DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 434 902 TM 030 129

AUTHOR Ahearn, Charles, Ed.; Nalley, Donna, Ed.; Casbon, Christy,Ed.

TITLE Assessment Hotspots, 1998.INSTITUTION SERVE: SouthEastern Regional Vision for Education.SPONS AGENCY Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED),

Washington, DC.PUB DATE 1998-00-00NOTE 65p.; Photographs and color pages may not reproduce clearly.CONTRACT RJ96006701AVAILABLE FROM SERVE Publications Dept., 1203 Governor's Square Boulevard,

Suite 400, Tallahassee, FL 32301 ($8); Tel.: 800-352-6001(toll-free).

PUB TYPE Collected Works Serials (022) Reports Descriptive(141)

JOURNAL CIT Assessment Hotspots; vl n1 1998EDRS PRICE MF01/PC03 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS *Demonstration Programs; *Educational Assessment;

Educational Change; Elementary Secondary Education; FederalAid; *Research and Development; *School Districts; SchoolRestructuring; State Programs; *Student Evaluation

IDENTIFIERS Reform Efforts; *SouthEastern Regional Vision for Education

ABSTRACTSouthEastern Regional Vision for Education (SERVE) is one of

the 10 federally funded regional educational laboratories. This annualpublication captures and shares the experiences of SERVE school districtsthat have volunteered to share their efforts at assessment reform. This issuecontains the following: (1) "We Never Get over the Fear of Failure: R&D onthe Road with Nancy McMunn" (Nancy McMunn); (2) "Head & Heart intoAssessment: An Overview of SERVE's Research and Development AssessmentProject" (Wendy McColskey, Nancy McMunn, and Sara Thompson); (3) "Creating aHotspot of Activity: The District Perspective" (Beth Deluzain and PatriciaSchenck); (4) "Life within the Hotspot: The School and Teacher Perspective"(Wendy McColskey and Nancy McMunn); (5) "Spotlight on a School AssessmentProject: Electronic Portfolios at Bugg Elementary" (Mary Q. Penta and SheilaWright); (6) "What's Happening in Other States? Spotlight on South Carolina'sOffice of Assessment" (Susan Agruso, Cathi Snyder, and Marc Drews); and (6)"Brief View: Other SERVE Research and Development Projects." (SLD)

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Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be madefrom the original document.

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Volume 1, Number 1

Tin

R&D On the Roadwith Nancy

Mc Munn

Head & HeartInto Assessment

Creating a Hot Spotof Activity

Life Withinthe Hot Spot

Spot/Iighton a SchoolAssessment/Project

What's Happeningin Other States?

SERVEImproving Learning through

Research d- Development

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TAW Weather

PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE ANDDISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS

BEEN GRANTED BY

oi A ek_t_fg.

TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCESINFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)

U S DEPARTMENTOF EDUCATIONOffice ot Educational

Research and ImprovementEDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

INFORMATIONCENTER (ERIC)04his document

has been reproduced asreceived from the person or organizationoriginating itO Minor changes

have been made toimprove reproduction quality.

Points of viewor opinions stated in thisdocument do not necessarily representofficial OERI position or policy.

USA $8.00Annual Magazine

BESTCOPYAVAI1ABLE

BoonevilleSchool District

AlcornSchoolDistrict

Madison CountySchool District

Crenshawounty Schools

DeltaState Mobile

Districts SchoolDistrict

WakeCountySchools

South CarolinaDepartmentof Education

McIntoshCountySchools

1

BayDistrictSchools

Fe/444i 44 7144 14444

544.4

* Demonstration SitesSchool Districts Working with SERVE's R&D Assessment Project

3

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ABOUT THE SERVEORGANIZATION

4ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

5OVERVIEW OFPUBLICATION

6R&D ON THE ROAD WITH

NANCY MCMUNNWe Never Get Overthe Fear of Failure

8.HEAD AND HEARTINTO ASSESSMENT

An Overview of SERVE'SResearch & Development

Assessment ProjectThis article describes the background and

scope of SERVE's work with districtdemonstration sites in the southeast. It

describes why assessment reform isimportant and how SERVE is working withdistricts to build teacher capacity to reflect

on classroom assessment practices.

16CREATING A HOTSPOT OF

ACTIVITYThe District Perspective

This article shares the experiences of one ofSERVE's first district demonstration sites,

Bay District Schools in Panama City, Florida.It describes the multiple-year design of their

professional development program inassessment and some lessons learned.

BEST COPY AVAILABLE

20LIFE WITHIN THE

HOTSPOTThe School and teacher

PerspectiveThree schools in Bay District were chosen as

pilot sites for assessment reform. In thisarticle, Patronis Elementary, Rosenwald

Middle School, and Rutherford High Schoolprovide some background on their school

improvement efforts, describe howassessment reform has fit in, and reflect onwhat progress they have made. In addition,teachers from these schools reflect on theassessment changes they have made and

what the process has meant to them.

40SPOTLIGHT ON A SCHOOL

ASSESSMENT PROJECTElectronic Portfoliosat Bugg Elementary

District leadership is critical to assessmentreform, which is why SERVE has focused

significant support at this level of change. Inthis section, we will be describing the kindsof assessments projects that schools chooseto undertake. Our first article highlights thework of teachers at an elementary school inWake County, North Carolina, who designed.an interdisciplinary performance assessment

(social studies, communication, arts) andexplored the electronic portfolio as a tool forcapturing the assessment design and results.

51WHAT'S HAPPENING IN

OTHER STATES?Spotlight on South Carolina's

Office of AssessmentIn some states, the State Department of

Education is playing an important role inproviding support for teachers on

assessments for the classroom that arealigned to and enhance student progress

toward state standards. In this section, wewill highlight the work of selected state

departments in the six southeastern states.This article features information on products

and support available from the SouthCarolina Department of Education's Office of

Assessment.

59BRIEF VIEW

Other SERVE Research andDevelopment Projects

1998Volume 1, Number 1

SERVESouth Eastern Regional Vision

for Education

Associated with theSchool of Education

University of North Carolinaat Greensboro

Assessment Hot Spots is an assessmentmagazine featuring the work of

educators in the Southeast. It will beproduced annually and will beavailable on SERVE's Web page

(http://www.serve.org). If you havean idea or project you would like to

see published or if you have questionsor a need for more information,

please contact Nancy McMunn atSERVE (800-755-3277) or atnancy.mcmunngserve.org.

Edited byCharles Ahearn, Director of

Publications/Senior Editor, SERVEDonna Nalley, Senior Program

Specialist, SERVEChristy Casbon, Communications

Specialist, SERVE

Designed byKelly Dryden, Senior Design Specialist

The content of this publication doesnot necessarily reflect the views orpolicies of the Office of Educational

Research and Improvement, U.S.Department of Education nor does

mention of trade names, commercialproducts, or organizations imply

endorsement by the U.S. Government.

This document was produced withfunding from the Office ofEducational Research and

Improvement, U.S. Department ofEducation, under contract no.

RJ96006701.

A 104 x ge 5ED,4SERVE, the South EasternRegional Vision for Educa-tion, is a consortium of

educational organizations whosemission is to promote and sup-port the continual improvementof educational opportunities forall learners in the Southeast.Formed by a coalition of businessleaders, governors, policymakers,and educators seeking systemic,lasting improvement in educa-tion, the organization is governedand guided by a Board of Direc-tors that includes the chief stateschool officers, governors, andlegislative representatives fromAlabama, Florida, Georgia,Mississippi, North Carolina, andSouth Carolina. Committed tocreating a shared vision of thefuture of education in the South-east, the consortium impactseducational change by addressingcritical educational issues in theregion, acting as a catalyst forpositive change, and serving as aresource to individuals andgroups striving for comprehen-sive school improvement.

SERVE's core component is aregional educational laboratoryfunded since 1990 by the Office ofEducational Research and Im-provement (OERI), U.S. Depart-ment of Education. Building fromthis core, SERVE has developed asystem of programs and initiativesthat provides a spectrum ofresources, services, and productsfor responding effectively tonational, regional, state, and localneeds. SERVE is a dynamic force,transforming national educationreform strategies into progressivepolicies and viable initiatives at

all levels. SERVE Laboratoryprograms and key activities arecentered around

Applying research and devel-opment related to improvingteaching, learning, andorganizational management

Serving the educational needsof young children and theirfamilies more effectively

Providing field and informa-tion services to promote andassist local implementation ofresearch-based practices andprograms

Offering policy services,information, and assistance todecision makers concernedwith developing progressiveeducational policy

Connecting educators to aregional computerized com-munication system so thatthey may search for and shareinformation and network

Developing and disseminatingpublications and productsdesigned to give educatorspractical information and thelatest research on commonissues and problems

The Eisenhower Consortium forMathematics and Science Educa-tion at SERVE is part of thenational infrastructure for theimprovement of mathematics andscience education sponsored byOERI. The consortium coordi-nates resources, disseminatesexemplary instructional materials,

and provides technical assistancefor implementing teaching meth-ods and assessment tools.

The SouthEast and Islands Re-gional lbchnology in EducationConsortium (SEIRTEC) serves14 states and territories. A seven-member partnership led bySERVE, the consortium offers avariety of services to foster theinfusion of technology into K-I2classrooms. The Region IV Com-prehensive Assistance Centerprovides a coordinated, compre-hensive approach to technicalassistance through its partnershipwith SERVE.

A set of special purpose institutescompletes the system of SERVEresources. These institutes provideeducation stakeholders extendedsite based access to high qualityprofessional development pro-grams, evaluation and assessmentservices, training and policydevelopment to improve schoolsafety, and subject area or project-specific planning and implementa-tion assistance to support clients'school improvement goals.

Following the distributive ap-proach to responding and provid-ing services to its customers,SERVE has ten offices in theregion. The North Carolina officeat the University of North Carolinaat Greensboro is headquarters forthe Laboratory's executive servicesand operations. Policy offices arelocated in the departments ofeducation in Alabama, Florida,Georgia, Mississippi, North Caro-lina, and South Carolina.

pro

SERVE-AlabamaPolicyOffice forthcomingPleasecall any SERVE Policyoffice for assistance.

SERVE-FloridaEarly Childhood, FieldServices, Publications1203 Governor's SquareBoulevardSuite 400Tallahassee, FL 32301850-671-6000800-352-6001Fax 850-671-6020

Database InformationServices Center1203 Governor's SquareBoulevardSuite 400Tallahassee, FL 32301850-671-6012800-352-3747Fax 850-671-6020

Eisenhower Consortiumfor Mathematics andScience Education atSERVE1203 Governor's SquareBoulevardSuite 400Tallahassee, FL 32301850-671-6033800-854-0476Fax 850-671-6010

Policy1203 Governor's SquareBoulevardSuite 400Tallahassee, FL 32301850-671-6000800-352-6001Fax 850-671-6020

4Florida Commissioner ofEducation OfficeThe Capitol, LL 24Tallahassee, FL 32399850-488-9513Fax 850-488-1492

SERVE-GeorgiaTechnology, TeacherLeadership, UrbanEducation41 Marietta Street, NWSuite 1000Atlanta, GA 30303404-893-0100800-659-3204Fax 404-577-7812

PolicyState Department ofEducation2054 Win 'Ibwers EastAtlanta, GA 30334404-657-0148Fax 404-651-5231

SERVE-MississippiDelta ProjectDelta State UniversityP.O. Box 3183Cleveland, MS 38733601-846-4384800-326-4548Fax 601-846-4402

PolicyState Department ofEducationP.O. Box 771Jackson, MS 39201601-359-3501Fax 601-359-3667E-mail: wmoore@serve.org

SERVE-North Carolina*Executive Services,Operations, Research andDevelopmentP.O. Box 5367Greensboro, NC 27435336-334-3211800-755-3277Fax 336-334-3268

PolicyDepartment of PublicInstructionEducation Building301 North WilmingtonStreetRaleigh, NC 27601-2825919-715-1245Fax 919-715-1278

SERVE-South CarolinaPolicy1429 Senate Street1005 Rutledge BuildingColumbia, SC 29201803-734-8496Fax 803-734-3389

SERVE, Inc.Business OfficeP.O. Box 5406Greensboro, NC 27435336-334-4669336-334-4670800-545-7075Fax 336-334-4671

Anchor School ProjectP.O. Box 5406Greensboro, NC 27435336-334-4667800-545-7075Fax 336-334-4671E-mail:anchorschool@serve.org

Evaluation andAssessment ServicesP.O. Box 5367Greensboro, NC 27435336-334-3211800-755-3277Fax 336-334-3268

Professional DevelopmentInstitute (PDI)P.O. Box 5406Greensboro, NC 27435336-334-4667800-545-7075Fax 336-334-4671E-mail: pdi@serve.org

The Region IVComprehensive CenterP.O. Box 5406Greensboro, NC 27435336-334-4667800-545-7075Fax 336-334-4671E-mail: regivcc@serve.org

South East and IslandsRegional Technology inEducation Consortium41 Marietta Street, NWSuite 1000Atlanta, GA 30303404-893-0100800-659-3204Fax 404-577-7812E-mail: seirtec@serve.org

*Main Office Address

http://www.serve.org

e-mail info@serve.org

A Teacher's Attitude"I've come to the frightening conclusion that I am

the decisive element in the classroom. It's mypersonal approach that creates the climate. It's mydaily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, Ipossess a tremendous power to make a child's lifemiserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an

instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate orhumor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is myresponse that decides whether a crisis will be

escalated or de-escalated and a child humanizedor dehumanized."

Haim Ginnott, 'Lacher and Psychologist

SERVE expresses its gratitude to the teachersin Year One of the Bay District/SERVEAssessment Project for their positiveattitudes, hard work, and feedback.

PatronisElementarySchoolJanice SalaresMichelle SackmanDonna BonneyNan McCurleyJane Haddox11-ease KloessLinda GoldenMartha HayesJohn CannonTamra WhiteBeth RamseyHope BurtonAnna HullMelissa LawleyBrenda McGonagilPatricia SchenckMichael DunnivantBridgette HobbsErin MahavierRobyn WebbBarbara ClemonsRegina Hedbawny

Robin RobbBeverly HotellKristi FillyawAnne KirkpatrickCarol TherrienDonna ClarkPatti CorleyBill FowlerDiane HoggleLucy SmithCindy GuerryBeth DartNancy KansoKim BaxleyShirley DaffinDiana HolbrookJanet JoynerLisa LannanLinda OleckBeth ParsonsSonya PruittPat SummervilleAlice KausKathy TubbCheryl WisnerVickie Garcia

Peggy KeslerNell StoweShirley RamsayDebbie GreenJane BaileyGary BuynakAnita BrownAnn SmithDenise KelleyMary MartinMaria PettaKathy DavisBrenda HarstvedtJennifer LoescherAudrey ScottEllen BarkerJoan DalyGloria DegroatKathy EddenTbrra YonEmily LukeCarol LoveKenny KirklandJulie MintzSusan BarkerCynthia BrownKaren CostelloKellie HarrisonRena HazlettMeleane HolmanAmy KnappNan McQuaggeShannon ParkerTina PbpeJanet SnyderGladys BrowningLinda SuggsSusie PadgettMadge ForgueColleen HobsonOpal LandrumTbnya Hudson'Parnmy Manning'Ibnia Williams

RosenwaldMiddle SchoolEddie ComerfordLynn HobbyCarol BarfieldBetty LetchworthLaura BrownMonica BuchananSarah ChisenhallLinda DistasloJovonda FranklinPeggy HansonKelly LovettKathleen PreussLisa SwertfagerMargaret WentworthJanet AndersonJames DavisJonas DouglasKenneth PhillipsLinda BushAnga CalhounMeredith KnightLee MannDawn WarmackGrace BryanAnthony CollierMary HadleyChris HaynerSusan HenryLinward BarnesIda ConnerAlbert Harris, Jr.Julie HuntleyMarcus SaleSharon AndersonSandra BellRobert BrockDirk NaegeleJohnny AdamsElizabeth CookPat VickersJohn CapesJames HarrellAmy Smith

Jeniece SewellWilliam TillmanNeil Gray IVTalitha PigfordNorma RiceSandra HelvestonGeorgie HartzogLouis LamorMary AkerlindJudy KiteTalana LandDiane SpringSandra Bell

Rutherford HighSchoolCarla T. LovettDouglas LeeElbert DennisKaren CollinsKim JoinerKim MuterspaughRita WhiteRobert HawkSandra WilsonSarah LarkSusan ButlerWilliam Fussell

SERVE also wishes to thank the districtliaison, Beth Deluzain, for her insight andleadership, Superintendent Larry Bolinger forhis continued support of the R&D project,and Patricia Schenck for her quality work andattention to detail.

