Implementing Effective Assessment in Science

Damian Cooper

(905) 823-6298

dcooper3@rogers.com

Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School BoardDecember 1, 2011

VIRTUE OF HOPE

“Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out.” - John Wooden

Session Outcomes Understand how the purposes of

assessment and grading are changing Learn about 8 Big Ideas that should

guide our assessment practices in science

Explore assessment strategies related to the Big Ideas in the context of science assessment and grading

Time to Talk About Assessment

Identify for yourself your #1 issue or concern about assessment and/or grading in science.

Share your concerns at your table. Which of these are shared by the

majority at your table?

Why, in 2011, are we re-examining our assessment beliefs and practices?

Mission: to sift and sort students

Mean

21st Century Mission: Excellence from ALL

Proficiency50%

y

x

Time to Talk About Assessment

What is the mission in my classroom? How do my students know this?

The Problem with 50%

Grade 9 marks were a strong predictor of OSSD completion. Students with marks between 50% and 59% were less than half as likely to graduate as those with marks over 75%.

Who Doesn’t Go To Post-Secondary Education? Final Report of Findings for Colleges Ontario Collaborative Research Project 2009, A.J.C. King W.K. Warren M.A. King J.E. Brook P.R. Kocher

Growing Success: 7 Principles

To ensure that assessment, evaluation, and reporting are valid and reliable, and that they lead to the improvement of learning for all students, teachers use practices and procedures that:

• are fair, transparent, and equitable for all students;

• support all students, including those with special education needs, those who are learning the language of instruction (English or French), and those who are First Nation, Métis, or Inuit;

• are carefully planned to relate to the curriculum expectations and learning goals and, as much as possible, to the interests, learning styles and preferences, needs, and experiences of all students;

• are communicated clearly to students and parents at the beginning of the school year or course and at other appropriate points throughout the school year or course;

• are ongoing, varied in nature, and administered over a period of time to provide multiple

opportunities for students to demonstrate the full range of their learning;

• provide ongoing descriptive feedback that is clear, specific, meaningful, and timely to support improved learning and achievement;

• develop students’ self-assessment skills to enable them to assess their own learning, set specific goals, and plan next steps for their learning.

Research on Effective Assessment

•The provision of effective feedback to students

•The active involvement of students in their own learning

•Adjusting teaching to take account of the results of assessment

•Recognition of the profound influence assessment has on motivation and self-esteem

•The need for students to be able to assess themselves and understand how to improve

Crooks, 1988; Black & Wiliam, 1998

The Big Ideas of Classroom Assessment

1. Assessment serves different purposes at different times: it may be used to find out what students already know and can do; it may be used to help students improve their learning; or it may be used to let students, and their parents, know how much they have learned within a prescribed period of time.

2. Assessment must be planned and purposeful.

3. Assessment must be balanced, including oral and performance as well as written tasks, and be flexible in order to improve learning for all students.

The Big Ideas of Classroom Assessment

4. Assessment and instruction are inseparable because effective assessment informs learning.

5. For assessment to be helpful to students, it must inform them in words, not numerical scores or letter grades, what they have done well, what they have done poorly, and what they need to do next in order to improve.

6. Assessment is a collaborative process that is most effective when it involves self, peer, and teacher assessment.

The Big Ideas of Classroom Assessment

7. Performance standards are an essential component of effective assessment.

8. Grading and reporting student achievement is a caring, sensitive process that requires teachers’ professional judgement.

The Big Ideas of Classroom Assessment

1. Assessment serves different purposes at different times: it may be used to find out what students already know and can do; it may be used to help students improve their learning; or it may be used to let students, and their parents, know how much they have learned within a prescribed period of time.

Assessment for Learning“Assessment for learning is any assessment for which the first priority in its design and practice is to serve the purpose of promoting students’ learning. It thus differs from assessment designed primarily to serve the purposes of accountability, or of ranking, or of certifying competence.” Black, Wiliam et al. 2004

Assessment as Learning“Assessment as learning is a metacognitive process in which students take ownership for improving their own learning. It involves students setting learning goals as well as monitoring, reflecting upon, and adjusting their own learning, often in response to feedback from the teacher and their peers.” Earl, 2003

Assessment of Learning

“Assessment of learning includes those tasks that are designed to determine how much learning has occurred after a significant period of instruction. The data from such assessments is often used to determine report card grades.

