A New Vision of Excellence in Assessment

Summary

Rick's Diggins explores the pivotal role of assessment in American education, emphasizing its potential to foster students' dreams. He argues that effective, instructionally relevant assessment systems must align with evolving school missions, focusing on narrowing achievement gaps and promoting lifelong learning. Diggins advocates for a balanced approach, integrating local assessment with interim benchmarks and high-quality classroom practices to enhance student learning. He also highlights the importance of involving students in the assessment process to encourage a productive emotional response, ultimately cultivating a culture of confidence and continuous improvement.

Takeaways

• 📚 Assessment can help students realize their dreams if certain conditions are met, emphasizing the importance of aligning assessment with the school's mission.
• 🏫 The role of assessment in American education is evolving, with a new focus on producing lifelong learners and reducing achievement gaps.
• 🔍 There is a need for a new vision of excellence in assessment, which includes balancing different types of assessments to meet various information needs.
• 📉 The traditional mission of schools was to weed out the unwilling or unable and rank students by achievement, but this approach is shifting towards inclusivity and proficiency for all.
• 🌟 The societal expectation is now for schools to deliver lifelong learners capable of adapting to a rapidly evolving society, which is a significant change from past missions.
• 📝 The importance of classroom-level assessment cannot be overstated, as it is foundational for a balanced assessment system and directly impacts student learning.
• 🔑 High-quality assessments are crucial for gathering dependable information about student achievement, which in turn informs better instructional decisions.
• 🔄 A balanced assessment system should include annual standardized tests, interim benchmark assessments, and high-quality classroom assessments.
• 🤝 Student involvement in the assessment process is essential for promoting a sense of control over their academic well-being and enhancing learning.
• 💡 The emotional response of students to assessment results is critical, as it influences their motivation and subsequent learning behaviors.
• 🛠️ The principles of assessment for learning can create a culture of confidence, helping students understand their learning goals, progress, and how to achieve mastery.

Q & A

What is the central question addressed in the script?

The central question addressed in the script is whether assessment can help students realize their dreams.

What are the essential conditions for assessment to help students realize their dreams?

The essential conditions include aligning assessment processes with the school's mission, balancing local assessment systems, and focusing on the local classroom and district level.

How has the mission of schools in America evolved?

The mission of schools in America has evolved to serve new purposes, focusing on narrowing achievement gaps, reducing dropout rates, and preparing all students for college and workplace training.

What is the new vision of excellence and assessment in American education?

The new vision of excellence and assessment involves balancing assessment systems at the local level to meet the information needs of all assessment users, using quality assessments to deliver dependable information about student achievement, and involving students in the assessment process.

Why is it important to balance assessment systems?

Balancing assessment systems is important to meet the information needs of all users, support student learning, and ensure that assessments are used effectively for both formative and summative purposes.

What is the role of classroom assessment in a balanced system?

Classroom assessment is the foundation of a balanced system. It enhances student learning by providing critical, data-based instructional decision making at the classroom level.

What are the keys to assessment quality according to the script?

The keys to assessment quality include having a clear purpose, effective assessment design, clear targets, effective communication, and involving students in the assessment process.

How can assessment be used to promote productive emotional dynamics within learners?

Assessment can promote productive emotional dynamics by helping students understand their achievement status, encouraging them to make productive decisions about their learning, and fostering a sense of control over their academic well-being.

What is the significance of involving students in the assessment process?

Involving students in the assessment process is significant as it allows them to become active participants in their learning, understand their progress, and make informed decisions about their academic growth.

How can assessment be used to help students make productive decisions about their learning?

Assessment can help students make productive decisions by providing clear learning targets, regular feedback, and opportunities for self-reflection, enabling them to understand where they are going, where they are now, and how to close the gap.

Outlines

00:00

📚 The Role of Assessment in Achieving Educational Dreams

Rick's Diggins discusses the potential of assessment in helping students achieve their dreams within the American education system. He emphasizes that while assessment can indeed be beneficial, it requires certain conditions to be met for it to be effective. Diggins calls for alignment with a new school mission that focuses on local assessment systems and the evolution of schools to meet societal demands. He highlights the shift in the mission of schools from ranking students to producing lifelong learners capable of adapting to a rapidly changing society. The script also addresses the need for a new vision of excellence in assessment and the importance of narrowing achievement gaps and reducing dropout rates.