We appreciate the reviewsfrom SERVE's staff:Paula EgelsonKaren CharlesElizabeth ByromHelen De CasperPatrick HarmanSteve BinghamWendy McColskeyJulie EdwardsRoy ForbesGina BurkhardtBetty FryCharles Ahearn

of this publication

Francena CummingsDeborah Childs-BowenJean WilliamsJerry NatkinSue SummersBecky OgletreeNancy LivesayVicki Mikow-PortoChip JacksonWalter MooreNancy Verber

We appreciate others who reviewed thispublication and provided input:Anne JollyBeth DeluzainPatricia SchenckLynn HobbySusan AgrusoSheila WrightSara ThompsonBernice McSpaddenKathy Davis

Michael DunnivantSandy WilsonCathi SynderSusan ButlerCarla LovettLee Ann MannJanice SalaresJennifer LoescherMary Penta

Overview ofPublicationSERVE, as one of the ten federally fundedregional educational laboratories, dis-seminates research-based knowledge that

will help schools improve. But there are at leasttwo kinds of knowledge to share. One kind isthe typical, university-based, social scienceresearch. The other kind is craft or practitionerknowledge (educators writing about what theyhave done and what they have learned fromwhat they have tried). This publication honorsthis second kind of knowledge. In it, we haveasked educators who are involved in assess-ment reform at the district, school, and class-room level to share their experiences.

The need for assessment reform is twofold.Most states have revised their CurriculumFrameworks or State Standards Documents toreflect emerging national standards. For thesenew standards to be implemented in theclassroom, teachers need opportunities todevelop assessments that align with thesestandards. Secondly, student motivation isincreasingly recognized as a key educationaloutcome. Itaditional tests do not consistentlyengage students as active and intrinsicallymotivated learners. Assessment is increas-ingly seen as needing to be relevant to the realworld and involve the student in a meaningfulself-assessment process. If students are as-signed "quality" work to do, they will morelikely become quality workers and thinkers.

SERVE has an ongoing Research and Develop-ment project that supports volunteer demon-stration districts in the process of assessmentreform; SERVE also supports and values theassessment work of others in the region. Theprimary purpose of this publication, Assess-ment HotSpots, is to periodically capture andshare the experiences and learning of thesedistricts and others. As other districts readabout their experiences, they may realize thatfocusing on assessment changes at the districtlevel can be a meaningful tool and drivingforce in the restructuring process.

tAlt Altig4Assessment is not just

about "success" or "fail-ure" but about learn-inglearning what todo, how to do it, andknowing what needs

improvement.

carmen, a middle schoolteacher, recently at-tended the follow-up to a

session on assessment trainingthat I had facilitated. The previ-ous presentation was on "Creat-ing Effective Student Assess-ments" and included an assign-ment for producing an actualassessment to be conducted inthe classroom. During thisfollow-up, I asked the partici-pants to reflect on and sharetheir experiences with theassessment assignment theyexperienced with their students.

Carmen looked up, close totears, frustration showing in herface and words. "I didn't want tocome back here today. I feel likea complete failure," she said."What makes it worse is I triedso hard."

She went on to complain aboutall her hard work trying to alignthe curriculum [what was to betaught] with the assessment[what the students would knowand be able to do] and theinstruction [the strategies usedto help her students gain the

knowledge needed to attain theskills and/or standard]. She wasdisappointed in her results anddid not want to attend thefollow-up because she fearedfailure.

These feelings are actuallytypical and have beenexpressed by many teachersreturning to share theassessment assignmentduring the follow-up. So,what is the difficulty thatthese teachers areexperiencing?

First, the whole training format isabout change. A change inthinking about what matters inthe classroomnot about chang-

ReeLC) 111

ith an

judge of whether students arereally learningnot just if theyare passing or failing.

This process format is difficult, soteachers need a strong supportsystem. Unfortunately, someprincipals do not support changesin classroom assessment practicesfor teachers, nor do they knowhow to help them if a question orproblem arisesso teachers mayfear that they have failed. Con-versely, teachers with supportiveor knowledgeable principals canmake great gains in assessmenttraining. Another problem is thatmany teachers want thingshanded to them ready to use in theclassroom, and they are over-whelmed when they must create

an assessmentthat matches

their cur-

c unning everything a teacher is doingbut about thinking through theassessment process of gettinginformation back from the stu-dents and about becoming a better

e

riculum and instruction. Thisalignment is what we refer to asthe 'big picture,' and it is oftenpaid little attention in classroomplanning.

Carmen, likemany teachersin this training,had neverbefore created arubric for scor-ing student work."I'm afraid that this was a wasteof my time," she said. "Althoughthe failure rate decreased, manyof my students' scores wentdown when I used my rubric.And I'm not even sure if this is achecklist or a rubric."

When I examined it, I noted thatit was. actually a combination ofa checklist and a rubric, and itwas a good start for the assign-ment. I asked her if the rubricmeasured student performanceagainst noted benchmarks orobjectives, and she said yes andthat other skills were alsomeasured.

"Don't worry about whether it's achecklist or rubric," I said. "Justthink of it as a feedback toolbecause feedback is what itshould be used for in the class-room. Good feedback is the key toimproving student performance."

I asked Carmen if she thoughther expectations were clear, andwondered aloud whether thestudents had had time to 'buy in'to this new kind of feedback loop.

If educators care about childrenand truly believe that "all childrencan learn," they must think about

yr

the way children are assessed andknow that assessment makes thedifference between success andfailure. Classroom assessments aremeasures of success or failure, andif the assessment methods areinadequately selected and notaligned to curriculum and instruc-tion, then students are not assuccessful, and teachers becomefrustrated. Thus, both feel failure.This assessment process, similarto a feedback spiral, takes time todevelop and use.

The next morning Carmen cameinto the workshop with a hugegrin on her face. "Last night Iwas thinking about our discus-sion and about some of thequestions that came up in ourreview session, and it was like alight bulb suddenly turned on inmy head!" she exclaimed. "Irealized that my rubricsorry,feedback tooldid notmeasure what I thought itdid, and now I know whymy students did not dowell on this activity."

Carmen saw that thebenchmarks were notmeasured at all, and onlyspecific details and skillswere addressed. There wasalso a mismatch in what she

7

expectedstudents to do and what

she actually assessed.

For many teachers, the first timecreating a feedback tool is difficultand time consuming. Also, thehardest part is deciding what isvalued in student work andputting this information into anorganized format that providesstudents with feedback for im-provement. If good feedback isnot provided on the feedbacktool, all the teacher needs to dois put a simple grade on theassessment.

Some teachers may have goodintentions when they create thefeedback tool, but sometimes theexpectations are not clear, orsometimes the student's name onthe paper carries as much weightas attaining a benchmark. These

Continued on Page 15

If good feedback is

not provided on the

feedback tool, all the

teacher needs to do is put

a simple grade on the

assessment.

n AD&"EilliTAi4 °ye/1,444v 4 5E0E14 Rowe,/ et441by IWendy McColskey,Nancy McMunn,and Sam Thompson

"Learning is bothreflective and active,verbal and nonverbal,concrete and abstract,head and heart."

Bernice McCarthy, EducationalLeadership (March 1997)

4v v/111I

11°HEADMaking teachers

think about issuesand important

classroom practices

In discussions about how to improve education,we often hear debates about the definition of"good instruction." It needs to be

active (rather than passive)

relevant

reflective of lifelong learning habits

intellectually challenging

We are less likely to hear conversations about whatconstitutes good student assessment practices in theclassroom. Most recent conversations about assess-ment have been about the need for more alternativeor authentic assessment as a way to provide avariety of opportunities for students to succeed.

S

AMI)

HEARTKnowing that

assessment goesbeyond mere testing

In aligning classroom assessment with revisedstate standards and the current vision of "goodinstruction," teachers need time to ask themselvesand each other some important questions.

What is the quality and purpose of the work Iassign students?

Are the criteria for task performance clear tostudents so that they know what I expect ofthem?

Do I provide regular feedback to help studentsimprove?

Do I provide opportunities for students to self-and peer assess and learn from each other?

Into Ilssess-A*el)4/ P

Am I using fair and justifiable grading practices?

V What is the impact of my assessment practiceson student motivation?

Having opportunities to address such questionswith peers is likely to increase teacher effective-ness and student motivation.

Because of the recognized need to include conver-sations about good classroom assessment in theprofessional development opportunities availableto teachers, SERVE has committed to continuedResearch and Development work in this area. In1993-1994, SERVE worked with the LaboratoryNetwork Program (a collaborative effort of the tenregional labs) in the production and disseminationof a Tholkit for Professional Developers in AlternativeAssessment. Subsequently, SERVE's efforts in-volved developing a SERVE Assessment Module(based on the Tholkit activities) that describes indetail instructional activities for use with teachergroups.

In 1995-1996, SERVE disseminated this resourcevia train-the-trainer workshops held across the sixsoutheastern states, reaching over 300 partici-pants. When surveyed, a significant number ofparticipants expressed a lack of confidence inusing these materials to work with teachers intheir districts or schools. They seemed to feel thatassessment was a sensitive and somewhat "per-sonal" teaching issue and that they did not havethe background knowledge and/or classroomexperience in assessment to prepare them for thequestions and issues that might arise. SERVE'sconclusion was that sole reliance on a train-the-trainer approach to building classroom assessment

I

capacity in the region was not the most effectiveuse of our resources.

I could not have become an effectivetrainer with my prior knowledge in

assessment. I think an effectivetrainer must be a practitioner,

someone who has implementedwithsuccessthis type of assessment

process in the classroom.

I, and I believe I speak for most of theteachers who have become part of our

assessment trainer network, hadlimitedif anytraining in college in

assessment. Most of our teachertraining focused on instructional

activities but failed to prepare us forassessing them or making sure theactivity aligned to the standard.

Training in assessment is not easy,especially training our peers. We mustbe able to draw from our experiences

to give specific examples to otherteachers during training; otherwise,we are seen as someone who thinks

this might work, not someone who canassure us that it does work.

Patricia Schenck, Bay District's LeadTrainer in Assessment

R&D StrategyEstablishing R&D Sites

I n the spring of 1996, SERVE initiated a districtdemonstration site approach to building capac-

ity that creates long-term partnerships with se-lected districts in the region. This Research andDevelopment project is designed to examine how adistrict can implement a professional developmentprocess to increase teacher assessment capacity.SERVE's goal for the five-year period (1995-2000)is to establish partnerships with six districts in theSoutheast (at least one district per southeasternstate). These districts must express a commitmentto the long-term process of helping teachers reviseand rethink their assessment practices to matchemerging national, state, and district standards.

The sites where SERVE is working are Bay County,Florida; McIntosh County, Georgia; Wake County,North Carolina; Mobile, Alabama; CrenshawCounty, Alabama; Madison County, Alabama;Alcorn County, Mississippi; and Booneville, Missis-sippi. (In addition to these single district sites,SERVE is working with a consortium of districts inthe Mississippi Delta area.)

Each district designed its own approach to profes-sional development with the use of SERVE trainingand planning assistance. These districts will sharetheir experiences and serve as resources for otherdistricts interested in building strong professionaldevelopment programs in classroom assessment.

Supporting Teacher ChangeMany administrators agree that there is noshortage of workshops to attend on improv-

ing instruction and assessment. Although manyeducators participate in single-event training (e.g.,on portfolios), few are getting the continuous (two-to three-year) focus on quality assessment prac-tices. Stand-alone training in assessment inhibitsteachers from thinking of assessment as a complexaspect of teaching that takes time to fully develop.Revising classroom assessments to match emerg-ing district, state, and national standards is anindividual process (which is long-term, evolution-ary, and builds on previous experience).

It is important to constantly upgradeour assessment skills and stay

connected to a support network ofother assessment specialists to gainthe knowledge we need. Also, I don'tthink of curriculum, assessment, and

instruction as separate entitiesanymore, but view them with a

systemic approach, that if changesare made in one part of the system, itrequires thinking about and possibly

making changes in other areas.

I have seen how much I and otherteachers have grown over the past few

years, but it has taken time. It hasbeen worth the journey.

Patricia Schenck, Bay District's Lead'Frainer in Assessment

When new ideas are presented as "the answer,"teachers are often skeptical and rarely acceptthem wholeheartedly. However, they generally arewilling to start with small, incremental changesand, when they see success with students, begin toexpand the focus of their improvement efforts.

In thinking about the order of the change process,research (Guskey, 1997) suggests that classroompractices which prove successful and enhancestudent learning lead to changes in teacher atti-tudes and beliefs. Many people mistakenly believethat teachers' philosophiesand attitudes mustchange first. Experiencesuggests if teachers canbe encouraged to trysomething new or differ-ent in a small way, and ifteachers perceive a posi-tive impact on students,they may have achange of heart andembrace the newideas as sound andworthwhile.

For example, a teacher might start off experiment-ing with changes to assignments, from morefactual questions to more higher-order thinkingquestions. Then because of the open-ended natureof these assignments, the teacher becomes awareof the importance of rubrics as instructional toolsto help students understand the expectations forperformance and the quality of responses ex-pected. After realizing the instructional value ofrubrics, the teacher might try involving studentsin generating rubrics which might lead to morepeer and self-assessment opportunities for stu-dents. If this works well, the teacher might expandstudents' responsibilities even further by incorpo-rating a portfolio or student-led parent conferenceinto the classroom, which in turn leads to ques-tions about the meaning of grades.

And so it goes. Thoughtful assessment changesoften lead to more motivated and successfulstudents which lead to ideas for more changes andfinally to the articulation of an educational phi-losophy about the purposes of assessment andhow it works best for children.

Rethinking assessment in the classroom is anongoing, continuous improvement process thatbecause of the daily stresses of teaching may nothappen without district and school-based support.Assessment changes can drive teaching andlearning in new directions, but the organizationalsupport for the hard work at the individual teacherlevel must be there.

SERVE & DistrictsThe Benefits of Partnerships

Many district offices are overworked and havelittle time to "develop" training activities and

materials for teachers in the area of assessment.SERVE has developed a four-day professionaldevelopment program for the first year of workwith the district to help teachers look at the qual-ity of classroom assessment practices. This pro-gram provides a starting point for teachers inrethinking how they assess their students. Thegoal of this initial four-day program is to walkteachers through the process of developing aperformance assessment matched to district orstate standards so that they experience the impact

on students and,thus, becomemotivated tocontinue theirgrowth in thisarea.

For the firstyear, the firsttwo daysinclude hands-on, awarenessactivities (see Assess-ment Training Agenda on the following page)that help teachers experience the range ofassessment methods and the process of assess-ment design, develop a common language forassessment, and understand the relationshipbetween student motivation and assessment.Teachers are also introduced to the concept ofrubrics and the importance of letting studentsknow the expected criteria "up front."

At the end of the initial two days, teachers arecharged with developing and piloting a perfor-mance task and collecting samples of studentwork to bring to the next meeting.

During the subsequent two days, teachers"present" their assessment results and analyzewhat they learned from doing the assessmentwith students. They critique and revise theirassessment and explore other emerging profes-sional development needs.

This experiential training program is the heartof SERVE's first-year collaboration with dis-tricts. Although the training is the same, eachdistrict plans for how it will be implementedbased on district needs (which schools, whichteachers, etc.).

District goals for subsequent years evolve fromthe experiences/reactions/needs of participat-ing teachers and schools.

The district demonstration sites agree to havea district-wide planning team and to name adistrict liaison/project leader. SERVE offerstraining resources and materials, but theleadership and commitment to ongoing

111, 4

teacher support must come from the district.The district also agrees to a two- to three-yearcommitment to a professional developmentfocus on classroom assessment. The long-termgoal is to foster district expertise and leader-

ship so that building teacher capacity in assess-ment becomes a continuing district program-matic priority. The professional developmentprogram is jointly developed by SERVE and thedistrict.

Assessment Training AgendaFour Days' Tbpics

PHASE ONE:Why and What inAlternative Assessment

V

V

V

Activities Include

Ira Sleeps Over

Rudy

Speaking the Same Language

V

V

V

PHASE TWO: V Clapping Hands V

Do Teachers Communicate V Model of a Talented 'Lacher VWhat is Valued in StudentLearning? V Camping Trip

V A Closer Look at RubricsV

V

PHASE THREE: V Bloom/Multiple V

Exploration of Good Intelligences RevisitedAssessment Design Spectrum of Assessment

V Curriculum, Instruction, and V

Assessment AlignmentReview and Assignment

PHASE FOUR: V Positive/Negative Reflections V

(Two-Day) Returning V Hard/Soft ThinkingSession

V Sharing Our Success

V Building Our Barn V

V

V

Focus of Activity

Change and what we face

Good pictures of ourstudents

Assessment vocabularythrough examples andsharing

Performance assessment

Kay rIbliver's video onmotivation, integration,and authentic assessment

Deciding what is valuedand creating a rubric

Samples of different typesof rubrics

Bloom's taxonomy andconnections to multipleintelligences

Review of state standardsand assignment forreturning session

Good/bad aspects ofassignment andimplementation forstudents and teachers

Types of thinkers

What happened in theclassroom

Where from here?

