More discussion: The Arbitrary Time Frame

This is where we left off, quite a while ago.  The previous blog reviewed some questions that were raised in a workshop on assessment at the district convention. Here's the last one, and it's an important one.

If student learning is the goal, doesn’t reporting and evaluation imply an arbitrary time frame in which students ought to have learned?

I put this question first in this posting, as it  makes us think about what we know about how learning really happens and how it's supposed to happen in school. These two are not quite the same thing.  So where does that leave us as educators?

Let's face it, school isn't structured to accommodate widely individual rates and ways of learning. This is the bald truth of it, and all teachers bump up against this reality sooner or later. To add to the complications, a great deal of public funding (and confidence) goes into schools based on our mandate to educate children.  As a system we need to be accountable for this and report out on how students are doing at times.  On top of that, we need to credential their learning.  A Dogwood Diploma certifies that certain things have been learned during a certain span of time, which is why the diploma has been given to the graduating student in the first place.

So how can we reconcile that "arbitrary time frame" with what we know about individual rates and ways of learning? The short answer is that we can't.  The more reflective answer is that we'll always have due dates, final tests and assignments and report cards, but they don't have to define and limit the process of learning for us the way they do now.   Instead of being an excuse for not considering other ways of doing things, report cards and deadlines need to serve learning  The journey along the way can be defined differently if we choose to do so.  Of course, realistically, time is up eventually.  Deadlines are a part of life, and classroom instruction isn't individual tutoring.

However, as adults in the real world, time lines are often negotiable.  Do we make them hard and fast for students to prepare them for a "real" world of hard and fast deadlines or because it makes our work as teachers more manageable?  Hard to say, but something to think about.

I've added a poll for response on this question along with a link to an interesting article on formative assessment in the Resource sidebar.

Speaking of articles, check out another interesting article on assessment by Bruce Beairsto at http://www.cea-ace.ca/blog/bruce-beairsto/2011/04/2/necessary-disruption-part-6-assessment-and-evaluation.

Finally - Some Discussion to Share

The slow-rippling effect of discussion

It looks as if the 11 participants in our poll from the last post have reached consensus. 100% of them believe that:

We need to learn to use assessment to help students learn, not just to give them marks.

Also looks as if in terms of that poll, only the converted voted, though what's to argue here?  Seriously, you won't see much input from any different perspective on this blog to date, as either our readers all agree or are very shy when it comes to making public comments.  I can only hope they're doing more discussion and debate in private.

I think this may be the case, as we had a  session at the February 11 Richmond District Convention called "What's All the Talk About Assessment and Evaluation?".  The session was filled with lively comments and questions.  Even if you couldn't be there, you can get the flavour of the talk from what follows in this post.

After some introductory comments from me as Superintendent about how the draft policy is a catalyst for a long-term ongoing conversation rather than a prescription for classroom practice,  District Consultants Norma Jamieson and Diane Graves led the group at the workshop through a discussion activity called 8 Big Ideas about Assessment.

Below is a sampling of the connections and questions those at the workshop came up with about some of the "Big Ideas".

Big Idea #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 let students, and their parents, know how much they have learned within a prescribed period of time.

Questions …

• How to get parents to understand new assessment models/styles instead of them expecting (demanding) a mark out of “x” for everything students do.

• Many students are so focused on marks and want everything they hand in graded.  How do we help them make the shift to the process and meta-cognitive skills?

Good questions, those, and point to the fact that this conversation about assessment needs to be long and ongoing.  Lots of long-standing expectations and assumptions will be challenged and questioned as part of the discussion with parents and especially students, who have been well-schooled in the idea of working for marks rather than working to learn.

Big Idea #2

Assessment must be planned, purposeful and accurate.  Planning must ensure that assessment is aligned with curriculum, instruction, grading and reporting.

Connections …

• Students need to be involved in the planning and should be able to understand and discuss the accuracy of their assessment (both self-assessment and teacher-assessment).

Questions …

• Why are there teachers out there who are not doing this?

• How can we work together so that all of us know what accurate and fair expectations are?

Working together creates connections

A heavy duty set of questions here. 

The idea of giving students the tools to assess their own progress as they learn is key to using assessment as a way of learning instead of a way of reporting on what's been learned. Why are some teachers not doing this?  Those reasons can be as individual as teachers themselves. Here's one thought.

Teaching can be a profession of "solo artists" not because teachers are isolates by nature, but because the way the day is put together. Teachers have almost no time for professional discussions with adults.  We all enjoy the company of students; that's why we're here.  However, we can all benefit from discussing teaching and learning with other professionals, as that can promote reflection and change while it give us a chance to exchange ideas.  Part of that discussion becomes a conversation to address the second question - how to work together so that all of us know what accurate and fair expectations are. That's where the policy discussion comes in.  Pending policy creates the opportunity to talk and try to eventually find some common ground that we share.