05:01

🔍 Balancing Assessment Systems for Student Success

This paragraph delves into the concept of a new vision for assessment excellence, advocating for a balanced approach that caters to the information needs of all assessment users, not just the influential ones. It stresses the importance of quality assessments providing dependable information about student achievement. The paragraph also touches on the emotional dynamics of the assessment experience from the learner's perspective, suggesting that balanced assessments can support student learning when integrated effectively into the educational process. The discussion points out that annual standardized tests alone are insufficient and that a combination of various assessment types is necessary for improving schools and student learning.

10:02

📝 Keys to High-Quality Classroom Assessments

The focus of this paragraph is on the quality of classroom assessments and the framework for ensuring their effectiveness. It outlines a five-part quality control framework that includes having a clear purpose, designing assessments that fit the context, selecting appropriate assessment methods, ensuring a representative sample of questions, and creating quality test items. The paragraph also discusses the importance of understanding potential sources of bias and how to prevent them to gather accurate information. Furthermore, it highlights the need for effective communication of assessment results and the involvement of students in the assessment process to promote a sense of control over their academic well-being.

15:03

🤔 The Emotional Dynamics of Assessment

This section explores the emotional responses of students to assessment results and how these responses can significantly impact their learning. It argues that students' interpretations and decisions based on assessment outcomes are crucial, as they can lead to either productive or counterproductive learning behaviors. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of helping students make productive decisions that foster continued effort and learning, even when faced with challenging assessment results. It suggests that the traditional view of assessment as something done to students needs to shift towards an understanding that students are also active participants in the assessment process.

20:05

🛠️ Principles of Assessment for Learning and Confidence

The final paragraph introduces the principles of assessment for learning, which are designed to create a culture of confidence among students. It discusses the importance of providing clear learning targets, regular feedback, and opportunities for self-assessment and reflection. The goal is to empower students to understand their learning journey, recognize their current status, and take steps to bridge any gaps in their knowledge or skills. The paragraph concludes with the assertion that these principles can help students develop a sense of confidence in their abilities to learn and improve, which is essential for narrowing achievement gaps and enhancing overall educational outcomes.

Keywords

💡Assessment

Assessment in the context of the video refers to the process of gathering information about student learning. It is central to the theme of the video, as it discusses how assessment can help students achieve their educational goals. The script emphasizes the importance of aligning assessment with the mission of schools and using it to inform instructional decisions. For example, the speaker mentions that 'assessment can only help students realize their dreams if certain essential conditions are satisfied'.

💡Educational Mission

The educational mission is the overarching purpose or goal that schools aim to achieve. In the video, the speaker discusses the evolution of this mission, highlighting the need for schools to adapt to societal changes. The mission is tied to the role of assessment, as it should guide the development of assessment systems that support the school's goals. An example from the script is the mention of the governor of Oregon's mission to achieve universal high school graduation by 2025.

💡Lifelong Learners

Lifelong learners are individuals who continue to learn and grow throughout their lives. The video emphasizes the importance of schools producing students who are capable of being lifelong learners, adapting to a rapidly evolving society. This concept is central to the new vision of excellence in American education discussed in the video. The speaker states that 'society is saying that we need to produce lifelong learners', indicating the shift in educational priorities.

💡Dropout Rates

Dropout rates refer to the percentage of students who leave school before completing their education. The video discusses the societal goal of reducing dropout rates, which is part of the broader mission of schools to ensure all students are prepared for college and the workforce. The speaker mentions that 'we want to reduce dropout rates', highlighting this as a key directive issued to schools by society.

💡Formative Assessment

Formative assessment is a type of assessment used to provide feedback and support learning during the learning process. The video discusses the importance of formative assessment in helping students learn more and making instructional decisions. The speaker emphasizes that 'assessment for learning' is a key aspect of a balanced assessment system, where the process and results of assessment are used to help students understand how to improve.