V Finally, the district demonstration sites agreeto share what they learn with other districts.SERVE is collecting data on district strategiesand on impact of the program on classroompractices. These data will be shared with theregion. Teachers and administrators from thesesites also serve as trainers and consultants forother sites. Our goal is to create a network ofcapable teachers from each of our six south-eastern states who are knowledgeable inquality assessment methods, are available toprovide training to others in their states, andcan advise SERVE on continuing needs inclassroom assessment.

First-Year ReflectionsTwo of SERVE's district demonstration sites arenow in their second year. Bay District Schools

in Panama City, Florida, was the first site estab-lished, closely followed by Alcorn County, Missis-sippi. Both districts have moved quickly to build astrong program in professional development,supported by outside grants. In the process, thedistricts have learned some lessons which can beof value to other districts who recog-nize that classroom assessment is aweak link but who have not yetmade it a district priority.

What SERVE Learned1. Someone must be in charge.

A district staff person or project leader must beresponsible for directing the effort given all thecompeting demands for teacher time, if qualityclassroom assessment is to become an activepart of a district's professional developmentprogram. This person must truly understandthe role of classroom assessment in helpingstudents achieve and take an active leadershiprole in planning, implementing, and evaluat-ing the strategies used to support teachers'development.

2. Teacher training must start at a basic level.One benefit of the basic training is to provideteachers with a common language. Since mostteachers have not had coursework in assess-ment, the training serves to establish a com-mon language. A common language helps

teachers articulate problems they have hadwith assessment and, on the flip side, helpsother teachers articulate their successes andfeel affirmed in what they have been doing.At the school level, a common knowledge baseand language allows teachers to share ideaswith each other and compare notes on assess-ment practices.

3. Assessment, like instruction, is best thoughtof as a continual improvement process.Reflecting on assessment practices is a slowprocess. Just developing and implementingone complex assessment task can take hoursof teacher time. The process cannot be rushed.Trying to change too much at one time canlead to discouragement. Thus, training inassessment must be job-embedded, supported,and long-term. Requiring all teachers as partof their first-year training to develop a useable,defensible assessment for their classroom in asupportive-group context is a first small steptoward initiating teachers into the continualimprovement process.

4. Principals, as well as district personnel,must take a leadership role in promotingprofessional development in assessment.These educators must also commit to becom-ing knowledgeable about quality classroomassessment, so that they can participate andsupport schoolwide discussions and activities.They can provide time and support to teachersand can increase the focus on assessmentpractices by encouraging school improvementgoals in this area. For example, a school goalmight be that all teachers will develop at leastone new performance assessment during theyear. Another school may have as its goal thedevelopment of common rubrics for writingand speaking skills across discipline areas.

5. School leaders need to listen to what teach-ers are saying about needs, insecurities, andbarriers.For example, in the early stages of change,teachers often express a need for individual-ized feedback from a consultant or otherteacher experts on some of the assessmentchanges they are trying in their classroom.(Good feedback is an important part of the

13

improvement processwith teachers as well aswith students.) They often express a desire towork with a partner or in a group with otherteachers for this reason. School leaders canrespond to and support these needs if they are"listening" well.

6. A successful assessment initiative beginswith motivated, enthusiastic teachers.Allowing teachers to choose to participate iscritical. Forcing participation is not likely towork until the program has advocates, like astrong support team established at the school.Successful districts have portrayed the initialassessment training as a valuable commodityfor which schools must show interest, gothrough an application process, and make along-term commitment. As volunteer, "pilot"teachers go through the first-year trainingprocess and begin to get excited about thepotential impact of assessment changes ontheir students' motivation, word gets out and

others become interested. Asthe interest grows, the

district must find grantsor other funds toexpand opportuni-ties for professional

development both9

11 7

arWaor A004

in breadth(numbers) andin depth (be-yond first-yeartraining).

Why the Effort?Student Success!

For the last six years, there have been national,state, and district movements toward defining

new standards for student performance. Thehigher standards or "new basics" that are neededto prepare students for work in the twenty-firstcentury emphasize high-level thinking and appli-cation skills such as

V Proficiency in reading for information, summa-rizing key points, and critically interpretingwhat is read

Applying basic math skills to real-life situa-tions, problem-solving, and communicatingmath understanding

Organizing what is known, defending andjustifying recommendations, and searching outand learning new information about an issue

Working together as a team to solve problemsor complete a task

The articulation of these higher standardsdemands a different kind of assessment process.Traditional tests that depend heavily on factualrecall are important, but they are only one ofmany kinds of assessment instruments. Districtsthat take new state and national standards seri-ously realize that extensive, job-embedded staffdevelopment is needed in order for teachers tounderstand these standards, explore the instruc-tional and assessment implications for the class-room, and experiment with the alignment process.

Ultimately, the goal of the SERVE project is toimprove learning for students. The feedbackSERVE is beginning to receive from participatingteachers is that they are articulating higher stu-dent expectations, and students are meeting thehigher demands. Teachers also report paying moreattention to decisions about curriculum andinstructional alignment. Here are some commentsreceived from teachers in Bay District Schools:

Since I began using alternativeassessment and especially therubrics, the results that I haveseen are unbelievable as far ashow well the students can write.'lb be honest, I really did not knowhow well second-grade students could write until weadopted the writing rubric this year. It has raised myexpectations of what they can do. It has been thesame for other teachers. We see our students becomeso involved in writing and what makes good writing.

The quality and quantity of the writing in my classhas risen dramatically this year, since we began usingalternative assessments, especially the writing ru-brics. Students in my third grade have become sofamiliar with the rubric that they have become goodeditors of their own writing. This monitoring of their

14

Continued from Page 7 On the Road With .N'am7u Alutin: 11('Get Orel" the Fear of Failure

are major problems to overcomewhen creating a good feedbacktool, but if used properly, thetool can place the responsibilityfor learning back on the studentand be used as an accountabil-ity measure for the classroomteacher.

After the training session wascomplete, I was alone in thetraining room packing mymaterials when Carmenreturned and said, "I want totalk to you." I feltas teacherssometimes do when parentsor students want to talkthatI had done something wrong.

"I came to this session feelingangry and inferior. Mostly, Iwas afraid I had failed myassignment. But when yousaid that we are here to learnfrom each other and discoverwhat we need to improveupon,' I knew it was going tobe okay after all. I realizedthat you weren't going tojudge me based on how well I

had done my assignment; youwere going to help me todiscover what I needed to doto reach a standard of qualitywork. I could do that if'given enough time andpractice. I learned that Ineed to be utilizing thisapproach with my ownstudents!"

"In fact," she continued, "nowthat I've had time to reflect, Iwant to thank you because thiswas the best training I havereceived in 25 years of teach-ing! It has made me think, act,and improve on my classroompractices, and this will directlyimpact the success of mystudents."

It is clear from the evaluationsof this training and the com-ments from many teachers thatthis process has positivelyaffected what they do and howthey plan for assessing theirstudents and that it is worth thetime and energy spent. In

promoting quality training forteachers, it is important thatstaff developers reflect andmodel for teachers the kind oflearning environment we wantexhibited in the classroom. Inother words, instead of fillingheads with just knowledge, weshould help teachers to becomegood consumers of that knowl-edge. I am convinced thatassessment trainingor anyteacher trainingmust be aboutlearningnot success or failure.It must done in small steps inorder to promote a change inheart and attitude about whatis important. machers mustthink about what they do andhow those things impact studentlearning before any change inclassroom behavior occurs.

Carmen, like many of theteachers I work with, has takenthe first step toward increasingher assessment capacity, andthe changes she makes overtime will positively impactstudent learning.

own work is something I had never seen before.Before, students waited for me to give the grade; now,they review and revise their own work before I see it.

I think we are beginning to see our students 'buy into their work. They arc becoming better self-assessorsand evaluators.

For the first time I was able to see that students willwork to high expectations if they know what isexpected of them. The student learning has beenunbelievable!

With this training I have begun looking at what Ihave taught before in a new light. I now think about

how a particular unit, topic, or activity fits within thecurriculum and whether the time spent is truly worthmy students' and my time. I did not have the trainingbefore to reflect on these ideas.

SERVE values the work of districts currentlyinvolved in helping teachers withtheir changes in assessment.Bay District Schools inPanama City, Florida, ourfirst partner site, offers awindow into the changeprocess. Their story unfoldson the following pages.

15

a

Information for Bay Districtsubmitted by

Beth Deluzainand

Patricia Schenck

No new initiative starts in a vacuum.

State and national policies and movementshave impacted this district's interest in therole of classroom assessment. Many of the

schools in Bay District have been trained in theuse of Onward to Excellence (a school improve-ment planning process) and had some experiencein assessing needs and developing school goals.The state of Florida established standards for whatit expects students to know and be able to do.

These documents encouraged districts to take abroader look at student outcomes and explore thedegree to which higher-level thinking skills suchas problem-solving were being developed. The

appearance of standards on the state and nationalscene led Bay District to ask three questions:

What do we want our students to know and tobe able to do?

How can we help them learn it?

How will we know when they have learned it?

Identifying TrainingOur First Step!

Adistrict faced with helping teachers exploreand teach to new state standards and assess-

ments has a variety of options for proceeding.Some districts establish districtwide committees todevelop district standards and assessments basedon national and state materials. Others start smallwith teachers exploring implications for theirclassrooms. Bay District chose this latter route.They applied for Goals 2000 funds from the stateto start working with a small group of teachers onassessments matched to national standards.

The major goal of this project (called the TARGETproject) was to develop teacher capacity to designand implement quality assessment methods which

0

would allow them to measure student learningwhile meeting designated educational benchmarks.The hope was that teachers who participated inthis project would increase their knowledge of thefull range of traditional and alternative assessmenttechniques and would sharpen their skills inmatching assessment purposes and methods.

Project Designi) ay District invited each school in the district to

submit a proposal to be included in the TAR-GET PROJECT. Beth Deluzain, Resource Teacherand TARGET PROJECT manager, said, We havediscovered that this application process affirms thecommitment of the school to participate fully inthe project and have since adopted this model foralmost every program we use."

The schools who applied and were selected subse-quently chose teams of volunteer teachers whoagreed to develop, implement, and revise at leastone alternative assessment tool for use in theirclassrooms during the school year. SERVE providedfour days of assessment training to over 80 teachersand administrators from the schools selected.

Bay District SchoolsPanama City, Florida

27,000 Students1,700 Thachers

85 Administrators20 Elementary Schools

7 Middle Schools

4 High Schools(IB, AP, and AICE programs)

Major Industry:Iburism, Military

Superintendent:Larry Bolinger

In Bay District, we are committed to improving learning in our district and tobecoming more accountable to our community. The district, however, is also

accountable to teachersto ensure that they have the support they need to setexpectations and to assess student performance.

Larry Bolinger, Superintendent

17

At the end of twodays of training(winter, 1996),teachers left theworkshop with asingle assign-mentdevelopONE assessmentinstrument. TheTARGETPROJECT man-ager attended allof the training to

answer questions from project participants and toreinforce that producing sample assessments wasa condition of receiving the funding from thedistrict (for which the schools had applied). Thus,district leadership was visible and accessibleduring the training process, showing the district'scommitment to this effort.

Teachers brought their assessments and studentwork samples to the two-day, follow-up workshopin the spring (1996). During this session, teacherscritiqued each other's work, using quality assess-ment criteria which included considerations ofvalidity, reliability, and practicality.

The response from teachers was overwhelming.The "customized" training that SERVE providedallowed teachers to practice what they hadlearned. While it became clear to teachers thatgood assessments evolve over time, almost everyparticipant was convinced of the value of a well-crafted assessment instrument carefully aligned tothe curriculum.

Comments ranging from, "My kids' projects wereten times better after we worked out the rubric," to

We believe that all children can learnand all children can learn moreifwe do our part to show what successlooks like. Our participation in the

SERVE R&D project is giving teachersthe information they need to makelearning targets clear and to assess

progress toward those targets.Larry Bolinger, Superintendent

"Every teacher in the district should have thistraining," convinced Bay District that they haddiscovered a powerful route to improving studentlearning. Finding a job-embedded assessmenttraining program that worked for teachers was animportant first step.

Managing and Expandingthe Professional

Development ProgramThe district continued to secure State grants, for

1996-1997 and 1997-1998 school years, toexpand the assessment training efforts. In additionto the original group of 80 + teachers, a secondgroup of 80 teachers from 11 schools went throughthe four-day training program in 1996-1997. Be-cause of the value of the training in establishing acommon language and level of awareness, the goalof providing such training to all of the district's1400 + teachers was articulated.

In 1997-1998, Goals 2000 funds will allow for allteachers in the district to receive the four days oftraining. The district clearly is sending a messagethat good classroom assessment matched to na-tional and state standards is an important profes-sional growth area for teachers.

A training program of this magnitude clearlyrequired more trainers than SERVE could provide.Capacity for providing the four-day training had tobe developed. In addition, within the district,mentors were needed at each school to supportnew teachers coming on board with assessmentdevelopment.

As a result, a "train-the-trainers" program wasimplemented using selected teachers from theoriginal pilot groups. With teams in place in everyschool to serve as mentors and coaches, the nextstep will be to train the 1,400 other teachers in thedistrict during the 1997-1998 and 1998-1999 schoolyears.

Plans for these two years will include staff develop-ment in two parts. Every teacher will attend a four-day workshop called "Connections" which focuseson the alignment of curriculum, instruction, and

f:i

assessment using Florida's goals and the newlypublished Sunshine State Standards in seven majorsubjects. As a follow-up, all teachers not previouslytrained will attend the TARGET Quality Assess-ment program (developed by SERVE) summarizedabove. Thus, over the next two years, all teachersin the district will be well-versed in standards-based reform for the classroom.

Realizing that school administrators must beprepared to support teachers' efforts to teach toand assess state standards, the district held asummit conference for all principals in the springof 1997 to introduce the "Connections" and "TAR-GET Quality Assessment Program" training effortsand to discuss the rationale and need for such acomprehensive effort.

The district continues its exploration of ways tosupport and provide incentives for teachers toupgrade their assessment practices. A large grantwas obtained to develop a database of the assess-ments that teachers are developing through thefour-day training process, thus making sampleassessments available to teachers in the future.

In addition, the district is partnering with SERVEto develop a certification process that will provideincentives for teachers to continue to improvetheir assessment knowledge and expertise. Teach-ers will engage in a performance-based programwith the highest achievement at the level of"master trainer."

As part of the consideration of ongoing profes-sional development needs in assessment, thedistrict is considering what the second level oftraining for teachers (beyond awareness) might be.SERVE is working to develop a second level oftraining that will include considerations of gradingand reporting issues and the relationship of assess-ment practices to student motivation. This secondlevel of training will likely be piloted in BayDistrict in the summer of 1998.

Advice to Other Districtso other districts that may want to follow this

1 road of aligning classroom assessment toemerging state and national standards through an

0

intensive professional development program, BayDistrict offers these recommendations:

Provide a vision whichemphasizes improvementin student learning as theonly kind of meaningfulschool improvement.

Encourage all school leaders toattend training with their teacherswith the expectation that they will supportteacher growth.

Create a small cadre of assessment experts ineach school before embarking on large-scaletraining in order to provide a mechanism forongoing support.

Focus on flexibility and responsiveness. Staffdevelopment programs should meet the needsof the participants; the participants should notmeet the needs of the program.

Involve participants in planning and makeadaptations to training as needed.

Invite teacher input into long-range staffdevelopment. Listen to teachers and providetraining they request to help them teacheffectively.

Include a staff development component requiringclassroom application and follow-up activities.

Work to obtain outside grant funds as a way ofproviding the training and support teachersneed to rethink assessment practices. Outsidegrant funds also serve to build visibility andacceptance for the effort.

For more information on this district's ap-proach to professional development in assess-ment, please contact:

9 °N6. 4

Beth DeluzainBay District Schools1311 Balboa AvenuePanama City, Florida 32401850-747-5290deluzpo@mail.bay.k12.FLus

"...Risks will be taken. This meansfreedom; freedom to by and fail,

freedom to be different, and,ultimately, freedom to succeed."

Kathy Davis, Patronis ProjectCoordinator

The district may be a catalyst for teacherinvolvement in reflecting on assessmentpractices, but ultimately the knowledge

gained in districtwide professional developmentmust be accepted and supported within the wallsof each individual school. The principal, schoolleadership team, and school culture must sup-port new ways of thinking about assessment ifthe assessment process is to continue and gainmomentum.

Bay County identified three pilot schools to workwith SERVE in implementing the process of schoolchange related to classroom assessment practices:Rutherford High School, Rosenwald Middle School,and Patronis Elementary School. Faculties thereunderstood the need to rethink and align class-room assessment to state standards. In addition,these schools were willing to serve as demonstra-tion sites for the district and share what theylearned with other schools.

