| AAC | COMMUNIQUE |
| Fall 1999 |
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AAC OFFICE
#500, 11010 - 142 Street
October 28th, 1999
October 29th & 30th, 1999
Darlene Montgomery, Chair
Robert Hogg, Exec. Director
Aspen View Regional Div. No. 19
Parkland School Division #70
AAC is a non-profit partnership of jurisdictions & educational organizations, formed to enhance the quality of student assessment in the classroom. Our membership consists of 30 jurisdictions. We represent approximately 70% of the students in Alberta.
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MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR
In preparation for the Alberta Assessment Consortium's annual conference in Canmore on October 29th and 30th, I have been rereading The Case for Constructivist Classrooms, co-authored by one of our keynote speakers, Jacqueline Grennon Brooks. Early on in the book, I came upon this statement, which I think has important implications for our work in assessment: When students work with adults who continue to view themselves as learners, who ask questions with which they themselves still grapple, who are willing and able to alter both content and practice in pursuit of meaning, and who treat students and their endeavours as works in progress, not finished products, students are more likely to demonstrate these characteristics themselves (pp. 9-10). I believe that the assessment tools we develop together as partners in the Alberta Assessment Consortium have the potential to encourage this kind of reflective stance towards our classroom practice - a willingness and an ability to reconstruct our understanding of learners, of learning, of our role in the learning process, and to change what we do so as to improve the quality of instruction we offer to students. In so doing, we not only enhance the possibilities for their achievement, but as Grennon Brooks and her colleague assert, we also model for them what it means to be a lifelong learner, one who is constantly in the process of reconstructing experience to refine and extend our understanding of the world and our place in it. My faith in the power of collective work in assessment to provoke reflection on practice is bolstered by a joint project undertaken by the Calgary Board of Education and the Calgary Catholic School District to involve students and teachers in developing performance assessment tasks and rubrics in the fine arts. We asked teachers to keep a reflective journal, recording what they were learning as they engaged in this collaborative endeavour with their students. The following excerpts from the journal of one of the participating teachers indicates the possibilities: The use of rubrics with these projects has many benefits. Perhaps most importantly, I noticed a significant improvement in the content of the students' discussions. They made specific references to musical elements such as beats, dynamics, markings and tempo. Their rehearsals became focused on finding solutions to their performance problems instead of blaming each other for mistakes. They seemed proud to be "real" musicians and were anxious to fulfill that role. I gained an awareness of two weaknesses in my teaching. First, I need to use actual musical terms more in my conversations with students about their work. I had been guilty of saying, "Play more together." or "Play this part at the same time.", instead of making accurate references to beats, bars and other musical elements. More importantly, I needed to guide students to an understanding of why a particular problem was occurring so that effective solutions could be generated. During this project, I noticed many students sharing solutions outside of class time with members of different groups. Thus, as the project continued, the students became more responsible for their learning, and I began to encourage the sharing of solutions during class time. Developing and using quality assessment tools has helped the teacher to articulate with greater precision what her students are learning. It has also helped her see her students in a new light - as "real" musicians capable of solving problems collaboratively - and has encouraged her to identify specific aspects of her own instructional practice that she will change in order to be a more effective teacher of music. In the coming school year, as we implement in our classrooms the assessment tools we have developed together, I hope we will take time to ask, "What are we learning?", and to articulate the answers for ourselves and for our students.
Dr. Darlene Montgomery, Chair
NEW MEMBERS
A big WELCOME ABOARD! to all the teachers and administrators of these jurisdictions. We look forward to working with you and assisting you with student assessment in every way we can.
ASSESSMENT DEVELOPMENT PROJECT '99 - Phase One (August 4th-6th)
Here are some of the comments made by participants:
"I had such a great learning experience here - I thought I knew a lot, but I know nothing and plan to make this a big part of my growth plan."
"Getting together with other teachers and producing a useable instrument was excellent. Thanks for the opportunity to participate!!"
