Session 5 Facilitator’s Guide: Adapting and Creating
Additional Module Assessments
Sequence of Sessions
Target for this Session

I can adapt or design assessments for use within the context of the modules while still maintaining their alignment to module targets.
High-Level Purpose of this Session

In this session participants will use the materials here: http://www.engageny.org/resource/common-core-assessment-design, to learn how to create
additional assessments for the modules.
Related Learning Experiences

This session relates to any other session in which participants learn about the 3-8 ELA Module assessments.
Key Points


Module assessments are part of a larger backwards design planning process.
Module assessments follow guidelines for passage selection and quality item criteria.
Session Outcomes
What do we want participants to be able to do as a result of this session?
● Know the steps in quality, Common Core assessment design.
● Compare their current assessment development process to the
suggested process.
Session Overview
How will we know that they are able to do this?


Observation
Journal Entries
Section
1. Greetings and
Visual
Representation
Time
10
minutes
Overview


2. Jigsaw of
Documents
40
minutes



Prepared Resources
Facilitator Preparation
Participants greet each other
and draw in their journals a
visual representation of their
current assessment planning
process.
Participants share and
discuss the visual
representation with a table
partner.



Journals
Facilitator’s Guide
PPT

Develop your own “presession” visual representation
and perhaps share with group
(in other words, don’t start
the session with what their
visual representations
“should” be. Allow that to
emerge over the session. You
can show them another
representation at the end).
Participants split into groups
of 4.
Each group member selects
on document/topic to read,
capturing key ideas on a
graphic organizer.
Each group member shares
his/her learning with the rest
of the group.





Passage Selection Criteria.
Selection of Authentic Texts
NYS Item Review Criteria
Annotated Test Questions
“Critical Components of
Designing Common CoreAligned Assessments”
graphic organizer.
PPT

Read the documents and
complete the graphic
organizer.
Participants will hear the
“story” of how a particular
assessment was developed.





Journals
PPT
Sample Grade 6 Assessment
Target-Method Match chart
EL Document – “ELA
Assessment Design.”

Pre-read the article.

Variety of texts at different
levels of complexity.
Task Card
PPT

Prepare your own assessment.
3. EL “Think Aloud”
10
minutes

4. Practice
45
minutes
● Participants will follow a task
card to review a standard,
choose an appropriate text,
and design an assessment
task to address the standard.
They will share their work
with another team.



5. Synthesis and
Closure
15
minutes
● Participants will revisit their
visual representations and
add new learning.
● Share with table partner.


Journals
Revisit your own visual
representation.
Session Roadmap
Section1: Greetings and Visualization
Time: 1 to 1:15
[10 minutes] In this section, you will prepare participants for the session and activate their schema of
existing assessment design practices
Materials used include:
Time
2 minutes
Slide #/ Pic of Script/ Activity directions
Slide
●
●
GROUP
Introduce self and learning target for this session -- I Small groups at
tables
can adapt or design assessments for use within the
context of the modules while still maintaining their
alignment to module targets.
Explain that the goal of this session is to “pull back
the curtain” on the way assessments were designed in
the modules so that a): participants can have
confidence in them as standards-aligned assessments,
and b): should they be adapting, they understand
what changes to make to assessments.
1 minutes
●
If appropriate, share a personal story related to
assessment design – something that illustrates its
complexity or importance.
4 minutes
●
Ask participants to complete a “visual representation”
(a flow chart, a picture, a symbol) that represents
their current practice in designing assessments.



Journals
Facilitator’s Guide
PPT
Participants who do not routinely create assessments
(principals, for example) should draw what they
believe is the most often used process for designing
assessments.
3 minutes
●
Ask participants to share and explain their
representations to a neighbor (about a minute each
partner).
1 minute
●
Explain that participants will be revisiting these
visualizations at the end of the session to capture new
thinking.
Section 2: Jigsaw of Key Documents
Time: 1:10 to 1:50
[40 minutes] In this session, participants will build new knowledge of critical components of Common
Core-aligned assessment design.
Materials used include:
Time
5 minutes
Slide #/ Pic of Slide Script/ Activity directions

Ask participants to divide into groups of 4. Direct their
attention to the 4-Square graphic organizer and review
its use:
o Each participant reads his/her chosen text,
annotating details related to “critical
components of designing common core-aligned
assessments.”
o Each participant takes notes in her/her chosen
section.
o Each participant then shares those notes with
the group which others capture thinking in the
relevant box.
GROUP




Passage Selection Guidelines
Selection of Authentic Texts
NYS Item Review Criteria
Annotated Test Questions

“Critical Components of
Designing Common CoreAligned Assessments” graphic
organizer.
15 minutes

