The Secret of” Success Criteria”
By: Melanie Greenan, Edited by Denis Maika
The Issue:
Recently in Ontario with the release of the “Growing Success”, (2010) document
there has been a policy setting trend toward student based assessment and the use
of high quality descriptive feedback with students to improve student learning. One
of the seven fundamental principles outlined in the document (p.6), is to “provide
ongoing descriptive feedback that is clear, specific, meaningful and timely to
support improved learning and achievement.”
Feedback provides students with a description of their learning. The purpose
of providing feedback is to reduce the gap between a student’s current level of
knowledge and skills and the learning goals. Descriptive feedback helps
students learn by providing them with precise information about what they
are doing well, what needs improvement, and what specific steps they can
take to improve. According to Davies (2007, p.2), descriptive feedback
enables the learner to adjust what he or she is doing in order to improve
(Growing Success, p.34).
So what is really necessary for teachers to do to provide students with high quality
descriptive feedback that relates directly to the achievement of the Curriculum
expectations (Achievement Chart) and the Learning Skills and Work Habits
outlined in Growing Success?
There are some fundamental directions in thinking and practice that need to
happen for high quality descriptive feedback to emerge in Ontario classrooms and
schools.
Shift One:
High quality descriptive feedback is directly related to well developed success
criteria. Success Criteria are only powerful when derived from the unpacking of
each curriculum expectation or cluster of expectations and related directly to what
the expectation(s) look like in student work. Using success criteria only works when
the derivation of the criteria is shared and co-constructed between teachers and
students. When teachers are able to clearly articulate what the expectation(s) look
like in student work then high quality descriptive feedback becomes possible.
Before identifying success criteria with students, teachers spend time with
colleagues deconstructing curriculum expectations and examining clusters of
expectations that make sense to teach together. They build foundational knowledge
in order to share with students what they expect Level 3 and 4 work to look like.
Here is an example of success criteria derived by teachers in Grade One at a professional
learning community meeting for Retell/Relate/Reflect (or O.E.1: 1.4-1.6).
Retell
Meta-Tags or
Question
Words
“Looks like”
What is the “big idea”
Make a connection…(Self, Text, World)
5 W’s (character, setting, plot, problem,
solution)
What does this remind you of …other texts , the world/extend
understanding
Retell the story/events/info in
sequence/relevance
What questions do you have now/wonder about…
Beginning, middle, and end
Five Important facts/ Tell about… Explain
Student
Starters or
Answer
Words
“Sounds like”
Relate/ Reflect
What do you think now that you didn’t before you read this…
What inferences do you have…
How has your thinking changed…Using your own ideas…
The “big idea” is…
This reminds me of…
I know this because…
Another book…
In the beginning, middle,
I remember …
In the story… end
Now I think…
First, next, then
This makes me wonder…
5 Very important points
Now I am wondering…
Go Map/Go Chart- Graphic organizers
An inference I have…
A question I have…
Now I know…
Success
Criteria
Includes “big idea”
Includes connection or inference to the “big idea”
Includes important details
“Big idea” is supported with relevant evidence from the text
Proper sequence
Connection/Inference/Question-connect to the real world/
authentic
Connection/ Inference
Shows new understandings after reading text
Note: “Big idea” is the central meaning or purpose of the text. It is a generalization about life or theme. The “big idea” is
not stated explicitly but rather implicitly and often has a lesson/moral/purpose.
Once teachers are clear on the success criteria that they will use to verify student
learning then students are brought into the process of co-creating success criteria
for the class. For example, if teachers are working on Retell, then students have to
clearly understand what is expected in a Fiction and Factual retell. Students need
to moderate samples of student work to identify what “makes it good” and be part of
identifying and posting the success criteria as an assessment and learning tool that
can be referenced along the learning pathway. It is imperative that the success
criteria are determined near the beginning of each learning pathway and not at the
end. Students need it to be visible and available as a target to reference their
learning progress and goals. Criteria are revisited and refined as teachers and
students gain greater understanding of what constitutes high quality work. Success
criteria do not have to be perfect at the start!
These two examples show success criteria that are
being constructed with students in Grade 3. Note:
teachers had to provide direct instruction to show
what success looks like by using a GO MAP for a
Fiction Retell and 5 important points for Non-Fiction.
