Pre-Assessment for Differentiation

In the Beginning....

Before introducing a new topic to students, it is important that teachers know what, if any, prior knowledge our students have. Finding out what students know can be done through a warm-up activity, a class discussion or in formal pre-assessment activity. Because of students' personalities and the fact that some students just like to talk more than others, a great way to pre-assess a class is through a game or quiz. The link below is one example of a very simple pre-assessment quiz that I created for a unit on farm animals for my kindergarten class.

Farm Animal Quiz 

The short quiz lets me know how familiar my students are with the types of animals that live on a farm. It gives me exact numbers of students who know a lot, a little or nothing at all. And, because the whole unit will focus on farm animals, it is good for me to know exactly what my students will need before we start the unit. 

The unit that this pre-assessment quiz leads into is a Project-Based unit. The standard this unit is based on is 

Literacy in Kindergarten: 

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.7: With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g. what moment in a story an illustration depicts). 

Since my Kindergartners will do a reading unit about nonfiction, I will base this project on farm animals. Beginning with the pre-assessment quiz, I will find out what they know so I can begin to help them build their knowledge in an appropriate way for each of them. Then, each student will work with a partner to choose an animal. They will research it through nonfiction books, online videos, games or internet resources that I will provide them with. We will also visit a local farm to see the animals in action. The students can prepare questions to ask the farmers. After finding information about their animals, each group will create a book about its life on the farm, including where it lives on the farm, what it eats, how it is taken care of, and how it helps the farm (cows give milk, chicken gives eggs). They will illustrate their books and write about their animal. The final product will be presented at the "book launch" event with parents and classmates.

With this project, students will apply what they have learned about the connection between illustrations and text to create their own book. Based on research about their farm animal, collaboration, critical thinking, and transposing the information into their book, they create their own final product in their own way.

The Next Step...

After the pre-assessment animal farm quiz, I have a good idea of what my students know. I can differentiate instruction to meet their needs. Let's say that I have three different groups of knowledge: 

• Group #1 has the most knowledge and they answered all the farm animal quiz questions correctly

• Group #2 could answer some questions correctly but not all 

• Group #3 could not answer any questions correctly

Based on these results, I then create my differentiation plan:

What's Next...

After the pre-assessment and the differentiation strategies to appropriately address each student's level, I would want to see how each group is doing. Part of the tracking progress assessment is seeing the work the students produced when they were working in their groups in the differentiation strategies mentioned above in the chart. Group #1 had a worksheet that they had to come up with two animals that lived on a farm, draw them and answer simple questions about them. Group #2 watched and listened to an online book about farm animals. Then, they chose a farm animal to draw and write one sentence about. Group #3 looked at books about farm animals, then watched a video about farm animals and the sounds they make. Afterwards, they were asked to draw one farm animal, write its name and the sound it makes. Depending on how well they complete these activities after having worked with their group, I will know what the next step will be--more differentiation strategies or working together as a whole class. This is all part of the tracking progress assessment. 

Even though I would be observing the groups during their activities, following these activities, I would want to bring the class together and see how they are doing. I would ask my students to come to the rug in front of the SmartBoard. I would ask them to think about the animals they saw with their groups. Then, I would ask them what animals live on a farm. I would also ask them any other information they could tell me about these animals. I would write what they say on the SmartBoard so the whole class could see everyone's answers. After this class discussion I would take note of what students understood about farm animals and which students needed more help for the next lesson. A lot of what we can assess about student progress can be done through observation, but the teacher has to know each student very well. 

For the next lesson on our animal farm project, I would begin with an activity to check what they remember from the previous lesson. I would hand out a worksheet with an outline of a farm. A second worksheet would have outlines of various animals--cow, horse, monkey, snake, elephant, chicken, sheep, etc. The students would cut and paste the appropriate animals on the farm. Based on this beginning of class assessment, I can track their progress.

 

In the End....

Well, there really is no end here. As teachers, we are constantly observing our students and helping them reach their personal learning goals along with common core standard learning goals. From one day to another, students can shift between learning groups and levels depending on the content. Teachers should be flexible and always aware that student ability and knowledge changes. And, to be the best teachers we can be for our students, our techniques and methods should change, too.

High Stakes Assessments

Overview: What is High Stakes Assessment?

