Pre-Assessments

Pre-Assessment -

The Pre-Assessment I’ve used is similar in structure, content, and style to the final product: A “Synthesis” essay. Synthesis, according to the AP Language board, basically means writing formally, answering a prompt, citing multiple sources of literary merit (be it poetry, essay, literary nonfiction, fiction, etc.) to help answer / prove the students’ point of view regarding the prompt. Their first two essays in this style are the pre-assessment, and what I’m judging them on is:

- organization, of both paragraphs (attention-getters, support, concluding statement / transition) and the essay as a whole (paragraph arrangement, order, introductory paragraph and concluding paragraph)

- Thesis statement - it should be the last 1 or 2 sentences of the introductory paragraph, and include an opinionated statement of position (if it can’t be argued, it’s not a strong thesis - thesis statements have opinions!), as well as why that statement matters or how it is accomplished. The first essays are usually geared more toward “How authors accomplish _____,” as the first units are focused on tone, using diction, syntax, etc. A more advanced option is to write about why the literature matters, how it’s innovative or convincing, writing about it using lenses of literary criticism, etc.

- Quotation usage - Students must be able to cite evidence accurately and convincingly (which requires skills in analyzing literature) as well as being technically proficient with it (punctuating it correctly, citing it correctly, etc.).

- Grammatical conventions - I want to know what they can do, what I must teach, etc. Areas of specific concern are the use of: parallel structure; appositive phrases; avoidance of comma splices; using multiple symbols (;:,-), etc.

These first essays are not required to be a certain length, and that’s part of the assessment; I do, however, mention this: that when AP graders are reading their essays, they aren’t SUPPOSED to be biased by length; however, studies show that students who make it onto the 3rd page of their handwritten AP test essays usually score, on average, at least a point higher than their counterparts who don’t make it to the 3rd page. So, when assigning these essays, I generally go by the same “informal rule” - that students should aim to make it to the 3rd page of the essay. I won’t necessarily penalize them for not making it, but most essays require a certain amount of space to completely convey their point of view, convincingly, to the audience of informed readers.

Attached are the first two packets for 9th grade that I’ve used in the past; the essay prompts can be found on the back pages. Students have been able to choose between either of the essay options (or in the case that there are three, all three). The second two attachments will act as the assessment essays for 10th grade Pre-AP English class; I’ve yet to decide whether I’ll do one or two pre-assessments for 10th grade, as this will be the first year I’ve taught it, and I will have had most of the incoming students in Pre-AP English 9A/B the previous year. In the past, students have received full credit (20 points in the Essays / Major Tests category, which is worth 40% of their grade) for completing the assignment in a satisfactory manner (I'm the judge of that).

https://docs.google.com/a/isd110.org/file/d/0BzChdz6CxM6oSmtKZ1BTd09XR1E/edit?usp=sharing

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzChdz6CxM6oUnF5bk9Ha185YjA/edit?usp=sharing

https://docs.google.com/a/isd110.org/file/d/0BzChdz6CxM6oTmJydGVxZDVUZzg/edit?usp=sharing

https://docs.google.com/a/isd110.org/file/d/0BzChdz6CxM6oT0lTUVRLS2lRSFk/edit?usp=sharing

Also attached is the sort of "Writing checklist" that I give the students before all writing assignments; it includes good and bad examples of all writing components, a checklist of the things that "good academic writing" usually includes, examples of how to integrate different types of quotations, and a basic outline form that they can use if they wish, but for some assignments are not required to. 
https://docs.google.com/a/isd110.org/file/d/0BzChdz6CxM6odjBWN0NvN1R0R2s/edit?usp=sharing

Summative Performance Assessment

Dusty Neibauer

This is an AP-style essay in that it combines multiple resources and critical essays (literary theories of multiple varieties) to take a position on and issue in The Grapes of Wrath. It synthesizes them into a cohesive whole, and is the largest of the AP-style synthesis essays they write (as well as the most valuable). This essay is worth 50 points in the Major Essays / Tests category (compared to 20 each for each of the 2 sample essays, and 25 each for the 3 formative essays) Here is the assignment containing the prompts:

https://docs.google.com/a/isd110.org/file/d/0BzChdz6CxM6oamprYnFoRUtxWFU/edit?usp=sharing

Clearly stated objectives that are tied to standards.

I provide an AP-style checklist that lists the qualities of an essay that corresponds with the number that essay would get.

https://docs.google.com/a/isd110.org/file/d/0BzChdz6CxM6oME4yMXVBcFBhQjA/edit?usp=sharing

A product/performance should be created during this process.

