6: Assessment
Aligning Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessments
Goals and Outcomes
Overarching Objectives of the November 2013 Network Team Institute

Participants will be able to describe the structure and content of the Grade 9 NY instructional module.

Participants will be able to implement the modules with fidelity, scaffolding all students to the rigor the curriculum requires.

Participants will be able to adapt the curriculum module to meet the readiness and needs of different students.
High-Level Purpose of this Session

Participants will be able to implement CCSS aligned assessments in the NY ELA curriculum modules. Additionally, participants will
understand how the supports embedded in Module 9.1 will assist in preparing students for the NYS Comprehensive English Regents Exam.
November 2013—Page 1
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New York State Common Core
Session Outcomes
What do we want participants to be able to do as a result of this session?
•
Participants will become familiar with assessments in the NY ELA curriculum
modules.
•
Participants will understand the structure of assessment in the modules.
•
Teachers and leaders will learn how Module 9.1 supports the Regents exams and
discuss implications for implementation.
•
Participants will reflect on next steps for using the assessment data in their
classroom.
How will we know that they are able to do this?
Participants will have the opportunity to deep dive
into three lessons from module 9.1.1 to analyze
alignment between assessments, standards, and
activities to clarify alignment within the unit.
Related Learning Experiences

1b: Supporting Curriculum Material Use

2a: Scaffolding to Rigor in High School English Language Arts: Supporting Student Access to Complex Texts

5: Traditional vs. CCSS Approaches to Canonical Texts
Key Points

Assessments in Module 9.1 are tightly aligned to the standards and activities within each lesson.

Lessons within the unit include frequent and varied opportunities to assess student learning and track progress towards mastery.

Mid-unit and unit assessments provide scaffolding for students throughout.

Assessments in Module 9.1 allow students to build knowledge and understanding to begin preparation for the Regents Exam.
November 2013—Page 2
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New York State Common Core
Session Overview
Section
Introduction
Understanding the
Module Assessment
Design and Key
Elements
Time
Overview
5 min 

7 min
Analyzing Assessment
Alignment to

Standards and
13 min
Activities in Module
9.1.1

Using the Assessment
Design to Continue
Student Learning
25 min
Prepared Resources
Facilitator Preparation
Session PowerPoint
Position mic runners at various
spots around the room for report
out.
Provide an overview of the key elements
Session PowerPoint
and principles of assessment design in
Module 9.1
Position mic runners at various
spots around the room for report
out.
Introduce the session.
Analyze Module 9.1 Lesson 3 to assess
the alignment of assessments to the
standards and activities
Examine the design of the end-of-unit
assessment with a focus on the
preparation students will receive in prior
lessons to ensure students have the
scaffolding needed to demonstrate
proficiency on the assessment.
November 2013—Page 3
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


Session PowerPoint
Module 9.1.1 Lesson 3
Daily Assessment
Alignment Recording
Sheet


Session PowerPoint
Module 9.1.1 Lesson 17
and 18
End-of-Unit Assessment
Recording Sheet

Become familiar with Lesson 3 and
activity handout
Become familiar with Lesson 16
and 17 as well as the activity
handout.
New York State Common Core
Section
Time
Connections Between
Module Assessments 20 min
and the Regents Exam
Section: Reflections
and Closing
Overview

5 min 
Review the design of the new Regents
Exam including sample items. Compare
and Contrast Module 9.1 and Regents
Assessments questions.
Reflect on learning in the session.
75 mins total for this session
November 2013—Page 4
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Prepared Resources





Session PowerPoint
Test Blueprint Regents
Exam
Regents Sample
Assessment Items
Handout
Session PowerPoint
Note Catcher Reflection
Handout
Facilitator Preparation
Become familiar with Test
Blueprint Regents Exam and
activity handout.
Position mic runners at various
spots around the room for report
out.
New York State Common Core
Session Roadmap
Section: Introduction
In this section, you will develop an understanding of the purpose of this
session and lay the groundwork for understanding the alignment
between the assessment, standards, and activities in Module 9.1.
Slide
Time
1
0 min
Picture
Materials used include: Session PowerPoint
Script/Activity Directions
Welcome participants to the session.
November 2013—Page 5
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New York State Common Core
Slide
Time
2
1 min
Picture
Script/Activity Directions
Review the purpose of this session:

Participants will be able to implement CCSS aligned assessments in
the NY ELA curriculum modules.

