“I guarantee that we will see mathematics scores fall sharply…This is an indication that we are expecting more of students, not that they are learning less”

-- Pat Wright, Virginia State Superintendent of Education

Math Assessments:Creating Technology Enhanced Items and Adding RigorHenrico County Public SchoolsAugust 2012

•What is your name?•Where do you teach?•Which type of assessment item

(True/False, multiple choice, matching, etc.) best matches your personality?

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Introductions

Our Goals1. Identify shifts in assessment practices and

brainstorm implications of these changes2. Identify current assessment instruments used

to measure academic growth and their strengths and limitations

3. Examine current assessments to identify areas of rigor and relevance

4. Examine standards (verbs) and determine appropriate assessment options

5. Begin the process of creating or revising assessments – distinguish short and long-term goals

Curve of Change Implementation

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Past PracticeDenial

Anger

Fear

Depression

Understanding

Acceptance

Progress

Where are you?

Key Questions

•What do we want students to be able to do?

•How do we want them to demonstrate it?•How can our assessments help determine

the level of understanding?

•Why does Virginia/Henrico assess students?

•Why do teachers assess students?

We MUST change instruction!▫Teachers must instruct in the manner that

we are going to assess.▫Students must have experiences with these

assessments regularly in their classroom.▫Teachers must learn how to ask good

questions.

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Traditional

Assessment

Standards/Objectives

Instructional Activities Assessment

Standards/Objectives

Real-World “Ends”

Assessments

Instructional Activities

21st Century Assessment

SOL Assessment Changes – All Levels

•Increased focus on multistep and applied (“practical” or “real world”) problems

•Increased emphasis on models and multiple representations

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We all have a role in a quality implementation of

new standards

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Mathematics Supervisors

•Curriculum/pacing guide updates•Resources realignment•Communication of changes and

countywide PD efforts/emphasis•Collaboration

▫Within the division▫Among divisions

•Professional development

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School-level Administrators•When observing, notice who is doing the

most thinking – teachers or students•Communicate with the mathematics

supervisor and/or central office staff about what is being observed

•Facilitate common planning periods for teachers (general and special education) of the same subjects – when possible

•Provide guidelines and expectations for planning (learning community) meetings

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Teachers•Engage students in the learning,

providing relevant and rigorous activities and tasks

•Ask high-leverage questions – make students work harder than you

•Require students to communicate their thinking and listen carefully to them

•Make students justify their thinking•Use multiple models

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Proce

ss G

oals!

Teachers•Use formative assessments to learn about

the level of student understanding and reflect on your own teaching

•Know what needs to be taught and to what extent

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2 minute group discussion

What did we learn about assessments in college?

How should we assess students?

Types of AssessmentInformal and Formal

•Formative▫Checking in on the formation of learning▫Diagnostic in nature – should lead to

changes in instruction▫Assessment for learning▫Questions (verbal), homework, classwork,

quizzes, benchmark tests▫Includes a lot of student feedback

•Summative▫Assessment of learning▫Provides a numeric evaluation▫Tests, projects, simulation tests▫Less feedback

Types of Assessment

•Multiple choice•Open response

▫Short response fill in the blank solve/simplify/select/sort/compare create/describe/shade explain why/justify

▫Open-ended no predefined answer synthesizes multiple concepts

Types of Assessment

How will you plan to use assessments to better determine your students

level of understanding?

It is time to upgradeOur knowledgeOur instruction

Our assessments

Are you smarter than aGeometry student?

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NEW

OLD

Increased Rigor

Understanding the “increased rigor” of the new SOL comes through analysis of

the SOL and the Curriculum Framework

Exercise #1

Instruction, Assessment, and Backwards Design

STEPS1.Analyze an SOL and Curriculum

Framework- what students should be able to do

2.Brainstorm ways to assess the SOL3.Develop an assessment4.Brainstorm instructional strategies 5.Develop instructional resources/lesson

plans

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Analyze the SOL and list at least 5 different things that students should know and be able to do.

SOL 6.13 The student will describe and identify properties of quadrilaterals•Sort and classify polygons as quadrilaterals, parallelograms, rectangles, trapezoids, kites, rhombi, and squares based on their properties. Properties include number of parallel sides, angle measures, and number of congruent sides.•Identify the sum of the measures of the angles of a quadrilateral as 360°.

