Assessment Competencies for School Leadersstatic.battelleforkids.org/images/BFK/ACTIVITIES.pdfAssessment Competencies for School Leaders The following 10 competencies have been revised

Assessment Competencies for School Leaders

The following 10 competencies have been revised from a framework designed for educational leaders (Arter, Stiggins, Duke, & Sagor, 1993). Research on assessment to support learning (Black & William, 1998), and the need to achieve balance between standardized and classroom assessment (Stiggins, 2002) have influenced the revisions listed below.

Please read each competency statement and circle the number 1 through 5, that best describes you. Number one is the least competent and number five is highest level of competency.

1. The leader understands the standards of quality for 1 2 3 4 5 student assessments and how to ensure that these standards are met in all assessments.

2. The leader understands the principles of assessment 1 2 3 4 5

for learning and works with staff to integrate them into classroom instruction.

3. The leader understands the necessity of clear academic 1 2 3 4 5

achievement standards, aligned classroom-level achievement targets, and their relationship to the development of accurate assessments.

4. The leader knows and can evaluate teachers’ classroom 1 2 3 4 5

assessment competencies and helps teachers learn to assess accurately and use the results productively.

5. The leader can plan, present, or secure professional 1 2 3 4 5

development activities that contribute to the use of sound assessment practices.

6. The leader analyzes student assessment information 1 2 3 4 5

accurately, uses the information to improve curriculum and instruction, and assists teachers in doing the same.

7. The leader develops and implements sound assessment 1 2 3 4 5

and assessment-related policies. 8. The leader creates the conditions necessary for the 1 2 3 4 5

appropriate use and reporting of student achievement information, and can communicate effectively with various stakeholders about student assessment results and their relationship to improving curriculum and instruction.

9. The leader understands the attributes of a sound and 1 2 3 4 5

balanced assessment system. 10. The leader understands the issues related to the 1 2 3 4 5

unethical and inappropriate use of student assessment and protects students and staff from such misuse.

Handout #1

Adopted from ETS/ATIG – Copyright Assessment Training Institute

© 2005 Assessment Training Institute, Portland OR Permission granted for use in training. 2

Questions to Ask of Classroom Assessments Key 1: Clear Purposes. Does the assessment author have a clear picture of how the assessment results will be used and by whom? • Is it clear who will use the results and how they will be used? Is the

distinction between assessment for and of learning clear? • How do the purposes in this assessment fit into a bigger plan that addresses both assessment

for and of learning over time? Key 2: Clear Targets. Does the assessment author have a clear picture of what she or he is trying to measure? • Are the student learning targets stated and easy to find? • Are the student learning targets focused and reasonable in number? • Are they clear? Would teachers agree on what they mean? • Are they appropriate? Do they represent the heart of the discipline and are they worth the

instructional and assessment time devoted to them? Is there a clear connection to standards? • Do the stated learning targets reflect a bigger plan to cover all important learning targets over

time? Do they reflect a bigger plan across grade levels—previous and next learning—in a continuous progress curriculum?

Key 3: Sound Assessment Design. Has the assessment developer translated the learning targets into high quality assessments that will yield accurate results? Choosing the Best Assessment Method Has the assessment method been chosen consciously to fit the learning targets to be assessed and the purpose for the assessment?

• What types of learning targets are being assessed? • What are the assessment methods used? • Are the assessment methods best for the learning targets being assessed? (Best is a

balance between most accurate and practical.) Finding and Devising Quality Tasks and Questions

• Are the assessment questions or exercises written well? • In the case of performance assessment, is the scoring guide (rubric) clear and does it

cover the most important aspects of what makes a quality rubric? Sampling Does the assessment gather enough information for the user to make a generalization about level of student learning on the target? If not, is this assessment part of a bigger plan to gather sufficient information across time and/or assessments?