Participants will understand how the supports embedded in Module
9.1 will assist in preparing students for the Regents Exam.
What we are sharing with you are recommendations for how you can use
the assessments throughout the module. The curriculum and instructional
decisions are owned by you and your staff. The expectations of fidelity to
the unit are district and school based decisions.
3
2 min
Introduce yourself to the group and have table groups introduce
themselves—who they are and what role they play in their high school.
After the participants introduce themselves direct them to the question on
the bottom of the slide. Give participants 2 minutes to discuss. Provide one
minute for a group share: How do the CCSS change the nature of the
classroom assessment?
Total:
5 min
November 2013—Page 6
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New York State Common Core
Section: Understanding the Module Assessment Design and Key Elements
In this section, participants will review the Module Unit 9.1 assessment,
focusing on design and its connection to the big ideas around the CCSS.
Slide
4
Time Picture
2
mins
Materials used include: Session PowerPoint
Script/Activity Directions
This slide sets the expectations for what college and career ready students look
like upon high school graduation. As students advance through the grades and
master the standards in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language,
they are able to exhibit these capacities with increasing fullness and regularity.
The assessments that measure the standards must be clearly aligned, holding
students accountable for demonstrating their proficiency.
They demonstrate independence. Students can, without significant
scaffolding, comprehend and evaluate complex texts across a range of types
and disciplines, and they can construct effective arguments and convey
intricate or multifaceted information. Likewise, students are able
independently to discern a speaker’s key points, request clarification, and ask
relevant questions. They build on others’ ideas, articulate their own ideas, and
confirm they have been understood. Without prompting, they demonstrate
command of standard English and acquire and use a wide-ranging vocabulary.
More broadly, they become self-directed learners, effectively seeking out and
using resources to assist them, including teachers, peers, and print and digital
November 2013—Page 7
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New York State Common Core
Slide
Time Picture
Script/Activity Directions
reference materials.
They build strong content knowledge. Students establish a base of knowledge
across a wide range of subject matter by engaging with works of quality and
substance. They become proficient in new areas through research and study.
They read purposefully and listen attentively to gain both general knowledge
and discipline-specific expertise. They refine and share their knowledge
through writing and speaking.
They respond to the varying demands of audience, task, purpose, and
discipline. Students adapt their communication in relation to audience, task,
purpose, and discipline. They set and adjust purpose for reading, writing,
speaking, listening, and language use as warranted by the task. They
appreciate nuances, such as how the composition of an audience should affect
tone when speaking and how the connotations of words affect meaning. They
also know that different disciplines call for different types of evidence (e.g.,
documentary evidence in history, experimental evidence in science).
They comprehend as well as critique. Students are engaged and openminded—but discerning—readers and listeners. They work diligently to
understand precisely what an author or speaker is saying, but they also
question an author or speaker’s assumptions/premises and assess the veracity
of claims and the soundness of reasoning.
They value evidence. Students cite specific evidence when offering an oral or
written interpretation of a text. They use relevant evidence when supporting
November 2013—Page 8
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New York State Common Core
Slide
Time Picture
Script/Activity Directions
their own points in writing and speaking, making their reasoning clear to the
reader or listener, and they constructively evaluate others’ use of evidence.
They use technology and digital media strategically and capably. Students
employ technology thoughtfully to enhance their reading, writing, speaking,
listening, and language use. They tailor their searches online to acquire useful
information efficiently, and they integrate what they learn using technology
with what they learn offline. They are familiar with the strengths and
limitations of various technological tools and mediums and can select and use
those best suited to their communication goals.
