Facilitators: Linda Hanson and Linda Walker
Recorder: Amy Shultz
Solutions & Actions - download in print-friendly format
Based on what is happening currently in the area of writing assessment data...
- What should we be doing?
- Who should be doing this?
- How should this be accomplished?
Discussion notes
Significant Issues From Morning Discussions
- Quantitative data (ISTEP) measures a small component of what we want students to learn.
- Teacher collaboration / professionalism in being reflective practitioners is at heart of using data.
- Important that pre-service & practicing teachers collect, analyze and use data to inform writing instruction.
Transcript
- What should we be doing?
- Is this where we try to deemphasize ISTEP?
- What do we know about development of ISTEP?
- Can we as educators help shape it?
- ISTEP will not go away because the state has to have a measure.
- The writing aspect to ISTEP came when the portfolio got killed in the legislature.
- I want to know about the assessment of ISTEP. ISTEP is done “to” my students. The only thing I ever see is a number for each student. I want to know strengths and weaknesses for each student. I want the raw data to work with.
- You can have kid’s essays rescored.
- You can request to get more data. You can get what questions they get right/wrong
- I want questions tagged comprehension, etc.
- Teachers need access to the data from testing. Specific data. Only if we as teachers can get a hold of the data, can we use it to inform instruction.
- We want it in easy access electronic form.
- All of these questions and writing prompts go through a teacher review process. Several sessions attended, poor prompts are chosen.
- Kentucky is using portfolio assessment. They send in 5 or 10 % to be scored at the state level.
- How do we train teachers to then use data?
- What teacher’s need is
- Improve the information we get.
- We want the kid’s writing in electronic form.
- We want the bubble part broken down into skill subsets.
- We want the same sort of data from Core 40.
- Criterion is based on SAT/GRE.
- Teachers should have more input as far as choosing prompts and having access to data.
- Indiana is too dependent on the ISTEP numbers.
- ISTEP measures conventions. Measures first draft efforts.
- What is writing? Content revision. Writing is thinking and making meaning. Quantitative measure from ISTEP is only of small value.
- Train teachers on an incremental model (6 +1) Use that assessment to improve instruction. Then pull data out of that.
- It would be smart to start with what’s out there already
- How can we turn our own data into data that will change policy?
- We need to use an analytical model throughout the state.
- Breaking down into benchmarks and looking at kids individually.
- We don’t need to compare districts.
- We need to see individual student growth.
- Develop tools for teachers to inform instruction.
- Looking at crafts, using genres, effective verbs, etc.
- Keeping track of these over several different writing samples.
- Goes back to professional development. Teachers need to know what to look at and have an efficient system to deal with assessment.
- Put a numeric value to benchmarks to get data.
- Use Power Standards for each grade level. We need some consistency at each grade level.
- Professional development!
- Could we start with 6 Traits since it’s already out there? The rubric shows student growth over time.
- Gather analytic data. Becoming reflective practitioners. We want to become efficient.
- We need to know more about the writing craft.
- Improve public understanding of writing assessment they do not understand writing as critical thinking
- Need to get to legislators
- How do you decide what data is disseminated? Sales pitch
- Professional Data must be supported in order gather and analyze data.
- Has to come through Writing Project.
- Say to legislature. ISTEP does not give classroom teachers what they need. What we need is to be able to have teachers collecting the data they use to inform instruction and bring that data forward to the public.
- Portfolios and student self-assessment.
- Two pronged effort to get more information is dependant upon teachers as reflective practitioners
- Funding from public law 221 for professional development.
- Rethinking the way funding is used as a carrot for ISTEP.
- Teachers as professionals – receive ISTEP data and create their own.
- Teachers need choice and ownership of what classroom data is important.
- Who has access to and knowledge about using ISTEP Data?
- Who has opportunities and funding to become proficient at collecting, analyzing, and using data to inform writing instruction?
- Data driven instruction and teacher quality
SOLUTIONS AND ACTIONS - PRESENTED
- Two pronged approach dependent upon teachers as reflective practitioners:
- More access to and knowledge about ISTEP+ data
- Opportunities and funding to become proficient at collecting, analyzing and using additional data on writing (Professional Development)
- Both prongs that lead toward “Data-driven instruction that improves student achievement & teacher quality”
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