Handout #2


Avoiding Potential Sources of Bias and Distortion Do you notice anything in the assessment or the way the assessment is carried out that might not allow a student to be able to demonstrate adequately what he or she knows and can do? This includes having unclear targets or unclear purposes, selecting an inappropriate assessment method, having problems with tasks and rubrics, and inadequate sampling. It also includes problems with context factors and students. Key 4: Effective Communication. Has the assessment developer planned for managing information from the assessment adequately and reporting it in ways that will meet the needs of users? • Has communication been planned as part of the assessment process? • Do teachers record assessment information accurately over time and combine it appropriately

for reporting? • Will the users of the results understand them and find them useful? Key 5: Student Involvement. Are students involved in the assessment process? • Would student-involvement components be useful in this case? If so, are they present? This

can include making learning targets clear to students; giving descriptive feedback to students; involving students in self-assessment, tracking progress, and setting goals; and involving students in communicating about their learning.

• Does the student involvement in this assessment reflect a bigger plan for involving students in their own assessment?

Handout #2


How Do You Do Assessment FOR Learning? Putting Teacher and Student Practices Together

Royce Sadler identified a progression of three questions to define students’ information needs met by effective formative assessment. They are:

• Where am I going?

• Where am I now?

• How can I close the gap?

The seven strategies listed below (some of which are teacher actions and some of which are student actions) are designed to help students answer Sadler’s three questions. The seven strategies are explained more fully on the following pages.

Activity directions: As you read the explanations on the next four pages, mark the strategies that are part of your current practice.

Using Assessment for Learning: Seven Strategies

WHERE AM I GOING? 1. Provide an understandable vision of the learning target.

2. Use models of strong and weak work.

WHERE AM I NOW?

3. Offer regular descriptive feedback.

4. Teach students to self-assess and set goals for learning.

HOW CAN I CLOSE THE GAP?

5. Design lessons to focus on one aspect of quality at a time.

6. Teach students focused revision.

7. Engage students in self-reflection. Let them keep track of and share what

they know.

Handout #2


Seven Strategies of Assessment for Learning

WHERE AM I GOING? Strategy 1: Provide a Clear and Understandable Vision of the Learning Target Share with your students the learning target(s), objective(s), or goal(s) in advance of teaching the lesson, giving the assignment, or doing the activity. Use language students understand, and check to make sure they understand. Ask, “Why are we doing this activity? What are we learning?” Convert learning targets into student-friendly language by defining key words in terms students understand. Ask students what they think constitutes quality in a product or performance learning target, then show how their thoughts match with the scoring guide or rubric you will use to define quality. Provide students with scoring guides written so they can understand them. Develop scoring criteria with them. Strategy 2: Use Examples and Models of Strong and Weak Work Use models of strong and weak work—anonymous student work, work from life beyond school, and your own work. Begin with work that demonstrates strengths and weaknesses related to problems students commonly experience, especially the problems that most concern you personally. Ask students to analyze these samples for quality and then to justify their judgments. Use only anonymous work. If you have been engaging students in analyzing examples or models, they will be developing a vision of what the product or performance looks like when it’s done well. Model creating a product or performance yourself. Show students the true beginnings, the problems you run into, and how you think through decisions along the way. Don’t hide the development and revision part, or students will think they are doing it wrong when it is messy for them at the beginning, and they won’t know how to work through the rough patches.

WHERE AM I NOW? Strategy 3: Offer Regular Descriptive Feedback Offer descriptive feedback instead of grades on work that is for practice. Descriptive feedback should reflect student strengths and weaknesses with respect to the specific learning target(s) they are trying to hit in a given assignment. Feedback is most effective when it identifies what students are doing right, as well as what they need to work on next. One way to think of this is “stars and stairs”—What did the learner accomplish? What are the next steps? All learners, especially struggling ones, need to know that they did something right, and our job as teachers is to find it and label it for them, before launching into what they need to improve. Remember that learners don’t need to know everything that needs correcting, all at once. Narrow your comments to the specific knowledge and skills emphasized in the current

Handout #2


assignment and pay attention to how much feedback learners can act on at one time. Don’t worry that students will be harmed if you don’t point out all of their problems. Identify as many issues as students can successfully act on at one time, independently, and then figure out what to teach next based on the other problems in their work. Providing students with descriptive feedback is a crucial part of increasing achievement. Feedback helps students answer the question, “Where am I now?” with respect to “Where do I need to be?” You are also modeling the kind of thinking you want students to engage in when they self-assess. Strategy 4: Teach Students to Self-Assess and Set Goals Teaching students to self-assess and set goals for learning is the second half of helping students answer the question, “Where am I now?”. Self-assessment is a necessary part of learning, not an add-on that we do if we have the time or the “right” students. Struggling students are the right students, as much as any others. The research described previously tells us it is they who gain the most. Self-assessment includes having students do the following:

• Identify their own strengths and areas for improvement. You can ask them to do this before they show their work to you for feedback, giving them prior thoughts of their own to “hang” it on—your feedback will be more meaningful and will make more sense.