They come to understand other perspectives and cultures. Students
appreciate that the twenty-first-century classroom and workplace are settings
in which people from widely divergent cultures and who represent diverse
experiences and perspectives must learn and work together. Students actively
seek to understand other perspectives and cultures through reading and
listening, and they are able to communicate effectively with people of varied
backgrounds. They evaluate other points of view critically and constructively.
Through reading great classic and contemporary works of literature
representative of a variety of periods, cultures, and worldviews, students can
vicariously inhabit worlds and have experiences much different than their own.
Source: www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/introduction/students-who-arecollege-and-career-ready-in-reading-writing-speaking-listening-language
November 2013—Page 9
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New York State Common Core
Slide
5
Time Picture
Script/Activity Directions
5 min
This slide graphically depicts the alignment of assessments as they build upon
each other. Students will be gaining skills and insights in order to prepare them
for the next level of assessment. In this module, all assessments will be writing
assignments. Note that each lesson ends with a Daily Assessment that is
aligned to the standards assessed in the lesson.
The Daily Assessments will only focus on the standards being assessed, not
addressed. Daily Assessments are handed into teachers at the end of the class
in order to provide formative data regarding the level of students’
understanding. Daily Assessments are specifically designed to provide students
the opportunity to demonstrate their development (growth in learning) against
the standard(s) assessed in that lesson. In some assessments, the language of
the standard will be evident in the question. Other assessment questions do
not clearly reflect the language of the standards but require students to
conduct all of the thinking embedded in a specific standard in order to
appropriately address the standards.
The Mid-Unit Assessment is more in depth than Daily Assessments and builds
skills that students will need when they are assessed at the end of the unit. In
the Mid-Unit Assessment, students will be assessed on more standards and be
required to demonstrate their skills based on a number of lessons. There are
rubrics available for scoring. The intent of the unit design is to use the
assessments as summative. However teachers may determine whether to use
any of the assessments (including the daily, mid-unit and end-of-unit
assessments) as either formative or summative.
November 2013—Page 10
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New York State Common Core
Slide
Time Picture
Script/Activity Directions
The End-of-Unit Assessment asks students to synthesize their learning from
the entire unit. While each unit has a different task, each End-of-Unit
Assessment generally takes more than one class period to prepare for and to
complete and generally involves a rigorous, standards-aligned activity involving
cross-textual analysis. In some instances, students may work collaboratively
with each other to gather evidence for the assessment. For each End-of-Unit
Assessment, students will have opportunities to prepare during class time
before the assessment. The actual End-of-Unit Assessment will be given in
class and will typically need one class period to complete. Once again, rubrics
are available for guidance. Although the unit design intent is to use the End-ofUnit assessment in a summative measure, teachers may choose to use the
assessment as a formative tool.
The End-of-Module Performance Assessment will be given to students after
they complete the 10 week module. The skills required to reach proficiency on
this assessment are developed throughout the entire module. The
Performance Assessment will take up to five lessons to complete and will
require students to demonstrate the skills and content they have learned
throughout the unit for this final culminating exercise. Assessments generally
involve rigorous, standards-aligned activities involving cross-textual analysis. It
is designed as a summative assessment.
Total
time:
7 min
November 2013—Page 11
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New York State Common Core
Section: Analyzing Assessment Alignment to Standards and Activities in Module 9.1.1
In this section, participants will analyze the alignment between
assessments, standards and activities through close reading and
annotation.
Slide
6
Time Picture
10
min
Materials used include: Session PPT, Module 9.1.1 Lesson 3, Daily
Assessment Alignment Recording Sheet
Script/Activity Directions
Introduce the activity (10 minutes) and explain that participants will need the
following materials:


Module 9.1.1 Lesson 3
Daily Assessment Aligning Recording Sheet
Review the activity with participants. Remind participants they may need to
annotate and highlight the lesson to ensure they are reviewing all components.
The goal is to assess how well aligned the assessment is to the standards and
activities.




November 2013—Page 12
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In pairs, conduct a close reading of Module 9.1.1 Lesson 3.
Highlight components that are tightly aligned to the standard within
the lesson. Include assessment, activities, and questions.
Focus on the Daily Assessment. Notice the alignment to the standards
being assessed. Where is there evidence of close alignment?
Discuss with your partner.
New York State Common Core
Slide
7
Time Picture
3
Script/Activity Directions
Draw participants’ attention to the elements within Module 9.1 that support
students’ college and career readiness that they may have noted as they
completed the activity. Note that since this is the introductory unit of the year,
the aligned curriculum, instruction, and assessment are providing
opportunities to set routines, introduce protocols they will be using
throughout the year in all areas. The lesson activities and aligned assessment
will include the following skills:







Reading closely for textual details.
Responding to text dependent questions (TDQs).
Annotating texts to support comprehension and analysis.
Engaging in productive evidence-based conversations about text.
Collecting evidence from texts to support analysis.
Organizing evidence to plan around writing.
Determining meaning of unknown vocabulary.
The Assessment Components embedded in the all three units will include the
following elements to support student learning:





Assessed vs. Addressed Standards
Assessment-Standard-Activities- tightly aligned
Daily Assessments (Formative Assessment) completing every lesson
Mid-Unit and End-of-Unit Writing Assessments for all three units
A Module Performance Assessment at the end of the 10-week module
An important shift for many teachers will be that for each lesson in the
November 2013—Page 13
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New York State Common Core
Slide
Time Picture
Script/Activity Directions
curriculum, we’ve identified one or two "Assessed Standards" and another
small group (often 1–3) of "Addressed Standards." Assessed Standards identify
the core work of the lesson around which student learning has been designed.
For the Assessed Standard(s) we have paid special attention to ensure that the
work of the lesson provides students opportunities to engage with the
demands of the full standard. Students will be assessed on this core work
during the daily assessment at the end of each lesson.
This assessed/ addressed difference may require a shift in teacher thinking in
that the Common Core demands careful attention to the language of the entire
standard. Typically, for example, ELA curriculum has concerned itself with the
independent study of theme. Because of the structure and coherence of
individual standards within the Common Core, we must now examine the way
an author manifests theme over time through the arc of a character's
development.
Due to the interrelated nature of the standards, each lesson addresses (or
requires some work in) other standards. We have identified those standards,
which have been "addressed" in sufficient detail to scaffold student learning in
order to more deeply engage with the standards in future lessons.
The daily assessments are specifically designed to provide students the
opportunity to demonstrate their development (growth in their learning)
against the standard(s) assessed in that lesson. In some assessments, the
language of the standard will be evident in the question. Other assessment
November 2013—Page 14
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New York State Common Core
Slide
Time Picture
Script/Activity Directions
questions do not clearly reflect the language of the standards but require
students to conduct all of the thinking embedded in a specific standard in
order to appropriately address the standards.
Total
time:
13
min
November 2013—Page 15
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New York State Common Core
Section: Using the Assessment Design to Continue Student Learning
In this section, participants will analyze the End-of-Unit Assessment in
Lesson 17 and the student preparation in Lesson 16, focusing on the
support and scaffolds embedded in the unit.
Slide Time Picture
8
3 min
Materials used include: Session PowerPoint, Module 9.1.1 Lesson 16 and
Lesson 17, Daily Assessment Alignment Recording Sheet, Module
Assessment Reflection Note Catcher
Script/Activity Directions
Focus participants on the slide and review the two assessments: Mid-Unit and
End-of-Unit Assessment. Discuss the increased level of rigor in these two
assessments as compared with the Daily Assessments.
Read the Mid-Unit Assessment summary on the slide. The Mid-Unit
Assessment requires students to apply the skills defined in the writing
standards within the unit. In addition, the assessment requires students to use
strong and thorough textual evidence to support their analysis of character
development over the course of the text. Students will analyze which
characters have adapted or resisted change by addressing their interactions
with other characters, their actions within the plot of the story, and how their
development affects the story’s meaning.
Read the End-of-Unit Assessment summary on the slide. The End-of-Unit
Assessment assesses the literacy skills and habits developed in the unit
including reading closely for textual details, annotating texts to support
November 2013—Page 16
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New York State Common Core
comprehension and analysis, engaging in productive evidence-based
conversations about text, collecting evidence from texts to support analysis,
and organizing evidence to plan around writing. Students will write a formal
evidence-based essay addressing the assessment prompt. The assessment
prompt directly correlates with the reading standards addressed throughout
the unit. Students will use strong and thorough text evidence to analyze the
text’s implicit and explicit meanings, specifically in regards to character
development and text structure. In addition, this writing assignment will assess
writing standards addressed throughout the unit.
9
15
min
The focus of this slide is an activity (15 minutes), which will require participants
to reference and use the Module 9.1.1 Lesson 16 and 17, and the Daily
Assessment Alignment Recording Sheet.
Review the activity with participants. Remind participants they may need to
annotate and highlight the lesson to ensure they are reviewing all components.
The goal is to assess the level of scaffolding built into Lesson 16 that supports
students when they begin their End-of-Unit Assessment in Lesson 17. Direct
participants to evaluate how tightly aligned Lesson 16 is as the pre-assessment
lesson.