Tb get baseline dataon how teachers inschools viewed class-room assessment,SERVE staff collectedand analyzed inter-view and survey datafrom teachers at thethree schools in thespring of 1996. Below,we suggest a number of questions schools mightask themselves, and we describe the baseline dataat the three schools to illustrate possible answers.These questions represent areas in which wewould expect to see growth at the pilot schools. Inother words, if we ask the same questions of thepilot schools at the end of three years, we expectthe answers to reflect positive change.

by

WendyMcColskey

andNancy

McMunn

Are there ongoing efforts to clarify,articulate, and assess desired stu-dent outcomes?Our baseline interviews revealed that at PatronisElementary, some consensus and coordinationabout outcomes had been achieved among first-grade teachers as a result of rethinking the reportcard format. Other grade levels had done littleconsensus building around key outcomes.

Because the middle school was organized intocross-disciplinary teams, teachers in the samesubject areas had little time to work together. Forexample, the school's science teachers met for the

I

purpose of purchasing and coordinating but hadnot collaborated on student outcomes acrossdifferent grade levels.

Some middle school teachers expressed concernabout what their students needed to know in orderto perform successfully in high school. They stated:

High school teachers talk about middle school stu-dents and how they are not ready for high school.Some of the things we're questioning is how we knowwhether students are ready for high school, and do weknow what "ready" means. What difference does readymake if they can only be retained once in middleschool years? Ready or not, they are passed on.

At the high school, some departments had startedto talk through state standards while others hadnot. An English teacher offered:

When I came here, we had these huge curriculumguides that specified exactly what would be taughtand at which level. There was little room for innova-tion. I've not seen a curriculum guide in years. Aproblem that we have is that if I decide to teach abook, someone may have taught it in previous years.Of course, the kids don't want to read it again, so wehave problems with continuity.

Thus, the move by the state to lessen specificity incontent standards means more responsibility forteachers in terms of articulating curriculum andassessment.

Conclusion: The beginning point for any good assess-ment is clarity on the target behaviors, skills, knowl-edge, or attitudes that teachers are teaching. Withoutgood articulation vertically (among teachers at differ-ent levels of a discipline) and horizontally (amongteachers of different disciplines), student assessmentswill represent a somewhat unfocused set of skills andobjectives.

Does the school schedule/structure/culture promote collaborative as-sessment development and sharing/critiquing of assessment tasks?Prior to the SERVE project, none of the schoolshad expectations that teachers would share assess-

ments and discuss grading standards. However, allschools had pockets of collaboration.

At the elementary school, several kindergartenand first grade teachers were developing perfor-mance assessments in math and science as part ofa grant they had obtained.

At the middle school, an intensive schoolwideeffort at implementing writing rubrics across thecurriculum existed. Thus, the English teachers hadreceived some training in assessment. Teacherteams were also encouraged to work together todevelop interdisciplinary units.

At the high school, the math teachers had devel-oped an activity notebook for which everyonecontributed ideas. These ideas were instructionalactivities, however, not assessments. The HealthOccupations and Technology Communicationteams had worked together on project-basedassessments.

Conclusion: Since assessments are at least as impor-tant as instruction in terms of directing studentstoward expected knowledge, skills, attitudes, etc., thenteachers need opportunities to coordinate and worktogether on how significant benchmark performancesmight be assessed and share results on how studentsperform on such assessments.

Is there administrative support/teacher leadership for a long-term,well-conceptualized, professionaldevelopment program in assessment?Prior to the SERVE project, at the elementary andhigh school levels, there had been no systematicplanning to address teachers' professional develop-ment needs in assessment. As a part of schoolimprovement initiatives, the middle school dem-onstrated support for teacher development inassessment through training on writing assess-ment, interdisciplinary projects, and electronicportfolios.

Conclusion: Most schools will have teachers usingassessment methods ranging from very traditional(multiple choice, true/ false, etc.) to very alternative(portfolios, open-ended, performance, etc.). One

question that needs to be addressed is whether allfaculty need to be exposed to a basic level of assess-ment training, mainly for the purpose of developing acommon language about the issues and needs. Howsuch training should be delivered is a big question at alarge high school. After this training, what should bethe next step? What are the goals? To answer thesequestions, it is helpful to develop a formal or informalteacher/administrator group to lead the effort andplan the steps. These teacher leaders can also serve asmentors to other teachers interested in developing newways to assess students.

Other important questions include

Are rubrics for important cross-curriculumoutcomes (writing, speaking, reading forinformation, research skills, working in teams,defending and justifying opinions) shared anddiscussed among teachers for maximumstudent impact?

Is self-assessment and peer assessment animportant part of the instructional program?

Is grading and reporting a way of motivatingstudents and helping them to improve, or is itsimply a system for sorting students intowinners and losers?

One concern school leaders may have in thinkingabout a schoolwide professional developmenteffort in assessment is that teachers will be resis-tant to new assessment ideas. Our baseline datasuggests that although there were a few teacherswho were resistant to considering new ideas, mostwere open and hungry for more information,shared conversations, examples, and opportunitiesto develop new assessments. The comments belowrepresent some of their initial thoughts:

This is my first year, and at college,they talked a lot about authenticassessment. But to put it intopractice is totally different. I'vegone more traditional this yearbecause it's been so hard.

I liked the idea of rubrics, but I'm notsure about how we go about developing them, and Ican't find a book that has them already made for me.

If you could provide rubrics for us and get us to apoint that we understand and are comfortable with it,then we're fine. But we don't want people to think thatwhat we're doing is just a whimthat it's just thelatest thing. We don't want assessment to be a fad.

Ideally, alternative assessment will help studentsassume the responsibility for their own learning. Astudent who learns to use critical thinking, problem-solving, and self-reflection to improve him or herselfwill be on the road to becoming a lifelong learner.

The alternative methods I have tried have had apositive impact on my classroom in that my studentswere more excited. However I still need practice inworking with alternative methods.

I know very little about alternative assessment. I'd liketo see the school go to something other than what I'mcurrently doing which is 20% graded homework:and80% tests.

For more specific information about teachers'interests, SERVE developed a survey. The datashowed a high percentage of teachers at all schoolswere interested in more information about assess-ment, but there were variations among schools.Thus, our approach has been to work with eachschool to define the training and other profes-sional development opportunities needed.

Looking over the data, readers may draw thefollowing conclusions:

The middle school teachers had a greaterunderstanding of the assessment items listedreflecting their higher level of previous training.

The knowledge and use of rubrics at theelementary and high schools was minimalprior to the SERVE project.

More than half of all teachers reported "lessthan full understanding" of the terms standardsand benchmarks.

In the section that follows, adminis-trators and teachers at the three schoolsdescribe their progress and perceptions.

Baseline Data From Three Schools(May 1996)

Column APercent of teachers who report "less than fully understand"

Column BPercent of teachers who report "using successfully"

Category Patronis Rosenwald RutherfordMETHODS A A B A BNotebooks 74% 11% 10% 33% 23% 47%Performance Tasks 70% 19% 33% 33% 28% 43%Observations 45% 19% 18% 38% 34% 34%Videos 66% 11% 27% 24% 34% 39%Cooperative Groupwork 39% 32% 18% 43% 37% 37%Exhibitions/Projects 47% 40% 27% 40% 36% 35%Open-ended Questions 55% 17% 59% 29% 42% 32%Debates/Skits/Oral Performances 63% 14% 27% 20% 44% 21%Graphic Organizers 68% 14% 23% 43% 45% 25%Logs/Journals 50% 19% 23% 24% 46% 2446

Portfolios 55% 22% 5% 29% 50% 18%Interviews 74% 14% 41% 20% 53% 13%Anecdotal Records 71% 11% 50% 14% 67% 11%

ASSESSING QUALITY A A B A B

Rubrics 84% 11% 24% 38% 77% 17%Critiques of student work samples 89% 3% 39% 14% 67% 18%Peer feedback 78% 3% 29% 29% 60% 16%Student self-assessment 78% 9% 24% 19% 58% 17%Student-led parent conferences 86% 0% 62% 14% 82% 4%Standards/benchmarks 78% 9% 57% 14% 63% 27%

6

PatronisElementary

SchoolInformation submitted by

Janice Salares Kathy DavisPrincipal Project Director

patronis Elementary is one of the newerschools in the Bay District school system.When the school opened two years ago,

many Patronis teachers came with a belief thatthey would have the opportunity to try new ideasand that innovative practice would be encouraged.

The summer prior to the school's opening, severalteachers met to write a grant supporting the devel-opment of alternative assessments in mathematicsand science. These teachers were already Well ontheir way to becoming the school experts beforethe district began its assessment training efforts.

RosenwaldMiddleSchool

Information submitted by

Lynn HobbyAssistant Principal

Eddie Comerford

PrinciP44

Lee Ann MannFaculty Member

iddle School can be a particularlychallenging time for both students andteachers. Across the nation, grades six

through eight have probably undergone the mostrecent and rigorous restructuring in recent years.Educators of this age group are constantlysearching for 'whatever works" with middleschool students.

Rosenwald Middle School in Bay District began animprovement process in the 1992-93 school year.Led by Principal Joe Comerford and Lynn Hobby,Assistant Principal, Rosenwald parents and

RutherfordHigh

SchoolInformation submitted by

Sandy Wilson Jimmie BrindleyFaculty Member Assistant Principal

igh school curriculum, instruction, andscheduling are currently undergoingintensive scrutiny in America's public

schools. Innovative teachers and administratorsare looking at new ways to deliver a meaningfuland relevant education to those students who willsoon be part of the "real world." Sometimes highschool students feel their high school educationhas little to do with their chosen career goals ortheir future lives. Rutherford High School realizedthis and decided to work together to change stu-dents' perceptions.

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When the school applied and was accepted for thedistrictwide Target assessment training, these fourteachers were selected by the school to participateand continued their experimenting with assess-ment at the kindergarten and first-grade level.They were developing integrated thematic curricu-lum units with accompanying assessments. How-ever, there was little activity in curriculum andassessment alignment beyond these four teachers.

Subsequently, when SERVE became involved,working with curriculum and assessment redesignassumed an aura of authenticity.

"Working with a nationally linked organizationgave credence to the project," said Kathy Davis,Patronis project coordinator. "Additionally,principals appreciate recognition for theirschools, and collaboration with SERVE validatedwhat we were doing and gave the administrationa green light to move forward with assessmentchange. One of the most beneficial aspects ofbeing part of a recognized R&D project is theacceptance that risks will be taken. This meansfreedom; freedom to try and fail, freedom to bedifferent, and, ultimately, freedom to succeed."

faculty elected to devote the next three-to-five yearsimproving student performance in writing.

After the goal was identified, every faculty mem-ber participated in committees that reviewedeffective schools research to select methods andtechniques to achieve the goal. As part of thisimprovement process, the Rosenwald facultyembraced the philosophy of preparing students forthe real world of work and the 21st century. lb dothis, teachers needed to learn more about authen-tic, performance-based alternative assessmentmethods.

"We were thrilled last spring to be invited to bea part of the SERVE R&D project," said Hobby."This project provided us with the perfectanswer to a very scary question: How do welearn all we need to know about alternativeassessment?"

With Ernest Spiva, the Rutherford High Schoolprincipal who was willing to explore options andto allow faculty to experiment, Rutherford's Ac-countability Team established the following mis-sion statement:

The RHS community is boldly committed to developproactive, successful young citizens through interdisci-plinary educational experiences. We believe eachstudent is a sacred trust who can attain maximumgrowth and develop full potential by becoming

RESPONSIBLEDAPTABLE:MATURE

S ELF-SUFFICIENT(NOTE: This spells their symbol.)

The RHS faculty produced a twenty-seven pointimprovement plan. Points centered around reex-amining the school schedule, the curriculummodel, and the delivery method of that curricu-lum. Rutherford adopted a block scheduling planthat significantly altered the school day and schoolweek. They also implemented a curriculum model

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PROGRESS FsPatronis

ElementarySchool

School ProgressWhen the school was selected as a SERVE pilot sitefor the district, we received four days of assess-ment training for the entire faculty, making it thefirst school in the district to be totally on boardwith the basic level of assessment training. Thetraining served to help all 52 staff members be-come aware of the issues, develop a commonlanguage, and become more collaborative in theirassessment work.

At the end of the first project year with SERVE, thefaculty began to consider schoolwide curriculumand assessment redesign. They considered the

RosenwaldMiddleSchool

School Progresslb date, most of the faculty have paiiicipated inthe four days of SERVE training and worked inteams to develop a thematic unit. They worked tocreate assessment rubrics and implemented theintegrated unit in their classrooms.

Lee Ann Mann, an eighth-grade teacher atRosenWald and now a resource teacher (Title I .

Reading Teacher) who will be working with other'teachers in the school on curriculum and assess-ment issues, elaborated on the process from herown perspective.

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dMl&-aM-_

N

_re ;

for all students called Personal Education Plans(PEP). Students now select a course of studycentered around their career goals.

As teachers restructured and integrated the cur-riculum, they realized that the old testing methodswere ineffective preparation for the 21st-centuryworkplace. Employers need workers who canproduce, communicate, and perform in ways thattraditional tests cannot begin to measure.

possibility of developing a seamless spiralingcurriculum for kindergarten through fifth gradeand realized the need for the alignment of curricu-lum, instruction, and assessment. Many of theinstructional staff are devising performance tasksand using rubrics to give specific feedback toparents and students.

Change is a long-term process and does not occurwithout some resistance. Administrators mustexpect resistance and continue to support theprocess of change professionally, philosophically,and financially.

"Restructuring through schoolwide redesign willnot occur unless teachers become changeagents," said Janice Salares, Patronis principal."Teachers are the most powerful change agents inthe educational process, and restructuring trulyoccurs as a result of teacher empowerment."

Teacher teams have written grant proposals andobtained $111,000 in grants to assist the school inmoving to more authentic assessment.

Hands-on learning, authentic activities, andperformance assessments require different kinds

As a group we're used to change, and many of usembrace it. In the past ten years, we've gone from adepartmentalized junior high to a middle school thatuses interdisciplinary team teaching. The alternativeassessment training and ensuing project offered bySERVE seemed a natural progression in our continu-ous efforts to improve student performance andupgrade our teaching skills. Granted, change is notalways easy, but it is something we have come toexpect at our school, knowing we want to see contin-ued student improvement.

This type of assessment takes time to create. Theactivity must be planned to support specific bench-marks and still be as student-oriented as possiblewith a real purpose and audience. Then the assess-ment instrument must be created and refined. Whilethe initial work is time-consuming, once devised, itcan be reused and, we hope, shared with others.

Bottom line? Is it worth it? Will it help to prepareour students for the future? 7b my way of thinking,the best thing we can do for our students is

School PmgyessTo provide our faculty with the skills and knowl-edge necessary to be effective in quality, authenticassessment, it became apparent that we wouldneed professional help. As part of our SACS(Southern Association of Colleges and Schools)renewal process, we identified assessment as themajor focus of our staff development.

When the opportunity came to be a part of theSERVE project, Rutherford was at the right point intime. A core group of 12 teachers went through thefour days of training with SERVE with the under-

standing that this group would serve as trainersfor the rest of the faculty (130-member staff).

The team subsequently spent 4-to-5 days overthe course of the 1996-1997 school year planningfor how they would begin to work with theentire faculty in the upcoming school year(1997-1998). The team discussed a wide range ofissues in the planning process including therelationship of this professional developmenteffort to others already ongoing and to schoolimprovement efforts, the possible barriers that

PatronisElementary

School

of equipment and supplies than found in tradi-tional classrooms. School administrators under-stood this and provided flexibility in budgetingschool dollars. Creating time for teachers to plan,confer, and assess also requires money, and theSERVE Research and Development initiativeallowed Patronis to focus on these areas.

Now, teachers are talking about assessment issues,becoming curriculum inventors, sharing andcritiquing rubrics as a way of making expectationsfor students clearer, and developing leadershipskills. Our goals for 1997-1998 include the creationof the Patronis Elementary Integrated Curriculum

RosenwaldMiddleSchool

provide them with educational experiences that arereal or as true to life as possible.

The SERVE R&D project has created a stronginterest in alternative assessments and providedthe faculty with the tools and confidence theyneed to provide students with quality alternativeassessments. During the 1997-1998 school year,Rosenwald is developing plans for where it wantsto go with its schoolwide assessment efforts. AnAssessment Committee was formed and initiallymet with the School Improvement lbam. The

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might emerge, and the most effective ways toutilize the talents of the group in providing aninviting culture for change.

The team decided that when training was initi-ated for all staff in 1997-1998, all the facultywould be assigned to small teams and that each"trained" core team member would become asmall-group mentor or support facilitator as theteachers took on the responsibility of developinga performance assessment for their classroom.

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I 31

Matrix (K-5 alignment with Sunshine State Stan-dards and Goal 3 Standards), giving teachers timeto work on writing and revising rubrics and work-ing on schoolwide rubrics, giving grade-levels timeto work together, and looking at how rubric scoresare used in our current reporting methods.

A Patronis teacher reflects:This project has impacted student learning in manyways. As a result of this project, we have been able toshift our focus from teaching to learning. We havegotten rid of the "cute" activities and opted for materi-als that are meaningful for the students and preparestudents for assessment of the standards/benchmarks.