Once the success criteria are accurately identified and constructed with students
the provision of high quality feedback becomes much easier. When teachers are
clear on what they are looking for and students are clear on what they are trying to
achieve, high quality descriptive feedback becomes a process of elimination with
students and teachers determining what is present and missing in each student’s
work. Learning targets become logical as students actively seek to include the
missing success criteria into their work. All student work is honoured for what it
includes and placed logically on a continuum of mastering the required skills and
strategies.
This is an example of a peer assessment used in Grade 8 to set learning targets.
Students self select their own learning target from descriptive feedback.
Shift Two:
The quality of descriptive feedback becomes directly related to professional
knowledge in the particular subject area. How well teachers understand the
reading, writing, critical thinking, mathematics and scientific processes etc., will
either extend or limit the descriptive feedback that is available to students.
High Quality Descriptive feedback
based on teacher’s professional
knowledge and judgment (T-LCP)
Analysis of Student
Work based on the
presence or absence
of success criteria by
self, peer, teacher
Success Criteria
deconstructed from the
expectation, identified in
student work samples,
stated in “kid friendly”
language and displayed in
the classroom
Improved student learning and
meta-cognition!!!!!
For example, if Teacher A thinks that retell is just retelling the important points in
a text sequentially and Teacher B thinks that a retell is stating the author’s big
idea, the facts/evidence that support the big idea and formulating a connection,
inference or question about the text to extend understanding; then Teacher B is
going to give much richer descriptive feedback. The success criteria formulated by
Teacher B and her class are going to allow for much richer and deeper thinking, and
by being more specific in terms of what a good retell entails, students will achieve
more explicit learning and instruction then students in Teacher A’s class who will
only learn how to recount. Without professional knowledge and expertise, teaching
and learning are limited.
So what does this mean for educators? We can’t all be experts in every single
subject! However, we need to continue to work in professional learning communities
and our Teaching Learning Critical Pathways need to include time to deconstruct
curriculum expectations, compare them across various grade levels in a continuum
of learning and articulate with our teaching colleagues exactly what we expect
Level 3 and 4 learning to look like in our area of classroom focus before we begin
teaching. By actively examining samples of student work and redefining and
clarifying success criteria with students along the way we will continue to expand
our understandings of the important areas of learning that we need to address with
students.
It is also critically important to take advantage of the collective wisdom of the
group. Everyone who works in a school knows the teachers who are real experts or
masters of a particular subject area. Use these experts to visit, co-teach with, lead
professional learning opportunities, etc.
Shift Three:
Assessment becomes student based when teachers start to develop students’ own
ability to be judge of their own work and that of others’. Teachers have felt that it is
their sole job to assign grades and marks. However, it is imperative for success in
the 21st Century that students become reflective and meta-cognitive thinkers who
are able to independently determine next steps for their own learning and work.
Student based Assessment
•
•
•
•
•
Rubrics
Checklists
Grade assignments
Tests
Quizzes
VS
• Thinking Matrix
• Bansho
• Student led
conferences
• Anchor charts
• Student moderated
success critieria
• Learning targets
Self and Peer assessment need to become the norm. Teachers find ways to organize
student thinking and learning so that each individual learner is able to see
themselves on a continuum with clear next steps. Students need to be able to
honour their work in terms of where it is rather than just hitting or missing the
evaluation mark and moving on to something new. To make this happen teachers
need to find some way to organize student thinking and learning in each of the
major subject areas.:
Example: Thinking matrix
This Thinking Matrix is used in Grade 8 to organize student thinking and writing.
Note that the success criteria are on sticky notes that can be moved around or
changed. Also, the meta-cognition expectations (4.1-42) are posted around the
matrix as students become familiar with various thinking processes. Student work
samples that highlight success criteria are posted on the bottom.
Shift Four:
Descriptive Feedback is purposefully designed by teachers to offer the right amount
of support to each student based on personal need. The chart below shows how
assessment “for” and “as” learning (Growing Success, p.31), can be custom fit for
each student by changing the prompts and understanding the context of the student
learning situation.
Description
Types of Descriptive Feedback
When?