💡Summative Assessment

Summative assessment is used to evaluate student learning at the end of a learning period, often to certify or verify what has been learned. The video contrasts this with formative assessment, highlighting that both are necessary for a balanced assessment system. The speaker mentions that summative assessments like grades and standardized tests are used to 'verify learning', indicating their role in measuring student achievement.

💡Assessment Literacy

Assessment literacy refers to the understanding and mastery of principles related to good assessment practices. The video discusses the importance of educators being assessment literate, which involves being able to gather dependable information about student achievement and use assessments effectively. The speaker states that an 'assessment literate educator' can design assessments that meet quality standards and use them to support or verify student learning.

💡Quality Control Framework

The quality control framework mentioned in the video is a set of principles designed to ensure that classroom assessments are of high quality. The speaker outlines a five-part framework that includes clear purposes, effective assessment design, clear targets, effective communication, and student involvement in the assessment process. This framework is crucial for gathering dependable information and using it effectively to support learning.

💡Emotional Dynamics

Emotional dynamics refer to the emotional responses and feelings that students have towards assessment results. The video discusses the importance of these dynamics in determining how students react to assessment outcomes and whether they continue to engage with the learning process. The speaker emphasizes that students' emotional responses to assessment can influence their motivation and willingness to learn, stating that 'students respond productively because the students' emotional response to assessment results in any context will determine what that student does about those results'.

💡Assessment for Learning

Assessment for learning is a principle that involves using assessment practices to support and enhance student learning. The video discusses how this approach can help students understand their learning goals, track their progress, and make informed decisions about their learning. The speaker mentions that 'assessment for learning' involves creating a culture of confidence where students are engaged in the assessment process and understand how to use assessment results to improve their learning.

Highlights

Assessment can help students realize their dreams if certain essential conditions are met.

The focus of improving assessment should be at the local level, aligning with the school's mission.

The mission of schools in America is evolving, necessitating a new vision of excellence in assessment.

Society's directives to schools include narrowing achievement gaps, reducing dropout rates, and achieving universal high school graduation.

The new mission of schools is to produce lifelong learners capable of adapting to a rapidly evolving society.

Traditional school missions focused on weeding out dropouts and ranking students, which is shifting towards a more inclusive approach.

Assessment systems need to be rethought to support the development of lifelong learning proficiencies in all students.

Annual standardized tests alone are insufficient; a balanced assessment system is necessary for improving schools.

Assessment should be used to influence decisions at the classroom level, interim benchmark level, and annually.

Balanced assessment systems support student learning by providing dependable information about student achievement.

Classroom assessment is the foundation of a balanced system and is critical for enhancing student learning.

The quality of evidence gathered through assessments is crucial for effective instructional decision-making.

Assessment literate educators are skilled in gathering dependable information and using assessments to serve their intended purpose.

A five-part quality control framework for classroom assessments includes clear purpose, effective design, clear targets, effective communication, and student involvement.

Students' emotional response to assessment results is critical and can influence their motivation and learning outcomes.

Assessment for learning involves creating a culture of confidence where students understand their learning goals and progress.

Students should be involved in the assessment process to monitor, track, and manage their own learning.

Principles of assessment for learning help students answer critical questions about their learning, such as where they are going, where they are now, and how to close the gap.

Transcripts

[Music]

[Music]

