| AAC | COMMUNIQUE |
| Fall 2000 |
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AAC OFFICE
#500, 11010-142 Street IMPORTANT DATES
October 26 - 28, 2000
July 30 - Aug 2, 2001
Alberta Teachers' Association
AAC is a not-for-profit partnership of basic education organizations. It is dedicated to enhancing student learning through classroom assessment that increases student confidence as learners and enables them to reveal what they know and demonstrate what they can do. AAC membership consists of 37 jurisdictions representing approximately 80% of the students in Alberta.
Albert Hubbard
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Message from the Executive Director
About Classroom AssessmentAAC advocates a shared language for classroom assessment. A new public domain feature on the AAC web site, About Classroom Assessment (Q&A), seeks to encourage this by responding to 17 frequently asked questions. Here are two examples:What is assessment? Assessment comes from the old French word assesser, meaning to sit by as an assistant judge or guide. Assessment is the process of collecting information on student achievement and performance. Assessment information provides the basis for sound decision making regarding teaching and learning. Simply put, 'assessment' provides feedback on a student's learning to encourage further development. A balanced assessment program includes a variety of assessment strategies that are matched with specific learner outcomes. Planning for assessment is an essential part of instruction. Classroom assessment refers to all activities in the classroom that enable students to demonstrate what they understand, know and can do. What is performance assessment? A performance assessment is an assessment activity that requires students to construct a response, create a product or demonstrate a skill they have acquired. Rubrics, based on the selected criteria, are given to students to ensure that they know what they need to do to meet or exceed the learner outcomes. IMPORTANT: Remember that AAC performance assessment tools are designed primarily for formative and diagnostic purposes. We are assessing development with the intention of making decisions about appropriate teacher intervention to help students improve. Well-constructed performance assessments:
Link to http://www.aac.ab.ca/nlsep99.html (Message from the Chair- AAC Communique, Fall 1999) for further insights into the value of performance assessment. Let's continue to foster a shared language for classroom assessment.
Robert B. Hogg, Executive Director
NEW MEMBERSWe're pleased to announce that the following jurisdictions have recently joined the expanding AAC partnership:
A big WELCOME ABOARD! to all the teachers and administrators.
2000 Fall Conference - October 26th to 28th - EdmontonThis year's conference will be held at the Fantasyland Hotel (West Edmonton Mall) in Edmonton, and features keynotes Ken O'Connor, (author of "The Mindful School: How to Grade for Learning"), and Jay McTighe (co-author of "Understanding By Design"). The theme is "Assessment: Bringing Learning to Life". Register on-line through the AAC web site (www.aac.ab.ca) or using a conference brochure. Registrations are coming in rapidly so register soon!
Summer Development Workshop 2000Several of the performance assessment tools developed during the summer have had an initial review and are now on the AAC web site (www.aac.ab.ca) under 'Assessment Material' on the home page and linked to a NEW FEATURE- 'Work in Progress'. They are username and password accessible.Teachers are encouraged to take advantage of the opportunity to field test the new resources, collect and submit samples of student work, and provide suggestions for further modifying and enhancing the assessments by December 15. Publication of assessment tools with samples of student work (one for each of the four (4) levels of the rubric/scoring scale) will be January 2001.
Here are some comments made by participants: "Very positive experience. Excellent networking- great dialogue." "Sharing ideas with peers- great PD! A great experience." "Thank you for this opportunity to learn!" "Great snacks and lunches- having lunches at the school helps promote more interaction." "Time! Having time to discuss, plan and revisit the project is a luxury we often don't have. I enjoyed the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues." "I liked having experienced teachers to work alongside with. I learned a lot of new things about assessment just by asking questions and receiving advice." "Well organized and very beneficial for the development of wonderful performance assessments!" New AAC Professional ResourceHOW TO Develop and Use Performance Assessment Tools in the Classroom is the third in a series of resources produced by the Alberta Assessment Consortium (AAC). The intent of these resources is to provide teachers with practical approaches for assessing, evaluating and communicating student learning.A Framework for Student Assessment (1997) and A Framework for Communicating Student Learning (1999) provide the foundation for implementing an effective classroom assessment program. HOW TO Develop and Use Performance Assessment Tools in the Classroom is soon to be published. This practical new resource is a guide designed to enable teachers to develop and use performance assessment tools for improving student achievement in the classroom. Teachers will be able to more effectively use the variety of AAC assessment materials with the help of this guide. AAC will assist member jurisdictions to implement professional and staff development initiatives to enable teachers to develop and use performance assessment tools in their classrooms by providing:
Innovative Next Steps! The summer development workshops have been the primary way for the consortium to develop and share classroom assessment materials. These workshops will continue. However, AAC will seek to dramatically expand the assessment materials collection by enabling teachers to submit performance assessment materials developed and used in their classrooms. Submissions may be made at any time. Additionally, AAC will request that assessment materials be developed in specified areas from time to time. This two-part initiative will be called Request for Tools (RFT).
Here is how RFT will work.
Submissions, evaluated as 'Excellent' or 'Proficient' using the AAC rubric for performance assessments, will be added to the AAC assessment materials collection. Teachers will receive suitable recognition for their achievement and contribution. The RFT process and recognition program will be described in detail on the AAC home page under Request for Tools (RFT) in the weeks to come.
Spotlight - AAC Web SiteCheck Links of Interest on the AAC web site (www.aac.ab.ca). As you encounter practical 'related links' for classroom use and professional development, pass them along to AAC so they can be shared. For ease of use, the 'related links' will be indexed soon.See also, Work in Progress, under Assessment Material on the home page, for new performance assessment material ready for field testing. To make the assessment material easily available for all member jurisdiction teachers, materials can be accessed as follows:
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