"The whole workshop was well organized with all the details looked after. Excellent job, AAC!"
"Although I have attended short sessions on construction of PBA's, this workshop gave me the opportunity to put it all together."
"It was great to meet teachers from across the province and share ideas."
The group will meet again in Calgary on October 28th to further refine the material based on their field experiences. The material will then be reviewed by editors and we anticipate having it ready for distribution to our members in January 2000.
A FRAMEWORK FOR COMMUNICATING STUDENT LEARNING
FALL CONFERENCE - October 29th & 30th, 1999
Space if filling up quickly and we encourage you to register soon - visit our website for detailed conference information or call us and we'll fax you a conference brochure and registration form.
DID YOU KNOW ... ?
AAC affiliations are expanding through:
New AAC initiatives and projects are being considered including:
AAC has an on-line discussion web site open to "one and all" to raise questions, seek assistance, share ideas, identify needs, etc. Visit www.bullwhip.com - the username is AAC (all capitals); the password is learning.
AAC WEBSITE (www.aac.ab.ca)
BOOK REVIEW
Stiggins and Knight have written an easy-to-read guide to classroom assessment for parents who care about their children's education. They discuss the importance of inquiring about classroom assessment, how assessment fits into the classroom, and what parents can do to help. Through the re-telling of real-life vignettes, Stiggins and Knight clearly demonstrate the mixed messages that teachers' assessment practices send to both students and parents.
They define classroom assessment as the procedures teachers use to track students' ongoing achievement, and an effective assessment plan as one in which teachers reveal to students what they want them to learn. Evidence of key elements of quality assessment in community schools include clear achievement expectations mapped out across all grade levels in a manner that permits students to progress continually, teachers who know which instructional targets are appropriate for their students, high quality assessments used by teachers at all levels, and teachers using assessments as a source of positive motivation to help students push for excellence. They suggest that as consumers, parents should look for all of these key indicators when they question their child's schoolteachers about assessment practices.
The second chapter starts with a comparison of how present day schools and assessment practices are similar to those of the past, and then continues on to define recent improvements in both. Clear connections are drawn between skills such as being effective readers, writers, and problem solvers to the new and improved assessment practices that parents are likely to see in their child's classroom. The various purposes, kinds of achievement, and methods that can contribute to the quality of student assessments are discussed, and common questions like, "Why do we assess?, What do we assess?, How do we assess well?, and, How do we communicate effectively about student achievement?" are asked and answered. In each case, Stiggins and Knight offer parents questions to ask their childŐs teachers, principals and superintendents.
The third chapter discusses how teachers "weave good teaching and sound assessment seamlessly into their classroom environments". Criteria are offered for parents to apply to see if the five standards of quality assessment (clear targets, clear purposes, appropriate methods, appropriate sampling, and elimination of bias and distortion) are visible in their child's classroom. The realistic vignettes describing positive assessment practices help the reader identify what "works" in an assessment and what doesn't. The authors encourage parents to remain alert to issues of quality, and suggest ways in which parents can approach schools and districts about allocating resources for professional development in the service of sound assessment practices.
The final chapter, "What can parents do to help?" offers advice and strategies to parents who wish to find out more about their child's schooling and wish to become involved in understanding the assessment practices in their child's school. This "power in partnership" opens many possibilities for parents to effect some long-term significant change for their child. The section about "Approaches that backfire (don'ts)" lists some of the tactless ways NOT to approach the childŐs teacher. Instead, they suggest reasonable questions to ask and the types of evidence or examples that a parent might expect to see. Finally, the levels of parental involvement are discussed, with an emphasis on the importance of sensitivity and diplomacy.
Stiggins and Knight offer this book without bias towards parents or teachers. It is practical, easy to understand, and offers positive suggestions. I would recommend this book for parents, teachers, and administrators.
Joanne Stickle, Teacher |