We have been able to think of what long-range goalswe want our children to accomplish, rather than justplanning for the next day. We have done this bydeveloping themes and authentic assessments for eachnine-week period. This has helped us to focus onwhere it is that we are taking our students. Rubricshave also impacted the students' learning. With theuse of rubrics, we have been able to raise the standardfor student achievement. Students know ahead of timewhat is expected of them, and they, in turn, can riseto meet our expectations.

Agsessment Committee now plans to meet twice amonth to develop strategies to support teachers'professional development needs in assessment.

During 1996-1997, the core team worked on assess-ment ideas in their classrooms. By building asuccessful battery of authentic, quality assess-ments that have been tried by these core mem-bers, we are establishing the solid foundation forpresentation to the rest of the faculty.

The 1997-1998 training is not built on rhetoric buton actual practice in eight different subject areas.We have the materials and expertise to share withthe faculty in a non-threatening, invitational ap-proach and the practitioners to go back to in a pinchwhen the newly trained faculty have questions.

The students involved in the assessments devel-oped by the core team have been very positivein their response. Recognition of studentstrengths and respect from teachers and peersleads to increased student performance andpersonal satisfaction. This type of studentgrowth is the focus of our school improvementefforts, our staff development initiatives, ouraccreditation process, and our SERVE project.

32

PatronisElementary

School

Michael Dunnivant Jennifer Loescher

wo Patronis first-grade teachers, MichaelDunnivant and Jennifer Loescher, answer

some questions from SERVE on restructuringassessment in their classrooms.

Why were you willing to accept achange in assessment strategies?

rflivo influences outside the school introduced us tothe need for better assessment. In our district,first-grade teachers began examining our reportingsystem in 1994 and found it inadequate. Thisexamination increased our awareness of the needfor assessment strategies that help us effectivelydocument and report student progress. Secondly,with the publication of the Florida Sunshine

RosenwaldMiddleSchool

Laura Brown

T aura Brown, a sixth-grade teacher at Rosenwald.1.1_ Middle, had the following comments whenasked to respond to SERVE's questions.

Why were you willing to accept achange in assessment strategies?

Grading student work has always been frustratingto me, so I was open to new ideas about assess-ment. Once introduced to alternative assessmentand the need to determine the scoring criteria upfront (as part of the instructional process), Irealized it made grading easier. I simply look atwhat the students have created and see how itcompares with the set criteria.

RutherfordHigh

School

rs

Carla Lovett Susan Butler

wo Rutherford High School teachers, CarlaLovett and Susan Butler, summarized their

experiences.

Why were you willing to.accept achange in assessment strategies?

In the last five years, our school has reorganizedinto career-focused academies. Within the acad-emies, students learn specific skills related to theirfuture work, as well as such important job skills ascommunication, interpersonal relations, andcooperative strategies.

Standards (state curriculum documents), werealized the need to develop assessment strategiesfor the classroom that were aligned with state tests[Florida Writes and the Florida ComprehensiveAssessment Test (FCAT)].

How did you find time to makeassessment changes?Initially, the change in assessment was quite time-consuming because we were rethinking the wholecurriculum/instruction/assessment process. Wedo not view assessment as a separate entity butrather an integral part of the learning process forteacher and learner alike. In fact, we believeassessment to be where the learning process

begins. Some old ways of teaching, includingcontent, procedures, and structures, were givenup to reflect our new constructs about howchildren learn.

Are you making progress inaligning your curriculum and yourassessments? Also, has your workin assessment affected your overallpractice?Now in the second year of the alignment ofcurriculum, instruction, and assessment, andwith the publishing of the Florida State Standardsand a commitment from the superintendent to

How did you make time to do thiskind of assessment?Creating the first alternative assessments did takea considerable amount of time because we werenot confident. However, it gets easier the secondtime around. Working as a team gave us thesupport system we needed to work with our newlycreated assessments and make them qualityassessment tools.

CO

O

rne

Since we are preparing students for the world ofwork, it makes little sense to assess learning withonly paper and pencil tasks. However, very fewteachers are trained to use other methods."Ourfaculty has identified this gap in knowledge as asource of frustration. Therefore, we are willing toembrace assessment training activities.

One of the reasons we are so excited about theopportunity to work with SERVE in this Researchand Development project is the focus on "quality"assessment. After going to block scheduling and

implementing a schoolwide academy focuswhere students can choose academic classesthat are related to their goals beyond highschool, we are in a position to look closely atimproving die ways we instruct and assessstudents.

Our school improvement goals highlight the useof more alternative assessment practices in theclassroom. In fact, 46 percent of our facultyhave chosen to focus on alternative assessmentas their individual improvement goals.

PatronisElementary

School

tie curriculum, instruction, and assessment tothose standards, we are on our way with a clearmessage to others who were initially resistant!

rib answer your second question, a change inassessment means a change in curriculum andinstruction. Our classrooms look very differentfrom the past, particularly the teacher-studentroles and relationships. Now our classrooms arelearner-centered. Learning is now viewed as acontinuous process for teacher and student.Specific feedback for improvement (instruction) isshared with the student as the student self-as-sesses what he has accomplished thus far.

RosenwaldMiddleSchool

Are you making progress inaligning your curriculum and yourassessment? Also, has your work inassessment affected your overallpractice?While we have to revisit and revise some of ourassessment tasks, we have made progress increating alternative assessments that closely alignwith our curriculum. Alternative assessment haschanged the way I view assessment in my class-room. I place a greater importance on setting theexpectations up front instead of surprising mystudents with what it is I'm looking for when I

RutherfordHigh

School

How did you make time to do thiskind of assessment?Designing an assessment instrument takes nolonger thpn authoring a test or worksheet. Usually,the design consists of a rubric. Many times, thestudents are involved in the design of this rubric.Their input assures that students understand thecriteria on which they will be evaluated. We lookon this activity as another chance for teaching theskills to be assessed. By involving students,teacher planning time is conserved.

What has been the impact onstudents?Ask any student, and he or she will tell youlearning is fun! Since assessment is ongoing andoften done on an individual basis, much of thepressure of having "one chance to perform" isgone. We implemented interactive, challenging,and real-world assessments. With these assess-ments, the students seem to transfer knowledgeby bringing in or making things at home related tothe learning. They continue to ask questions,extending the learning from the performanceassessments we implemented.

Students have been achieving at a much higherlevel than before, but the most powerful impacthas been their growing ability to demonstratetheir learning through quality performances andproducts and to articulate their achievement toothers.

What are the positives of using"alternative" assessment?Alternative assessment allows students to showwhat they know in different ways. While thestandard is prescribed, the product, process, orproject students create to demonstrate theirknowledge can be individualized. When students

grade their work. The students have also beenconditioned to now expect the criteria up front.

What is the impact on students?The impact for my students is that they now havean opportunity to show what they know and cando in several different ways.

For a student who suffers from test anxiety, alter-native assessment provides him or her a means tobe assessed without being in that structuredtesting environment.

In addition, I feel that a variety of assessmentsgives students a chance to show off their indi-vidual strengths or talents. Students who mayhave exceptional artistic talent would never havea chance to express that through a paper-penciltest, but they could if they were creating aproduct to show what they had learned.

Lastly, I feel this form of assessment givesstudents a roadmap or plan to follow. Studentsknow what it is we are expecting and can usethe criteria as a plan or guide to complete theassignment.

However, implementation of a performanceassessment can be very time-consuming. If thelearning activity requires a culminating studentpresentation, the student audience participates inthe assessment. By fulfilling the role of evaluator,students have ample opportunities to observeexemplary as well as sub-standard practice. Assign-ments which generate projects probably take theleast amount of class time but can be very labor-intensive for the teacher if he or she tries to assesseach individual student project. For this reason,we again suggest that students assist in the assess-ment process.

Are you making progress inaligning your curriculum and yourassessments? Also, has your workin assessment affected your overallpractice?We feel we ARE making progress, but thisprogress is slow and incremental. As teachers,we were used to teaching the "state curriculum."Now with the new Sunshine State Standardswhich are far less detailed than the previousstate curriculum guides, we feel a new freedomin implementing our curriculum, but we are also

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,t-

PatronisElementary

School

a-.

),.

are empowered to make these choices, they beginto take responsibility for their learning, questionand think critically about the world around them,and see that their actions have consequences fortheir lives and those of others around them.

In traditional teaching, the assessment is often theendpoint. There is little reason for learning tocontinue after a test. With "alternative" assess-ment, the journey continues with more learning.We believe if we strive to assess children in realand relevant ways, they will transfer what theyhave learned to their lives outside school.

RosenwaldMiddleSchool

What are the positives of using"alternative" assessments?When using alternative assess-ment, students know whatthey must do to achievesuccess. A second positiveis that parents see what it isthat the teacher is askingfor. When parents understandwhat it is the teacher wants,they are more likely to help thestudent if he or she needs assistance. Using alter-native assessments helps me see what strengthsand weaknesses my students have because they

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cognizant of the greatresponsibility thisentails. We mustindividually set thebenchmaiks by whichour students will bemeasured and thenensure that instruc-tion enables them tomeet these expecta-tions. The very act ofassessment thenbecomes an extension of the instruction.

PERSONALWhat are the negatives? Be honest!Although alternative assessment is a step in theright direction, schools should be cautious beforeassuming this will automatically impact studentachievement.

rIbachers need time to reflect on current practice,to learn new teaching approaches, and to designassessments. rIbachers' first experiences withcrafting alternative assessments should be care-fully guided. If teachers are not instructed andmonitored throughout the implementation ofalternative assessment, time, energy, and re-

sources might go into assessments lackingrelevance, rigor, reliability, or validity. This willbe frustrating for teachers. Ultimately, alteringassessment has implications for schools inchanging their support systems for teachers.They need to move from one-shot inservices tothoughtful mentorship programs.

have to use and show what they know and not justpick the right answer or fill in a blank.

The negatives? Be honest!The disadvantage that I see is the amount of timeit takes to get started. After you have developedyour first alternative assessment tool, you willbecome more comfortable doing it, and the nextones will be easier to create. You will need astrong support system to help you through theinitial change.

What has been the impact onstudents?

SUSAN'S VIEWA Science Focus

One impact I have seen this year is an increase inthe use of higher-order thinking skills. I believethat a combination of factors caused this. Onefactor is the implementation of the new standardsfor our program. The other has been the use ofalternative assessment.

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CARLA'S VIEWA Language Arts Ibeus

The impact on my students of my efforts in chang-ing my assessments, even in a limited way, hasbeen greater than I could ever have imagined.

My first attempt at a quality assessment last year,during my initial training by SERVE, was anassessment that I developed to accompany theunit I was currently teaching. It happened to be aunit on Transcendental

"4A tE, 38

RutherfordHigh

School

11

SUSAN'S VIEWA Science Ibcus

Our new standards call for students to experiencecareer-focused activities, practice job skills, andimprove communication skills.

I have used problem-based learning as a strategythis year. Students are given a "case," and theymust make a diagnosis, after time has been givenfor research on the signs and symptoms of thecase. It is obvious that such a process involvesanalysis of the data given, synthesis (as researcheddata and given data are compiled to make a differ-ential diagnosis), and evaluation (when the futurephysician chooses the best option as the mostlikely diagnosis). All three of these are higher-order thinking skills.

Another impact I have perceived is that studentsfeel more successful. They seem to understand

CARLA'S VIEWA IzEnguage Alta Theses

literature. I decided to give the students an oppor-tunity to choose from a list of projects one whichthey thought would best enable them as individu-als to demonstrate their knowledge. The listranged from a diary written from Thoreau's orEmerson's perspective to acting out a criticalscene from Thoreau's life.

Regardless of the project the students chose, thecriteria and the rubric used to score the projectwere thei same for everyone. I must admit that Iwas hesitant about how the assessment wouldwork, but I was pleasantly surprised to find thatnot only did the students do an excellent job withtheir projects (their grades improved dramaticallyover some of the traditional test grades that weredeveloped to assess a specific benchmark) but alsothat the project was the highlight of the year formany of them.

0

assignments much more clearly, and their atti-tudes have become more positive. I attribute thisto the increased use of rubrics in the class.Through the use of rubrics, students are madeaware of what they should know and be able to doby the completion date of the assignment. Themost positive attitudes result when the studentsare involved in designing the rubric, rather thanjust being handed a teacher-designed one.

Involvement is the third impact I have seen sincemoving to more alternative assessments. Studentsare much more involved in their own learning. Nolonger are my class periods full of only writtenassignments; there are role-playing activities,artistic student endeavors, and hands-on experi-ences. Using project assessments, students candecide on the type of project they would like to do,

based on the talents they have. We've had chem-istry songs, illustrations, sculptures, cartoons,even a dance as products of projects.

In short, alternative assessment has helpedcreate a happier, more positive classroom envi-ronment. Students enjoy the class and frequentlyexpress their surprise at their successes, which Ifind very gratifying. They think I'm a greatteacher who makes learning fun. I know that I'mjust a teacher who has found the secretinvolvestudents in their own learning, allow them to useskills they already possess, help them developnew skills, and provide plenty of opportunitiesfor students to feel successful. This "secret" isalternative assessment.

After my initial success, I felt much more comfort-able about adding more quality assessment prac-tices to my classroom. As the year progressed, Ibecame braver. I decided to ask my students tohelp me develop a rubric for a writing assignmentthey were working on.

At first, I thought that I had made a mistakebecause their initial response to my asking, "Whatwould be some important parts in a quality pa-per?" was to stare at me like I had suddenlysprouted a third eye.

I thought, "A-ha! They are not capable of being thisinvolved in their own education!" I was wrong. Ibegan to realize as I talked with them that theysimply were not accustomed to being asked tothink critically and carefully about what theywere asked to do in classes and why and howthese assignments should be evaluated.

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This was the jump we needed to make in order totake the degree of conscious learning in my classto a higher level. Once we were over the hump,my students got excited. They were pleasantlysurprised to find that I took their suggestions andideas about their evaluations seriously, and I waspleasantly surprised to find that the criteria theydeveloped for themselves were more demandingthan if I had written the rubric myself.

I think of the two days described above as "criti-cal incidents" in my class because they changedmy attitudes, my students' attitudes, and theoverall atmosphere of my classroom forever. Inthe process of developing these assessments, Ihave discovered that I still have much to learnand that there are unlimited ways in which I caninclude my students in their own education.

37 40

Bay District Quality AssessmentTraining ProjectUPDATE Spring 1998

In addition to the R&D work being done inthis district, Bay District has implementedthe 'Parget/SERVE Project over the past

three years. This districtwide initiative pro-vided a mechanism to train all Bay Districtteachers and administrators in quality assess-ment. 'lb date, 1,700 educators in this districthave been trained in Level I and II. Thismassive staff development initiative is unprec-edented in this district. This training was veryunique because a network of district teacherswas utilized as trainers.

As a result of training evaluations, the districtrecognizes that continued support for imple-mentation of assessment and curriculumalignment is crucial to increase teacher assess-ment capacity. This district also recognizes theneed to address grading and reporting issues inthe future.

SERVE's R&D work in Bay District still in-volves the three school sites: Rutherford HighSchool, Rosenwald Middle School, and PatronisElementary School. Here is the current statusat each site.

Rutherford High SchoolThe support team has trained the entire fac-ulty, approximately 125 educators, in bothLevel I and II Assessment Training. Partici-pants responded to the site-based training withthe following:

'Being trained by my peers was a positive aspect.'

'We were not told how wrong we were doingthings or that what we were doing was bad.'

'It was OUR staff that did the training.'

Thacher Sandy Wilson comments:'RHS is presently in the intense 'rubber-hits-the-road' phase of implementing, gathering, andrecording data on individual assessment tasks.The assessment presentations will provide acrucible for mixing catalytic ideas and seeingdynamic growth. Some growth is expected of everymember since the first phase of training was wellreceived and seems to fit the style of several wellorganized programs at RHS.'

Rosenwald Middle SchoolThe middle school has formed an assessmentcommittee that is working to align assessmentand curriculum this year. Most of the teachersfelt the need to practice and perfect theirassessment work prior to additional trainingopportunities.

Thacher Meredith Knight comments:'Most of us are progressing to the next level ofdesigning and implementing alternative assess-ment. Not only are we at the review stage of whatwe've done, we're marching ahead to learn what'quality' assessment should reflect. Some of us aregetting better at designing assessments withrubrics that reflect the type of assessment processthat impacts the students.'

Patronis Elementary SchoolThe elementary school has articulated amongall gradellevels to produce a curriculum align-ment matrix outlining a spiraling approach toinstruction and assessment at their school.

?leacher Kristi Fillyaw comments:'We still have a lot of review to do on this matrixbefore next year. I also feel that we now have adirection to do good classroom alignment. I knowwhat I am responsible for teaching.'

41

IGreat ,.ssessine, g tIdea or Concern?

