Formative Assessment:

Observing teachers and English Language Learners to support

them contingently

Aída Walqui Director, Teacher Professional

Development Program awalqui@wested.org

1  

WestEd.org WestEd.org

Formative Assessment: Observing teachers and English Language Learners to support them contingently

Confederation of Oregon School Administrators Conference

Eugene, August 8, 2014

Aída Walqui Director, Teacher Professional Development Program awalqui@wested.org

WestEd.org

The New Standards provide educators with an opportunity to rethink the way in which the education of ELLs has been framed

FROM: Language as form Learning as individual Teachers as imparters of knowledge Development as linear Learners as passive vessels Language, literacies, and disciplinary knowledge as separate

TO: Language as action Learning as social Teachers as creators of the conditions for learning Development spiraling Learners in control of their learning: agency Weaving of disciplinary concepts, academic skills, and language in learning

2  

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Assessment is usually viewed as:

•  Something apart from regular teaching, a tool

•  Serving primarily the purpose of providing grades or informing parents

•  Traditional summative testing, a notion born in teacher education and propagated through professional development

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“Tests are not even related to what was taught.”

“I’m not able to tell you what we

are learning.”

“If you don’t pass it, you don’t

know what you are supposed

to.“

“A test is not a great way

to be judged.”

“There is a huge difference between knowing you made a mistake and why you made a mistake and knowing how

to fix it that’s the thing with final tests. You take a final and you’re done.”

“Tests are not helpful because it doesn’t tell you what you missed and why. It’s more

beneficial if you know what you did wrong.”

“Can’t be truthful

with your teachers

that their teaching

is boring because

you want to be

nice.”

“Lots of times I’m

confused.”

Anderson, 2014

What Do Students Say?!

“All comes down to one day and it determines if you pass or fail.”

3  

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The critical nexus for assessment

Assessing language uses critical to the

content and analytic skills

Assessing the content and analytical skills

using construct-relevant language

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Abedi & Linquanti (2012)

!  Formative: Directly informs, supports, enhances teacher pedagogy, student learning

!  Interim/benchmark: Predicts outcomes, “dipsticks” units of study

!  Summative: Drives program review, external accountability

Comprehensive assessment systems clearly define purposes of each component

Interim: Shorter term (Benchmark)

Summative: Long term (evaluative)

Formative: Continuous (pedagogical)

4  

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Formative Assessment •  Primary objective: to maximize teacher’s information uptake

to foster translation of that information into short term pedagogical practice.

•  The goal: to bring about student understanding and conceptual change by providing immediate feedback to students and teachers focused on reducing the gap between the student’s current level of understanding and the place where it ultimately should be.

•  Also: to enhance students’ awareness of their ongoing learning, of their learning goals, and to “hand over” to them control of their own learning.

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Formative Assessment is not a new concept

“Assessment is not an add-on to teaching and learning; it is integral to learning. Black and Wiliam (1998a) presented rather convincing evidence that formative assessment causes improvement in student learning. Yet they (1998b) also noted that such practice is rarely found in teaching.”

Shavelson,(2006). On The Integration Of Formative Assessment In Teaching And Learning with Implications for Teacher Education. In F. Oser, F. Achtenhagen, & U. Renold (Eds.), Competence-oriented teacher training: Old research demands and new pathways (pp. 63–78). Utrecht, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers.

May (wrote) in an autobiography she was assigned in her eighth-gradeLanguage Arts class at Merced's Hoover Junior High School:

On our way to Thailand was something my parent will never forget. It was one of the scariest time of my life, and maybe my parents. We had to walked by feet. Some of family, however, leave their kids behind, kill, or beat them. For example, one of the relative has tried to kill one of his kid, but luckily he didn't died. And manage to come along with the group. Today, he's inAmerica carrying a scar on his forehead.

My parents had to carried me and two of my younger sisters, True and Yer. My mom could only carried me, and my dad could only my sister. True with many other things which they have to carry such as, rices (food), clothing, and blankets for overnight. My parents pay one of the relative to carry Yer. One of my sister who died in Thailand was so tire of walking saying that she can't go on any longer. But she dragged along and made it to Thailand.