And last but not by any means least question for today . . .

• If student learning is the goal, doesn’t reporting and evaluation imply an arbitrary time frame in which students ought to have learned?

I saved this  question for last in this posting, as it calls us out and makes us think about what we know about how learning really happens and how it's supposed to happen in school. These two are not quite the same thing.  So where does that leave us as educators? More on that in the next post.

Why are we talking about an assessment policy?

What does policy have to do with assessment anyway? If you're one of the persistent few who have been following this blog for some time (I admit, it's not that easy to find), you've noticed that I've been discussing policy along with the idea of assessment "for", "as" and "of" learning.

Most people think of policy as something that gathers dust on the shelf, or at best, a bunch of restrictive rules to be ignored if at all possible.  Since assessment and evaluation are at the heart of teaching practice, it may seem like a deal killer to link such a personal part of teaching practice to policy.  

But, if we think of policy as simply a way of  putting our common values into words, it begins to make a little more sense to use a proposed draft policy to start the conversation we need to have about how to use assessment and evaluation to help students be as successful as possible.   Instead of forcing a change, the proposed policy can be a catalyst for the deep and ongoing conversation we need to have about this topic and how it relates to student learning.  Responding to the draft policy at this point becomes a way to share our practices and values on this topic.

The draft policy simply says:

The primary purpose of assessment and evaluation is to support and enhance student learning. Assessment and evaluation support student learning by providing feedback that informs teachers and students about what has been learned and what is not yet understood.
 
Assessment and evaluation practices are integral to the planning and delivery of curriculum and to implementing instructional approaches to best meet student needs and ways of learning, thereby supporting and enhancing student growth and achievement.

Richmond teachers have a 12 year history of work on assessment "for", "as" and "of" learning.  Active  study groups have been meeting over a long period of time, and there are many teachers who are regularly exploring these ideas in their practice.  The ongoing grade 8 projects around literacy in each school are based on the idea of using Performance Based Assessment evidence to plan instruction to improve reading comprehension.  The teachers design the assessment together, plan together and discuss the results on a regular basis.  The results are impressive - the students in these particular classrooms improve significantly in the reading skills taught over the course of the year.  This is a classic example of using assessment "for" learning to focus teaching in specific areas.

If we combine this long-term exploration of assessment in various areas in the school district with the idea that our primary job is to help our students do their best, now is the time to broaden the conversation and begin to share perspectives on  assessment and evaluation across the district.  Responding to the draft policy open up possibilities for beginning that wider conversation. For more thoughts on this read the previous post entitled "Draft Policy Seeking Response".

Changing Education Paradigms

On the right I've added a link to a clip narrated by Sir Ken Robinson called "Changing Education Paradigms". If you haven't seen it it's worth a look, as it will make you think - and think again. For one thing, Robinson takes on the whole "academic" versus "non academic" tradition and puts it in its place, which is essentially in history books. He also has his own view on attention deficit disorder. According to Robinson, the the deficit has a lot to do with how children are taught rather than their inability to focus. Those are just a couple of the ideas tossed about in this provocative video.

The idea that we need to align assessment with giving students meaningful feedback that helps them learn fits right in with the idea of doing some deep thinking about education and its purposes. This includes what schooling consists of today and that much of it is incompatible that is with our students and their reality now and in the future. Viewing this clip is a good warm up for reading and responding to the draft assessment and evaluation policy posted below.

Assessment and Evaluation - Draft Policy Seeking Response

Assessment: A Draft Policy Seeking Feedback

After a long incubation period, the Response Draft for Policy 607 (Assessment and Evaluation) is now in circulation. The entire draft is posted below for you to read at your leisure. Far from being a boring stack of documents (such as the bulky pile on the left), policy can be pretty exciting, especially when it's being created.

Really? you say. Yes, really, especially when it has implications for teaching practice.

The policy below is divided into three parts: Policy; Regulation and Guidelines.

Policy

The policy portion is nice and short, and it should be. Policy is simply a statement of an organization's values around a particular topic. In practice assessment and evaluation practices are in constant flux between developing students' abilities and sorting them according to whether or not they already have it. The policy is the place to set out basic principles and beliefs that assessment, along way a way of reporting on student progress, is a way to help students learn and teachers plan.

Regulation

The Regulation is the part of policy that everyone knows, the part you have to do. In this case the only thing that has to be done is what follows:

In order to ensure some discussion and consistent practices in the school community, each school will develop a brief statement of purposes and practices consistent with the assessment and evaluation guidelines associated with these regulations.

