top row of your
GIGO. Be sure to consider the student BEHAVIORS
assessed, and compare these with the verb(s) in your
standard. Also keep in mind the INTENT of the standard.
Does the student product or performance match this intent?
You will be sharing your ideas with colleagues later in this
activity.
CONVERSATION #1:
CONCLUSIONS & NEXT STEPS
• Start with the standards
• Attend especially to verbs & intent
• Incorporate 21st Century Skills
• Alternatives to paper-based “tests”
• “Less is more” in assessment; that is, fewer items –
of higher quality – generate more authentic data
• Authentic data inform classroom practice with greater
reliability/impact
CONVERSATION STARTER #2
Communicating standardsbased data and results will
require new tools and training.
Anytown Local School District
Common Core/Standards-Based Report Card MODEL
GRADE FIVE
Student’s Name ____Willow Hill____________
Homeroom Teacher ___Johnson____________
Grading Period
1
2
3
4
ENGLISH/LANGUAGE ARTS
Reading (Literature)
Reading (Informational Text)
Writing
Speaking & Listening
Language
_A_
_+_
_+_
_+_
_√_
_+_
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MATHEMATICS
Operations & Algebraic Thinking
Number & Operations: Base Ten
Number & Operations: Fractions
Measurement & Data
Geometry
_B_
_√_
_√_
_-_
_√_
_√_
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SCIENCE
Science as Inquiry
Physical Science
Life Science
Earth & Space Science
Science & Technology
_B_
_+_
NA
_√_
NA
_√_
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SOCIAL STUDIES
History
People & Cultures
Economics
Geography
Civics
_C_
_-_
_√_
_-_
_√_
_√_
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Grading Period
1
2
3
4
WELLNESS
Physical Fitness
Nutritional Habits
Socialization
_+_
_+_
_-_
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FINE ARTS
Visual Art
Music
_+_
_+_
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CITIZENSHIP
Work Habits
Responsibility
Productivity
_√_
_√_
_-_
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LEARNING COMMUNITY
PARTICIPATION
Absences
Tardy to School/Class
_2_
_9_
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COMMENTS:
1st Nine Weeks:
2nd Nine Weeks:
3rd Nine Weeks:
REDEFINING WHAT “COUNTS” ON
ASSESSMENTS & REPORT CARDS
What’s IN?
What’s OUT?
• Aligned performance &
‫ ־‬Attendance points
products
• Differentiated output
‫ ־‬Deadline penalties
• Student choice/control
‫ ־‬OSFA
• HOTS
‫ ־‬Easy to grade
• Teacher-managed
‫ ־‬Teacher-directed
• Tools taught & used
‫ ־‬Use of tools graded
A RUBRIC FOR ASSESSMENTS &
QUESTIONS
• Can it be answered in one word or by using someone
else’s language/ideas? (No)
• Is the response in the student’s own words or the product
original in at least some significant way? (Yes)
• Does the question or assignment require the transfer of
learning to a new problem or situation? (Yes)
• Does the activity have personal relevance for the student?
(Yes)
• Is the skill or content assessed critical, in terms of the
student’s life-long learning? (Yes)
GOAL: 4 out of 5 for graded assignments
• PS- Be careful of publisher claims!
ACTIVITY #2:
ANTICIPATION & COLLABORATION
Use your “Assessment Audit & Planning Guide” to
1. Consider the elements currently graded in your
class/school/district
2. Compare each element to the Common Core Standards
3. Label each element as Keep, Adjust, or Replace
(No hedging allowed!)
4. Identify which changed items to tackle first
5. Plan the who/when/how to initiate changes
6. Share your plan with an elbow partner
CONVERSATION STARTER #3
Current resources and methods
will need to be revised or
replaced to accommodate new
standards and performancedriven teaching and learning.
SIMPLEST APPROACH:
MODIFIED OR SELECTIVE USE
OF CURRENT MATERIALS
Consider this Reading (Literature) standard for the 4th grade:
Refer to details and examples in a text
when explaining what the text says
explicitly and when drawing inferences
from the text.
NOW CONSIDER THIS SET OF TEXT
QUESTIONS
After reading the play, Scene Two by Don Abramson & Robert Kausal,
answer these questions:
1. Many people are interested in the history of the town they live in. Why do
you think people are interested in events of the past that took place in their
town?
2. Why do you think the authors have Jasmine always checking everyone’s
facts?
3. What conclusions can you come to about the way history can be told?
4. What do you think the students learned about teamwork? Use evidence
from the story to support your answer.
5. Look Back and Write. Look back at page 236. As with all plays, there is a
list of characters and information about the setting and time. Why is it
important to know these things before you begin reading? What might
happen if you didn’t know them?
*Excerpted from Reading Street (Student Edition), Grade Four, (Pearson
Scott Foresman, 2011), page 248.
NEXT, AN EXAMPLE FROM HIGH SCHOOL
LEVEL GEOMETRY
The standard:
“Develop definitions of rotations, reflections, and
translations in terms of angles, circles, perpendicular
lines, parallel lines, and line segments.”
What would you look for/select from your geometry
text?
Would this work?
Amsco's Geometry (online text) – page 222
NEW MATERIALS:
SOURCES TO CONSIDER
Be sure to share the “recommended literature”
lists with your library/media specialists! These are
also good sources of “sample” passages to
prepare for state and/or national assessments.
Common Core ELA: ELA Common Core Standards
K-5 Page 32
6-12 Page 58
FREE ONLINE RESOURCES
For example, ELA “Speaking & Listening” Resources
American Rhetoric Online Speech Bank
TED (Technology, Entertainment, & Design)
Free “Hands-on” Math Manipulatives!
National Library of Virtual Manipulatives
CROSS-CURRICULAR RESOURCES
• Save instructional time
• More authentic (reality-based)
• Increase student interest
• Accommodate diverse learners
Example:
Digital History – Explorations Modules
DIGITAL AGE DANGERS
So . . . You’re a 6th grade student trying to
research your assigned famous American:
Martin Luther King, Jr.
You remember to use valid sources (no Wikipedia).
You can also read website “code” –
.com; .gov; .edu; .org
You also remember that sites showing up first in
your search often relate the most directly to your
topic.
OK – off you go . . .
Yahoo
IF YOU AND YOUR COMMUNITY NEED
“INFORMATION LITERACY” RESOURCES:
“THE” One-Stop Shop (Website):
Alan November
http://novemberlearning.com
Information Literacy Resources:
http://novemberlearning.com/resources/information-literacyresources/
NOTE THE IMPORTANCE OF CRITICAL
THINKING SKILLS IN THE DIGITAL AGE
SO, YOUR BAGS ARE PACKED . . .
• A solid understanding of the Common Core Standards
and their significance in today’s P-16 system of schools
• Three conversation starters
(assessment, reporting, resources/methods)
• Assessment & reporting alternatives
to consider
• Several starting points for next steps
• Suggested resources
and implementation ideas
• Even a new paradigm for the
work we do!
WHY . . .
• Bother?
Did You Know? v. 3.0
• Now?
College & Work Readiness Crisis
• Me?
Just remember:
• They can’t do it
without you.
• Sometimes the
harness rides up!
• No two climbers
have the same
needs.
• You’re not alone.
WHAT AWAITS OUR STUDENTS AS THEY LEAVE OUR
LEARNING COMMUNITIES?