Differing Assessment Purposes

Assessment for and as Learning

TryoutsPractices

Assessment of Learning

GamesPlayoffs

Time to “Talk About Instruction”

In your groups, apply the sports metaphor of “tryouts”, “practice”, and “game” to one of your own classes.

What issues and concerns arise? Work with your colleagues to

examine solutions to these issues and concerns.

The Big Ideas of Classroom Assessment

2. Assessment must be planned and purposeful.

“Backward Design” Program Planning

Stage 1: Identify targeted understandings and skills

Stage 2: Determine appropriate assessment of those understandings and skills

Stage 3: Plan learning experiences and instruction that make such

understanding and skills possible Adapted from Wiggins and McTighe, Understanding by Design

Plan Backward from What’s Essential…

Worth being

familiar with

Important to know and do

Enduring understandings/

Essential skillsWiggins and McTighe,

Understanding by Design

What is a “Big Idea/Enduring Understanding”?

Not a topic or concept e.g. “global warming”BUT A generalization that

– is broad in scope – is fundamental for a deep understanding of a given

subject– usually identifies a relationship between 2 or more

topics or conceptse.g. “Global warming may be explained in terms of

naturally occurring events or the impact of human activity.”

Big Ideas/Enduring Understandings

have lasting value/transfer are at the heart of the discipline require “uncoverage” (abstract or

often-misunderstood ideas) are embedded in factual knowledge,

skills and activities may be expressed as statements or

as “essential questions”

What is an “Essential Skill”?

A skill that is fundamental to student success in a given subject domain

May be demonstrated across a wide range of units within a year/course, throughout an entire year/course, as well as from year to yeare.g. scientific inquiry

Clarity of Standards

Content Standards:

- the ‘What?”

i.e. the curriculum expectations

Performance Standards:

- the “How well?”

i.e. the Achievement Chart

Content Standards: Overall and Specific Expectations

Overall Expectation

analyse the effects of various human activities on the diversity of living things;

Specific Expectations

analyse some of the risks and benefits of human intervention (e.g., tree plantations; monoculture of livestock or agricultural crops; overharvesting of wild plants for medicinal purposes; using pesticides ….

– etc.

Topic INTU…

Testing Consumer Products on Animals I need to understand both sides of the debate concerning whether it is right to test consumer products on animals.

Global warming I need to understand whether or not our planet really is warming up.

Dinosaurs I need to understand what happened to the dinosaurs.

Topics Compared to Student-Generated Questions

INTU’s can be of particular use when considering STSE overall expectations

Consider how these “topics” differ from the corresponding INTU questions:

Time to Talk About Assessment

Apply the INTU model to a unit of study in your own program:– Assume the role of a student in your class and,

working with a colleague, pose INTU questions that you intend to explore during the unit

Then discuss with your colleagues the pros and cons of the INTU model

Organizing Assessment Data:traditional model or K.I.C.A?

Tests Assignments Performance

tasks (presentations,

debates, seminars, etc.)

Examination …

Knowledge & Understanding

Thinking and Investigation

Communication

Application,

TestsAssignmentsPerformance tasks(presentations, debates, seminars, etc.)Examination…

Designing an Evaluation Plan – The “Big Ticket” Items

T O T I Learning T O I O WH/H Skills

WI I W WI _______ _______ _______ _________ ______ ______ _______ _______ _______ _________ ______ TERM ______ _______ _______ _______ _________ ______

More tasks….

_____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ SUMMATIVE _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________

Knowledge/ Understanding

Thinking/ Inquiry

Communication

Application

Summative Performance

Task

Final Examination

Task 1

Task 2

Task 3

Task 4

Task 5

Task 6

Damian Cooper 2002

Plan Backward from What’s Essential…

Worth being

familiar with

Important to know and do

Enduring understandings/

Essential skills

Adapted from Wiggins and McTighe,

Understanding by Design

Assessment Types

Traditional quizzes & tests

-paper/pencil

Performance Tasks & Projects

-open-ended

-complex

-authentic

Oral Assessments

-conferences

-interviews

-oral questionning

The Big Ideas of Classroom Assessment

3. Assessment must be balanced, including oral and performance as well as written tasks, and be flexible in order to improve learning for all students.