There was gun shot going on and soldier were close to every where. If there was a gun shot, we were to look for a place to hide. On our trip to Thailand, there were many gun shots and instead of looking for a place to hide, my parents would dragged our hands or put us on their back and run for their lifes. When it gets too heavy, my parents would tossed some of their stuff away. Some of the things they had throw away are valuable to them, but our lives were more important to them than the stuffs.

“You have had an exciting life!” wrote her teacher at the end of theessay. “Please watch verbs in the past tense.”

n o t e sEXCERPT FROMTHE SPIRIT CATCHES YOU AND YOU FALL DOWN*

© 2005 WestEd | Page 1

*Fadiman, Anne. The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down. New York: FarrarStraus and Giroux, 1997. Pages 154-155.

Q U A L I T Y T E A C H I N G f o r E n g l i s h L e a r n e rf o r E n g l i s h L e a r n e r s

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1)  Teacher agency 2)  Evidence –based, highly responsive pedagogy to

students’ immediate needs 3)  Student metacognitive strategies 4)  Student ownership of learning

Formative Assessment supports

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We will briefly focus on the immense expertise educators need to engage in formative assessment with ELLs

•  We will see how formative assessment is (or is not) an integral part of teaching, guiding it, creating teacher responsiveness, and fostering student growth and ownership of the learning process.

•  We will discuss and reflect on one problematic and a second example of what a teacher does to make formative assessment feed into her next teaching moves.

6  

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Features of formative assessment

•  Promotes student learning •  Changes the roles of teachers and students by placing

students at the center of teaching and learning •  Uses learning progressions (individual, not universal) to

anchor learning goals and monitor learning •  Results in meaningful feedback and adjustments to

improve learning instruction for students •  Enables students to become self-regulated and

autonomous learners

WestEd.org

A good example of formative assessment as part of pedagogy

Teacher: Tanya Warren School: International Newcomer Academy,

Fort Worth, TX Students: In the US and in English for six weeks Discipline: Science

NOTE: In Spanish ‘why” and ‘because’ are expressed by the same word: Por qué

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Meaningful assessment for ELs under new standards….

•  Recognizes role of language in assessing academic performance using English

•  Leverages appropriately all components of a comprehensive assessment system

•  Identifies & minimizes construct-irrelevant language in large-scale assessment

•  Utilizes effective & valid accommodations to strengthen signal to educators

1

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Formative assessment is not a tool or event

! A process teachers and students engage in to move learning forward

! Grounded in learning goals, structured tasks, questioning, instructional conversation, contingency

(Heritage, Walqui, & Linquanti, 2013; Heritage, 2013)

© 2

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Defi

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men

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(S

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r As

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ines

s fo

r Co

llege

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(PAR

CC) D

efini

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Pu

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Form

ativ

e As

sess

men

tsFo

rmat

ive

asse

ssm

ent i

s as

sess

men

t for

le

arni

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n on

goin

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oces

s of

obs

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tude

nt le

arni

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at ta

kes

plac

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ring

teac

hing

. The

se p

roce

sses

incl

ude

1)

gaug

ing

stud

ents

’ em

ergi

ng u

nder

stan

ding

, sk

ills,

and

lang

uage

; 2) n

otic

ing

wha

t is

in th

e cu

sp o

f be

ing

unde

rsto

od o

r de

velo

ped;

3)

noti

cing

wha

t may

hav

e be

en m

isco

nstr

ued,

4)

mak

ing

deci

sion

s as

to w

here

the

rich

est

and

mos

t pro

mis

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deve

lopm

enta

l mom

ent

will

be

to p

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ppro

pria

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caff

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that

will

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r th

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uden

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agin

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beco

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war

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thei

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t an

d ho

w to

sup

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nd 7

) usi

ng th

e in

form

atio

n to

info

rm c

urre

nt a

nd fu

ture

in

stru

ctio

n.