High stakes assessments refer to any test used to make important decisions about students, teachers, administration, schools and/or school districts. The main goal is to find accountability and to provide effective teaching for successful students. The scores from high stakes tests can be used to determine sanctions and penalties for schools or school districts, awards for schools, grade advancement for students, or compensation in salary or bonuses for teachers and/or administration. For better or for worse, high states assessments have been part of a student's education in the United States. Typically, and with the program of No Child Left Behind signed into law in January 2002, students have been required to take standardized tests in each grade level. However, with the Every Student Succeeds Act passed in December 2015, the testing system has been reconfigured to test from 3rd through 8th grade and once more in high school. The ESSA aims to provide more equity for students and less punitive repercussions for teachers and schools. Overall, the purpose of these standardized "high stakes" tests is to

• monitor student learning over time.
• inform professionals and the public on some of the strengths and weaknesses of the public school system.
• assist the department of education, school districts, and schools in decisions related to the development, review, modification, revision, and implementation of existing curricula and supporting instructional resource materials.
• assist the in decisions concerning allocation of resources.
• identify areas of need and provide directions for change in both pre-service and in-service teacher education.
• provide directions for educational research.
• provide states, school districts, and schools with information that can be used to maintain strengths and overcome weaknesses. (https://bctf.ca/publications/NewsmagArticle.aspx?id=11406)

While all these reasons listed above appear to be noble reasons for administering high stakes assessments and there are arguments in favor of high stakes assessments, such as establishing a standard for all students, providing information about student and school performance and creating high expectations, there is a downside to these types of tests. Opponents of high stakes testing argue that

• It foorces teachers to teach to the test
• Is a narrow view of education because it only focuses on certain subjects
• Is not equitable and does not provide differentiation for all learners
• Puts too much pressure on students and teachers to perform well
• May increase failure rates

As we see in the video above, the two teachers in Georgia are faced with the challenge of "teaching to the test" from the first day of school. We also see that there is no inclusion for those students who have learning differences.

High Stakes Testing: How does it affect me as a teacher?

Beginning in September, I will be an elementary school teacher in a different type of school in France. I will be teaching across three primary grade levels in an American section of a French international public school. It is an interesting balance between cultures. Students in the American section attend classes in English, mainly language arts but also a bit of science, history and geography, 6 hours a week and spend the rest of their school week in French public school classes. Due to the special nature of the American section, and while it is accredited, they do not administer the standardized, high stakes assessments that schools in the United States do. Therefore, I will not be under the pressure to "teach to the test" or worry about funding given or taken away or stress on my students due to high stakes assessment. 

There is, however, a tradition of high stakes testing in French education. In middle school, before entering high school, students take the Brévet. And, to graduate from high school, students must pass the Baccalauréat. These tests have been around since their implementation by Napoléon who created a national, centralized education system in France. The Baccalauréat is the most stressful test for French students as it determines whether they graduate or not and what university they can get into. These tests also reflect on the school, but more in terms of their reputation than in funding. A student's success (or failure) on the test is primarily up to the student. The Baccalauréat is not a standardized test. It is comprised of a week-long series of oral and written tests from philosophy to language to literature to science and math, depending on how the student has been tracked academically. Tracking generally begins around the end of middle school or beginning of high school and students decide whether they want to concentrate on a literature-based or math/science-based curriculum.

The Baccalauréat exam, while a high stakes test because it determines high school students' futures, has a mixed reputation in France. It was once highly regarded and respected but nowadays seems to be more of a "rite of passage."  As an article in The New York Times by Scott Sayare reported:

Outside the Lycée Condorcet in Paris last week, Justine Ripoll said that the test she 

was about to take served little practical purpose, but she defended it just the same.

“It’s more a rite of passage than an exam,” said Ms. Ripoll, 18, dragging lightly on a 

morning cigarette. “That’s why it would be a shame to get rid of it. Everybody’s been 

through it. It’s traumatized everybody.”

To be known as a having "traumatized everybody" gives a clear indication of how French people view the exam.

Since I will not be teaching upper school students, I won't be directly affected, as a teacher, by the French exams--Brévet and Baccalauréat. And, because the American section does not administer American standardized tests, I think I am lucky to not have to worry about high stakes assessments. After having read various articles and watched videos, like the one above, it is clear that high stakes assessments have a large impact on students, teachers and schools. Personally, I think it is difficult (impossible) to look at one child's test result and determine 1) that child's academic future and 2) the effectiveness of the teacher. I feel it is much more constructive to look at the test result along with the child's progress throughout the year (or at least across a few months), their social and emotional benchmarks and their progress in all subjects, not just the two or three tested on the standardized assessment.

