Power Grading & Assessments by the Standards

A different kind of professional development.™

Scott Benedictscott@teachforjune.com

teachforjune.com

by the Standards

copyright © 2012 teachforjune.com

Power Grading &Assessment

2012

Presentation Available

slideshare.net/teachforjune

Presentation Goals

An overview of standards-based grading and

assessment strategies.

The issue we face today in American world-language

classrooms is that our students’ ability does not

match their achievement.

One-Semester-of-Spanish Spanish Love Song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngRq82c8Baw

If we continue to do things the same way,

we’ll continue to get the same results.

INSANITY

We must make the change...

and the change is...

NOW!

Power Grading and Assessment:A standards-based approach to making

grades meaningful.

What do grades mean?

Current Systems

A random number between 0 and 100

Number rightvs

number wrong

Assignments givenvs

assignments turned-in

A ranking amongfellow learners

The only thing grades should mean

An accurate measurement

of achievement

Achievement is the demonstration of

knowledge and skill components of the

standards.

There can be no value judgements

placed on a grade outside of achievement.

Should be focused on the idea of mastery.

“Students have mastered content when they demonstrate a thorough understanding as evidenced by doing something substantive with the content beyond merely echoing it”

—Rick Wormeli

Q & A

KenO’Connor’s

8 Guidelines for Standards-based

Grading

Relate grading procedures to learning goals.1.

Learning goals arebasis for grade

determination andreporting.

Aligned with Bloom’s oranother taxonomy

Suggestedsecond-language

learning goals

Culture

10%

Listening

15%

Reading

15%

Speaking

30%

Writing

30%

Assessment methodsare subset of main grading

categories(learning goals).

Q & A

Use criterion-referencedperformance standards

as reference points.

2.

Meaning of gradesshould come from clear

descriptions ofperformance standards

Grade is only obtainedby meeting the goal—

NO CURVING

Q & A

Limit the valuedattributes in grades

to individual achievement.3.

Grades should bebased on achievement.

Effort, participation, attitude,and other behaviors shouldbe reported separately and

not included in student’s academic (letter) grade.

Grades should bebased on individual

achievement.

Q & A

Sample student performance—

do not include all scores in grade.

4.

Do not includeformative assessments

in grades.

Provide feedback on formative performance using words, rubrics, or checklists, not grades.

Formative assessments are frequent, small assessments that assess only one thing.

Formative assessmentsassess along the path

of learning.

The point of formativeassessments is to give

feedback for improvement.

Analytic rubrics fit bestwith formative assessments.

Analytic rubrics analyzethe components of a

skill individually so thatspecific feedback can

be given.

Text

Include evidenceprimarily from a

variety of summativeassessments in grades.

Summative assessments are infrequent, big

assessments that assess multiple things at once.

Summative assessmentsassess students at the

end of a learning period.

Holistic rubrics fit bestwith summative assessments.

Holistic rubrics analyzethe skill as a whole whilestill providing generalized

feedback.

Not always practicalin a school setting.

ModificationDon’t include homework

in the calculation of grades.

Q & A

Grade in pencil—keep records so

they can beupdated easily.

5.

Use most consistentlevel of achievement.

Apply special considerationfor the more recent

acheivement evidence.

Provide severalassessment

opportunities.

Vary assessmentsin both method

and number.

Q & A

Crunch numbers carefully—if at all.

6.

Avoid using the mean(averaging).

The mean is meanto students.

The mean is the mathterm for averaging.

Traditional averaging distorts grades.

Consider using the median,mode, or power law of learning to crunch the

numbers.

The median is the middlenumber when a set of

numbers is ordered fromhighest to lowest.

The mode is the most frequent number that

appears in a set ofnumbers.

The power law of learningtakes into account learning

over time.

Points are createdequal.

Weight componentsto acheive intent in final

grades.

Weights aloneare not the answer.

Use Bloom’s Taxonomyas a guide.

Think “body of evidence”and use

professional judgement.

As the professional, youneed to determine,

not just calculate, grades.

The Big Picture

“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.”

—Albert Einstein

Standards-basedgrading scale

AAdvanced

BProficient

CIntermediate

DNovice

FBeginner

Grading needs to bea measurement ofability over time.

Grades can’t start andstop at arbitrary check

points, but must be analyzed over time along

a continuum.

Q & A

Use quality assessment(s)and properly recorded

evidence of achievement.

7.

Meet the standardfor accurate assessment.

Accurate assessmentshave clear targets.

Accurate assessmentshave a clear purpose.

The goal of assessmentsis not to give a grade, but

to provide feedback.

To students— so they can take actionand adjust their learning.

To teachers— so they can take action

and adjust their teaching.

To parents— so they are made awareof their child’s progress.

To administration— so they can take actionto improve school-wide

learning.

Accurate assessmentshave a sound design.

Must be well-written.

Be sure to includeHigher-Order Thinking Skills.

Choose 1per assessment.

Use power wordsas descriptors.

Use appropriatetarget-method

match.

Listening and ReadingAssessments

Traditional Listening/Reading

Assessment

Students listen or reada prompt in the targetlanguage and answer

questions in English.

PROS

Easy to grade

Accurate depiction ofwhat a student knows

Shows what a studentunderstands in thetarget language.

CONS

Often answers can bepredicted without

demonstrating understanding.

Difficult and time-consumingto create effectively

Suggestion:Include at least 30%inference questions

Examples

Example of Traditional Listening/Reading Assessment

Visual Listening/Reading

Assessment

Students match apicture with listeningor reading prompt in

target language.