The

SBAC

is s

till

deve

lopi

ng fo

rmal

mat

eria

ls

that

sta

te th

eir

defin

itio

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form

ativ

e as

sess

men

t, bu

t the

ir m

aste

r w

ork

plan

ref

ers

to th

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s as

“a

full

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form

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t pra

ctic

es—

iden

tify

ing

lear

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ta

rget

s, u

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tool

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rate

gies

to g

athe

r ev

iden

ce o

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uden

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erst

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naly

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ev

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feed

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stm

ents

, and

hel

ping

stu

dent

s re

asse

ss, i

n a

recu

rsiv

e pr

oces

s.”

The

SBAC

is a

lso

in th

e pr

oces

s of

dev

elop

ing

a di

gita

l lib

rary

wit

h pr

ofes

sion

al d

evel

opm

ent

mat

eria

ls r

egar

ding

“fo

rmat

ive

asse

ssm

ent

prac

tice

s an

d st

rate

gies

.” T

hese

will

incl

ude:

“s

cori

ng r

ubri

cs fo

r pe

rfor

man

ce ta

sks”

and

“e

vide

nce-

gath

erin

g to

ols

and

tech

niqu

es.”

PARC

C is

als

o in

the

proc

ess

of d

evel

opin

g fo

rmat

ive

asse

ssm

ent “

tool

s,”

the

purp

ose

of w

hich

“is

to p

rovi

de e

duca

tors

wit

h in

stru

ctio

nally

use

ful i

nfor

mat

ion

rela

ted

to h

ow s

tude

nts

dem

onst

rate

CCS

S pr

ofici

enci

es…

at a

n ap

prop

riat

e le

vel

of d

etai

l and

spe

cific

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to s

uppl

emen

t a

teac

her’s

cur

rent

und

erst

andi

ng o

f st

uden

t pr

ofici

ency

.”

They

des

crib

e th

e to

ols

as “

curr

icul

um-

embe

dded

” to

“ga

ther

info

rmat

ion

abou

t st

uden

t lea

rnin

g in

a m

anne

r th

at s

eeks

to b

e ‘in

visi

ble’

to th

e st

uden

t.”

Thes

e to

ols

will

“pr

ovid

e te

ache

rs w

ith

info

rmat

ion

they

can

use

to a

djus

t ins

truc

tion

as

app

ropr

iate

.”

© 2

014

Wes

tEd

| Pa

ge 2

Defi

niti

on a

nd P

urpo

seSm

arte

r Ba

lanc

e As

sess

men

t Con

sort

ium

(S

BAC)

Defi

niti

on a

nd P

urpo

sePa

rtne

rshi

p fo

r As

sess

men

t of

Read

ines

s fo

r Co

llege

and

Car

eers

(PAR

CC) D

efini

tion

and

Pu

rpos

e

Inte

rim

As

sess

men

tsIn

teri

m A

sses

smen

ts (a

lso

know

n as

be

nchm

ark

asse

ssm

ents

) are

nor

mal

ly g

iven

pe

riod

ical

ly a

t set

inte

rval

s to

det

erm

ine

how

st

uden

ts p

erfo

rm a

fter

a u

nit o

f in

stru

ctio

n to

1)

info

rm n

ext u

nit o

f in

stru

ctio

n

SBAC

defi

nes

inte

rim

ass

essm

ents

as

thos

e th

at “

prov

ide

educ

ator

s w

ith

acti

onab

le

info

rmat

ion

abou

t stu

dent

pro

gres

s th

roug

hout

the

year

.”

SBAC

has

cre

ated

thei

r ow

n op

tion

al in

teri

m

asse

ssm

ents

to “

help

teac

hers

, stu

dent

s, a

nd

pare

nts

unde

rsta

nd w

heth

er s

tude

nts

are

on

trac

k, a

nd id

enti

fy s

tren

gths

and

lim

itat

ions

in

rela

tion

to th

e Co

mm

on C

ore

Stat

e St

anda

rds”

an

d “s

uppo

rt th

e de

velo

pmen

t of

stat

e en

d-of

-cou

rse

test

s.”