November 2013—Page 17
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With a partner, do a close reading of Lesson 16 and 17 of Unit 9.1.1.
Highlight areas within Lesson 16 that provide scaffolding for students as
they prepare for the End-of-Unit Assessment (Lesson 17).
With your partner, discuss the areas of support embedded within the
lesson and how the connection to assessment and instruction are
integral for student learning.
New York State Common Core
10
2 min
Provide a summary of the End-of-Module Performance Assessment.
Participants will not be doing a deep dive into the assessment, but rather they
will observe the connection between each assessment level. Note that, as
stated previously, the performance assessment will take up to 5 class periods.
Additionally, there are two options (A and B) of the assessment.
11
5 min
This slide provides an opportunity for participants to think deeply and
reflectively about the level of expectation, consistency, and progressions
assessments make throughout the unit. There is a Module Assessment Note
Catcher for participants who would like to record their thinking.
Discussion the questions displayed on slide:



Total
time:
25
mins
November 2013—Page 18
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How is the content of the assessment aligned with the content of the
standard? Provide evidence.
How do the cognitive and skill demands of the assessments closely align
with the expectations defined in standards?
What do you notice about the level of difficulty of the assessments
throughout the unit?
New York State Common Core
Section: Connections Between Module Assessments and the Regents Exam
In this section, participants will analyze the design of the new Regents
Exam and will compare student expectations and requirements of the
module assessments and the Regents exams.
Slide
12
Materials used include: Session PowerPoint, Test Blueprint Regents
Exam, Regents Sample Items’ Handout, Module 9.1.1 Lessons 3 and 17
Time Picture
Script/Activity Directions
1 min
Transition to discussion of the Regents Exam and provide context on the exam’s
design.
Key points:


The Board of Regents adopted the Common Core State Standards for
English Language Arts & Literacy at its July 2010 meeting and
incorporated New York-specific additions, creating the Common Core
Learning Standards (CCLS), at its January 2011 meeting.
New York State is deeply engaged in a revision of the current State
assessment program to measure the New York State P-12 CCLS.
Review the characteristics of the Regents Exam:


November 2013—Page 19
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Measures Grades 11–12 and Anchor CCLS Standards for ELA/Literacy in
Reading, Writing, and Language.
Administered at the end of grade 11 in a three hour session using
traditional paper & pencil.
New York State Common Core
Slide
Time Picture
Script/Activity Directions


