The new CCSS and the SBAC (state testing) have fully changed our approach to assessing what our students are learning. It's been a major undertaking as teachers have worked to evaluate and adapt new educational practices to their instruction.
One such practice has been the use of the EQuIP Rubric to evaluate lessons and assessments. The rubric, found at http://www.achieve.org/EQuIP is a valuable tool for teachers to use when looking at improving their work. We have been fully focused on using the rubric for improving our assessment pieces.
Some commonalities have surfaced among our collective assessments that have prompted interesting discussions among the PLC groups. These included multiple choice with only one correct answer, short response that were low on the Depths of Knowledge scale, and essay type responses that were not rigorous enough for students to demonstrate understanding of the content.
First and foremost, the multiple choice items were not as thoughfully developed as teachers wanted. In looking at the multiple choice items on the SBAC, we needed to have questions with multiple distractors that were correct, distractors that made students choose the best one, and distractors that gave teachers valuable data about student knowledge. They also needed to be tied directly to the standards (CCSS or content specific).
Short answer assessment options can be equally as challenging. Also tied to the standards, they need to indicate that the student has understanding of the content; something that a "fill in the blank" may not necessarily do well. Looking at exemplars helps when creating these types of items.
Finally, the essay and even the performance task items have required teachers to cover mulitiple standards at the higher DoK levels. The rubric allows for teachers to closely look at these types of items, create "sample" student responses (if actual student samples are not available), and then discuss possible data results.
While not a perfected process for us as of yet, we've grown a lot in the process and are really making consistent and positive strides to successful results.
One such practice has been the use of the EQuIP Rubric to evaluate lessons and assessments. The rubric, found at http://www.achieve.org/EQuIP is a valuable tool for teachers to use when looking at improving their work. We have been fully focused on using the rubric for improving our assessment pieces.
Some commonalities have surfaced among our collective assessments that have prompted interesting discussions among the PLC groups. These included multiple choice with only one correct answer, short response that were low on the Depths of Knowledge scale, and essay type responses that were not rigorous enough for students to demonstrate understanding of the content.
First and foremost, the multiple choice items were not as thoughfully developed as teachers wanted. In looking at the multiple choice items on the SBAC, we needed to have questions with multiple distractors that were correct, distractors that made students choose the best one, and distractors that gave teachers valuable data about student knowledge. They also needed to be tied directly to the standards (CCSS or content specific).
Short answer assessment options can be equally as challenging. Also tied to the standards, they need to indicate that the student has understanding of the content; something that a "fill in the blank" may not necessarily do well. Looking at exemplars helps when creating these types of items.
Finally, the essay and even the performance task items have required teachers to cover mulitiple standards at the higher DoK levels. The rubric allows for teachers to closely look at these types of items, create "sample" student responses (if actual student samples are not available), and then discuss possible data results.
While not a perfected process for us as of yet, we've grown a lot in the process and are really making consistent and positive strides to successful results.