PARC

C la

bels

its

opti

onal

inte

rim

ass

essm

ents

“M

id-Y

ear

Asse

ssm

ents

.” T

hese

con

tain

bot

h co

nstr

ucte

d re

spon

se a

nd m

ulti

ple

choi

ce

item

s "d

esig

ned

to in

form

cur

ricu

lum

, in

stru

ctio

n an

d pr

ofes

sion

al d

evel

opm

ent.”

Th

e as

sess

men

ts “

focu

s on

diffi

cult

-to-

asse

ss

stan

dard

s, in

clud

ing

wri

ting

eff

ecti

vely

w

hen

anal

yzin

g te

xts

in E

LA/L

iter

acy

and

appl

icat

ions

/mod

elin

g an

d re

ason

ing

in

mat

hem

atic

s.”

Sum

mat

ive

Asse

ssm

ents

Sum

mat

ive

asse

ssm

ents

are

ass

essm

ents

of

lear

ning

. The

y ar

e us

ed to

eva

luat

e le

arni

ng a

t the

end

of

a sp

ecifi

ed p

erio

d of

in

stru

ctio

n (a

uni

t, a

sem

este

r, a

year

). Th

ey

do n

ot p

rovi

de in

form

atio

n fo

r in

form

ing

curr

ent t

each

ing

prac

tice

s, b

ecau

se th

e kn

owle

dge

gain

ed a

bout

stu

dent

pro

gres

s is

re

tros

pect

ive.

SBAC

’s su

mm

ativ

e as

sess

men

t, w

hich

is

adm

inis

tere

d du

ring

the

last

12

wee

ks o

f th

e sc

hool

yea

r, is

use

d to

“1)

Acc

urat

ely

desc

ribe

bot

h st

uden

t ach

ieve

men

t and

gr

owth

of

stud

ent l

earn

ing

as p

art o

f pr

ogra

m

eval

uati

on a

nd s

choo

l, di

stri

ct, a

nd s

tate

ac

coun

tabi

lity

syst

ems;

and

2) P

rovi

de v

alid

, re

liabl

e, a

nd fa

ir m

easu

res

of s

tude

nts’

prog

ress

tow

ard,

and

att

ainm

ent o

f th

e kn

owle

dge

and

skill

s re

quir

ed to

be

colle

ge-

and

care

er-r

eady

.”

PAR

CC s

umm

ativ

e as

sess

men

ts a

re

desi

gned

“to

pro

vide

edu

cato

rs w

ith

tim

ely

feed

back

to in

form

inst

ruct

ion

and

prov

ide

mul

tipl

e m

easu

res

of s

tude

nt a

chie

vem

ent

acro

ss th

e sc

hool

yea

r.” P

ARCC

sta

tes

have

en

dors

ed a

gra

de-b

ased

des

ign

in E

nglis

h la

ngua

ge a

rts/

liter

acy

(ELA

/lit

erac

y) a

nd b

oth

a co

urse

-bas

ed a

nd in

tegr

ated

des

ign

in

mat

hem

atic

s.

A pe

rfor

man

ce b

ased

ass

essm

ent i

s ad

min

iste

red

afte

r 75

% o

f th

e sc

hool

yea

r ha

s pa

ssed

, whi

le th

e En

d-of

-Yea

r As

sess

men

t (E

OY)

is a

dmin

iste

red

afte

r ap

prox

imat

ely

90%

of

the

scho

ol y

ear.

8  

WestEd.org

What does Formative assessment look like?

Teachers…

" gather and respond to specific evidence that is proximal to learning occurring in the “construction zone”

" probe thinking, uncover misconceptions and insights, observe developing language use

Students…

" receive & use feedback that guides or draws them forward in learning, extends thinking using language

" engage in self/peer-assessment and reflection in ways that build metacognitive & metalinguistic awareness, confidence and autonomy

(Heritage, Walqui, & Linquanti, 2013; Heritage, 2013)

WestEd.org

Thank you