The essay is written during the summative performance; they have done multiple other examples throughout

Cumulative evidence of proficiency throughout the process.

The multiple AP-style essays as both diagnostic (x2) (20 points each in Major Essays / Tests category) and formative (x3) (25 points each in Major Essays / Tests category) , serve as progress trackers, with teacher feedback on each according to common elements of literary analysis (knowledge of theme, motif, symbol, etc.) as well as the grammatical mini-lesson attached to the essay (using appositive phrases, subordinate clauses, etc.). The links to the example lessons and the prompts for which the essays are used are here:

https://docs.google.com/a/isd110.org/file/d/0BzChdz6CxM6oVno0Rl94MlBYWk0/edit?usp=sharing

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzChdz6CxM6oUnF5bk9Ha185YjA/edit?usp=sharing

https://docs.google.com/a/isd110.org/file/d/0BzChdz6CxM6oOUZBX3dVYno1djQ/edit?usp=sharing

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzChdz6CxM6oa0hBMzBQeHBNR3c/edit?usp=sharing

https://docs.google.com/a/isd110.org/file/d/0BzChdz6CxM6oT0lTUVRLS2lRSFk/edit?usp=sharing

Students demonstrate autonomous engagement/ability throughout the learning process as well as throughout the creation of the product/performance.

This is judged through the writing, through Socratic discussions, through small group involvement, etc.

Students use creativity/problem-solving skills to demonstrate their knowledge.

Students can use outside sources, such as novels, essays, articles, poems, etc. to aid in their writing toward the prompt’s theme. This helps them show creativity, initiative, and critical analytical / literary thinking and knowledge.

Group Insights / Group notes for assessment desires

Shawn - have a solid assessment -

Eric - pre-assessment

Holly - user friendly yet students can use them

Scott -

more story problems, etc. -

Nicole - new, creative formative assessments

Judy - curious

Katie - exciting testing vs. typical crap

Evan - new curricula, getting it going

Kiersten - many levels while being rigorous

Kathy - check to be on right path

Dusty - get some assessments! 10th grade

Mike - create multiple levels of ass. for quality, not punitive

Drew - possible standards-based grading

Sarah - new grade level, build on the current ones

Michael - project-based assessments

Cara - IB - expand the choice board concept for other units

Mary - Work on ones for writing skills

Bethany - flipped classroom assessments - quick check ones

Patterns:

- Differentiation between skill levels

- Creative ones that aren't necessarily traditional

- Instant feedback / information for students to be able to work with and observe

- Just getting new ones, for people that are switching between the grades / curriculum

- more rigorous ones

Critical Friend

Shawnsy

Group insights:

student assessment

pre/post ones - full package - rubrics, etc.

more meaningful, part of the unit, organically

more creative / nontraditional

differentiated ones

Expect and accept non-closure - I'm a "results" guy - I shall identify the problem, work toward a solution, and then move on to the assessment. It's not natural to me to let the problem just hang there and linger if I can do something about it, so that's going to be tough to accept. I expect that I'll engage in discussion and work moving toward a more "loose" perception of assessment and what it can be.

The most natural part, for me, will be the "suspension of belief" part, because it's something that I preach the gospel of in my classes. If students aren't able to suspend their own beliefs / perceptions of the world / experiences, then they can't truly understand authorial purpose, characterization, or even culture (both their own and others'). Thus, I'm used to doing this, and believe that I shall succeed!

Performance-based summative assessment
Definition:
It's many things: from short answers, to essays, to involved lab activities; it's not a traditional test, necessarily.
Congress says: any form of testing that requires a student to create an answer or a product that demonstrates his/her knowledge or skills.
Must demonstrate their ability to apply skills to situations that aren't in those formulaic modes.

Characteristics:
It does not work toward identifying a correct answer off of a list of those possible; instead, they display original, creative thought, and students are active participants in demonstrating said knowledge.
Meier says: "it requires schools to invest in seven interrelated components: active learning; formative and summative documentation; strategies for corrective action; multiple ways for students to express and exhibit learning; graduation-level performance tasks that are aligned with the school’s learning standards; external evaluators of student work; and a focus on professional development."
And all it requires is what the Japanese and Finns already provide: School time for serious professional work, not just classroom instruction, and deep investments in cultivating teacher capacity.