Least structured- structured
Formative

Can be oral or
written

Purpose is to give
specific and precise
information for
students to improve



Student should be
able to go back to
the same piece of
work to address and
apply feedback
Adapted from LNS, Ontario Ministry of Education,
SIM Session II, Fall 2010
Providing a reminder- there is an
assumption that the student
knows what to do and just needs
a reminder to get back on track
The student knows what to do but simply may
have forgotten what to do
Don’t forget to include relevant and specific evidence
from the text and not just supporting statements in
your answer
Providing Scaffolding-
Students somewhat know what to do during the
task but need more structure and support to
move forward
We talked about how to think about the beginning of
the story and then the end of the story to try and help
us figure out the “big idea” in the text. Can you use
your schema and the clues in the text to figure out
what the story is really all about?
Directive: Provide precise
information and explain
specifically what the student
needs to do
Can you think about what the author was trying to
teach us, tell us or convince us about? Why do you
think they wrote this?
Feedback needs to
be personal and
objective, according
to student needs in
their work
If there are several
students who would
benefit from the
same feedback, it is
effective to group
them and provide
them with a guided
lesson
Powerful Prompts that make thinking visible
Can you show me your thinking- how do you know
that is the “big idea”? What is the evidence in the
text?
Once you know what the “big idea” is think about
what it means to you, what do you think now or have
questions about that you didn’t before you read this?
Questioning: ask a direct question
to have students think about
what they need to do
Help students who are having difficulty accessing
the task
Why do you think the author wrote this text? What is
the big idea? What does it mean to you?
The “big idea” of the story is…
Complete the sentence: give the
student a thought that he/she
needs to complete
I think the author is trying to….
I know this because…
A question I have is…
A connection I have is…
An inference I have is…
Provide ExamplesGive students 2 or 3 choices from
which they can pick one that
speaks to them. They then
continue to expand on the
choice/example
Help students who are having difficulty accessing
the task
Let’s think about the “big idea” that we identified in
today’s read aloud when we read the book, “Psst..”.
We decided that the author was trying to tell us that
zoos are not a great place for animals. The “big idea”
was that animals belong in the wild and need to be
free. We knew this because the animals all asked the
girl for something to build the getaway car and escape
from the zoo It made us question whether zoos are
really good places for animals and maybe we don’t
want to visit them anymore. Please think about the
story you have just read in the same way and record
your thinking.
A new deliberate process piece is added into the teaching and learning cycle that
entails developing an archive of powerful prompts and strategies for students (See
Appendix B). It is necessary to articulate the dynamic prompts, powerful teaching
and learning strategies, successful tasks, and rich culminating activities that really
help students to reach their potential in each learning pathway. The chart above
can be used in conjunction with Appendix B to facilitate assessment “as” and “for”
learning in the classroom. As teachers develop these archives on their own and
internalize the professional knowledge and expertise gleaned through the teaching
of each pathway descriptive feedback improves.
Shift Five
The way that “assessment of learning” or evaluation of student work occurs is
impacted by using success criteria with students and by the provision of more
effective descriptive feedback. Students who are engaged in a process of
understanding and constructing success criteria with their teachers, who are given
the chance to moderate and assess their own and others’ work, who are provided
with the opportunity to self determine and set their own learning targets approach
evaluation as an opportunity to gage their learning on a clear continuum rather
than as a unconnected singular event.
The criteria and method of evaluation is shared with students at the beginning of
the learning cycle. Students understand that feedback from teachers and peers is
going to be given in verbal or written form and they should be actively using it
along with the success criteria to improve their work. Students are asked to collate
feedback and determine learning targets. When formal evaluation takes place
students see themselves as part of the assessment process with their self chosen,
most proficient and most recent pieces of work being evaluated.
Conclusion:
It is vitally important that the learning loop is closed for Ontario students. By
recognizing the relationship between understanding the curriculum expectations,
communicating what is expected to students, constructing success criteria with
students in language that they understand and connecting it to their work, creating
meaningful and rich tasks; and using student based assessment in the classroom
that allows all student work to be honoured and viable learning targets to be
established by peers and self, Ontario students will forge successfully into the 21 st
Century.