hi everybody

Rick's Diggins here and I want to

address a central question that I think

is important in the in the realm of

assessment in American education and

that is this question can assessment

help our students realize their dreams

and I want to answer the question in a

wide variety of very important ways the

resounding answer is yes it definitely

can

but assessment can only help students

realize their dreams if certain

essential conditions are satisfied let's

go first then to the first key to

helpful productive instructionally

relevant assessment processes they need

to align as I said with a new school

mission which means we need to balance

our local assessment systems in all of

my work the focus of attention in

improving assessment is at the local

level while assessment may evidence may

come to us from a variety of sources

outside the local district all of the

instructional decisions are made locally

and so I want to focus on what needs to

happen at the local classroom building

district level with regard to building

assessment systems that fulfill the

mission let's talk about the evolution

of the mission of schools in America as

our society has continued to evolve so

must its schools to serve new purposes

and so must the role of assessment in

those evolving schools and so I'm second

tending in this presentation that we

need a new vision of excellence and

assessment in American education and I

want to describe for you

some of the details of that new mission

Society has issued to its schools new

directives we see this in the media all

the time we want to narrow what sive

mutsu or gaps well we want to reduce

dropout rates we're looking for

universal high school graduation in the

state of Oregon my home state the

governor is des des has decreed that we

should achieve universal high school

graduation by the year 2025 it's a big

mission statement on the part of school

we want all students and again we hear

this constantly and then in the news all

students ready for college and workplace

training in other words what society is

saying is that we need to produce

lifelong learners students who are

masters the proficiencies that will

allow them to continue to grow with a

rapidly evolving society and and it is

so critically important the social

commentators are saying that is that our

economic and social prosperity depends

on the ability of schools to deliver

lifelong learners well I want to

translate that into what I'm seeing as a

fundamental change in the mission of

this social institution called schools

those were not the missions that most of

us saw in the schools that we grew up in

as a matter of fact I submit to you that

for most adults today the schools that

we graduated from if we graduated had

this mission that is to weed out the

unwilling or unable we call them

dropouts about 25% very stable 25% over

the decades dropout prior to graduation

from high school and then the second

part of the mission has been to rank the

remaining students based on achievement

from the highest achiever to the lowest

achiever and if society saw a

valedictorian and a salutatory and

everybody had a rank in class they were

not approvingly and say yep does the

institution work just as it was supposed

to it was supposed to begin to sort us

into the various segments of our social

and economic system but here's the

problem that has evolved with that with

the rapid evolution of our society and

that is those dropouts and those who

finish low in the rank order fail to

develop what we now define is essential

lifelong learning proficiencies and it's

for this reason then that we hear about

this new mission where all students not

just those at the top of the rank order

become proficient readers writers math

problem solvers and and prepared to live

productively in the digital age I submit

to you that is a fundamental change in

the social institution of the school now

as a result of this we need to rethink

some really important things about this

achievement score gap between those who

meet and don't meet our standards and

and society is saying all students must

meet those standards and and and and the

point I want you to understand is that

in for most of us in the world that we

grew up in assessments purpose wasn't to

narrow the chanter the stand narrow the

gap it was to exacerbate the gap or at

least stabilize it that's what a

dependable ranked order at the end of

high school does that having been said

however I will argue and my presentation

that assessment can become our most

powerful gap narrow but in order to do

that certain conditions need to be

satisfied and that's what we're going to

talk about here's how we can do this the

new vision of excellence and assessment

that I want to to advance is one in

which we balance the assessment systems

at the local level to meet the

information needs of all assessment

users not just the big and powerful ones

this new vision of excellence and

assessment relies completely throughout

the system and I'll describe the system

in just a minute

relies on quality assessments to deliver

dependable information about student

achievement and finally there is this

matter that I think is most unique to

this presentation that I want to talk

about the emotional dynamics of the

assessment experience from the learners

point of view and we're going to do that

in some detail so balanced assessment

with quality assessments helping

students feel a sense of control over

their own academic well-being with

regard to this matter of balance we've

been operating our assessment systems in

the United States for at least 70 years

on the assumption that if we just to

conduct the right the right standardized

tests at the right point in the year and

deliver the results to the right people

schools will evolve in productive ways

there's compelling evidence that that

we've believed that annual standardized

tests yield good schools we've been

doing it for 70 years district-wide

statewide

a national assessment international

assessment I have on good authority that

we've already shipped a scanner up to

the space station so we'll be ready for

interplanetary assessment someone's site