A performance assessmentaligned to your state curriculum

or national standards thatis worth sharing with

other teachers

An instructional process thatrepresents a "theory at work"

that other teachers needto know about

An assessment issue or concern

A "desperate moment" in theclassroom and how you solved it

A need for informationon assessment

If you want to sharethis information withother teachers, please

sec inside hack cover formore details!

To order more copies of this issueof Assessment Hotspots or any other

publication, please contact theSERVE Publications Department at

800-352-6001.

4t 39 42

`in

Have y ever wonderedwhat grade to assign astudent's work? A

"check" or a "check-plus"? An "A"or an "A-" or a "B+"? Grades areclearly supposed to meansomething, so as a teacher, youreally do want to be asfair and accurate aspossible. The trouble isassessing students'progress isn't easy.Hence, in the realm ofeducation, it seems as ifwe are continuallyseeking new ideaslooking for provenpractices that not onlywork but are applaudedby faculty, parents, andstudents alike. BuggElementary, a CreativeArts & Science MagnetSchool in Raleigh, North Caro-lina, has discovered such aninnovative idea: electronicportfolios.

"Portfolios??" you may be think-ing. "That was the buzzword ofthe 90'sit's old news now."However, you may not be awareof all the benefits of an electronicportfolio. This type of portfolio is

choolwide Asseswonderful because it allowsteachers to monitor studentachievement accurately andfrequently by permitting bothteachers and students to makepersonal entries and reflectionsabout lessons, progress, and

'a

Schools may elect to utilizeelectronic portfolios for variousreasons. Bugg Elementary choseto plan and develop this projectto support an innovative instruc-tional program at the school.The results of the program

produced effectivestudent assessments, butunforeseen softwareproblems affected boththe development processand the product. Even'though the portfoliosoftware did not meetthe needs of the pro-gram, the assessmentitself was a success. Theplanning process is amodel that can be usedin other sites that areconsidering the imple-mentation of an elec-

tronic portfolio program. Teach-ers at Bugg Elementary wereeager to share their experienceson how they planned andimplemented an interdiscipli-nary assessment to enter intothe electronic portfolio.

performance. Even parents canreview these entries and, insome cases, elect to enter theirown comments about theirchild's growth. Electronic portfo-lios are also beneficial becauseusing them grants teachers theopportunity to embrace creativeapproaches to teaching, learn-ing, and classroom assessment.

Wake County's Magnet Schoolsplace a strong emphasis onacademic, technology, and arts

P d Eili EtAtomy

sment Proiect by Mary Q. Pentaand Sheila Wright

programs. This Magnet Schoolemphasis is reflected at CharlesR. Bugg Elementary CreativeArts & Science Magnet. Theschbol is funded in part throughthe federal Magnet SchoolsAssistance Program and thestate's Kenan Institute for theArts A+ Program. Bugg's phi-losophy and organizationalstructure reflect its involvementin these grants. The school isrecognized for its state-of-the-artMac and IBM labs and hands-onexperiential science lab. Full-time science and technologyspecialists staff these labs. Inaddition to the emphasis onscience and technology, class-room teachers integrate dailyarts instruction into the corecurriculum. Reinforcement forthe arts is provided by Bugg'sdance, theater, music, and visualarts specialists. The faculty alsoincludes a physical educa-tion specialist, a Spanishteacher, and staff who workwith special needs students.

Both the Magnet and A+Programs foster enrichedcurricular approaches based onthe theory of multiple intelli-

gences (MI). This includes anemphasis on verbal/linguistic,mathematical/logical, visual/spatial, musical/rhythmic,bodily/kinesthetic, interper-sonal, and intrapersonal intelli-gences (Gardner, 1983, 1993).Using MI with arts integration,teachersenhanceinstruction byfocusing onspecialstrengths andtalents of eachstudent(Nieto, 1996)

The richcurricularemphases atBugg havecreated excit-ing possibili-

I

"0- ""

ties for innovative approaches toteaching and learning. Manyaspects of student achievementin Bugg's program cannot becaptured accurately by multiple-choice tests, and teachers havesought more effective ways ofassessing students.

Because Bugg'sinnovativeapproaches toinstructionrequired newassessments, aCore Team ofclassroomteachers and artsspecialists metthroughout the1996-1997 schoolyear to developan interdiscipli-nary assess-ment. Theyaligned it withgoals and objec-tives of NorthCarolina's fifth-

'grade curriculum and high-lighted a unit of study aboutdifferent geographic regions ofthe United States. Studentknowledge was demonstrated

4Iih-

441Pi""

I

I 11

I I

ACTIVITY DATE

Orientation and Scheduling October 9, 1996

Group Process, Visioning, Action Plan, Curriculum Alignment November 21-22, 1996

Technology 'Raining, Complete Assignments from November December 3, 1996

Develop Templates and Rubrics December 9, 1996

Review Progress and Finish All Incomplete Assignments January 9, 1996

Prepare for Classroom Implementation

Use Assessments in Social Studies, Music, & Dance Classes

January 16, 1997.

January 21-March 12, 1997

Continue Technology Training March 4, 1997:

Enter Templates and Rubrics into Portfolio Software March 13, 1997

Continue Software Data Entry March 25, 1997

Prepare for May Demonstration to All Staff April 16, 1997

Demonstrate Portfolios and Planning Process for Staff May 27, 1997 .

primarily through music anddance. The team chose anelectronic portfolio format torecord student performances,which meshed with Bugg'sstrengths in technology andallowed them to capture andpreserve the richness of stu-dents' music and dance perfor-mances about US geography.

The Core rIbam included fifth-grade teachers Deborah Burchand Jennifer Fine, music spe-cialist Felecia Locklear, anddance specialist Joan Certa-Moore. The designation 'Core'Tam was chosen with the

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expectation that their workwould become the 'core' focusfor schoolwide implementationduring 1997-1998.

In preparation for this, a seriesof professional developmentseminars was offered for theentire staff. 'Ibpics included anoverview of alternative assess-ment; developing accuratepictures of student achievement;using alternative assessments inscience, mathematics, and thearts; assessment for diverseStudent groups; and electronicportfolio demonstrations.

45

In addition to their work design-ing the electronic portfolios,Core lbam members attendedthe professional developmentseminars. In fact, the finalseminar was their demonstra-tion of the portfolio planningprocess.

Once the decision was made touse an electronic format for theportfolios, the Core Team de-signed an interdisciplinaryperformance assessment com-patible with the portfolio soft-ware. The following sectionspresent the Core 'Tham's plan-ning and design process for an

integrated arts assessment usingelectronic portfolios to docu-ment student work. This infor-mation is provided so thatschools involved in a similarprocess can benefit from Bugg'sexperience.

Resourcesfor Success

I n September 1996, Bugg'sMagnet staff met with the

grant evaluator from the centraloffice to identify tasks and set atentative timeline for theassessment project. They chosea two-pronged approach for the1996-1997 school year: the CoreTham would work intensively todevelop and implement amodel assessment for one gradelevel, and the whole staff wouldhave the opportunity to attendwork sessions on alternativeassessment.

The rationale for this decisionwas to develop a readinessamong school personnel foradapting the Core lbam's modelin the 1997-1998 school year. lbaccomplish this goal, it wasclear that the Core lbarn wouldneed resources including

* lbacher substitutes* Joint planning time

* Access to outside expertise

* Portfolio software

* Portfolio software training

* Additional computerequipment

Using funds from the school'sMagnet grant budget, it waspossible to obtain these re-

sources. Carol Blankenhorn,Bugg's technology specialist,contacted the South EasternRegional Vision for Education(SERVE) and engaged NancyMc Munn to consult regularlywith the Core 'Thant. Substitutepay was budgeted so that teammembers could be free to worktogether for sessions with theconsultant and for follow-upmeetings between sessions.Magnet funds were also used toorder laptops, external harddrives, and the portfolio software.In addition, Ms. Blankenhorn anda colleague from the nearby highschool co-taught a workshopabout the portfolio software.

Planningfor Success

The first Core Team meeting,in October 1996, was an

orientation and schedulingsession. Teachers mapped outan agenda for the school yearthat included six day-longsessions with Ms. McMunn.They also scheduled four full-day follow-up meetings tocomplete work begun with her.Above and beyond their regularduties at school, each teammember committed at least 60hours to the planning anddevelopment process. They alsoallocated eight weeks of class-room time to implement andrefine the performance assess-ments with students (Figure 1).

The team carefully reviewed thefifth-grade curriculum to iden-tify an appropriate unit of study.It was important to select a unitthat could be assessed in aninterdisciplinary setting.

4 6

For this reason, a geographyunit that had been used success-fully the previous year waschosen. The team's classroomteachers and arts specialistsworked together to align theunit with goals and objectives ofthe state's fifth-grade curricu-lum. They then developedrubrics for the unit and tailoredthem to fit the software: select-ing content areas to rate, creat-ing rating scales, and decidingwhether information would beentered into the portfolio soft-ware as text, video, or audioexhibits.

During their early sessions withSERVE, Core Team membersrealized that they had to decidewhether their electronic portfo-lios would be used to captureand collect student work or toassess students. They chose thecollection format, defining theirportfolios as "an integratedcollection of student work thatshows progression of studentunderstanding, reflections, andassessments."

They also decided to allocatespace in the portfolios forinformation that would behelpful to them as teachers.They listed impacts they hopedthe portfolios would have for allof those involvedstudents,teachers, parents, and adminis-trators (Figure 2page 44).

Even with an effective planningschedule, team members real-ized that it would take consider-able time to create and use theelectronic portfolios. Recogniz-ing this, they decided to take'baby steps' and not 'giant leaps'to ensure the project's success.(Some of the discussed potential

Figure 2.BUgg!siGore.namrImportant Impacts of the Electronic Portfolios

orr.Targeted. Audiences

IMPACT for STUDENTSThe Electronic Portfolio

* Works as a means of self-assessment andreflection

* Places more responsibility on the studentfor learning

* Allows students to utilize technology toview a "big picture" of what they knowand can do

* Creates a mechanism for studentindividualization when consideringinstruction and assessment

/IMPACT for the TEACHERThe Electronic Portfolio

* Gives teachers a broader understanding ofa student's knowledge and ability

* Is a tool for sharing student growth withparents

* Is a tool for establishing clear, fair criteriaand expectations for students

impacts of the electronic portfo-lio_are listed in Figure 2.)

For students, the team decidedthat the electronic portfolioswould contain the followingcomponents for 1996-1997 (withadditional elements to be addedat a later time):

* One integrated performanceassessment that encom-passed different disciplinesbased on selected goals andobjectives from the statecurricula

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* Provides a variety of opportunities forstudent self-reflection

* Is useful for teacher accountabilitywithassessment, curriculum, andinstructional alignment at the school,district, and state level

IMPACT for PARENTSThe Electronic Portfolio

* Allows for a deeper involvement in theassessment process

* Works as a tool for reviewing studentwork and describing strengths andweaknesses

IMPACT for the ADMINISTRATIONThe Electronic Portfolio* Helps to show that Bugg Elementary can

make a difference in the life of a student

* Allows a means for teacher accountability

* Predetermined process skillsto illustrate continuousgrowth and development ina particular area, content,and multiple intelligence

* A variety of reflections onstudent progress

For teachers, the Core Tamdecided that the portfolioswould contain the componentslisted below:

* An electronic storehouse forstate curriculumobjectives

44

information and formaton the assessmentinstructional methods, atime frame, necessaryresourcesteacher reflections onthe assessment

* A cross-discipline profilethat includes thepredetermined process skillsfor the classroom and artsteachers to view

* A student-reflection pageabout the assessmentexperience

41.

gure 3!,A,Sampling,of the Fifth-Grade Social Studies, Science, CommunicatiOn,

Music and: Dance Objectives, for But]as. Performance- Assessment.(Objective numbers correspond to North Carolina curriculum)

Subject

SOCIAL STUDIES

COMMUNICATION

SCIENCE

DANCE

MUSIC

* A demographic file onstudents

Number ofObjectivesAddressed

12

2

9

5 5

Sample Objectives

4.2 Compare the physical andcultural characteristics of

regions in the United States.

1.1 Apply strategies to compre-hend or convey experience

and information.

5.5 Investigate Earth as alandform and explore forcesaffecting the land and water

bodies.

2.1 The student will under-stand that making a dance

requires planning.

4.1 The student will demon-strate ability to compose

music.

Team members also wanted tobe able to evaluate the impact ofusing electronic portfolios onstudents, teachers, administra-tors, and parents. So, theydesigned feedback sheets forthese groups. For their ownevaluation at the end of theproject, teachers responded to aset of interview questions aboutthe pitfalls and benefits ofassessment development.

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Once the groundwork had beenlaid in the team's initial meet-ings with SERVE, they began tocreate the performance assess-ment. Alhough the assessmentarea was in geography, it wasintegrated to include scienceand communication objectivesand was implemented usingmusic and dance objectives(Figure 3). The Core Tham wasable to cover an impressivenumber of goals and objectivesin each discipline area with thisone assessment.

45,48

The performance assessmentwas the most important compo-nent for the Core Tham. Thammembers committed numeroushours to perfecting its design.Having listed hoped-for impactsof the portfolio project (Figure2) and reviewed specific goalsand objectives of the fifth-gradecurriculum (Figure 3), the teambegan planning an eight-week,integrated music and dance unitabout regions of the UnitedStates.

Figure 4Data Retrieval Chart Checklist for Student Project Expectations

US REGIONSSocial Studies and Communications

CRITERIAGroup Participation

Participated with other members

Carried out job responsibilities

Resources

Used three different resources

Chart Creation

9 different categories addressed

All landmarks per region given

All state names given

Three labor resources given

Five natural resources given

Three capital resources given

Three points of interest

Three industries given

Two famous people per region

Three resources referenced

Chart Style and Format

Writing has clarity

Writing is legible (easy to read)

Writing is neat

Mechanics correct (spelling, punctuation)

Computer used

Font 20, Block style, 9 pages

Oral Presentation

All group members participated

Presentation within 5-7 minutes timeframe

Creative style and design

Questions could be answered

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Yes/No

Y NY N

Y N

Y N

Y N

Y NY NY N

Y N

Y N

Y N

Y N

Y N

Y NY N

Y NY N

Y N

Y N

Y N

Y N

Y N

Y N

COMMENTS

49

IVEEK

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

Figure 5ghtrWeek Performance Assessment Schedule

ACTIVITIES

Introduced project, reviewed rubrics, students assigned to a region

Researched assigned regions in the library with the media specialist

Continued research

Students given music to use and develop their musical and dance compositions

Continued development of music and dance compositions

Continued development of music and dance compositions

Students came together to share their compositions. Music students in the west groupfrom one fifth-grade class accompanied dance students from the west group from theother fifth-grade classsame for north, south, and east region groups. Then roles werereversed so that every student was both a musician and a dancer. Videos and stillpictures were taken of each performance. Students rated themselves on the rubrics.

Students wrote reflections about the project and their performance. They also formedgroups to decide what could be done to improve their performance if they were able todo it over again. As a last piece, they developed a visual to reflect their feelings aboutthe project.

Throughout this process, otherassessments, some daily, were used to

make sure all goals/objectives were-Measured for attainment.

Team members worked togetheron both the classroom and artsaspects of the assessment, plan-ning the unit so that studentscould use their own researchabout regions of the United Statesto compose and present perfor-mances in music and dance. Thearts specialists worked with theclassroom teachers to decidewhich students in each fifth-grade class would be assigned to

groups towork on theregions.Group namescorrespondedto the re-gions that

students studied: Northeast,Southeast, Midwest, West, Pacific.

The two classroom teachersdesigned Data Retrieval Check-lists that students used to orga-nize the research they con-ducted in preparation for theirperformances. Student groupsdisplayed their research on DataRetrieval Charts and used arubric to score the charts and

47.

53

classroom presentations aboutthe charts. A total of 23 behav-ioral criteria listed under theheadings Group Participation,Resources, Chart Creation, ChartStyle and. Format, and OralPresentation were identified andscored with a 'Y' for achievedand a 'N' for not achieved(Figure 4).

The Core Team's two arts special-ists, who saw all students in theschool, had to adjust their sched-ules for other grade levels so that

' they could work with both fifth-grade classes simultaneouslyduring the unit (Figure 5).

Figure 6Scoring Guide for Regions of the United States

NAME:

DATE:

HR TEACHER:

Music/Dance Assessment (Circle one)

COMMENTS:

STUDENT TEACHER

CRITERIA 3 2 1 3 2 1 COMMENTS

SKILLS

LISTENING (HEAR THE MUSIC) L:1 0 DANALYZING (FORM PATTERNS) C)

DESCRIBING (RELATION TO REGION) D C.) GI 0 U 0COMPOSING (DEVELOP ORIGINAL SCORE) 0 CI CI

PERFORM WITH

CONFIDENCE

CLARITY 000 000FOCUS

CREATIVITY AND UNIQUENESS 0 0 1.3

COOPERATIVE BEHAVIOR

ACTIVELY INVOLVED 0 0 0POSITIVE ATTITUDE 0RESPECTFUL OF OTHERS 0AUDIENCE MANNERS 0 0

TOTAL SCORE

(The 3, 2, and 1 represents a range for scoring-3 is the highest a student can achieve.)

