Common assessments one day

DESIGNING COMMON

(FORMATIVE) ASSESSMENTS

A D A P T E D I N P A R T F R O M K . B R A D L E Y , A . L A R E A U , A N D S . P A L M A

OUR DAY

Essential QuestionsWhat are common assessments?How do common assessments connect to other powerful instruction and

assessment practices?What are the components of a quality common assessment?What are the benefits of using a common assessment to both teachers

and students?ObjectivesDifferentiate between and among different types of assessments and their

purposes Improve our assessment literacy through deeper understanding of the assessment

design processCreate a first draft common assessment for use in grade and/ or content areaReceive tools for evaluating and improving quality of common assessments

OutcomeCommon assessment creation

PERUSE, REFLECT, QUESTION…

BEGINNING THE PROCESS…

Which standard will you be teaching?

What areas of concern do you have based on recent assessments? Why?

Design a Common Formative Assessment that will provide you with a laser-like focus to plan precise instruction for students’ needs!

THE POWER OF COMMON ASSESSMENTS

Not standardized tests, but rather teacher-created, teacher owned

assessments that are collaboratively

scored and that provide immediate

feedback to students and

teachers.

WHAT ARE COMMON FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS?

Assessments for learning administered to all students

Provides a predictive value of how students are likely to do on the next level of assessment in time for teachers to make instructional adjustments

Items collaboratively designed by participating teachers; represent common, agreed upon expectations

Items represent priority standards only

Items aligned to district and state tests

Results analyzed in Data Teams in order to differentiate instruction

TASTE TESTING

When the cook tastes the soup, that’s formative; when the guests taste the soup, that’s summative.

7

BALANCED ASSESSMENT SYSTEMA VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF RESPONSIBILITY

FORMATIVE BENCHMARK/INTERIM SUMMATIVE TEACHER

PRINCIPAL

DISTRICT

PRIORITIZING STANDARDS

Endurance: Will this standard or indicator provide students with knowledge and skills that will be of value beyond a single test date? Is this knowledge you need in life?

Example: Proficiency in writing will endure throughout students’

academic career and professional life.

Leverage: Will this provide knowledge and skills that will be of value across multiple disciplines?

Example: Reading a graph will help students be successful in math,

social studies, science and language arts.

Readiness: Will this provide students with essential knowledge and skills that are necessary for success in the next grade level, high stakes test or the next level of instruction?

Example: Students’ knowledge of letters and their sounds is essential

for learning to read text.

THE TEN STEPS FOR DESIGNING COMMON FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS

Laying the Standards Foundation: Steps 1-6

1. Choose an Important Topic

2. Identify Matching Priority Standards

3. “Unwrap” Matching Priority Standards

4. Create a Graphic Organizer

5. Determine the Big Ideas

6. Write the Essential Questions


Creating the Assessment: Steps 7-10

7. Write Selected Response Items

8. Write Constructed-Response Items

9. Write Essential Questions – Big Idea Directions

10. Create Scoring Guides for Constructed-Response Items

Match the languageof the standard


Laying the Standards Foundation: Steps 1-6

1. Choose an Important Topic

2. Identify Matching Priority Standards

Grade Level

Authors

Assessment Topic

Number Grade Specific Standard

Matching Priority Standard

The Ten Steps for Designing Common

Formative AssessmentsLaying the Standards Foundation:

Steps 1-63.“Unwrap” Matching Priority

Standards4. Create a Graphic Organizer


Reading Standard for Literature #3

Describe characters in a story (e.g. their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.

Skills Concepts

Describe Characters in a story

Explain Actions

Contribute Sequence of Events

Circle the verbs(skills)

Underline the nouns(concepts)


Skills Concepts

TASK DECONSTRUCTIONWHAT DO STUDENTS NEED TO KNOW

AND BE ABLE TO DO TO BE SUCCESSFUL?

Student

Know:Character

Know:Trait and feeling vocabulary

Know:Story events

Do:Write to explain

Do:Comprehend story

Do:Follow multi-step directions

A a a a a a a

B a ? a a a a

C a no a no a no

D a no no no no no

E ? no no no no no

TASK DECONSTRUCTIONWHAT DO STUDENTS NEED TO KNOW

AND BE ABLE TO DO TO BE SUCCESSFUL?

Student

Know:

Know:

Know:

Do:

Do:

Do:

A

B

C

D

E


Formative AssessmentsLaying the Standards Foundation:

Steps 1-65.Determine the Big Ideas6.Write the Essential Questions

Big Ideas from “Unwrapped” Priority Standards

Authors intentionally create characters with specific traits, motivations and feelings that

impact the plot.

Understanding a character’s traits, motivations and feelings will allow you to make realistic

predictions, and connect to and make inferences about the character, in order to help

you better understand what you are reading.

Essential Questions Matched to Big Ideas

How do a character’s traits, motivations and feelings

impact the story?How does understanding a character's traits,

motivations and feelings help you better understand what you are reading?