for me please the scholarly reference

that I can go to to learn that that's

been a quality investment in terms of

improving student learning what is the

effect size attributable to these annual

tests attributable to effect size and

standard deviation units have improved

student learning due to this

multi-decade billions of dollar

investment in this belief now it's not

that I'm opposed to annual standardized

testing but but but what we now

understand based on 20 years of good

solid research is that annual

assessments balanced with interim

benchmark assessments balanced with

high-quality classroom assessment now

we're talking turkey in terms of

improving schools the reason is that

critically important data based

instructional decision making decisions

are made at all these levels and if

assessment is the process of gathering

information to inform instructional

decisions and I submit to you that in

any context unless we begin with answers

to these three questions what decisions

who's making it them and what

information do they need we don't have

hope of making good decisions or using

assessment productively in that context

now it turns out that the context of use

of assessments is critical what I mean

by this is that is that we we use

assessments per to influence to

influence decisions at the classroom

level this is important at the classroom

level at the interim benchmark level and

annually those contexts bring with them

different users with different questions

and different information needs we build

balanced assessment systems when we

honor the information needs of all of

those users in addition balanced

assessment systems support student

learning we call this in our parlance

assessment for learning and the question

here is how can we use the assessment

process and its results to help students

learn more that as balanced with the use

of assessment on the summative side

which is to certify or valve

verify learning we call those

assessments of learning where we ask how

much of our students learned up to this

point in time different purposes

different ways of using assessment

formative and summative the mistaken

belief has been that annual annual tests

are sufficient they're not balanced

assessment is sufficient to inform key

decisions and the point I want to make

is that the classroom level of

assessment is the one level of those

three that has been documented in

research to enhance student learning and

so I argue that that that if we can put

all three pieces in place with a

classroom level of assessment is the

foundation of a balanced system then

then we're doing the right thing here

let me say that to you in a different

way and I'm going to read this to you as

it appears if classroom assessment isn't

working productively day to day in the

classroom during the learning that is if

bad decisions are being made day to day

during the learning based on inaccurate

information coming from inept classroom

assessments do you understand that the

other levels of assessment can't

overcome the dire consequences for the

learner the damage has already been done

and you don't fix that every few weeks

once a semester or once a year classroom

assessment is the balance and when we

manage the classroom level of assessment

productively achievement score gains

abound

one key to productive assessment that is

assessment that really supports student

learning when that's the purpose or

verifies or certifies it when that's the

purpose is the quality of the evidence

the information about student

achievement that we gather in this case

what we need to be doing is is using

high quality assessments to gather

dependable information and what I want

to describe for you are some keys to

assessment quality that we think are

important and the question I like to

have you playing around with in your

mind is do your assessments meet these

standards of quality classroom

assessment now in order to to to to set

the stage for that there are two things

that we think defined an assessment

literate educator that is someone who's

a master of the principles of good

assessment first of all they're able to

gather dependable information about

student achievement accurate assessment

we're going to talk about specifics of

that and then they're able to use the

assessment process and its results to to

to to to serve the intended purpose so

it's both the attributes of the

assessment and and attributes of the way

in which it's used now I want to talk

about the former in this case let's talk

about to begin with let's talk about how

to gather good information with quality

assessments we've developed a five-part

quality control framework for classroom

assessments and have built our

professional development programs around

this this this definition of quality

assessment note that there are the two

big keys accuracy on the left side

effective use on the right side and and

and and and under the heading of

accurate assessment we've got to have a

clear purpose and then at the bottom

clear target and those two define the

context of the assessment once we have

those clarified then we can design an

assessment to fit into that context so

let's talk then about this matter of

clear purpose and all we're talking

about here is that we need to be clear

about who is going to use the results of

this assessment and how they're going to

use them because what we need to do then

is to build the assessment to meet the

information needs of that intended user

so we need to be clear about the

question why are we assessing in

addition as a starting place we've got

to start with a

clear answer to the question what is it

by way of student achievement that needs

to be reflected in the assessment in

this case our learning targets need to

be clear to us clearly articulated we

can't dependably assess learning targets

we've not clearly completely and

appropriately defined we also believe

they need to be clear to our students in

some terms that they understand we need

to think about the kind of learning

target that's involved that is there are

different kinds of achievement that we

care about

sometimes we want our students to master

content knowledge sometimes we want them