• Write in a response log at the end of class, recording key points they have learned and questions they still have.

• Using established criteria, select a work sample for their portfolio that proves a certain level of proficiency, explaining why the piece qualifies.

• Offer descriptive feedback to classmates. • Use your feedback, feedback from other students, or their own self-assessment to identify

what they need to work on and set goals for future learning.

HOW CAN I CLOSE THE GAP? Strategy 5: Design Lessons to Focus on One Aspect of Quality at a Time If you are working on a learning target having more than one aspect of quality, we recommend that you build competence one block at a time. For example, mathematics problem solving requires choosing the right strategy as one component. A science experiment lab report requires a statement of the hypothesis as one component. Writing requires an introduction as one component. Look at the components of quality and then teach them one part at a time, making sure that students understand that all of the parts ultimately must come together. You can then offer feedback focused on the component you just taught, which narrows the volume of feedback students need to act on at a given time and raises their chances of success in doing so, again, especially for struggling learners. This is a time saver for you, and more instructionally powerful for students.

Handout #2


Strategy 6: Teach Students Focused Revision Show students how you would revise an answer, product, or performance, and then let them revise a similar example. Begin by choosing work that needs revision on a single aspect of quality. Ask students to brainstorm advice for the (anonymous) author on how to improve the work. Then ask students, in pairs, to revise the work using their own advice. Or ask students to write a letter to the creator of the sample, suggesting how to make it stronger for the aspect of quality discussed. Ask students to analyze your own work for quality and make suggestions for improvement. Revise your work using their advice. Ask them to again review it for quality. These exercises will prepare students to work on a current product or performance of their own, revising for the aspect of quality being studied. You can then give feedback on just that aspect. Strategy 7: Engage Students in Self-Reflection, and Let Them Keep Track of and Share Their Learning Engage students in tracking, reflecting on, and communicating about their own progress. Any activity that requires students to reflect on what they are learning and to share their progress both reinforces the learning and helps them develop insights into themselves as learners. These kinds of activities give students the opportunity to notice their own strengths, to see how far they have come, and to feel in control of the conditions of their success. By reflecting on their learning, they deepen their understanding, and will remember it longer. In addition, it is the learner, not the teacher, who is doing the work. Here are some things you can have students do:

• Write a process paper, detailing how they solved a problem or created a product or performance. This analysis encourages them to think like professionals in your discipline.

• Write a letter to their parents about a piece of work, explaining where they are now with it and what they are trying to do next.

• Reflect on their growth. “I have become a better reader this year. I used to . . . , but now I . . . ”

• Help plan and participate in conferences with parents and/or teachers to share their learning.

These Strategies as a Progression The strategies reflect a progression that unfolds in the classroom over time. Students have trouble engaging in later steps (such as self-assessment) if they have not had experience with earlier steps (understanding learning targets and reliably assessing work). Likewise, it is much harder for students to communicate their progress if the learning targets are not clear, if they are not adept at assessing their work, and if they don’t know what they need to do to improve. All assessment for learning ideas in the rest of this book will address one or more of the three questions: Where am I going? Where am I now? and How can I close the gap? “Seven Strategies of Assessment for Learning” is taken directly from CASL pages 42 – 46.

Handout #2

1160 Dublin Road, Suite 500 Columbus, OH 43215 (614) 481-3141 (614) 481-8997 fax www.BattelleforKids.org

Adapted from Assessment FOR Learning: An Action Guide for Schools Leaders (pp.176-178) by S. Chappuis, R.J. Stiggins, J. Arter, and J. Chappuis, 2004, Portland, OR.