Ensuring Balance in My Assessment Toolkit

Triangulation of Data: Classroom Assessment

Valid & Reliable Picture of Student

Achievement

Performance task

Oral defense/

conference

Written test data

Ensuring a Balance of “Write”, “Do”, and “Say”

You Need to Ensure a Balance of Assessment Types

Students: write, do or say

Teachers: mark, observe or listen

Authenticity is key –

no collages!

Real World Mathematics

Grade 10 Vocational Mathematics: Solving Authentic Problems Using Surface Area and Volume

Students work on a group problem-solving task using manipulatives

Teacher leads whole class in discussion about what they know and what they are struggling with

Aquarium Task: students work on this task individually but are encouraged to consult their group members whenever necessary. The problem may be solved using either the formula for surface area or the formula for volume. Each method yields a different answer.

Measurement Assessment: students collaborate with group members to complete

Reflection: “When painting a room, both volume and surface area measurements are involved. Explain how.”

The Big Ideas of Classroom Assessment

4. Assessment and instruction are inseparable because effective assessment informs learning.

The “zone of proximal development” Lev Vygotsky

What do students currently know and what can students currently do?

Where do I want them to get to? How big is the gap? How do I ensure the gap is just right to

challenge students in a way that maximizes learning?

Differentiating Instruction

To develop skills, simplify the content e.g. Simpler texts, less depth/breadth, etc.

To master content, present using a different mode suited to student’s strengths e.g. Graphics, audio, video, manipulatives, etc.

Purposeful Grouping of Students

Heterogeneous groups to provide support and to consolidate new learning

Homogeneous groups to deepen learning and to provide specific instruction to struggling learners

Flexible grouping to ensure all students work in their “zpd”

Differentiating Assessment Content standards:

curriculum expectations

Performance standards: rubrics/checklists

Student products & performances

Must be within student’s “ZPD”

Keep rubric consistent for all students but adapt checklist to be within student’s “ZPD”

May be tiered to be within student’s “ZPD”

Partial Research Process Rubric

Research Process Checklist

Adapted Research Process Checklist

Tiered Assessments

Design task @ grade level, to demonstrate proficiency, independently

Adapt or modify task to increase challenge: less structure, more choice, greater sophistication, etc.

Adapt or modify task to reduce challenge: more structure, less choice, less sophistication, etc.

The Big Ideas of Classroom Assessment

5. For assessment to be helpful to students, it must inform them in words, not numerical scores or letter grades, what they have done well, what they have done poorly, and what they need to do next in order to improve.

When the classroom culture focuses on rewards, gold stars, grades, or class ranking, then (students) look for ways to obtain the best marks rather than to improve their learning. One reported consequence is that, when they have any choice, (students) avoid difficult tasks. They also spend time and energy looking for clues to the “right answer”. “Inside the Black Box”, Black & Wiliam, 1998

“…assessment which is explicitly designed to promote learning is the single most powerful tool we have for both raising standards and empowering lifelong

learners.”

Assessment for Learning: Beyond the Black Box, 1999, University of Cambridge School of Education

Components of Assessment for Learning (Cooper, 2007)

1. Do I routinely share learning goals with my students so they know where we are heading?

2. Do I routinely communicate to students the standards they are aiming for before they begin work on a task?

3. Do I routinely have students self and peer assess their work in ways that improve their learning?

4. Does my questioning technique include all students and promote increased understanding?

5. Do I routinely provide individual feedback to students that informs them how to improve?

6. Do I routinely provide opportunities for students to make use of this feedback to improve specific pieces of work?

Assessment for Learning: am I already doing it?

Do I routinely share learning goals with my students so they know where we are heading?

Science Class

1. Lesson Goal: you will be able to identify why an electrical circuit does or does not work.

2. Teacher distributes a transistor to each student and leaves them free to discuss what it might do.

3. After a focussed, whole-class discussion about a transistor’s function, soldering equipment is distributed and students solder the transistor into their circuit

4. Their exit slip is to answer on a “leaf” and post it on the “knowledge tree”: What did I learn today? What questions do I still have?

Assessment for Learning: am I already doing it?

Do I routinely share learning goals with my students so they know where we are heading?

Do I routinely communicate to students the standards they are aiming for before they begin work on a task?

Do I routinely have students self and peer assess their work in ways that improve their learning?

Assessment for Learning:am I already doing it?

Does my questioning technique include all students and promote increased understanding?