to master master reasoning proficiencies

sometimes performance skills it turns

out that different learning targets

require assessments of different native

the different Nate different that are

different in nature and so unless we

start with a clear sense of what kind of

learner we're going for selecting a

proper assessment method is is difficult

at best and in addition we need to make

sure obviously that our whatever

assignments we give students or whatever

assessments we develop and use for those

students align with the targets that's

the whole point so once we have the

purpose then and the target defined now

we're ready to create an assessment to

fit into that context and so design is

at hand now in order to design a

high-quality assessment we need to

select an assessment method capable of

reflecting the learning target it turns

out different assessment methods work

differentially well with different kinds

of learning the array of assessment

methods that we have at our disposal is

limited these are the choices there are

no more selected response written

response or essay mode of assessment

performance assessment or direct

personal interaction with with our

students we need to align those we need

to know when to use each of these and

then we know how to need to know how to

use them well and that's what comes up

next so we need to to have an

appropriate sample that is you know any

test is a sample of all the questions

you could have asked but didn't have

time for and so what we do is we ask a

representative sample of those questions

and from the students performance on

those then we draw an inference to their

mastery of the domain that that's a writ

that it's representative of and that

sampling process turns out to be really

really critical and it turns out each

assessment method carries with it

a set of rules of evidence for how to

sample appropriately if we know what

those rules of evidence are and we

adhere to them no problem if we don't

know what they are there's going to be a

problem or don't adhere to them in

addition we need to know how to create

quality test items or assessment

exercises and scoring schemes and it

turns out also that in each context

there's a list of things that can go

wrong that don't have anything to do

with the test itself but that can

distort the results the problems that

come up within that within the learner

distractions in the environment sources

of bias that can creep in to distort the

results now if we know what those

potential sources of bias are in each

context and we know what to do to

prevent them we can gather good

information if we don't know what the

sources are or we don't know how to

prevent them then there's going to be

trouble and all of this is about

becoming an assessment literate educator

that is understanding these things how

to create good quality assessments so we

can design our assessment and administer

it and it will produce results for us

the next key to quality then is on the

effective use side we need to

communicate those results effectively

you know the most dependable assessment

in the world whose results are

miscommunicated or badly communicated is

wasted so effective communication is the

key next step now it turns out that that

we can that the keys to effective

communication again differ profoundly as

a result of the context when we're

communicating in a formative assessment

context where the purpose is to promote

student learning then we need to use to

communicate results in a way in the form

of effective feedback that helps the

student understand how to do better the

next time in addition we can teach

students to communicate the keys to

communicating about the changes in their

own overtime or their achievement status

at a point in time that is we can open

the communication process up and bring

students in during their learning giving

them a productive ways to share

information about their own learning

this on the formative side on the

summative side where we're talking about

grades and grading or standardized tests

we need to make sure that our

assessments track a student as track

student achievement by learning

target so we can summarize that over

time and coalesce it into a particular

grade grades need to communicate

achievement and only achievement and

obviously standardized test scores need

to commend you need to be used

effectively what we understand how to

communicate effectively on the summative

side to notice that both ways of

communicating or keys to effective

communication are different both are

important but they're different an

assessment literate educator understands

the differences between the two and can

meet standards in both context so there

you have our five-part quality control

framework we got to always have clear

purposes we got to have we've always got

to have effective assessment design

clear targets effective communication

and now I want to add in the fifth

ingredient which I'll speak of briefly

and then amplify later on and that is

that we need to involve students in the

assessment process during the learning

to when it's appropriate to do so that

reality is reflected in each of the

other keys to quality we need to

understand that students are important

instructional decision makers too so we

can inform them for purposes of their

decision-making we need to make sure

we're using student friendly learning

targets we can engage our students for

example in the design and use of

practice assessments like those that

they're going to be held accountable for

at some point down the road and derive

important learning benefits from doing

so we can teach them how to communicate

about their own learning

the point is students can be deeply

involved in monitoring tracking and

managing their own learning over time in

the classroom day to day during the

learning all keys to quality there's a

key to productive assessment that is

classroom assessment that supports or

verify student learning that we don't

often think about that I think is really

really critical in this case what I want

to talk about is use of the assessment

process to promote productive emotional

dynamics within the learner assessment