Appendix A
The following tool, Looking at Opportunities (Ritchhart, 2003) from the Project Zero
group at Harvard is a great take away to see where we are beginning this process:
Appendix B
Example of Prompts and teaching/ learning strategies that can be used for the
teaching of Ontario Language Expectations, Reading 1.4-1.6
T-LCP Learning Archive Example
O.E. 1: Expectations 1.4-1.6
Retell/ Summary (1.4)
Demonstrating
Understanding
Prompts
Teaching/ Learning Strategies
What happened at the
beginning? What happened at
the end?
Teach students that texts are constructed by an author for a specific reason
What is the “big idea” of the
story?
“Big Idea” Pyramid
What is the author trying to
get you to think about?
Why did the author write
this?
How do you know this is the
“big idea”?
What is the evidence for your
thinking?
What were the most
significant and relevant
parts?
What was the sequence of
events?
GO Map/ Story Organizer
Reciprocal Retellings
Model how to infer the “big idea” (think about beginning and end/ what facts/ details are
included in the text)
What Makes you say that? Explain your thinking/ Make thinking visible
Teach students to locate key information in a text and to know the difference between
what is “big idea” and a “main idea”
What is the message/ big idea? Students are provided with a list of statements and are
asked to identify those they believe the author or illustrator meant to convey?
Graphic Organizer for beginning, middle, end/ Problem and Solution/ Story Map
Chunking the text
Practice writing retells and recounts and knowing the difference between the two
Reading Response Journals
VIP(Very Important Points) strategy
Reading with sticky notes to identify Very Important Points
Voice Memos
Turn on the Lights
Reader’s Theatre
Read and Retell/ Summary
-written to written retells
- written to oral retells
- written to drawing or drama
- drama to written, etc.
Newspaper articles (5 W’s)
KWLHS
H= How I know
S= still wondering
Structured Overview
Making Inferences (1.5)
Prompts
How do you know this is the
“big idea “in the text?
What evidence supports your
thinking?
What did you read between
the lines? What was the
author’s secret message?
What is the evidence in the
text that supports your
inference/thinking?
Why do you think that the
author made the characters
make the decisions they
made?
Why do you think that the
author chose to include the
specific facts and details in
the text? What do all the
facts have in common? What
idea do they support?
Teaching/ Learning Strategies
The Gist Strategy
Finding Supporting evidence that links to the “big idea”
Model how to infer: schema + clues from text = inference
Practice writing summaries with an inference or synthesis at the end that extend the
understanding of a text
Compare and Contrast a Recount/ Retell and a Summary by deconstructing student
samples
The Drammies- readers determine an award that is appropriate for a particular character
or person.
Dear Abby- partner activity where students take on the role of either a character or an
advisor to share or solve a problem occurring in the text.
Drama- activities where students assume the role of a specific character and speak the
character’s thoughts about the events in the story
Extending Understanding
(1.6)
Prompts
Teaching/ Learning Strategies
What did reading this text
remind you of?
Newspaper-type headlines act as a vehicle for summing up and capturing the essence of
an event, idea, concept, topic, etc.
What connections did you
make to other texts you have
read or things that are
happening in the world?
1. If you were to write a headline for this topic or issue right now that captured
the most important aspect that should be remembered, what would that headline
be?
How has reading this text
changed your thinking
about______?
What questions do you have
about ____?
What are you wondering?
What is confusing you?
What did reading this text
make you want to do/ action
to take?
A second question involves probing how students' ideas of what is most important and
central to the topic being explored have changed over time:
2. How has your headline changed based on today's discussion? How does it
differ from what you would have said yesterday?
Connect: How are the ideas and information presented CONNECTED to what you already
knew?
Extend: What new ideas did you get that EXTENDED your thinking in new directions?
Challenge: What is still CHALLENGING or confusing you to get your mind around?
What questions, wonderings, or puzzles do you now have?
What did you learn from
reading this text?
Let’s Consider- I never knew
that… I’ve changed my mind
about.. The most important
thing to remember is…I’m
still wondering about…
For further information or complete documents mentioned in this article please
visit:
1. http://www.pz.harvard.edu/
2.
http://www.pz.harvard.edu/vt/VisibleThinking_html_files/05_SchoolWideCultureOf
Thinking/LookingatOpportunities.pdf
3. http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/policyfunding/growSuccess.pdf