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Analysis - What should students be able to do?

Developing Assessments and Appropriate Instruction – Backwards Design

1. Analyze an SOL and Curriculum Framework- what students should be able to do

2. Brainstorm ways to assess the SOL3. Develop assessment items4. Brainstorm instructional strategies 5. Develop instructional resources

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1. Analyze an SOL and Curriculum Framework- what students should be able to do

2. Brainstorm ways to assess the SOL3. Develop assessment items4. Brainstorm instructional strategies 5. Develop instructional resources

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Developing Assessments and Appropriate Instruction – Backwards Design

Exercise #2

Compare the 2001 SOL to the 2009 SOL

group discussion

How has the rigor increased?

2001 SOL 7.22 The student willa) solve one-step linear equations and inequalities in

one variable with strategies involving inverse operations and integers, using concrete materials, pictorial representations, and paper and pencil; andb) solve practical problems requiring the solution of a one-step linear equation.

2009 SOL 7.14 The student willa) solve one- and two-step linear equations in one

variable; and b) solve practical problems requiring the solution of

one- and two-step linear equations.

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Trending articles

Backwards Planning Takes Thinking Ahead•Edutopia: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/backwards-planning-thinking-ahead-rebecca-alber

Technology Enhanced Items (TEI)

Format of Questions:• Fill in the blank• Drag and drop• Hot-spot: Select one or more “spots” to

respond to a test item, i.e. select answer option(s), shade region(s), place a point on a grid

• Creation of graphs

Technology Enhanced Items (TEI)

Spring 2012 Test AdministrationFor online tests that assess 2009

Mathematics SOL:•Grade 6 through End-of-Course (EOC):

TEI will be operational (approximately 15% of the test form)

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Sample TEI – Fill in the Blank

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Sample TEI – Drag and Drop

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Sample TEI – Hot Spot

Sample TEI – Create Graphs

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• It is essential that students have experiences with the Practice SOL Items prior to testing. http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/practice_items/index.shtml

•Use of the Practice Item Guides is STRONGLY recommended.

•Practice Item Guides provide:▫Guided practice with tools▫ Information specific to TEI functionality▫ Information on item format

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Practice SOL Items

Modifying Assessment Items

Use these guiding questions to “upgrade” the following SOL questions

•How could a test item writer ask this in a TEI format?

•What types of classroom activities or assessments could I use to prepare students?

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Modifying Assessments

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Modifying Assessments

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Modifying Assessments

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Modifying Assessments

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Modifying Assessments

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Modifying Assessments

Where can I get ideas for quality assessment items?• NAEP released items (searchable database)

http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/

• PISA released items http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/14/10/38709418.pdf

• APEC Mathematics Assessment Database http://hrd.apec.org/index.php/Mathematics_Assessments

• Heinemann Mathematics (not free, but cheap) http://books.heinemann.com/math/

• JMU Center for STEM Education Outreach (by SOL in Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II)http://www.jmu.edu/stem/outreach/features/pivotalquestions.html

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Edutopia article – July 31, 2012

How Can We Make Assessments Meaningful?

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/making-assessments-meaningful-heather-wolpert-gawron

Let’s Make Some Assessments!

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Analyzing the Data

1. Arrange yourself with other teachers in the same content area.

2. Examine the division Student Performance By Question (SPBQ) handout.

3. Identify 5 questions that had the lowest percentage correct.

4. Why do you think students had difficulty with this content?

Creating the Assessment

1. Working in pairs, assign a different question to each group.

2. Brainstorm ways to assess the SOL or find a previously released SOL question that assesses each topic to upgrade.

3. Create an assessment question that addresses each of the questions.

TEI Creation

1. Download the ActivInspire template from the Math Assessments blog posting on the HCPS math website.

2. Individually or as a group, convert the questions to TEI items.

3. Share! Email your creations (with the grade level/SOL identified) to me – estyler@henrico.k12.va.us

Key Messages• We must not solely focus on multiple-choice

assessments• We must provide students with rich, relevant,

and rigorous tasks that focus on more than one specific skill and require application and synthesis of mathematical knowledge

• We must connect mathematics content within and among grade levels and subject areas to facilitate long term retention and application

• We must reflect on our own teaching and resist the urge to blame students