LM5++Fair+Assessments


 * Learning Module 5: An Introduction to Pennsylvania SAS’s Fair Assessment **

“Classroom assessment is among an instructor’s most essential educational tools. When properly developed and interpreted, assessments can help teachers better understand what their students are learning.By providing the means to gather evidence about what students know and can do, classroom assessment can help teachers


 * Identify students’ strengths and weaknesses
 * Monitor student learning and progress
 * Plan and conduct instruction

Ongoing informal and formal classroom assessment:

(Educational Testing Service, 2003, p. 1).”
 * Is the bond that holds teaching and learning together
 * Allows educators to monitor teaching effectiveness and student learning
 * Can motivate and shape learning and instruction
 * Can help teachers gauge student mastery of required skills
 * Can help teachers determine whether students are prepared for tests that are used for high-stakes decisions
 * Can help students improve their own performances


 * Directions **
 * Carefully review the goals and outcomes of this unit.
 * Read the course topic and assignment pages.


 * 2. Goals & Objectives **


 * Goals **

During this unit, students will:
 * Learn about their PDE's SAS Assessment
 * Analyze the how can be used by teachers and students before, during, and after instruction to provide feedback and adjust ongoing teaching and learning to improve student achievement.
 * Gain an understanding of the purpose of the various types of assessment and translate these into classroom applications.
 * Distinguish between the various types of assessment.


 * Objectives **


 * Upon completion of the unit, students will be able to: **


 * Navigate the SAS Assessment section
 * Select appropriate assessments which align with their standards and planning for student learning
 * Explain how different types of assessment enhance student learning
 * Demonstrate ability to create an assessment using SAS Assessment Creator tool


 * Topic 1: Understanding your Assessments **

Fair Assessment is a process used by teachers and students before, during, and after instruction to provide feedback and adjust ongoing teaching and learning to improve student achievement. Following the brief definitions for the various types of assessment, please visit [] and read more.
 * Summative Assessment: seeks to make an overall judgment of progress made at the end of a defined period of instruction.
 * Formative Assessment: in Pennsylvania we are defining formative assessment as classroom based assessment that allows teachers to monitor and adjust their instructional practice in order to meet the individual needs of their students.
 * Diagnostic Assessments: the purpose of diagnostic assessment is to ascertain, prior to instruction, each student’s strengths, weaknesses, knowledge, and skills.
 * Benchmark Assessments: are designed to provide feedback to both the teacher and the student about how the student is progressing towards demonstrating proficiency on grade level standards.

What is the difference between summative and formative assessment?In the following video, we will explore what Dr. Gilbert Valdez has to say about the differences between summative and formative assessments. Please click here to view the video: []
 * Topic 2:Summative versus Formative **

Please read the followng documents to learn more about Formative and Summative Assessments and their uses: PaTTAN"s Teacher Desk Reference on Assessment:   PaTTAN's Teacher Desk Reference on Formative Assessment:

Formative and Summative Assessments in the Classroom:

Retrieved 26 May 2010 from []

Dylan Wiliams is an international leader and researcher in the field of education. In 2008, he presented at PDE's Governor's Institute. Dylan Wiliams lays the foundation as to what the most factors are in quality, effective teaching, including formative assessments. Dylan Wiliams cites numerous research regarding education and the impact of quality teaching on student learning. Watch Part 1 and Part 2 of his presentation at the Governor's Institute to learn what he has to say regarding effective instruction. When you are done watching the video, you will be expected to write a 3 page paper highlighting your understanding of the critical components of formative assessments, including what you gleaned from the presentation as to what teachers should embed in their lessons regarding formative assessments. Your paper should be double spaced, 1 inch margins, typed in Times Now Roman Font 12.

Part I of Dylan Wiliams: []

Part II of Dylan Wiliams video: []

We are going to explore the two types of summative assessments that are (will be) used in Pennsylvania, the PSSA and Keystone Exam.

__Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA)__ The annual Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) is a standards-based, criterion-referenced assessment used to measure a student's attainment of the academic standards while also determining the degree to which school programs enable students to attain proficiency of the standards. Every Pennsylvania student in grades 3 through 8 and grade 11 is assessed in reading and math. Every Pennsylvania student in grades 5, 8 and 11 is assessed in writing. Every Pennsylvania student in grades 4, 8 and 11 is assessed in science.