Sounds easy, but it won't be, as assessment and evaluation are key t0 teaching practices, and many people, both staff, students and parents, haven't really had the chance to think much about using assessment and evaluation as a teaching and learning tool rather than simply a reporting tool. The conversation and debate that go into creating a statement are the point here. The regulation is really there to ensure that people engage in some thinking and discussion of their assessment and evaluation practices.

Guidelines

Guidelines are ways to describe what the policy looks like in practice. A few guidelines are included as a preview below. For example, draft guidelines include statements that assessment and evaluation should:

1. Engage students in monitoring and critically reflecting on their learning in a variety of ways.
2. Provide students with opportunities for adjusting, rethinking and talking about their learning.
3. Inform teacher judgment about student learning.
   
4. Be based on work present, not work absent.

That last one should give people something to talk about. Another conversation starter, in case you're looking for one, is to ask people whether effort should be included as part of a grade for a course.

The Response Draft follows. Please add your comments on the blog and they'll be included as part of the official response.


Response Draft- Policy 607 (Assessment and Evaluation)

Assessment and Evaluation: Supporting Student Growth, Enhancing Student Learning And Achievement
The primary purpose of assessment and evaluation is to support and enhance student learning. Assessment and evaluation support student learning by providing feedback that informs teachers and students about what has been learned and what is not yet understood.
Assessment and evaluation practices are integral to the planning and delivery of curriculum and to implementing instructional approaches to best meet student needs and ways of learning, thereby supporting and enhancing student growth and achievement.

Policy 607-R
Assessment and Evaluation: The Key to Student Growth And Learning
As feedback on learning, communication with parents and students and a record of student progress, assessment and evaluation are key to student learning. Staff, students and parents at each school site should have a clear sense of the principles of assessment and evaluation that underlie practice and enhance student growth, learning and achievement.
In order to ensure some discussion and consistent practices in the school community, each school will develop a brief statement of purposes and practices consistent with the assessment and evaluation guidelines associated with these regulations.
The school statement will:

• state the school’s current practices around assessment and evaluation along with the values and purposes that underlie those expectations.
• be developed and communicated in a way that promotes common understanding and commitment. Staff, students and parents will be involved in development of the school Assessment and Evaluation Statement of Purposes and Procedures.
• be reviewed annually through an inclusive process involving staff, students and parents and communicated at least annually to staff, students, parents and then to the general school community.

Policy 607-G
Assessment and Evaluation: Guiding Instruction To Enhance Student Growth And Learning
Assessment


The primary purpose of assessment for and as learning is to inform students and teachers about students’ progress in various stages of acquiring new skills and knowledge. The information gathered is descriptive rather than evaluative, and serves as feedback so that as students practice they can extend what they have learned. This information also helps teachers plan where to go next with instruction based on student understandings of the material.
Evaluation
The primary purpose of evaluation is to make informed judgments about what students have learned based on assessment of learning evidence. These judgments are made by comparing valid evidence of student learning to standards of performance as related to prescribed curricular learning outcomes. Students as well as teachers should be clear on the standard of performance used to make these judgments.
There are three types of classroom assessment described by the Ministry of Education:

• Assessment for learning refers to formative assessment by which teachers collect information about student development. Assessment for learning is ongoing and provides the basis for determining what the teacher should do next to move student learning forward.
• Assessment as learning refers to the active involvement of students in being critical assessors who work with the teacher to become more aware of their own learning goals and how to effectively address them. The goal is for students to become aware of what helps them learn better and achieve better results, thus increasing their role in contributing to their own improvement.
• Assessment of learning refers to summative assessment whereby teachers collect data from a variety of sources to evaluate student performance in relation to curricular learning outcomes. This informs students, parents and others about student achievement.

Assessment and evaluation are related, but serve different purposes and have distinct meanings.

Assessment and Evaluation practices should:

1. Use a range of methods that assess both the process and products of students’ knowledge, skills and understandings.
2. Be focused on the clearly identified curriculum outcomes and criteria used to evaluate performance.
3. Inform teachers as they plan for instruction and enable them to determine next steps in advancing student learning.
4. Include a clear description of learning intentions and standards for students and parents.
5. Be ongoing and offer many opportunities for students to receive descriptive feedback on their learning.
6. Engage students in monitoring and critically reflecting on their learning in a variety of ways.
7. Provide students with opportunities for adjusting, rethinking and talking about their learning.
8. Respect the developmental differences of the learner by differentiating instruction and recognizing that students learn at different rates and in a variety of ways.
9. Provide opportunities for students to demonstrate the full range of their learning.
10. Inform teacher judgment about student learning.
    