LEADERSHIP ACADEMY DETERMINING WHERE MY TEACHERS ARE NOW Evaluate your teachers’ practices for each of the statements below. Use the following scale: 1. Teachers don’t do this, or this doesn’t happen in their classrooms. 2. Teachers do this infrequently, or this happens infrequently in their classrooms. 3. Teachers do this sometimes, or this sometimes happens in their classrooms. 4. Teachers do this frequently, or this happens frequently in their classrooms. 5. Teachers do this on an ongoing basis, or this happens all the time in their classrooms.

Next to each statement put the number that best describes your teachers’ practices.

SURVEY STATEMENT RATING 1. Teachers understand the relationship between assessment and student

motivation. They use assessment to build student confidence rather than failure and defeat.

2. Teachers can articulate, in advance of teaching, the achievement targets their students are to hit.

3. Teachers inform their students regularly, in terms students can understand, about those achievement targets, in part through the study of the criteria by which their work will be evaluated and samples of high-quality work.

4. Students can describe what targets they are to hit and what comes next in their learning.

5. Teachers can transform these learning targets into dependable assessments that yield accurate information.

6. Teachers’ feedback to students is frequent, descriptive, constructive and immediate, helping students know how to plan and improve.

7. Teachers can consistently use classroom assessment information to revise and guide teaching and learning.

8. Students are actively, consistently and effectively involved in assessment, including learning to manage their own learning through the skills of self-assessment.

9. Students actively, consistently and effectively communicate with others about their achievement status and improvement.

Handout #3

©Copyright, 2008. Battelle for Kids. All rights reserved. 2

Self- Assessment: Where Am I Now?

Directions:

• Read the statements one to nine

• Evaluate your practice for each of the nine statements below, according to the following scale:

Next to the statement put the number that best describes your practices.

1 = I don’t do this, or this doesn’t happen in their classrooms

2 = I do this infrequently, or this happens infrequently in their classrooms

3 = I do this sometimes, or this sometimes happens in their classrooms

4 = I do this frequently, or this happens frequently in their classrooms

5 = I do this on an ongoing basis, or this happens all the time in their classrooms

Survey Statement

1. I understand the relationship between assessment and student motivation and use assessment to build student confidence rather than failure and defeat.

2. I can articulate, in advance of teaching, the achievement targets my students are to hit.

3. I inform my students regularly, in terms they can understand, about those achievement targets, in part through the study of the criteria by which their work will be evaluated and samples of high-quality work.

4. The students can describe what targets they are to hit and what comes next in their learning.

5. I transform these learning targets into dependable assessments that yield accurate information.

6. I consistently use classroom assessment information to revise and guide teaching and learning.

7. My feedback to students is frequent, descriptive, constructive, and immediate, helping my students know how to plan and improve.

8. My students are actively, consistently, and effectively involved in assessment, including learning to manage their own learning through the skills of self-assessment.

9. My students actively, consistently, and effectively communicate with others about their achievement status and improvement.

Source: Adapted from Assessment FOR Learning: An Action Guide for School Leaders (pp.176-178, by S. Chappuis, R.J. Stiggins, J. Arter, and J. Chappuis, 2004, Portland, OR: Assessment Training Institute. Adapted by permission.

Handout #3a

1160 Dublin Road, Suite 500 Columbus, OH 43215 (614) 481-3141 (614) 481-8997 fax www.BattelleforKids.org

©Copyright, 2009. Battelle for Kids. All rights reserved.

FEEDBACK FOUR SQUARE FOR CLEAR LEARNING TARGETS ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING, STRATEGY #1 Teacher: ________________________ Subject: ________________________ Date: _______________ Start Time: _______________ End Time: _______________ Learning Target(s): ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________

Teacher Communication of Clear Learning Targets

Clear targets are identified and shared with students before, during and after learning. ___ Yes ___ No How? Describe the evidence.

Student Understanding of Clear Learning Targets

Evidence exists that all students understand the learning targets. What it looks like to know the learning targets is shared and understood by all students. ___ Yes ___ No How? Describe the evidence.

Teacher/Student Checks for Learning How is learning monitored by teachers and students? Teachers: Students:

Teacher/Student Adjustments What happens when students know the targets? What happens when students don’t? What do you see (e.g., flexible grouping)?