PROS

Easy to grade.

Shows what a studentunderstands in thetarget language

Works across thelanguage barrier

Great for visual andpre-literate learners

CONS

Pictures can be confusing

Suggestion:Use pictures that are

familiar to the students.

Examples

Example of Visual Listening/Reading Assessment

Example of Visual Listening/Reading Assessment

CreativeListening/Reading

Assessment

Students drawwhat they hear or

read.

PROS

Easy to grade

Demonstrates student’strue understanding of

target language

Great for creative, visualand pre-literate learners

CONS

Students may beapprehensive about

drawing skills.

Suggestion:Keep pictures simple

and promote use of stickfigures.

Examples

Example of Creative Listening/Reading Assessment

Writing Assessments

Traditional WritingAssessment

Students write ona topic.

PROS

Directed writing

Demonstrates student’sability to apply and

synthesize in the targetlanguage

CONS

Very (read too) structured

Often very formulaic

Too polished andnot spontaneous

Suggestion:Use elementary-styleflip books to increasevariety and creativity

in topics.

Examples

Example of Traditional Writing Assessment

Timed-WritingAssessment

Students write withina specific time frame.

PROS

Spontaneous writing

Shows truly what hasbeen acquired in the

target language

Increases fluency(rate at which words flow)

CONS

They can be stressfulto students especially

in the beginning

Students often write thesame thing time after time

Suggestion:Start with 10 minutes and decrease the time by 30

seconds as class averagereaches 100 words.

Examples

Example of Timed Writing Assessment

Creative WritingAssessment

Students write storyfrom pictures they draw.

PROS

Spontaneous writing

Shows truly what hasbeen acquired in the

target language

Allows creativity to flow

CONS

Students try to writebeyound their capabilities

or vocabulary

Suggestion:Remind them to keep itsimple and to stick to

vocabulary they alreadyknow.

Examples

Example of Creative Writing Assessment

Speaking Assessments

Dialogue SpeakingAssessment

Students interactin a dialogue.

PROS

Structured

Easy to grade

May givelower-performingstudents needed

scaffolding

CONS

Structured

Doesn’t promotespantaneity

Encourages memorizedphrases and speech

Suggestion:Switch up the dialogueroles often and throw in

on topic but open-endedquestions to move away

from memorization.

Examples

Example of Dialogue Speaking Assessment

Picture-sequence Speaking

Assessment

Students tell story frompicture sequence.

PROS

Relies less on memorizedphrases and speech

Shows what a student isable to do with the

language

Alllows flexibilitiyand creativity

CONS

Story sequence maynot always be clear

May inadvertentlyintroduce unknown

vocabulary

Suggestion:Suggest to students to

describe the charactersand places as well as

tell the action.

Examples

Example of Picture-Sequence Speaking Assessment

Small-groupSpeaking

Assessment

Students tell oneframe of a group-drawn

story.

PROS

Allows for a lotof creativity

Promotesteamwork

Individuals areassessed on own skill,

not that of group

CONS

Many students don’tlike group work

Students can get offtask quickly if not

reigned in

Not all studentsmay participate equally

Suggestion:Assign individual roleswithin the groups andset clear time limits for

each part of the activity.

Examples

Example of Small-Group Speaking Assessment

Whole-classSpeaking

Assessment

Individual students tellone frame of story: both

students and frame selectedrandomly.

PROS

Encourages spontaneousspeech

Can assess a largenumber of students

in little time

CONS

Need to have manypicture sequences

on hand

Students may helpeach other if notwatched closely

Suggestion:Have students draw picture

sequences to add to your collection

Examples

Example of Whole-Class Speaking Assessment

Spontaneous-skitSpeaking

Assessment

Students draw out ofa hat scenarios to

act out.

PROS

Little chance ofmemorized speech

Encourages creativity

Can be very entertaining

CONS

Students may findit stressful in the beginning

Need to keepstudents on a short

leash

Suggestion:Practice a few times before

you actually assess students.

Give them 10 possible scenarios a couple of weeks ahead of time to practice and reduce

stress.

Examples

Example of Spontaneous-Class Speaking Assessment

Use appropriatesampling

Must have at least 3 assessments for each

learning goal.

speaking

speaking quiz 1

speaking quiz 2

speaking test

Avoid bias anddistortion

Rubrics are a great tool to set expectations and

measure achievement against those expectations

Beginner Novice Intermediate Proficient Advanced

Student is unable to understand spoken/

written language appropriate to their

level. Little to no knowledge of

vocabulary items is evident.

Student is rarely able to understand

spoken /written language appropriate to their level, though some knowledge of vocabulary items is

evident.

Student is sometimes able to

understand spoken /written language

appropriate to their level.

Student is able to understand spoken /

written language appropriate to their level consistently, but

is unable to infer meaning not

explicitly stated.

Student is able to understand spoken /

written language appropriate to their level consistently and

is able to infer meaning not

explicitly stated.

Listening/Reading Comprehension

Speaking

Writing

Record and maintainevidence of achievement

This can be in the formof portfolios, conferences,

tracking sheets, etc.

Q & A

Discuss and involve students in

assessment & grades throughout learning process.

8.

Students must understandhow their grades will be

determined

Involve students in the assessment and grading

process.

Q & A

A different kind of professional development.™

Scott Benedictscott@teachforjune.com

teachforjune.comcopyright © 2012 teachforjune.com

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