11. Be based on work present, not work absent.

Related Resources: http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/classroom_assessment/ Also check out the Additional Resources Box to the right.

Time To Get Practical

Even if you find new ways of looking at assessment as a way to help students as they learn interesting, or even exciting, you may still be left with questions about exactly how to do this. Previous posts ( and I admit my posts have been few and far between lately) have been focused on assessment theory along with some stories about experiences with traditional assessment. Now it's time to provide you with some practical resources that show and describe how it's done.
A personal favourite is Ruth Sutton's archived presentation at http://bcelc.insinc.com/interactiveinnovations/2008/ruth_sutton.php. Ruth has a practical way of putting things that makes sense and makes you wonder why you would do things any other way. In terms of local talent, the bcelc webcast series features Caren Cameron, Faye Brownlie, Linda Kaiser, Yrsa Jenson, Judy Halbert and others in the entire series at http://bcelc.insinc.com/webcastseries/.

I've posted a short video by Damian Cooper called Does the Drive to Quantify Learning Get in the Way of Learning? This clip poses some provocative questions about our "normal" assessment practices . This might be a good conversation starter for small and large groups, and it's short enough that it leaves you wanting more. The question it begs is whether the classroom environment actually gets in the way of learning. It just might, according to Cooper.

If traditional media is more your cup of tea, try these books on for size:

Creating Independent Student Learners: a practical guide to assessment for learning
Clarke, Owens and Sutton
Portage and Main Press (2006)

Making Classroom Assessment Work
Leading the Way to Making Classroom Assessment
Work Transforming Barrriers to Assessment for Learning
Anne Davies
Connections Publishing (2008)

The Anne Davies books are the focus for this year's assessment study group for adminstrators and are getting rave reviews from tht group, as they are a good blend of theory and practice, with the emphasis on the practical.

Check any or all of these out. Some just make you think, and others may make you change how you do things in the classroom.

Constructive Feedback - Be Kind to Ourselves

Thanks to Lorraine Minosky for the post below about what it's like to change assessment practices. The short answer? It isn't easy, but the struggle can be worth it. "Be kind to ourselves" is good advice as we work through how this works in classrooms.

Many of us are in different stages of the process of making changes to our assessment practice. From reflecting on our practice over the years or from reading the research, we are seeking ways to use assessment to support our students’ learning. There is a constant tension that nags at us and we’re seeing that the old ways are not working for many of our students.


When making changes, we dive in with the best of intentions but it can be overwhelming especially when our students, parents and colleagues resist when faced with looking at assessment in a different way. Making changes in such a complex aspect of our practice can be daunting. It becomes easy to fall back into our old ways, even when we know better.

At a recent Pro-D day session at one of our elementary schools, a wise colleague reminded us to, “Be kind to ourselves”. It’s so true. Starting small and focusing on one area is much more manageable than trying to change everything all at once. As your understanding deepens over the years, it becomes easier to apply our new understanding in other areas. When I started to make conscious changes to my assessment practice, I chose to focus all my energy in one area. I was facing weekly anxiety around the readers’ response journals that I would haul home on a Friday and then would sweat over late Sunday evenings. The students’ responses never seemed to move forward and I didn’t know how to respond effectively to them. Giving them a score out of five and repeatedly coaxing them to “add more detail” just wasn’t cutting it. They basically ruined my weekends. With the support of graduate programs and study groups, I set out to find ways to make changes and improve my reading program, especially in the area of assessment. Even though I struggled in many other areas of my teaching, I forced myself to stick to reading and kept other subject areas on the back burner. Developing rubrics, using performance standards effectively, involving students in setting criteria, using student response journal exemplars, assessing oral discussion group responses, and providing descriptive, focused feedback was where I channeled my energy. Eventually these skills began to spill over into other areas of my teaching. Gradually it all began to make more sense. I even began making changes to my assessment practice in math! Now there was a stretch!

However, learning is a spiral. It takes many turns around the loop and as we observe, reflect and ask questions we deepen our understanding. I couldn’t do it alone and I needed and still need many opportunities to articulate my learning and listen to colleagues. Explaining how and why we’re doing things to students and parents is especially challenging and they really force us to examine and question our practice. Moving schools and adjusting to a very different culture and environment was especially challenging and I fell off the wagon initially when I was once again being challenged as to why I was doing things differently. “No marks for math homework??!! Why should we do our homework then?”

Our district is gradually working toward developing a new assessment policy and I know this will spur many of us to make significant changes. It will be challenging and will overwhelm many of us. But if we remember to be kind to ourselves, start small and seek support from our colleagues, we’ll start to become more comfortable with our assessment practice. Maybe some of us will start to enjoy our weekends a little more!