triggering productive dynamics within

the learner in this case I want to

establish that we've said

in all of our work that we need to

assess student achievement accurately

and we need to use the assessment

results productively to to promote

student learning or to verify it when

the purpose is to promote student

learning there's a dynamic that we need

to pay attention to and that is a little

bit unusual given our traditions or our

habits of mind and thinking about

assessment you know we've been operating

for decades on the principle that that

assessment is something adults do to

students and and the different

perspective that I want to bring is that

students assess their own achievement -

and make critically important data based

instructional decisions as a result of

that then what I want to do is is to say

to you that we understand more about

effective use of assessment today than

ever before and part of it means that we

need to make sure when we're using

assessment day-to-day in the classroom

during the learning that students

respond react productively to assessment

results from an emotional point of view

students respond productively because

the students emotional response to

assessment results in any context will

determine what that student does about

those results now it turns out that

students can respond when students

respond productively to their assessment

results we bring them to a place where

upon seeing those results they can say

to themselves I get it I understand what

these results are about III know what to

do next I know what to do as a result of

what I see here they respond

productively when that leads them to the

inference that they're okay they're

saying to themselves I can handle this

regardless whether the results are high

mid-range or low students respond

productively when they can say I

understand I know what to do about it

I can handle this because that brings

them to the fourth bullet in this list

which is crucial where they say to

themselves I choose to keep trying this

is critical because if they respond in a

counterproductive way it leaves them

saying I don't understand the

results or I have no idea what to do

about them where they're drawing the

inference about themselves and I'm no

good at this stuff anyway and they have

to say again the critical fourth bullet

I quit do you see how if we have a

student is not yet met a critical

standard and we bring them to this place

the learning has stopped and they're

doomed these are the dynamics that are

critical this is another revolution in

thinking about assessment in the

classroom do you understand that what

students think about and do with

assessment results is at least as

important as what we adults think about

and do with those results because they

interpret their own results and they

make decisions they use the results of

their own assessments about them to

answer some critical questions some data

based instructional decisions and the

thing is they get to go first so for

example they're continuously looking at

their own academic record in a

particular context and they're asking

questions like this can I learn this or

am I just too dense do you understand

that if they come down on the wrong side

of that it doesn't matter what you

decide about them or they're asking of

their results is learning this worth the

energy that I'm going to have to spend

to attain it I say to you again if they

come down on the wrong side of that it

doesn't matter what you do with your

highfalutin

data management systems and complex

decision-making the learning has already

stopped and you're out of the ballgame

or think about the struggling learner

who's asking this question is trying to

learn this worth the risk that I might

fail again in public because that public

failure just hurts too much yeah I know

you hear Bovada but I don't care what

you think from students hogwash of

course they care yet matters deeply and

it matters personally they are data

based instructional decision-makers and

the dynamics of the

approach to that process turns out to be

critical so the critical question we

must ask is can we help our students

make productive decisions that is the

decisions that will lead to productive

learning on their behalf and the answer

once again as a resulting yes and the

way we do this is through the consistent

application of principles of assessment

for learning note the subtitle creating

a culture of confidence now I know it's

not the world we the assessment

classroom assessment world we grew up in

but it is the one we either create or

stop hoping that the achievement score

gaps will narrow because if we say that

students give it consistently giving up

on themselves ain't going to be no gap

narrowing and they are but we know how

to stop that we know how to prevent that

the principles of assessment for

learning are built around helping

students know the answers to these three

questions where am I going where am I

now and how can I close the gap between

the two and the lessons that we teach

about about mastering principles of

assessment for learning in order to help

students understand where they're going

we want to provide students with a clear

student friendly version of the learning

target from the beginning of the

learning along with examples of student

work that reveal to them the progression

they'll travel on their journey to that

standard to help them know where they

are now we want to offer regular

continuous access to descriptive

feedback and teach students over time to

be able to generate their own

descriptive feedback and become partners

with us in setting goals for what comes

next in their learning to help them to

close the gap we want to design

instruction around focused lessons on

key attributes of good performance

teaching students to revise their work

based on those key attributes and then

engaging students in continuous

monitoring and self-reflection of their

own learning so they can keep track of

and communicate with others about their

achievement status about their

improvement over time and ultimate

achievement status principles of

assessment for learning assessment for

confidence

[Music]

you