13
2 min
Built upon a balance of literature & informational texts of appropriate
complexity for grade band.
Demands close reading of text and text-based writing.
The Regents exam is divided into three parts:
Part 1: Reading Comprehension. Part 1 will contain at least one literature text
and one informational text. Students will perform a close reading of the texts
and answer 24 multiple-choice questions. Participants may want to address that
there are no multiple choice items in Module 9.1. However, in upcoming
modules multiple choice will be addressed. Emphasize that the multiple choice
items in the Regents exam ask students to perform skills such as a close reading
to answer rigorous text-dependent questions using textual evidence, the same
skills that are embedded throughout Module 9.1.
Part 2: Writing From Sources. Part 2 will contain at least two informational texts
and, in addition, may contain graphics or one literature text. Students perform a
close reading of the texts and write a text-based argument based on the
provided.
Part 3: Text Analysis. Part 3 will contain one literature or one informational text
of up to approximately 1,000 words. Students will perform a close reading of the
text and write a two to three paragraph response that identifies a central idea in
the text and analyzes how the author’s use of a writing strategy (literary
element, literary technique, or rhetorical device) helps develop the central idea.
November 2013—Page 20
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New York State Common Core
Slide
Time Picture
Script/Activity Directions
14
1 min
Direct participants to the Regents Example Item from Part 2, Writing From
Sources, on the slide. Participants will have a copy of the item in the Regents
Sample Items’ Handout. As you read the parts of the assessment item,
emphasize the underlined areas that are aligned with skills or expectations for
students throughout the module’s assessments.
15
1 min
Direct participants to the Regents Example Item from Part 3: Text Analysis. The
participants will have a copy of the item in the Regents Sample Items’ Handout.
As you read the parts of the assessment item, emphasize the underlined areas
that are aligned with skills or expectations for students throughout the module’s
assessments. The underlined sections of the text will provide focus for the next
Table Talk activity.
November 2013—Page 21
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New York State Common Core
Slide
Time Picture
Script/Activity Directions
16
15
min
Introduce the Table Talk activity (14 minutes), for which participants will need
the following materials:




Test Blueprint Regents Exam Document
Regents Sample Assessment Items Handout
Module 9.1 Lesson 3
Module 9.1 Lesson 17
Direct the participants to the slide, which provides directions for the Table Talk.
Encourage table-based discussion:

Total
Time
20
min
November 2013—Page 22
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Discuss at your table similarities and differences in Module 9.1 and the
Regents assessments. Include in your discussions:
o What components or student expectations are strongly aligned?
o What components or student expectations are not clearly
articulated?
New York State Common Core
Section: Reflections and Closing
In this section, you will reflect on your learning and consider the
implications of recognizing and supporting aligned standards,
assessments, and activities in the ELA classroom.
Slide
17
Materials used include: Session PowerPoint, Note Catcher-Reflection
Handout
Time Picture
Script/Activity Directions
3 min
Have participants read the following questions silently and jot down one idea for
each question in their Note Catcher.




November 2013—Page 23
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How can the assessment, standards, and activities in this curriculum
support your students to be successful on the Regents Exam?
How will the assessment component, which includes both formative and
summative, help you monitor student learning?
What are the next steps in using assessment data to inform your
instruction?
Share one thought with someone at your table.
New York State Common Core
Slide
Time Picture
Script/Activity Directions
18
2 min
Open up the last part of the session for questions, clarifications, comments
19
0 min
Remind participants that if they have additional questions they may go to the
online parking lot or to office hours at the end of the day.
Total:
5 min
November 2013—Page 24
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New York State Common Core
Turnkey Materials Provided








Session PowerPoint
Daily Assessment Alignment Recording Sheet
Module 9.1.1 Lesson 3
Module 9.1.1 Lesson 17 and 18
End-of-Unit Assessment Recording Sheet
Test Blueprint Regents Exam
Regents Sample Assessment Items Handout
Note Catcher-Reflection Sheet
November 2013—Page 25
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