Do I routinely provide individual feedback to students that informs them how to improve?

Do I routinely provide opportunities for students to make use of this feedback to improve specific pieces of work?

Provide tons of feedback … Oral & written feedback

tell students how to improve – marks DON’T

Establish classroom routines that create opportunities for teacher & peer feedback

Provide feedback ALONE on formative assessments; do NOT include marks

Possible Response to Feedback

Response type Feedback indicates performance exceeds goal

Feedback indicates performance falls short of goal

Change behaviour Exert less effort Increase effort

Change goal Increase aspiration Reduce aspiration

Abandon goal Decide goal is too easy Decide goal is too hard

Reject feedback Ignore feedback Ignore feedback

In Embedded Formative Assessment, Dylan Wiliam, Solution Tree, 2011

Types of Feedback

Descriptive More Effective

Descriptive feedback tells the student how to improve his/her learning

More effective feedback asks the student what to do to improve his/her learning

Purpose: to improve learning by indicating to the student what needs to be improved

Purpose: to improve learning, by moving student reasoning to the next level

Characteristics of effective feedback Needs to cause thinking: don’t provide the

“answer” Must not be evaluative Must direct students towards improvement Must make reference to specific quality

indicators (a rubric or checklist) Must include an expectation that it will be

implemented Must include strategies for checking that it has

been implemented

Feedback that Moves Learning Forward

Effectiveness depends on degree of mindfulness, so …

Feedback must cause thinking

Less is sometimes more

Feedback is ONLY formative when it is used by the learner to improve performance

Must direct student’s attention to what’s next, NOT how well or badly student has performed

In Embedded Formative Assessment, Dylan Wiliam, Solution Tree, 2011

Feedback that Moves Learning Forward

Teacher: What part don’t you understand?

Student: I just don’t get it.

Teacher: Well, the first part is just like the last problem you did. Then we add one more variable. See if you can find out what it is, and I’ll come back in a few minutes.

In Embedded Formative Assessment, Dylan Wiliam, Solution Tree, 2011

Feedback that Moves Learning Forward

The best learners consistently attribute both success and failure to internal, unstable causes. They believe: “It’s up to me” (internal) and “I can do something about it” (unstable). … learning in classrooms will be considerably enhanced if students embrace this idea.

Dylan Wiliam

In Embedded Formative Assessment, Dylan Wiliam, Solution Tree, 2011

Time to Talk About Assessment

Review the 6 “Look For’s” of an “Assessment for Learning” classroom

Discuss with a colleague how these strategies apply to your own classroom, or the classrooms of teachers with whom you work?

The Big Ideas of Classroom Assessment

6. Assessment is a collaborative process that is most effective when it involves self, peer, and teacher assessment.

Why Involve Students in the Assessment Process?

Students: Develop understanding of what quality work

looks like Become independent monitors of their own

work Develop skills of metacognition Develop critical thinking skills Develop communication and interpersonal

skills

Self Assessment

Make self and peer assessment routine practice …

Teach and model assessment skills Provide weekly opportunities to practice the

skills Focus the assessment only on what was

taught Use descriptive feedback - what’s good;

what’s not; what to do to fix it – NOT scores Assessment FOR learning ONLY

Self and Peer Assessment Assessment for learning ONLY

Requires training and modelling

Focus assessment on what was taught

Begin with short sessions

Needs to be part of your routine

The Big Ideas of Classroom Assessment

7. Performance standards are an essential component of effective assessment.

Clear Learning Goals and Success Criteria

Most students can hit the target if they can see it clearly and it stays still for them.

Rick

Stiggins

Clear Targets

Clarity of curriculum standards High quality assessment tasks Rubrics to describe what quality looks

like Anchors to show students what quality

looks like Checklists to enable students to monitor

their own progress

Time to Talk About Assessment

Review current strategies that you and/or the teachers with whom you work use to communicate performance targets to students.

Are these strategies sufficient? Effective? How do you know?

Anchors and ExemplarsAnchors

Student work samples “anchored” to the 4 levels on a rubric

Exemplars Level 4 anchors

representing “exemplary” work

Growing Success: Learning Skills

Time to Talk About Assessment

Do my words and actions communicate the importance of learning skills to students?

How do I teach learning skills?

How do I assess learning skills?

The Big Ideas of Classroom Assessment

8. Grading and reporting student achievement is a caring, sensitive process that requires teachers’ professional judgement.

