The whole area of student assessment has always troubled me as a teacher. There had to be better ways of getting at what my students really knew and understood; better ways they could show me what they could do. There had to be better ways I could use this information to inform my teaching practice to guide student learning so real progress and achievement was possible. I wanted to celebrate true gains with the students instead of making them feel they couldn't measure up. I needed new ways to report their achievement levels and chart their progress. The traditional methods deemed acceptable were ringing increasingly hollow. Something had to change.

In October 2002 I attended my first AAC Fall Conference, "Bridging the Gap", with Rick Stiggins and Anne Davies. What I heard from these keynote speakers and from teachers leading the breakout sessions rocked my world. It wasn't comfortable and certainly not available in a workbook I could buy on the way out! The promise was improved student achievement through genuine engagement in the learning process. The practice would demand the best of me to get the best from my students. The process would restore hope. This was what I was seeking and these people were amazing! I would have to learn and I would have to change.

When the AAC issued an invitation to enhance the knowledge and understanding of two designates from each member jurisdiction in assessment competence and capacity, a colleague and I responded without hesitation. A three-day introduction in April 2003 followed by the Summer Writing Workshop immersed us in the research, rationale and principles behind sound assessment practices. The opportunity to work with knowledgeable, focused professional colleagues from around the province was exciting, challenging and invigorating. Old habits die hard and the new methods I was learning took time to be rethought, redesigned and retooled for successful application in the classroom. It was slow, but I was learning to apply new methods and I was changing through informed and conscious discipline.

The ongoing support and more frequent "tune-ups" I required to stay focused and on the assessment learning curve arrived for the 2003-2004 school year. AAC staff assessment experts Dale Armstrong and Margaret Sanders were deployed to the six regional areas of the province to continue the training of designated jurisdictional assessment specialists in more easily accessible locations. Four sessions for our Northwest region were held during 2004-2005 with five more planned for this current school year. Bringing these mentors to us has truly been a visionary step in the AAC mission to build and support local expertise in what Robert Hogg describes as, "Getting the assessment water to the end of the furrow.

"Dale and Marg provide access and insight into current research-based assessment literature and cutting edge education pedagogy practices from around the world. They keep us wired into the big picture. The activities and discussion topics they set for us challenge improvement in our own teaching practice and offer guidance on how we can lead and support colleagues exploring assessment in our jurisdictions. Working and training together in our regional team has created an accessible extended community where we feel comfortable sharing experiences and telling our stories; our struggles and successes. Knowing we are not in this alone opens windows of opportunity and avenues for consideration. I am so grateful to the AAC for investing in people development and giving me this opportunity to grow professionally with their guidance.

I look at my students and my profession through new lenses. The picture is more focused. I am rejuvenated. The promise of improved student achievement and engaged learners is a reality I now experience daily. The practice of refining assessment FOR learning and OF learning demands my consistent diligence. The process has put hope back into the eyes of my students as they experience success in what they can do. Together, we celebrate their accomplishments and progress. Together we chart new challenges on their learning road.

Am I an expert? Not by a long shot! I am learning; I am transformed and changing. I am on a journey to becoming an assessment specialist to spread the assessment message in Grande Prairie Public Schools.

Paula Anderson
Grande Prairie School District No. 2357

AAC Professional Resources

Refocus: Looking at Assessment FOR Learning- Second Edition 2005 will be published in September. This resource will help teachers embark on the journey of assessment FOR learning.

For further information about practical AAC resources, go to the web site at http://www.aac.ab.ca/resources.html

Assessment Glossary

The Alberta Assessment Consortium recognizes the importance of using language effectively to inform educational practice in the interest of higher levels of student achievement.

achievement	a student's demonstration of knowledge, skills and attitudes relative to grade level learner outcomes
assessment	process of collecting information on student achievement and performance to improve student learning
assessment for learning	assessment experiences that result in an ongoing exchange of information between students and teachers about student progress toward clearly specified learner outcomes (also called diagnostic and formative assessment; refers to information not used for grading purposes)
assessment of learning	assessment experiences designed to collect information about learning to make judgments about student performance at the end of a period of instruction to be shared with those outside classrooms (also called summative assessment; refers to performance data compiled as a grade)
checklist	a two-point evaluation tool that indicates if a student has achieved a learner outcome [yes or not yet]
criteria	what students need to do to show they have achieved the learner outcomes
descriptive feedback	part of an ongoing, specific and constructive conversation about learning that relates directly to the learner outcomes
evaluation	judgement regarding the quality, value or worth of a response
grade (mark)	a letter, number or comment reported at the end of a period of time as a summary statement of student performance (O’Connor 2002, 241–42)
learner outcomes	what we expect students to learn; the provincially mandated knowledge, skills and attitudes we expect students to demonstrate as a result of schooling
peer coaching	one student considering the quality of another’s work and providing feedback by applying criteria to help improve performance; requires a non-threatening and supportive relationship between the peers (also referred to in the literature as peer-assessment, peer-evaluation, peer-tutoring or peer-editing)
performance	how well a student demonstrates grade-level learner outcomes
performance assessment	a meaningful, real-life task that enables students to demonstrate what they know and can do in situations like those they will encounter outside the classroom as well as in situations that simulate how people do their work
rating scale	an evaluation tool of three or more points that illustrates how frequently, consistently or independently a student demonstrates a learner outcome
rubric	a fixed measurement scale and list of criteria that describe the quality of products or performances used to evaluate a student’s performance
self-reflection	considering the quality of one’s own work by applying criteria; requires that a student feels safe enough to be honest in making objective observations about the work (also referred to in the literature as self-assessment or self-evaluation)

| back to 'newsletters' |