Handout #4

Adapted from Assessment FOR Learning: An Action Guide for School Leaders, ETS, 2005. Presented by Battelle for Kids, 2009. Handout #5

DEVELOPMENTAL CONTINUA FOR TEACHERS CATEGORY Skilled Practiced Learning Ready to Learn Key 1: Clear Purpose Assess Why?

I understand the various purposes (users and uses) for classroom assessment and why it is essential to have clear purposes for assessment. I successfully balance various purposes. The following statements tend to describe me:

• I can explain why it is essential to have clear purposes for assessment and I plan my assessments with users and uses in mind.

• I regularly implement both formative and summative assessment in my classroom.

• I regularly use assessment information to plan instruction, set goals for students, track student progress and reflect on my own teaching.

• I have a plan for integrating summative and formative assessment over time, and formative assessment purposes are the majority.

• I consciously use assessment procedures and results to improve motivation and maximize achievement.

I understand that it is important to have clear purposes for assessment, I know about the various purposes of classroom assessment, and I am trying out and comparing procedures. The following statements tend to describe me: • I can describe various

purposes for classroom assessment. I am experimenting with designing assessment to meet the various needs of users.

• I can define formative and summative assessment and give examples of each.

• I frequently use assessment information to plan instruction, set goals for students, track student progress and reflect on my own teaching.

• I am trying out ideas for how best to balance assessment for and of learning in my classroom.

• I am becoming more able to consciously use assessment procedures to improve motivation and maximize achievement.

I am aware of the need to define clear purposes for assessment, and I am learning more about it. The following statements tend to describe me: • I know that different users

need different information, and I am trying to learn how needs differ so that I can better plan classroom assessments.

• I have heard of formative and summative assessments, and I’m learning about how they differ.

• I sometimes use assessment information to fine tune instruction, and I am trying to do more.

• I want to develop a better balance of assessment for and of learning, but I am not sure where to begin.

• I am aware of the impact assessment has on students, and I am trying to learn to use sound procedures.

I have not yet considered various purposes for assessment. The following statements tend to describe me: • I know that there are

different purposes for assessment, but I have not considered if my procedures and results meet all users’ needs.

• I have heard of formative and summative assessment, but I haven’t explored their distinctions.

• I use assessment mostly for grading.

• I don’t entirely see why rethinking assessment purposes are necessary. I’m not sure how to consciously manipulate procedures to maximize motivation and learning.


CATEGORY Skilled Practiced Learning Ready to Learn Key 2: Clear Learning Targets Assess What?

I understand and can articulate the enduring skills and knowledge important for students to master. I am, myself a master of the learning targets I teach. The following statements tend to describe me:

• I can explain why having clear targets is essential for accuracy, and I always plan my assessments to cover specific targets.

• I can readily describe my learning targets for students.

• My learning targets represent the best thinking in the field.

• I can readily explain how each of my learning targets spring from earlier grades and lay foundations for future ones.

• I use my learning targets to plan instruction and assessment.

• I can state the learning targets for everything I teach.

• I can provide thorough and descriptive details about the student knowledge and skills associated with each of the learning targets.

I mostly have clear and appropriate learning targets for students, and I am filling out the final details. The following statements tend to describe me: • I can describe different kinds

of learning targets and find specific examples of each kind.

• I can usually describe my learning targets for students.

• I am working steadily to ensure that learning targets for students represent the best thinking in the field.

• I understand how my learning targets mesh over grade levels and how my targets fit into the bigger scheme.

• I mostly use my learning targets to plan instruction and assessments, but sometimes I plan activities first and then go back and identify what targets fit.

• I can usually provide thorough and descriptive details about the student knowledge and skills associated with each of the learning targets.

I know that it is important to be clear on student learning targets, and I am seeking more information. The following statements tend to describe me: • I can describe types of

targets but my list is incomplete or lacks examples.

• I can more or less describe learning targets for students.

• I know that some of my targets represent the best thinking in the field.

• I can describe in general how my learning targets relate to those in previous and subsequent grades.

• I plan instruction by identifying activities that would be engaging for students and then I go back and match up the targets.

• I can list features of quality performance, but I need assistance to distinguish levels of performance.