Individual student scores, provided only to their respective schools, can be used to assist teachers in identifying students who may be in need of additional educational opportunities, and school scores provide information to schools and districts for curriculum and instruction improvement discussions and planning. retrieved from []

To learn more about the details of the science portion of the PSSA, read pages 6 to 15 and 50 to 52 of the PSSA Assessment Handbook [|PSSA_Assessment_Handbook_2009-2010 (1).pdf]

__Keystone Exams__:

On January 8, 2010, following approvals by the state’s Independent Regulatory Review Commission and the Attorney General, the State Board of Education published changes to Chapter 4 that set stronger, more consistent high school graduation requirements for students, beginning with the class of 2015. Please visit [] to learn more about PDE’s current plan for keystone examinations. After you have read the //Keystone Fact Sheet,// please visit [|www.pdesas.org], click "Assessment," and select "Keystone Exams." In this area of you will find the anchors and eligible content that will b e used to guide the creation of the Keystone Examinations. The areas of science to be assessed by the Keystone Exams are Biology and Chemistry.

**Topic 3: Navigating the Fair Assessments tab in SAS**

In order to gain familiarity with the resources available within SAS, let's take some time to navigate the fair assessment tab in SAS and learn about its contents. In order to get acquainted, you can:

Watch the video to learn how to navigate the Fair Assessment tab: media type="custom" key="6359671"

**Topic 4: Building Standards Aligned Assessments ** Within this session of the SAS course you will have the opportunity to build a standards aligned assessment for your course.As you complete this section, you will be able to select a variety of assessment selections demonstrating the strategies that you have just investigated.The Assessment Creator allows you to create printable tests to help you gain a better understanding of your students’ mastery of PA concepts and Academic Standards. Once you create your assessment, you can view a teacher version with answers and a student version in addition to being able to save it to your ePortfolio.

Before we begin to build our assessment, please review what Dr. Gilbert Valdez has to say about building meaningful assessments. In this video, Gilbert Valdez, Ph.D. discusses the importance of building assessments based around big ideas. []

To create an assessment in SAS, you can: media type="custom" key="6360121"
 * Read [[image:http://www.wikispaces.com/i/mime/32/application/pdf.png width="32" height="32" link="http://sasmathcourse.wikispaces.com/file/view/Assessment+Builder.pdf"]] [|Assessment Builder.pdf]
 * Watch the video


 * Topic 4:Building Standards Aligned Assessments **

Within this session of the SAS course you will have the opportunity to build a standards aligned assessment for your course.As you complete this section, you will be able to select a variety of assessment selections demonstrating the strategies that you have just investigated.The Assessment Creator allows you to create printable tests to help you gain a better understanding of your students’ mastery of PA concepts and Academic Standards. Once you create your assessment, you can view a teacher version with answers and a student version in addition to being able to save it to your ePortfolio.

Go to: []

To practice using the assessment builder please work through the scenario contained in this document:[|SASIT January 4, 2009\Assessment Builder DEMO.pdf]

Assignment(s):
 * 1) Paper submission - 3 page paper highlighting your understanding of the critical components of formative assessments, including what you gleaned from the presentation as to what teachers should embed in their lessons regarding formative assessments. Your paper should be double spaced, 1 inch margins, typed in Times Now Roman Font 12.
 * 2) Now that you have learned how to create an assessment in SAS, create an assessment and upload it to your ePortfolio then to your website in the Unit Plan webpage. Identify which standards and/or assessment anchors your assessment addresses. **A note about the Final Project:** While you are not completing a portion of the Unit Plan Template this week, components of the Unit Plan include an end of Unit Assessment and types of formative assessments used. You may want to start compiling these assessments as you work through the course. Identifying and implementing other assessments will also be addressed in future learning modules.
 * 3) We will be participating in a synchronous chat session this week, scheduled for (date/time). Please be prepared to participate in the chat by being able to respond and reflect on the 5 questions above regarding the different assessments.

__Discussion:__

Respond to the following and post on the discussion board. You will be required to post your response and reply to at least 2 posts. You will write a 3 paragraph summary including the following information:
 * The first paragraph should include 2 things you knew about the PSSA and 2 things you learned about the PSSA after reading the PSSA Assessment Handbook.
 * The second paragraph should focus on the Keystone Exams. Explain how you think the implementation of the new Keystone Exams may impact the grade level you are teaching, if at all. Please be sure to elaborate on your reasoning.
 * In the 3rd paragraph, highlight which area you explored under the "References Materials" tab. Explain why you explored this area and what you found helpful in your investigation. Please elaborate as to what questions you may still have regarding this topic.


 * 5. Citations **

Educational Testing Service. (2003). //Linking classroom assessment with student// //learning.//Retrieved May 26, 2010 from, [].
 * References **

North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. (2010). //Gilbert Valdez: Learning and assessment.// Retrieved on May 30, 2010 from: []

North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. (2010). //Gilbert Valdez: Summative vs. formative assessment.// Retrieved on May 30, 2010 from: []