Provide 15 minutes of silent reading/notetaking time.
20 minutes

Each participant has 5 minutes to fill his/her group in
on what was read.
Section 3: EL “Think Aloud”
Time: 1:50 t o 2 p.m.
[10 minutes] In this session, participants follow a standard through assessment to see how EL designed
it’s assessments.
Materials used include:
Time
1 minute
1 minutes
Slide #/ Pic
of Slide
Script/ Activity directions



RI.6.3
RI.6.4
RI.6.6
1 minute

Tell participants EL carefully followed the steps and
recommendations described in the documents just
read when designing assessments in the modules.
Refer participants to the sample assessment in their
notebooks .
Our goal was to assess these Grade 6 standards:
Analyze in detail how a key individual or idea
is introduced, illustrated, and elaborated in a
text (e.g., through examples or anecdotes).
Determine the meaning of words and phrases
as they are used in a text, including figurative,
connotative, and technical meanings.
Determine an author’s point of view or
purpose in a text and explain how it is
conveyed in the text.
Participants should discuss the key words in these
standards that have implications for assessment.
GROUP

PPT

Journals

Sample Grade 6 Assessment

Target-Method Match Chart

EL Document – “The 3-8
Curriculum Modules: A Look
at Assessment Design.”
1 minute
Show key words:
RI.6.3
RI.6.4
RI.6.6
1 minute
2 minutes

Analyze in detail how a key individual or idea
is introduced, illustrated, and elaborated in
a text (e.g., through examples or anecdotes).
Determine the meaning of words and phrases
as they are used in a text, including
figurative, connotative, and technical
meanings.
Determine an author’s point of view or
purpose in a text and explain how it is
conveyed in the text.
First important task is to find an appropriate chunk
of text:
o Allows for the assessment of the intended
standards.
o Right level of complexity
o Not offensive or overly biased
o “Cold” read (not studied in class), but
connected to what students are learning
(relevance).
Next task is to think about right type of assessment for the
level of skill required (target-method match)
 Analyze = show thinking/performance assessment
(graphic organizer)
 Determine = identify. (selected response)
 Determine + explain = written response
Direct participants to the Target-Method match chart for
further resource.
1 minute

Finally, design the tasks themselves, test-drive, and
refine them.
1 minute

Once the assessment is in place, design/adapt the

lessons that teach the necessarily skill/lead up to
the assessment.
Direct participants to the document “The ELA 3-8
Curriculum Modules: A Look at Assessment Design”
for further reference.
Section 3: Practice
Time: 2 to 2:45
[45 minutes] Participants examine standards, select and appropriate text, and design appropriate
assessment tasks for Grade 5.
Materials used include:
Time
5 mins
30 mins
Slide #/ Pic
of Slide
Script/ Activity directions
If/as schools find themselves adapting the modules, they may
have a similar need to adapt assessments.
 In addition, schools may want to add assessments
to gather student data more often.
 Schools may want to add items to assessments in
order to check on previously mastered standards
and/or to preassess standards yet to be
addressed.
 Assessments may become invalid over time, for
example, if students gain access to the
assessments prior to their administration.
For all of those reasons, it is worth practicing text selection
and assessment item creation.
Participants should work in groups of 2.
Direct participants’ attention to the folders of texts and a task
card that has been placed on their tables.
They should select one folder and follow the task card within:
GROUP

Collection of texts.

Task Card: Developing
Assessments

PPT

Journals



10 mins
Analyze the standards.
Analyze the texts for which will be allow for assessing
the standards at the right level of complexity. Choose
the best text.
Write appropriate assessment items for that text and
that standard.
Meet with another group at the table and share:
 What did you determine about the standard?
 What text best supported assessment of this standard
and why?
 What type of assessment task did you create and
why?
5 minutes each team, for a total of 10 minutes.
Section 3: Closing
Time: 2:45 to 3 p.m.
[15 minutes] Participants “revisit” their visualizations to capture new learning.
Materials used include:

Time
Slide #/ Pic
of Slide
Script/ Activity directions
5 minutes

Ask participants to find the visualization of assessment
design they created at the beginning of the session and
revise/add to it based on what they learned/remembered
in this session.
5 minutes

Invite participants to share their new visualizations with
the same partner they shared their first one with and
GROUP
Journals
discuss differences.
5 minutes

Participants should capture key takeaways from the
session in their journals.
Turnkey Materials Provided
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Facilitator’s Guide and Powerpoint
Selected EngageNY documents.
EL Document “The 3-8 Curriculum Modules: A Look at Assessment Design”
Collection of texts for analysis.
Task Card: Developing Assessements