Consequences

In my research on this topic for my assignment, I found that most of the articles written on high stakes assessments were not in favor of them. It seems like the majority of opinions feel that these types of tests to not fully reflect student learning. I think it is a difficult situation because there seems to be a need to find a standard and to globally track student progress, but administering a standardized, high stakes test does not seem to be the most effective method. Overall, the two biggest concerns related to high stakes assessments that I found were 1) teaching to the test, which took away from parts of curriculum, and 2) the tests not improving education for all students. 

The first concern of teaching to the test, we saw illustrated in the video above with the two teachers in Georgia teaching to the test the first day of school. Additionally, in a study done in Australia among 8,000 teachers, the results showed that because of high stakes assessments, there has been a reduction in time spend on other curriculum areas and more time spent on curriculum related to tests. The study confirmed that this ultimately narrowed the overall education of each student.  These findings are unfortunate when we think about the kind of students we want to encourage. Are we teaching students to think in a standardized way rather than fully preparing them with 21st Century skills in real-world experiences?

The second concern, revolving around not improving education for all students, is really the idea that the tests have seemed to punish those schools, students or teachers who have not performed well instead of using the tests to help those who need help the most. As the 2015 article High-Stakes Testing Hasn't Brought Education Gains points out

The only thing that more testing will tell us is what we already know: The schools that disadvantaged children attend are not being given the supports necessary to produce achievement gains. Students cannot be tested out of poverty, and while NCLB did take us a step forward by requiring schools to produce evidence that students were learning, it took us several steps backward when that evidence was reduced to how well a student performed on a standardized test.

The authors of this article point out that it's not necessarily the test that is bad, but how the test results are used.

The Future

What will the future of high stakes assessments be? In France, there is no move to change or remove the Baccalauréat from the educational system. So, French children will go through the same "trauma" their parents and grandparents experienced. The rite of passage will continue.

In the United States, we will have to wait and see how the Every Student Succeeds Act impacts students, teachers and schools. Perhaps the greatest gift we can give to our students with regard to high stakes assessments is to take away the the power it holds over them. We can look at the results, but also look at the student as a whole. Schools are not factories that are intended to produce the same make and model, so if our testing does not reflect the differences among our students, then the way we assess them overall should. 

Sources

Dianis, J. B., Jackson, J. H., & Noguera, P. (2015). High-Stakes Testing Hasn't Brought Education Gains. Phi Delta Kappan, 97(1), 35-37.

N.A. (2014). High-Stakes Test. The glossary of education reform. Retrieved from http://edglossary.org/high-stakes-testing/

Polesel, J., Rice, S., & Dulfer, N. (2014). The Impact of High-Stakes Testing on Curriculum and Pedagogy: A     Teacher Perspective from Australia. Journal Of Education Policy, 29(5), 640-657.

Sayare, S. (2013). Rite of Passage for French Students Receives Poor Grade. The New York Times. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/28/world/europe/a-rite-of-passage-for-french-students-receives-a-poor-grade.html?_r=0

Shindell, R. (2001). What is the Real Purpose of Standardized Testing? Teacher Newsmagazine. 14(1).  Retrieved from: https://bctf.ca/publications/NewsmagArticle.aspx?id=11406

Supovitz, J. (2016). Is High Stakes Testing Working? Excerpt from: Can High Stakes Testing Leverage   Educational Improvement? Prospects from the Last Decade of Testing and Accountability Reform. The Journal of Educational Change, 10(2-3).

von der Embse, N. P., & Witmer, S. E. (2014). High-Stakes Accountability: Student Anxiety and Large-Scale Testing. Journal Of Applied School Psychology, 30(2), 132-156.

Sources for Images

http://neatoday.org/2014/06/17/the-high-stakes-testing-culture-how-we-got-here-how-we-get-out/

https://seattleducation2010.wordpress.com/2012/11/07/high-stakes-testing-and-what-that-means-in-seattle/

https://www.maetoday.org/index.php/issues/high-stakes-testing.html