48

Once student groups had com-pleted their research, theydeveloped both a music and adance performance to reflecttheir region. After severalpractice sessions, the fifth -gradeclasses met in the multi-purposeroom to share their perfor-mances with fellow students.Students and teachers assessedthe performances using a rubricdeveloped by the arts specialists(Figure 6). Students also wrotereflections about their involve-ment in the project.

TechnologyProblems

Although the Core ham...considered the electronicportfolio software requirementswhile planning the assessment,development and deployment ofthe actual assessment becametheir key focus. They came toview the portfolio software as avehicle for storing and accessingthe assessment; then theyfocused on the assessment itself,rather than the technology.

This was a fortunate choicebecause software constraintsforced them to revise the stu-dent scoring rubrics to a morechecklist style and abbreviatesections of the teacher store-house. Due to this and othersoftware problems, plus delaysin getting the school's local areanetwork (LAN) up and running,the electronic aspect of theassessments was not fullyrealized. However, implementa-tion of the assessment itself wasvery successful.

Ms. Burch voiced the CoreTeam's concern about not

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having enough equipment tomeet the demands for enteringand using assessment data:

We only had two computers withenough memory to load portfoliosoftware onto them. We had fiftykids in total. This required a greatdeal of thought as to how best tohave everyone enter their exhibitsand reflections onto the computer.

'Ibachers recalled how they wereforced "to modify the rubrics tochecklists and storehouseinformation of the assessmentbecause of software glitches."

Even Bugg's well-equippedcomputer labs were over-taxedby the demands for computerentry and storage of electronicportfolios for each individualstudent. Assessments of thisnature with text, photo, video,and audio components requirelarge amounts of computerstorage space.

Scheduled to be operational byNovember 1996, Bugg's LAN wasstill not in place when schoolopened in fall 1997. Without it,there was insufficient space forindividual portfolios containing

I

/1

the multi-media exhibits soessential in Bugg's integrated-arts setting.

An additional problem lay inobtaining user-friendly, efficient,and effective software for elec-tronic portfolios. Grady Profile(which may work for others) wasvery difficult for our teachers tolearn, and it was limited inflexibility and capacity forthorough rubrics or for theplanned teacher storehouse.

Both Mac and IBM programs forelectronic portfolios have beenpurchased by other schools inthe district; however, no elec-tronic portfolio is currentlycompleted or operating success-fully. One middle school isusing Hyper Studio for portfo-lios, and this might be an optionfor Bugg.

Also under consideration are thefollowing:

* 'Racking progress as schoolsin the district use Mac orIBM portfolio software

* Reviewing programs beingused successfully in otherdistricts

-(1

t-,

vit'W,

* Contracting witha local devel-oper for customsoftware forBugg

MTV

Whatever the op-tion, Bugg staff willcarefully review andactually use anysoftware prior topurchasing it. Nowthat their assess-ments have beenfully planned and implemented,they have a product, as it were,with which to test any softwareto ensure that it will meet theirneeds.

In the meantime, last year'sassessment is ready for imple-mentation with this year's fifth-graders. Last year, there were 50students in two fifth-gradeclasses. This year there arealmost 70 students in three fifth-grade classes, meaning thateven more computer access andstorage space will be needed.Because the assessment itselfhas been planned, it will bepossible to focus on meeting theneeds of more students.

Plans for1997-1998

At Bugg, Core 'Team membersare available for teachers

who are beginning the assess-ment development process. Thisbuilds on the foundation pro-vided last year in Bugg's staffdevelopment seminars.

In addition to serving as aresource within their school, theCore Team is working to dis-seminate information about the

'a

electronic portfolio planningprocess to other schools anddistricts.1Wo teachers from theCore Team traveled to Florida tomake a presentation and ex-change ideas with participantsin SERVE's R&D site there, andthe entire Core Team presentedtheir planning model at SERVE'sOctober 1997 School Improve-ment Forum in Atlanta.

ReferencesFowler, C. (1996). Strong Arts,Strong Schools: The PromisingPotential and Shortsighted Disre-gard of the Arts in AmericanSchooling. New York: OxfordUniversity Press.

Gardner, H. (1993). MultipleIntelligences: The Theory intoPractice, A Reader. New York:Basic Books.

..Gardner, H. (1983). Frames ofMind: The Theory of MultipleIntelligences. New York: BasicBooks.

Nieto, S. (1996) Affirming Diver-sity: The Sociopolitical Context ofMulticultural Education, NewYork: Longman Press.

For more informationabout our integrated

performance assessmentor our experience with

electronic portfolios,contact:

Mary Q. Penta, Ph.D.,the evaluation specialist forWake County Public Schools

System's federal MagnetG rant.

Sheila Wright, a doctoralcandidate at North CarolinaState University, Bugg's part-

time arts liaison, andcurrently a recruiter for the

Magnet Program

Participating teachers inthe Core Tam included

Deborah Burch, Fifth Grade

Jennifer Fine, Fifth Grade

Fclecia Lockicar,Music Specialist

Joan Certa-Moore,Dance Specialist

Carol Blankcnhorn,Technology Specialist

James Fatata, Principal

Valgean Mitchell,Vice Principal

Audrey Greene, Secretary

Address:825 Cooper RoadRaleigh, NC 27fil0

Phone:919-250-4750

Fax:419-250-4753

./10% Nal 5/014,

en South Carolina'sfice of AssessmentBy Susan Agruso, Cathi Snyder, and Marc Drews

We at SERVE are often asked bypeople in the six southeastern states,

"What are other states doing toincrease teacher assessment capacityand to improve student performance?"This section provides a spotlight on aregional Department of Education's

work in assessment.

Tike many states, South Carolina is in themidst of a major reform effort to raisestandards and improve student learning.

Every aspect of its educational system is touchedby this reform. Ensuring that all the pieces arelinked together to form a common focus allows thestate to move forward for the benefit of all students.

From the beginning, one critical forward factor hasbeen recognizedit is vital that our teachers,administrators, and members of the communityhave active roles throughout the process. In thisarticle, a description of how South Carolina'sOffice of Assessment has involved the educationalcommunity is depicted.

Curriculum Frameworksouth Carolina's curriculum frameworks do

S more than merely establish the subject-areacontent students should be taught at differentgrade levels; they also outline the broad goals foreducation and clarify for teachers, administrators,and parents the connections among all aspects of agood instructional program. The frameworksprovide the information schools need to under-stand in order to establish strong programs to helpall children achieve at high levels. The frame-works address such questions as:

What are the best teaching strategies for help-ing children learn? What types of manipula-tives should be used?

What are good instructional materials? Shouldthose materials integrate skills and content?

How does a teacher create or select the bestkinds of assessment to determine if studentsare meeting high standards?

How can technology enhance the teaching/learning process?

In South Carolina, frameworks are developed by ateam of teachers, college/university professors,and others with expertise in the subject area.Drafts of each framework are broadly dissemi-nated to the public and business community fortheir review. The feedback collected is then usedto revise the framework before it is presented tothe State Board of Education.

Frameworks in mathematics, English languagearts, science, foreign languages, and visual andperforming arts have been adopted by the Board.Writing teams are currently working on frame-works in social studies, physical education, andhealth and safety.

Each framework serves as the focus for all reformactivities in South Carolina by coordinating activi-ties such as

O Choosing instructional materials based on howwell they cover the content described in theframeworks

0

0

0

Awarding grants to teachers who link the goalsof the grant to the frameworks

Developing assessments that are aligned tocontent standards in the frameworks

Conducting staff development aimed at help-ing teachers and administrators internalize anduse the frameworks

O Revising teacher certification requirements toreflect what teachers should know and be ableto do to deliver content standards

O Integrating federally funded pro-grams into the school curriculumso that all efforts focus on thesame goalimproving stu-dent learning

O Implementing strategiesoutlined in the Stateibchnology plan to sup-port achievement of thestandards

InstructionHow students aretaught what they

should knowand be able

to do

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Working with parents to best meet the needs ofall students

Since the state tests given in South Carolina arecurrently being changed, it is important for every-oneparents, teachers, administrators, students,and the communityto know what South Carolinaexpects students to know and be able to do.

The academic achievement standards, which arebased on the content standards in the curriculumframeworks, are designed to do just that. Theydescribe in detail the knowledge and skills ex-pected in mathematics, English language arts, andscience for students in kindergarten through grade12 and are aligned with standards used nationallyand internationally.

Academic achievement standards are currentlybeing developed in foreign language and the visualand performing arts and will eventually be devel-oped in social studies, physical education, andhealth and safety.

The standards, developed by subject-area expertsfrom K-12 classrooms and higher education, help

educators plan curriculum, instruction,and assessment so that students are

CurriculumWhat studentsshould know

and beable to do

411111

55

prepared for the 21st century.Using the frameworks and the

standards, teachers can iden-tify what students shouldknow and be able to do,design lessons that will teachthe necessary knowledgeand skills to their students,

and develop

AssessmentHow we find out

what studentsknow and are

able to do

classroom assessments that determine what thestudents have learned.

As shown in the diagram, when these three piecesmatch, the focus is on student learning. Thus, onlythrough establishing a clear link and direct corre-spondence among the components of studentlearningcurriculum, instruction, and assess-mentcan we pave the way for improving studentachievement.

Student AssessmentC ince 1981, South Carolina has expected stu-L.3 dents to meet minimum standards of achieve-ment on basic skills objectives which are testedthrough the Basic Skills Assessment Program(BSAP). BSAP is given in grades three (reading,math, and science), six (writing and science), andeight (reading, writing, math, and science) and asan Exit Examination (reading, writing, and math)beginning in grade ten.

BSAP was a step in the right direction, a beginningstep for setting standards for student performanceand guaranteeing that all students possess knowl-edge of at least the basic skills. However, bytoday's standards, the expectations set by BSAP arejust too low, and it is time to take the next step inmoving students toward high levels of academicachievement.

With the adoption of state frameworks and aca-demic achievement standards in mathematics,English language arts, and science, South Carolinais adding more rigorous test questions to the statecriterion-referenced test. In the years to come,students will still be required to know the basics,but they must also be able to demonstrate thatthey can apply what they have learned, solvecomplex problems, and read and write at a levelappropriate for a high school graduate in the 21"century.

The new test questions include a variety of itemformats: multiple-choice, open-response (short-answer), and open-ended (extended-response)questions. Classroom teachers who are using thecurriculum frameworks and the academic achieve-ment standards in their classrooms are ,d6.relopingmany of these questions.

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State and national experts in mathematics, Englishlanguage arts, science, and the technical aspects oftest design will review the items they develop.Other committees, which will include representa-tives from the community, will review the items toensure that they are free from any form of bias,that they accommodate students with specialneeds, and that they do indeed match the highstandards set forth in the frameworks.

These new items were piloted with students acrossSouth Carolina during the spring and fall of 1996and the spring of 1997. The first administration ofthe actual test will be during the spring of 1998,when every student in the tested grades will takeone of three new assessmentsmathematics,English language arts, or science. Baseline data forsetting standards and determining basic, profi-cient, and advanced levels of performance will beobtained from this administration.

In conclusion, this entire process becomes aformula for success:

Basic Skills

LMore Rigorous

Questions

High ExpectationsNow

IncreasedLearning for All

Students

56

Classroom TeacherSupport Strategies

P roviding resources and support to classroomteachers is critical if South Carolina expects

them to make a commitment to the new reforms incurriculum, instruction, and assessment. The statehas met this challenge through the use of threemajor strategies: 1) providing staff development in avariety of ways, 2) developing products and re-sources that aid teachers in improving instructionand assessment, and 3) establishing continuous-support networks so teachers can share ideas andstrategies. All three of these endeavors have focusedon issues important to classroom teachers and haveaddressed questions such as the following:

How do teachers teach students so they meetthe state's standards?

How do teachers provide a rich variety ofinstructional experiences related to thestandards?

How do teachers develop an effective class-room assessment system incorporating mul-tiple formats (i.e., multiple-choice, short-answer, extended-response, experiments, andlong-term projects)?

How do teachers develop scoring rubrics andcommunicate the criteria to students?

How do teachers establish connections acrossdifferent curriculum areas?

How do teachers incorporate more relevant,real-world activities in their instruction andassessment?

How can school schedules be restructured toprovide teachers with

moc, ivafik

NAME

GRADE

1. In the spacebelow. tally

the numberof tracts you see in one (1) minute.

How manydid you see?

3. Graph the numberof tru cks you see in one (1) m

6 7

inute.

12 3 4 5

three (3)iminutes.

4.Estimate how

many trucksyou might

see ll

5.me and/or

show me how you got your answer.

g 10

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1112

common planning times and longer classperiods so they can effectively use perfor-mance assessments with students?

) How can teachers use narrative report cardsthat specifically identify students' strengthsand weaknesses?

) How can teachers encourage students to beindependent learners and to continuouslyevaluate their own work?

Several state initiatives have focused on answeringthese questions and more importantly have pro-vided the support necessary to make the changessuccessfully in the classroom. A brief summary ofthese initiatives follows.

Sztuuovr Throug,l du: 12

The 12 Schools Project is a site-based initiative thathas helped teachers in 36 schools in the statedevelop performance assessments that reflect thehigh standards from the state's curriculum frame-works and academic achievement standards. Staffdevelopment for this project has been provided byawarding grant money to individual schools and bystate-sponsored training sessions and site visita-tions. The Portfolio Assessment Project involvesteachers learning to use performance assessmentsand portfolios effectively in the classroom. Staffdevelopment has included state-sponsored work-shops at which teachers have refined materials anddiscussed appropriate strategies for their use.

As teachers in these projects have developedexpertise, they have begun to serve as teacher-leaders in their regions and across the state by

hosting visits to their classroom, presenting in-services, and conduction working sessions withother teachers. The work which these projectparticipants have done with other teachershas greatly increased the impact theseprojects have had on improving communica-tion and teaming between teachers/adminis.trators and increasing student motivationthrough the use of engaging and meaning-ful assessments.

Products/ResourcesAssessment Resource Handbooks aretask booklets developed by a team of

Subject Area

Grade Level

Thsk Overview

CurriculumPrameworkStandard

Assessed

InstructionalObjectivesor Processes

Assessed

PrerequisiteInstruction

Required Materials

Group or IndividualAdministration

Time Requirements

naffic, 71ra

Mathematics

Grade I

Traffic

Thsk Description

Each studenttakes a crayon, a pencil, a student response

71raffic, Vraffic, Trafficsheet,

and a slateor book to the designated

area. (This task

may be donein a variety

of locationsas long as traffic

can

be observedclearly

and safely.)The students

are told that

they will begin countingtrucks as soon as the 'GO' signal

is

given. The studentsare instructed

to tally the number of

trucks they see in oneminute and then fill in the graph

section of the responsesheet (attached).

The teacher countsresponse.at the same

time as the studentsto determine

the correct

truck traffic.Note: Time allotted

may need to he adjustedaccording

toThe students

arc thenasked to use this infbrmation

topredict how

many trucksthey might

see in three minutes.

Studentsare asked to write a short explanation

on how they

Sou predictionthey recorded

on the responsesheet.

use them for estimating.

Manipulativesshould

be availablefor students

who want toExtensions:Students

may be askedto test their 3-minute

predictionsand graph

the resultsor to predict

how manytrucks they might

see in oneday and explain the prediction.Students

may be askedto categorize

trucks or vehiclestype.according

to type and make estimatesand graphs

for each

From a locationon the school

grounds, students willobserve

and countthe number

of truckspassing in onefor other

time periods.

minute. Thenthey will estimate

and predict traffic patterns

StrandNumberand Numeration

Systems(Standard:

establish strongsense ofnumber by exploring

conceptsas base tenj,and estimating)

such as counting,grouping,

place value(other bases

as well

Basic Skills: countingrecording,

and graphingdata, a ddition

HigherLevels of Learning: estimating

and predictingCounting recordingand graphing

dataStudent response

sheet,crayon, pencil,

slate, orbook toplaces

place in student'slap while on school grounds,

watch with

Individual

45-60 minutes

teachers from the 12 SchoolsProject and state consultants and are availablefor elementary, middle, and high school teach-

- ers. They contain numerous samples of perfor-- mance assessments and scoring rubrics

(shown). Each assessment includes teacheradministration directions, the state standardsaddressed, prerequisite instruction needed,time and materials required, and the basicand higher-order thinking skills assessed.

These handbooks have been distributed toevery teacher in the state to encourage themto try some of these samples with theirstudents and to begin revising their curricu-lum, instructional strategies, and assessments.Supplements will be prepared and distributed on acontinuing basis. (Copies are available from theOffice of Assessment at a cost of $5.00 each.)