I am not sure what learning targets are. The following statements tend to describe me: • I’m not sure I could

define what a learning target is.

• I think it takes too much time to identify learning targets for everything I teach.

• I’m not sure how my learning targets relate to content standards.

• Sometimes clear learning targets get in the way of spontaneous teaching.

• I design instruction mostly by what engages students and what I like to teach- or I count on the textbook or our resources.

• I feel uncomfortable teaching certain subjects because I don’t completely understand them myself.


CATEGORY Skilled Practiced Learning Ready to Learn Key 3: Sound Assessment Design Assess How?

I only use assessments that I know to be accurate - correct methods, good sample and no sources of bias and distortion. The following statements tend to describe me: Assessment Design

• I can describe how each assessment I use is designed with the end user in mind.

• My assessments are always focused on specific, important learning targets with the best method used.

• I use test blueprints that indicate how each target will be assessed and its importance.

• I use “prepackaged” assessments only when I’m sure they cover the right targets in the right proportions, using the best methods.

Writing Quality Questions and Tasks

• I understand rules for writing all types of assessment questions and tasks.

Sampling • I plan my assessments to

gather enough examples of student performance.

Bias/Distortion • I consciously avoid potential

sources of bias and distortion. • I plan for multiple assessments

of complex targets and use a variety of assessments.

• I routinely discard from assessments questions that don’t work.

I understand the range of assessment options and when to use each, the importance of sampling student performance well, and the importance of eliminating potential sources of bias and distortion in my assessments. I am in the process of applying what I know. The following statements would tend to describe me: Assessment Design • I can describe various

assessment methods. • I can describe when to use each

assessment method. • I’m practicing with test blueprints. • I am trying to never use

“prepackaged” assessments without review.

Writing Quality Questions and Tasks • I am familiar with many rules for

writing good assessment questions and tasks.

Sampling • I can define sampling. • I can find examples of

assessments that sample well and poorly, and I’m trying to sample well.

Bias/Distortion • I can list potential sources of bias

and distortion and explain why they are important to consider.

• I can show examples of assessments with problems, like cultural barriers.

• I discard from assessments questions that don’t work.

I am aware of the need to match assessment methods to learning targets and purposes, and I have the desire to be more intentional about selecting assessment methods, sampling, and avoiding potential sources of bias and distortion, but I’m not entirely sure what needs to be done or where to start. The following statements tend to describe me: Assessment Design • I use various assessment

methods but can’t say why. • I can list various assessment

methods but can’t define all. • I sometimes feel afraid of using

traditional assessment methods.

• I think there are problems with some “prepackaged” assessments, but I’m not real sure what to do about it.

Writing Quality Questions and Tasks • I am familiar with some rules for

writing them. Sampling • I have tried to sample student

performance. Bias/Distortion • I can identify some potential

problems in assessments, and I have tried to fix them.

• I’m experimenting with alternative ways to assess students with various needs.

• I have thought about discarding questions.

I’m not sure what is meant by matching targets to methods. I know that such things as sampling and bias and distortion exist, but I don’t quite see how it applies to me. The following statements tend to describe me: Assessment Design • I tend to always use the

same assessment method.

• I concentrate on using assessment methods that match our standardized test.

• I mostly use methods used by other teachers.

• I mostly use prepackaged assessments.

Writing Quality Questions and Tasks • I’m not familiar with the

rules. Sampling • I’m not sure I can define

sampling or don’t know if sampling is a problem.

Bias/Distortion • I’m not sure I can define

bias and distortion. • I know that assessments

contain certain barriers, but I’m uncertain what to do about it.

• I know that some assessments are better, but I don’t know what to do about it.

• I thought that these were mainly problems with standardized tests.


CATEGORY Skilled Practiced Learning Ready to Learn Key 4: Effective Communication Communicate How?

I report student assessment results to a variety of audiences accurately and understandably. The following statements tend to describe me: My feedback/communication with students:

• Is based on learning targets they understand.

• Is frequent and describes strengths and next steps in learning. I avoid evaluative feedback (grades) on practice work.

• Emphasizes what they already know how to do and limits corrective feedback to the amount they can handle.