Grading involves summarizing a large amount of assessment of learning data into a single letter or numerical score….it has little to do with teaching and learning!

How much evidence is “enough” for reporting?

In other words…

How do we ensure that the body of evidence selected for evaluation and reporting in a given subject or course is a valid sample?

What are the requirements of a “valid sample”?

No diagnostic evidence

Includes a variety of modes to allow for differences in learning style (write, do, say)

Includes multiple (3+)pieces of evidence for each learning cluster

Provides evidence of the essential learning in the subject

Tasks represent polished work:– Not practices or early

tries– Feedback has occurred

previously and been implemented

What strategies do I and/or teachers with whom I work currently use to encourage students to complete the set of assessment tasks that comprise evidence of essential learning?

Are these strategies effective?

Guidelines for Ensuring that Critical Tasks are Completed

identify for students and parents the tasks that are essential as proof of learning

operate on the understanding that all of these must be completed to meet the requirements of the subject or course

timelines for completion of these tasks must be communicated to students and parents to facilitate students’ and teacher’s workload

conduct frequent “process” checks provide plenty of in-class time to work on

essential tasks

Guidelines for Ensuring that Critical Tasks are Completed

identify strategies for addressing non-completion of essential tasks: e.g.-completion contract-supervised learning centre-”Recovery Week” & “Just Do It!”

have a school-wide policy concerning interim and final grade determination: e.g.-use “Incomplete” on interim report card-consistency regarding what “Incomplete” becomes on the final report card

Reporting Student Achievement

Given that it’s a crude summary of lots of information, what do we want the report card grade to represent?

The recent trend in

a student’s

achievement.

Professional Judgement

Decisions made by educators, in light of their professional experience, with reference to public standards and guidelines.

Report Card Comments… Purpose:

• strengths, weaknesses, next steps • invitation to further discussion

Audience: non-educators Focus on quality of work, not personality

of student. Differentiate between achievement

issues and behavioural issues.

Communicating with Parents…

When describing achievement, reference appropriate standards:– NOT other students– NOT siblings– Provincial achievement standards

Avoid all labelling of students: there are NO “A” students or “Level 4” students, only “A” performances and “Level 4” performances.

Commitment to Action

Spend a few moments reflecting on the 8 Big Ideas of Assessment ….

What was your most significant learning? What specific actions do you plan to take

immediately and/or between now and June 2012? What results would you like to see from these

actions? How will you assess the effectiveness of these

actions?

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Suggested Reading

1. Black, Paul and Wiliam, Dylan. “Inside the Black Box: Raising Standards Through Classroom Assessment”, Phi Delta Kappan, October, 1998. A seminal article on the value of formative assessment that summarizes effective assessment practices as described in 250 studies in the UK, the US, Australia, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Africa.

2. Black, Paul et al. Assessment for Learning, Putting it into Practice, Open University Press, 2004. A practical guide to implementing assessment for learning strategies.

3. Cooper, Damian. Talk About Assessment: Strategies and Tools to Improve

Teaching and Learning, Nelson Education, 2007.

4. Cooper, Damian. Talk About Assessment: High School Strategies and Tools, Nelson Education, 2010

5. Cooper, Damian. Redefining Fair: How to Plan, Assess and Grade for Excellence

in Mixed-Ability Classrooms, Solution Tree, 2011.

6. Earl, L. (2003). Assessment as learning: Using classroom assessment to maximize student learning. Thousand Oaks: Corwin.

7. Marzano, Robert J. Transforming Classroom Grading, ASCD, 2000. An excellent examination of past and present trends in classroom grading practice.

8. O’Connor, Ken. How to Grade for Learning 3rd. Edition, Skylight, 2009. A solid treatment of the grading dilemmas that arise in intermediate and senior grades.

9. Stiggins. Richard. Classroom Assessment for Student Learning, Assessment Training Institute, 2004. An in-depth “textbook” for students of assessment, organized according to principles of assessment, assessment methods, and communication.

10. Wiggins, Grant. Educative Assessment, Jossey Bass, 1998. A comprehensive publication from a true expert in the field, this work provides all the background to Wiggins” approach to classroom assessment.

11. Wiggins, Grant and McTighe, Jay. Understanding By Design, ASCD, 1998. A concise and very readable guide to designing program from an assessment point of view.