Using Assessment Information in Real Time: What Teachers Need to Know and

Be Able To DoMargaret Heritage

CRESST/UCLA

11th Annual Maryland Assessment ConferenceOctober 20-21, 2011University of Maryland

Overview• A System of Assessment

• Teacher Knowledge and Skills

• Teacher Support

Real-time Data

• Data that are generated and used by teachers and students during the ongoing course of instruction to keep learning moving forward to reach desired goals

A System of Assessment

Comprehensive, Coherent, Continuous (NCR, 2001)

Student Standards

DailyWeekly

UnitQuarterly

Annually

Minute-by-minute

Different levels of granularity needed for different decisions related to student learning

Herman, 2011

Teacher Knowledge and Skills

Understand the purpose of

the assessment

Understand data

properties

Data analysis skills

Fit data into a structure for

interpretation

Decide on appropriate

action to improve learning

Post-hoc Data

Nature of Real-time Information

• Individual

• Proximately timed

• Reveal insights into thinking

• Instructionally tractable

• REFLEXIVE

Teacher Knowledge and Skills

Making pedagogical

moves to advance learning

Knowledge of likely outcomes/responses

Real-time Data

Formulate/select data gathering

opportunities

Place in the “rhythm” of teaching and

learning

Knowledge of a fully-formed understanding

/skill

Supporting Teachers: Teacher Knowledge

Develop models of how student thinking and skills develop in a discipline/across disciplines

Understand barriers, difficulties, common misconceptions and challenges to student learning in a discipline

Develop knowledge of what a “good performance” looks like

Deepen pedagogical content knowledge

Involving students

Supporting Teachers: Resources

Provide better descriptions of learning pathways

Provide resources that support interpretation and action

Supporting Teachers: Teacher Development

Studying Practice Versus Implementing Programs

mheritag@ucla.edu