Interim Assessments Fall 2020 Mary Williams, Senior Assessment - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Interim Assessments Fall 2020 Mary Williams, Senior Assessment Specialist Jennifer Woo, Assessment Specialist July 2020 Introductions, Agenda, Research Base Agenda: Challenge #1: Learning Needs Challenge #2: Administration
Mary Williams, Senior Assessment Specialist Jennifer Woo, Assessment Specialist July 2020
Introductions:
Flores
Agenda:
#1: Learning Needs
Administration
Research Sources:
School Officers (CCSSO)
Interim/benchmark assessments can provide much-needed information about student abilities following COVID-19. But several use cases should be considered.
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Researchers predict significant learning deficiencies resulting from COVID-19.
Learning deficiencies will not be the same for all students.
Home support, access to resources, and personal motivation will all affect learning slides.
Learning deficiencies may be more significant in Mathematics than in English/Language Arts.
Students tend to continue reading at home, where mathematics skills tend to require more active support to achieve.
Learning deficiencies may be more significant at grade levels where students are less independent.
Less independent learners experienced greater challenges with remote learning
need more support during the learning process. Kuhfeld, M. & Tarasawa, B. (2020) and Chief Council of State School Officers (2020).
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Keep the academic focus on achieving current grade-level academic standards, not re-teaching from last year.
Pre-Assessments
Prioritize pre-assessment data to direct instruction and maximize instructional time.
Formative Checks
Consider quick formative checks for required supporting skills (i.e., previous level content standards needed for a new skill) before beginning instruction on a new academic standard.
Interim Assessments
Consider administering interim/benchmark assessments towards the beginning of the school year to gather data about where students are. Focus on individual student scores (rather than classroom). More on this in next section.
Flexible Schedules
Build time into the schedule to support remediation and differentiated instruction based on data. Build time into the schedule to support teacher analysis of pre-assessment data.
Many factors impact administration of interim/benchmark assessments this fall.
Assessment must support instruction and organizational
not lead.
Chief Council of State School Officers, June 2020
When should I collect
interim/benchmark data?
“On time” for action. Schools need data early in the school year to help inform instruction immediately. “On time” for student needs. Students are re-adjusting to the “new normal”. Consider student adjustment needs and be sensitive that assessments are scheduled appropriately.
How should I group students for testing? Adjusted Scheduling. Schools may need to administer interim assessments separately to different groups of students based on new school schedules. Remote Learners. Remote proctoring may be utilized for interim/benchmark assessments ONLY IF the provider consents. Consider impact that potential assistance could have on scores.
What content do I assess?
Current Grade Level Academic Standards. Recommended to keep the focus on achieving current grade level expectations. Previous Grade Level Academic Standards. First assessment could provide data on previous year’s achievement, but be careful to keep focus
Diagnostic Overuse. Instructional systems often aren’t able to respond to this level of data for every student.
Data must inform action, and it must inform action appropriately.
Data users need to understand key elements of their measurement approach(es) that affect how data is understood and used.
Will my test scores still be comparable to other years’ scores? Window Adjustments. Moving the test window dates may affect how data can be compared to other years. Procedural Adjustments. Utilizing different administration procedures may affect how data can be compared to other years.
Are scores showing
proficiency or growth?
Using Proficiency Scores. Proficiency scores (criterion-referenced) measure student achievement compared to specific academic standards. Use these scores to target instruction, organize remediation, and focus on achievement of academic standards. Using Growth Scores. Growth scores show changes in student ability
are making forward progress, regardless of their starting proficiency level.
Warning: It is not recommended that Spring 2020 data be used to inform immediate instructional action. Student abilities likely changed significantly from that time.
Formative Assessment Grant funds are intended to support data collection, analysis, and use centered
Indiana Academic Standards.
All pieces of an assessment system must be tightly aligned to the academic standards that guide instruction.
Does the use support data
collection centered on Indiana Academic Standards? Approved Assessment Programs. All assessment programs are required to go through an approval process confirming that they measure the breadth and depth of Indiana Academic Standards. Educator-Created Common Assessments. Some PLCs create common assessments used across grades/schools. These assessments must measure the breadth and depth of Indiana Academic Standards.
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Does the use support
taking action on data to help students achieve
Indiana Academic Standards? Professional Development Opportunities for educators to learn about their data (that measures Indiana Academic Standards) and how to use it. Data Analysis Activities Analysis work
data that measures Indiana Academic Standards. Differentiated Learning Tools Tools (not assessments or curriculum!) that specifically respond to data (measuring Indiana Academic Standards) about student needs.
Unapproved Assessment Provider Packages?
Does the use support your
system and the spirit
the grant? If the provider has not been approved for use of their assessment, will their professional development and/or learning tools support achievement of Indiana Academic Standards? Large Numbers of Unconnected Programs? Programs are not the answer to student
data, is the answer. When solicited to purchase a program, consider if it will support your instructional programming.
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Share your thoughts, comments, or questions for further research in the chat.
▸ Kuhfeld, M. & Tarasawa, B. (2020) The COVID-19 slide: What summer learning loss can tell us about the potential impact of school closures on student academic achievement. NWEA. ▸ Chief Council of State School Officers (CCSSO). (2020). Technical Issues in Large-Scale Assessments Summer Meeting. CCSSO. ▸ Presentation template by SlidesCarnival ▸ Illustrations by Sergei Tikhonov ▸ Photographs by Unsplash
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You can find us at:
▸ Mary Williams:
mwilliams@doe.in.gov
▸ Jennifer Woo:
jwoo@doe.in.gov
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