When I communicate with others: • I use language and

symbols they understand. • I choose the reporting

option that provides the right amount of detail for the audience-grades, narrative reports, rubric scores, portfolios, student-led conferences, etc.

• I involve others in interpreting the results.

• I check to make sure the person understood what was communicated.

• I tailor the type of information for the audience.

• I can explain various types of standardized test scores and displays in ways others can understand.

I understand the range of assessment reporting options and when to use each, and the importance of frequent, descriptive feedback to students. I am in the process of learning how to apply what I know. The following statements tend to describe me: • I understand that feedback to

students needs to be based on learning targets they understand, is frequent and descriptive, emphasizes what they already know and next steps in learning, and is what students can handle; I am partially successful with this.

• I understand that feedback to others besides students needs to be consciously planned and takes into account common understanding of symbols, the reporting option that provides the correct level of detail, their need to interpret the results, etc.; I am partially successful with this.

• I can mostly explain various types of standardized test scores and displays in ways other can understand.

I understand that good communication of assessment results is important, but I don’t know where to begin. The following statements tend to describe me: • I know that feedback and

communication with students is part of the learning, but I’m not sure what type of feedback is best or how to deliver it.

• I would like to make reporting about achievement to parents and others more powerful, but I’m not sure how to go about it.

• I know that explaining results of standardized tests to others is important, but I only partially understand them myself.

I use standard, traditional ways of reporting assessment results to others. The following statements tend to describe me: My feedback/communication with students: • Is based mostly on

grades. • Occurs on a “need to

know” basis, as when a student is failing.

• Frequently involves comparing students to each other.

• Consists mostly of going over a test and explaining the questions students got wrong.

When I communicate with others: • I tend to use the same

reporting option and symbols for all audiences.

• I interpret results for them.

• I do it on a “need to know” basis, as when a student is failing.

• I don’t understand various types of standardized test scores and displays, and I don’t feel such scores are important so I don’t attend much to them.


CATEGORY Skilled Practiced Learning Ready to Learn Key 5: Student Involvement Involve Students How?

I actively and consistently involve students in their own assessment, tracking progress, setting goals for learning and communicating about their own progress. The following statements tend to describe me:

• Many of my students can accurately describe the learning targets they are to hit. Vehicles include student-friendly language, rubrics, and samples of work that illustrate different levels of proficiency.

• Many of my students are accurate assessors.

• My students regularly self-assess, set goals for learning and develop a plan for achieving those goals.

• My students regularly communicate with others about their learning (conferences, portfolios, self-reflections, etc.).

I can describe various student involvement activities and show examples. I am trying these out. The following statements tend to describe me: • I consistently and frequently

explain to students the learning targets to be attained. Some of my students can accurately explain the targets in their own words.

• I regularly share performance criteria, samples of student work and assessment questions with students to help them understand the learning targets they are to hit and to help them be accurate assessors. Some of my students are.

• I regularly ask my students to self-assess, reflect on their learning, track their progress, set goals for learning, and/or communicate their learning to others. My students are only partially successful with this.

I understand, in general, the types of things one might do to involve students in assessment, but I don’t understand the precise steps involved. The following statements tend to describe me: • I understand that students

need to understand the learning targets, but I am unsure how to do this.

• I understand that students need to be able to accurately self-assess in order to take control of their learning and to realize associated achievement benefits, but I’m not sure how to begin.

• I know that students’ involvement in their own assessment, record keeping, and reporting is important, but I don’t know how to begin.

I don’t understand what is meant by student involvement, or, I have tried it and it doesn’t work, or, I don’t believe it to be powerful. The following statements tend to describe me: • I’m not always sure if

the target statements can be easily understood by all of my students.

• My students exchange papers, mark questions right or wrong and report total scores.

• My students have difficulty explaining why they get the grades they do, self-assessing and describing what quality work looks like.

• I’m not sure students have the ability to assess themselves, and I’m not convinced that self-assessment is useful. I have not considered involving students in developing assessments.

• I have students communicate progress to parents by sending work home and having parents sign off on it.


Documents

Assessment Competencies for School Leadersstatic.battelleforkids.org/images/BFK/ACTIVITIES.pdfAssessment Competencies for School Leaders The following 10 competencies have been revised