Portfolio Training Handbooks and Resources arein the process of being published. These materialshave also been developed by South Carolinateachers and state consultants and are intendedfor teachers and students with little or no experi-ence with portfolios. They are available for el-

Traffic, ?baffle, nafficSuggestedScoring Rubric

Three componentsto this task

are assessedin this rubric:

tallying and graphingcorrectly; making a reasonableform.

prediction;and explaining

the estimatein written or oral

3 The studenttallies and

graphs correctly;makes a

reasonable 3-minuteprediction;

and providesaarrived at the estimation.

reasonableoral or written

explanationof how he/she

2 The student'stally and/or

graph may have minorerrors. He/she

makes a reasonable3-minute prediction;

and attemptsto provide

an oral or Written explanationas a 3 response.

of hii/herestimation,

but it may not be as sophisticated

1 The student'stally and/or

graph have several errors.He/she

cannot makea reasonable

prediction and/ores tipro

mation.

cannotvide a reasonable

explanationof his/her

0 Student doesnot attempt

the task.

ementary,middle, and high school teach-ers in the areas of mathematics and Englishlanguage arts.

The training package includes teacher and studenthandbooks, colorpul tablets for students to use inrecording self-evaluations of their work, self-evaluation stickers, wall displays for the classroom,and a sampler containing numerous examples of

58

implementation materials andstudent work. (Some samplepages from the handbooksare shown.) The trainingmaterials highlight theimportant issues anddecisions that need to bemade when beginning touse portfolios in theclassroom. (Copies willbe available from the

Office of Assessment.)

Both projects have alsoworked to establish con-tinuous support networks.Participants from the 12Schools Project conductedseveral exhibitions wherethey have shared their ideasand work from their studentswith other teachers, adminis-trators, and state legislators.They have been excused fromparticipation in the statewidetesting program to allow thefreedom to form working groupsthat further the development ofinnovative assessments andinstructional techniques.

Participants in the PortfolioAssessment Project have beeninvolved in workshops andworking/planning meetings2-3 times a year for thepurpose of sharing resources,

ideas, and strategies for con-tinuing the process of improving classroom

instruction and assessment. These meetings havebeen invaluable to teachers who rarely have theopportunity to work and communicate with others.

Support on Issues Relatedto Continuous Assessment inKindergarten Through Third GradeIn 1993, South Carolina passed Act 135, the EarlyChildhood Development and Academic AssistanceAct. This law called for increased parent involve-

BEST COPY AVAILABLE

ment in schools, more flexibility in funding theremediation of students' academic deficiencies,implementation of a variety of instructional ap-proaches, and use of more appropriate assessment.

Since 1994, South Carolina has been pilot-testingcontinuous assessment in grades K-3 in a sampleof schools. These assessments are expected toprovide classroom level accountability, as well asachievement data for Title 1 primary programs.

Features of Continuous AssessmentIt takes place throughout the school yearrather than on a single testing day.

It is based on the assessment informationobtained from observation of student activities(creating patterns from pattern blocks), stu-dent products (drawings in response to sto-ries), and/or pieces collected in a studentportfolio. (The state is working on ways toenable teachers to record observations andmaintain records electronically.)

Thachers periodically review these observa-tions and student products and reflect on theirstudents' progress by evaluating their achieve-ment levels against a set of standards (usuallyin a checklist format).

Reports of each student's progress and achieve-ment level are periodically reported to parentsin a family conference providing them withexplicit information about their child's aca-demic status and future instructional plans.

There are two primary staff development goals:

1. Enhancing teacher's continuous assessmentskills by focusing on training for

Observing and documenting studentachievement-related behaviors

Reviewing and reflecting on student assess-ment information

Using external criteria, such as checklistsfor evaluating student progress

Reporting assessment information toparents

Using assessment information for instruc-tional planning

56 59

2. Promoting teachers' skills in working withadult learners: This is critical in an endeavor toreach all classroom teachers. "Tbachers teach-ing other teachers" is the primary model fortraining school faculties to use continuousassessment in their classrooms. Mentor-teach-ers provide site-based staff development fortheir colleagues and serve as resources.

South Carolina schools are currently field-testing and developing two systems for con-tinuous assessment. The products/resourcesthat have been developed are specific to eachsystem.

0 The Work Sampling System (WSS) fromthe University of Michigan provides acomplete set of assessment materialsincluding checklists based on nationalstandards, a portfolio collection system,and forms for reporting student achieve-ment and progress. Also provided areteacher handbooks on how to use thesystem and resource guides on the use ofthe checklists.

0 The South Carolina Primary Level Assess-ment System (SCPLAS) has been devel-oped based on South Carolina's frameworksand standards. Thachers using this systemwill collect observational data, samples ofstudent work for periodic evaluationagainst a set of standards, and reportstudent achievement and progress.

Using the benchmark third-grade goalsfrom the academic achievement standards,South Carolina educators created a devel-opmental continuum of standards inmathematics and English language arts forpreschool through third grade. There areSCPLAS checklists based on this con-tinuum which reflect the variability in thematuration rate of young children and alsolend themselves well to use in a variety ofclassroom settings. (Free copies of thedevelopmental continuum may be obtainedfrom the office of assessment.)

The development of continuous supportnetworks has been critical to the imple-

mentation and success of K-3 continuousassessment.

O Staff development in the use of continuousassessment began two years ago with aninstitute on Age- and Individually-Appro-priate Curriculum, Instruction, and Assess-ment. The Institute met once a month fornine months and involved participants inworkshops led by national experts in earlychildhood curriculum, instruction, andassessment. Additional time and activitieswere devoted to developing networksamong these educators from 80% of SouthCarolina's school districts.

0 Staff deyelopment for WSS is presented atregional locations to encourage localnetworking among teachers implementingthe system. Workshops are provided formentor teachers who are learning to con-duct staff development in the use of theWSS, for administrators in schools using thesystem, and for all teachers in schoolsfield-testing the WSS.

South Carolina's publication of a WSSnewsletter by the South Carolina Depart-ment of Education has also providedteachers with a forum to express theirsuccesses and concerns. It is also an effec-tive way to keep all participants informedabout the field test and the availability ofother staff development opportunities.

Support in Understanding theStatewide Assessment SystemSupport strategies for the Statewide AssessmentSystem are provided each year. Staff developmentworkshops have been conducted to help districtcoordinators learn how to administer the standard-ized state assessments and to interpret the resultsof score reports. District and school administratorshave received assistance in learning how to usetest data to make improvements in their instruc-tional programs. Teachers have learned to inter-

' pret test results so they can communicate theresults with meaning to parents. Several products/resources have been disseminated to supplygeneral information about the content and objec-tives covered on the statewide assessments, todescribe test administration procedures, and toguide teachers/administrators through readingscore reports.

lb provide the community with information aboutthe new assessments, the Department of Educa-tion developed a newspaper supplement entitled"Thsting 1 2 3: Challenging Questions for a Chal-lenging Future." The supplement shows samplesof item types that are currently on the BSAP andcompares them to samples of the more rigorousitems that will be found on the new assessments.(Free copies of "Thsting 1 2 3" are available fromthe Office of Assessment.)

With modifications being made to the currentstatewide assessment system, several new supportstrategies have been developed. Workshops arebeing conducted for teachers who are interested inwriting test items. The first activity is to immerseteachers in the philosophy and content of thecurriculum frameworks and the academic achieve-ment standards.

They also learn about good test item writingpractices. Involving teachers as item writers bringsto the task something the state could not supplythe classroom perspective. Teachers easily targetcontent and context that would be appealing tostudents.

Several local continuous support networks havebeen established with teachers writing in teams.Through this networking, teachers come to aconsensus about what students should know andbe able to do and how to move students to achieveat higher levels. 'leachers and administrators alsoserve on several committees responsible forselecting good test items, designing test formats,and developing classroom-level support materials.

Support Through Regional CentersFinally, another source of staff development,products/resources, and continuous supportnetworks for K-12 teachers is the South CarolinaStatewide Systemic Initiative (SCSSI). This perma-nent network was developed with a grant fromNSF to improve teaching and student learning inmathematics and science as outlined in the cur-riculum frameworks and academic achievementstandards. The network supports 13 regionalcenters or hubs, which offer a variety of staffdevelopment opportunities for teachers andadministrators.

Teachers who attend "Curriculum LeadershipInstitutes" become teacher/leaders and can helpothers learn about exemplary instructional tech-niques and strategies, curriculum and assessmentresources, and utilization of technology in theclassroom. The hubs also serve as a clearinghousefor collecting, displaying, and sharing products/resources from teachers, researchers, nationalexperts, and instructional materials publishers.Teachers across the state have quickly learned thevalue of their regional hubs for obtaining answersto questions and for locating math and sciencematerials they need.

In conclusion, there are three valuable lessonsthat South Carolina has learned in making educa-tion reform efforts work.

Continued on Page 60

Other SERVE Research and Development Projects"Promising Practices inReading Literacy VideoMagazine".A needs assessment and re-search and literature reviewconducted by SERVE spring1997 suggest that we are aregion of educators too oftenpolarized by the so-called phon-ics-whole language debate. Theapparent dichotomy, however, isa false one if one seriouslyconsiders the conclusions of thereading research over the last10-15 yearsit's not 'either/or'but 'both' Moreover, as theregion embraces site-basedmanagementhowever tenta-tivelyand states devolveauthority to the districts andschools, locally designed readingprograms become increasinglyimportant. Accordingly, thethree half-hour tapes in SERVE'sPromising Practices in ReadingLiteracy Video Magazine serieswill focus on district- and thenschool-designed programs forthe first two installments,followed by a third tape demon-strating how the classroomteacher can facilitate parentalinvolvement in their child'sreading, both at school and athome. The purpose of this videomagazine series is to provide theviewer with positive illustrationsof research-based strategiessuccessful in increasing teachereffectiveness and studentachievement that can beadopted or adapted in his/herdistrict, school, or classroom.

For more information, contactSteve Bingham

SERVE800-755-3277

Professional Growthfocuses onthe development of formativeplans. An accompanying docu-ment teacher Evaluation: TheRoad to Excellenceis also avail-.

able. Presently there are 18SERVE formative teacher evalu-ation demonstration sites inGeorgia, Mississippi, NorthCarolina, and South Carolina.

Implementing FormativeThacker EvaluationRealizing the need for alterna-tive models of teacher evalua-tion, SERVE's Forthative ThacherEvaluation project was initiatedin 1991. Many of the teacherevaluation plans in placethrough the Southeast weresummative, ones that measuredteacher competence. Manyexperienced teachers who hadshown themselves to be morethan competent on a summativeinstrument wanted somethingmore. That "something more"was formative evaluation.Formative evaluation is a sys-tem for feedback for teachersthat was designed to help themimprove on an ongoing basisand promote professionalgrowth. For the past six years,SERVE has sponsored trainingfor school system teamsthroughout the Southeast whoare interested in developingformative plans. The plans caninclude multiple sources offeedback (self, peers, supervi-sors, parents, students) and avariety of methods like actionresearch, teacher portfolios andjournals, and videotaping ofclassroom activities. One SERVEdocumentDesigning reacherEvaluation Systems that Support

BEST COPY AVAILABLE i 6 20

For more information, contactPaula Egelson

SERVE800-755-3277

"Promising Practices inTechnology Video Magazine"SERVE's research and develop-ment program, is creating avideo-magazine series focusingon promising practices in tech-nology. One of the videos thatwill soon be available to educa-tors focuses on the use of tech-nology for student assessment.In the half-hour tape, educatorsand students from school dis-tricts across the region showinnovative practices, includingassessment that is integratedinto the curriculum, electronicstudent portfolios, and softwarethat analyzes students' errorsand makes it easier for teachersto tailor instruction.

For more information, contactElizabeth Byrom

SERVE800-755-3277

Implementing SeniorProjects (GraduationExhibitions)Based on the beliefs that gradua-tion from high school should bebased on genuine achievementand that student assessment is acritical part of the educationalprocess, SERVE R&D has sup-ported the Senior Project con-cept since 1993. Senior Projectconsists of high school seniorswriting research papers onapproved topics of their choice,developing projects related tothe papers, and delivering oralpresentations based on theirwork to a panel of communitymembers and educators. The

program is demanding becauseof the commitment and rigorrequired of students to satisfac-torily complete a long-termassignment.

Benefits of the program includethe following: students learn toapply their knowledge to aspecific project of their owndesign, learning becomes anintegrated process for students,high school faculties becomemore cohesive and collaborative,students demonstrate in a publicforum what they know and whatthey can do, and students learnto assess their own work. SERVEsponsors Senior Projects training

for high school teams, publicizesthe concept throughout theSoutheast through mailings,presentations, and conferences,and develops pilot sites at highschools (Garinger High Schoolin Charlotte, NC, and BroadStreet School in Shelby, MS). ASERVE Senior Project Networkcomprised of secondary educa-tors was created in 1995, and aSenior Project document andvideotape are in the works.

For more information, contactPaula Egelson

SERVE800-755-3277

Continued from Page 58 What's Happening in Other States? Spotlighton South Carolina's Office of Assessment

Lessons Learned

) It is critical that school and district adminis-trators, members of the community, repre-sentatives from business and higher educa-tion, and above all, classroom teachers playan integral role in the process of developing,implementing, and evaluating all aspects ofthe reform effort.

Changes need to have a common, centralfocus so that all the separate components arelinked together (i.e., South Carolina's curricu-lum frameworks and academic achievementstandards).

3 States should continually share products andstrategies that are inexpensive and easy touse. Often all that teachers/administratorsneed is a copy of the resource (i.e., curricu-lum frameworks, academic achievementstandards, Assessment Resource Handbooks,portfolio training materials, K-3 continuousassessment materials, etc.) and planningtime. Cost commitments have been minimalfor the materials and the staff developmentsessions conducted. However, regardless of

cost, the focus must be on what teachers canreadily use in the classroom. They must beable to say, "I can try this tomorrow in myclass, and it may make a difference by reach-ing some students that I might be missing."

For additional information,contact the Office of Assessment,

(803) 734-8298

Susan AgrusoDirector

sagrusogsde.state.sc.us

Cathi Snydercsnyder@sde.state.sc.us

For information about South Carolina'sSystemic Initiative, contact

Marc DrewsDirector

(803) 734-8311mdrews@sde.state.sc.us

606 3

GetSubmit an article on assessment for a future

issue of Assessment Hot Spots!

Here's HowSubmit your idea and a working titlefor your article on assessment to

Nancy Mc MunnAssessment Department

SERVEP.O. Box 5367

Greensboro, NC 27435800-755-3277

Fax 336-334-3268

Submit your final draft of the acceptedarticle. (SERVE reserves the right to editmaterials for length, clarity, and accuracy.)

Include graphics and pictures of teachersand students. (These must be accompa-nied by identifying captions and permis-sion forms to be included.)

Consider these six questions when com-posing your article*:

1. Whom do you represent (school,district, state, etc.)?

2. Why is your assessment project im-portant for others to know about?

3. How was the project implemented?

4. What was the impact?

5. Can the project be transferable toanother site?

6. What changes would you recommend?

Other Tips forWriting Magazine Articles

Use

The "you" attitudefocusing on teachersand their point of view

Short- to medium-length sentences

Descriptive, visual imagery

Adjectives and active verbs

Comments from participants

"Focusing event" openings

Structure your article withthe following three elements:

1. Lead"Hook" the reader and state thethesis.

2. BodyOffer evidence for proof of thesis.

3. ConclusionGive summation and endwith a nice close.

D I

1 I i I 11

An "interpretive" article includes the facts "who,""what," "where," "when" and adds "how" and "why."A "how-to" article tells how the project was done

and offers information on how it could besuccessfully repeated at another site.

Information on Student Assessmentand Motivation is Found in Chapters 3 & 5in SERVE's Publication:

lb order this or any o ourother products, please call our

Publications Depa ent.

SAW

9mproinng Classroom Assessment

A Too licit forProfessional Developers

Toolkit98

3ebruary1998Fyxk, f Sr 4 C.

4nea.tliwo. 1-Aonro 4 telwaure

I

d

0 0I Iis a 1200-page resource on classroomassessment. It was developed through

the efforts of the federal regionallaboratories, and it is for those whohave the responsibility to coordinate

and facilitate professional developmentin assessment for teachers.

SERVE will be sponsoring severalregional institutes to disseminate thisresource through training. If you are

interested in receiving this information. about the institutes, please contact

Nancy McMunn at 800-755-3277.

U.S. Department of EducationOffice of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI)

National Library of Education (NLE)Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)

NOTICE

REPRODUCTION BASIS

ERICTM030129

This document is covered by a signed "Reproduction Release(Blanket) form (on file within the ERIC system), encompassing allor classes of documents from its source organization and, therefore,does not require a "Specific Document" Release form.

This document is Federally-funded, or carries its own permission toreproduce, or is otherwise in the public domain and, therefore, maybe reproduced by ERIC without a signed Reproduction Release form(either "Specific Document" or "Blanket").

EFF-089 (9/97)