Essential questions leadstudents to the big ideas

SAMPLE BIG IDEAS AND ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

Essential Questions

Big Ideas

Facts, opinions, inferences! What’s the difference and why should we know?

Knowing the difference between facts, opinions and inferences helps you make your own decisions about what you read.

What are literary devices? Why do authors use them?

Literary devices enhance and deepen fiction’s impact on the reader.

LET’S PRACTICE…CHECK OUT THE EXAMPLES…

Big Idea:•

Essential Question: •


Formative AssessmentsCreating the Assessment: Steps 7-

107.Write Selected-Response Items8.Write Constructed-Response Items

General Guidelines…1. Questions should be written with clear, concise language and

be bias-free

2. Questions should require students to apply knowledge, rather than recall from memory

3. Aim is for 80% of students to get 35-40% of pre-test correct

4. Assessment should be a multiple-measure assessment: (selected response, constructed response, essential question)

Main parts: correct and distracters (incorrect, but plausible)

Distracters reflect common misunderstandings

Clear directions, no ambiguity

“Best” preferable to “correct” answer for critical thinking

Answer choices equal in length

Don’t use humor – distracts students

Positive wording, no negatives(not, never, except

Avoid “all of the above” or “none of the above”

Vary position of right answers

List choices in logical, alphabetical or numerical order

WRITE SELECTED-RESPONSE ITEMS

we want students to analyze all answer choices


Which word BEST describes how Jordan feels walking up to Mrs.

Radcliff’s house? a. excited

b. terrified

c. hopeful

d. confident

Which line BEST describes why Jordan doesn’t run away from Mrs.

Radcliff’s house?e. He knew the bicycle he wanted cost a lot of money

f. The step creaked. “I can fix that, too.”

g. “You are just in time!” said Mrs. Radcliff.

h. “I always have hot chocolate this time of day.”


1.

a. b. c. d.

2.

e. f. g. h.

WRITE CONSTRUCTED-RESPONSE ITEMS

Set clear and specific context for problem in directions

Indicate what is to be included without “giving it away”

Help students perform within time constraints: specify time constraints, acceptable response length

Always include a picture in text if mimicking CMT

Write sample responses to evaluate question quality

Don’t confuse writing skills with what you are assessing

Critique for bias or possible disadvantage for students

Use scoring guide to evaluate student product or performance


1. What character trait best describes Jordan? Include two events from the text to support your answer.

2. What do you think Jordan would do if Mrs. Radcliff acted bossy and crabby? Use two examples from the text to prove your answer.


1.

2.


Formative AssessmentsCreating the Assessment: Steps 7-

109. Write Essential Questions – Big Idea

Directions10. Create Scoring Guides for

Constructed-Response Items

WRITE ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

How do Jordan’s traits, motivations or feelings impact the story?

How does understanding a character's traits, motivations and feelings help you better

understand what you are reading?

WRITE ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

QUANTIFY THE FOLLOWING TERMS…(% OUT OF 100)

Partial

Complete

Some

Few

Always

Occasionally

Adequate

CREATING A SCORING GUIDE

Performance criteria shared before students begin work

Contains specific language understood by all: students, teachers, parents

Specificity is critical – aim for qualitative and quantitative criteria

Referred to frequently during task, then used to assess completed task

Clearly linked to standards and assessment items

Tip: Begin by determining goal or proficiency, then increase or decrease levels

CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE SCORING GUIDE

Score of 2:• States how Jordan would act (relevant to character traits

from text – for example determined or polite)

• Includes two specific examples that illustrate Jordan’s character (Examples: “Anything for the bike,” or speaks politely to Mrs. Radcliff, “Yes, ma’am.”)

Score of 1:• States how Jordan would act (relevant to character traits

from text – for example determined or polite)

• Includes one example that illustrates Jordan’s character (Examples: wants a bike, talks nicely)

Score of 0:• Irrelevant or inaccurate response

CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE SCORING GUIDE

Score of 4: Exceeds Expectations

• Score of 3: Meets Expectations

• Score of 2: Progressing Towards Expectations

• Score of 1: Inaccurate or Incomplete Response

•

Does the CFA: Contain multi-

measures? Allow you to ‘see’

the students’ thinking?

Highlight concept misconceptions?

Allow you to differentiate instruction?

Is the rubric language:

Specific Measurable Observable Understandabl

e Matched to

task directions

ANALYZE CFA AND RUBRIC SAMPLES

SHARINGGALLERY WALK

1)Review each CFA2)Provide feedback:

One compliment… Something to consider…

THE TRUE PURPOSE OF ASSESSMENT MUST BE, FIRST

AND FOREMOST,

TO INFORM INSTRUCTIONAL

DECISION MAKING.L. Ainsworth and D. Viegut, Common Formative Assessments, 2006, p. 21

Common assessments one day

Education

quality common assessment

draft common assessment

level of assessment

students withknowledge

assessment literacy

assessment practices

students knowledge of

standards foundation