Examples:
constructed response, essays, performance tasks, hands-on learning, demonstrating evidence through citing sources, etc.
 At Mission Hill, the school I helped found in Boston, we had a simple graph that charted each child’s reading progress from the time s/he entered the school until s/he graduated — and it was based upon an oral interview.
The interviewer scored samples of a student reading aloud and discussing the text with the interviewer twice a year, providing the student’s teachers with a valuable piece of hard evidence.

Non-Examples:
Wordbank / fill in the blank / multiple choice exams / quizzes
One-answer style situations

Checklist for Performance-based summative assessment
___ Objectives (tied to standards) for the assignment are stated clearly
___ Evidence of a(n) product/performance should be evident and clearly visible
___ Student demonstrated proficient, cumulative evidence of formative assessments ("checkmarks")
___ Students demonstrate autonomous engagement/ability throughout the learning process, as well as throughout the creation of the product / performance.
___ Students use creativity / problem solving skills to demonstrate their knowledge


Day 2

Blogged response to the metaphor of the Unit Plan:
The unit plan has multiple ways of achieving the same ends; Like Wild Bill said, the journey is often not linear, and that mirrors both the acquisition of knowledge and the process by which it's often presented. I think that knowledge seeps in over time, and must be acquired not at different points - that's why, especially when teaching writing and literature analysis, one must see it as, to borrow my group's metaphor, a rising tide. While it is slow and uneven at times, it will indeed rise...it's inevitable - students will acquire knowledge...we just have to keep reviewing what they need to know, insisting that they meet our high standards, etc. Teachers either take on the role of gravity or the moon in this metaphor, which can be seen as mostly good...although we shouldn't necessarily strive to be immovable objects / forces of nature in all aspects of teaching. 

Curricular Design

Links to materials, as well as short explanations:

AP-style synthesis essay grading rubric and terminology (pre-assessment, but is applied as a "sample AP score" for first 3 essays):
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzChdz6CxM6oZzRXaTFBLTVPRXc/edit?usp=sharing

Pre-assessment:
Higher order thinking questions 1-12; for pre-assessment of writing, I have them do essay prompt #2. I have them do their first 3 essays in the following manner: if they write the complete essay, they receive full credit; in addition, they get a "sample AP score" that says what they theoretically would've gotten if theirs was submitted as an AP essay. This method takes the pressure off of the first essays while they learn the expectations and conventions of this writing style.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzChdz6CxM6oUnF5bk9Ha185YjA/edit?usp=sharing

Formative assessment:
This is the first essay on which they are graded according to the AP scale (I'll attach my curve, which is in accordance with the AP grading system, as well). As a pre-writing warm up, they must answer and discuss as a class the higher order thinking questions; then, using said sources, they must write a full-on synthesis essay that will be graded according to AP conventions. It is a more valuable essay than their previous ones, but not as valuable as the summative assessment.
Link to the packet:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzChdz6CxM6oa0hBMzBQeHBNR3c/edit?usp=sharing

Link to the curves (on the bottom row, labeled):
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzChdz6CxM6oS0dRaFNrdDNMOEE/edit?usp=sharing

Summative assessment:
This is an AP-style essay in that it combines multiple resources and critical essays (literary theories of multiple varieties) to take a position on and issue in The Grapes of Wrath. It synthesizes them into a cohesive whole, and is the largest of the AP-style synthesis essays they write (as well as the most valuable). Here is the assignment containing the prompts:
https://docs.google.com/a/isd110.org/file/d/0BzChdz6CxM6oamprYnFoRUtxWFU/edit?usp=sharing

Sharing the wealth

There is a Language Arts group on Schoology that has a bunch of stuff regarding our area of the profession. They talk of curriculum, how to effectively utilize Schoology, etc. It looks fine!

Next Action Research Question

Here is the new "Action Research Question," which I plan on combining with my old one for a final presentation of an entire unit of study, modifiable by those in attendance, electronically:

"How can teacher feedback (including the facets of writing on which a teacher focuses) provide a more productive and focused writing experience for both students and instructors, as well as produce better writers?"

SMART Goals for summer 2013

SMART Goals for 2013

1. Re-make 10th grade curriculum

2. Re-make 10th grade Pre-AP curriculum

3. Make significant headway in my M.Ed. work in a timely manner

4. Tailor 10th grade curriculum to the use of the ipad on a 1:1 ratio

5. Find a time to read novels of my own choosing!

6. Go parasailing for a Stretch goal-thing.

7. Help Elise, my daughter, walk well without falling down and crying.