What is AAC?

AAC is a not-for-profit, partnership of basic education organizations. It is dedicated to enhancing student achievement through classroom assessment for learning. AAC is a registered charitable organization with membership consisting of 45 jurisdictions representing more than 80% of the students in Alberta.

What's Our Purpose?

"Performance assessments may be time-consuming so it stands to reason that time should be well spent. Instead of being an "add-on" to regular instruction, the assessment should be part of it."
-Chicago Public Schools-

As a classroom teacher it is necessary to take the time to try and answer self-reflective questions that move student learning forward with performance assessments. The essential questions include:

"How do we get each of our students actively engaged at their highest level of learning?"
"What are the curricular outcomes would like to see our students master and how are we sharing this information with our students?"
"How do we encourage and support self-directed learning. Learning that becomes meaningful for each of our students"
"What does good learning look like in our classroom/instructional environments?"
"How are we increasing students' level of responsibility and how are we providing feedback to them?"
"What data are we gathering from student work?"
"What are my skills in gathering a balanced assessment profile and what resources can assist me?"
"Do I have a plan for the collection of data which will be used to assess and evaluate student achievement? How am I involving my students in this process?"
"What evaluation criteria is being used? How are students made aware of the criteria and how are we involving our student in developing the criteria?"
"How are we focusing on student self-directed evaluation?"
"How do we manage a variety of instructional strategies which will motivate student learning and simulate real life"
"What are we doing to encourage and develop an appetite for knowledge?"
"What do we do to inspire creativity, and create masters of problem solving, in a world so complex?"
"What daily evidence do you glean from your successful teaching experience?"
and finally..."How do I know if I have made a difference?"

In discussions with staff who work with performance assessments regularly in their classrooms, we hear them stating:

"Performance assessment is a valuable tool as it allows me to tackle the variety of abilities in a very limited number of teaching minutes. With performance-based activities students are asked to demonstrate the synthesis of their acquired knowledge in solving problems that are meaningful."

"Students use higher level thinking processes, and thus become actively involved in their learning. When PA is effectively used, student's learning becomes deeper, richer and more personally meaningful. PA requires that students become informed of standards and experiences regarding their work for an assignment. Students are familiarized with rubrics and checklist that will used to assess their work. This serves to develop within students, responsibility and accountability for all their work. Students' ability to assess and talk about their work improves as well. Students are able to express why they got a certain mark on a rubric as well as set goals for future assignments and learning."

Here is one students' perspective in working with PA.
"I loved becoming an author! I was so proud of the book we wrote. It took a lot of time researching, editing, and revising, but I now know how it feels to be a "real" author." Setting goals for me made me think about where I had to improve on. I knew where I needed to improve, and my teacher assisted me with that. I loved seeing how much I improved every time I set a new goal for myself. Learning became exciting!"

The investment of time in PA not only increases the accountability of the students/teachers/parents to become more involved in the child's education, but it focuses on deeper levels of learning that become meaningful for all. What better way to increase student achievement!

Mary Michailides
Principal, Glenora School

New Members
AAC is pleased to announce South Slave Divisional Education Council and Prairie Land Reg. Division No. 25 have joined AAC. Our membership now stands at 45!

2003 Fall Conference - October 23rd to 25th - Calgary
This year's conference theme is "A Complete Portrait: Drawing out the Possibilities in Assessment". The conference will be held at The Coast Plaza Hotel in Calgary featuring two renowned keynotes. Tom Guskey is Professor of Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation at the University of Kentucky and is known throughout the world for his work in professional development and educational change. Robin Fogarty is known as "the teacher's teacher" focusing on brain compatible classrooms and problem-based learning. Educators come away from her trainings with practical strategies that transfer to the classroom the next day.

The pre-conference Leadership Day on Thursday October 23 at the Coast Plaza Hotel will feature Dr. Guskey. The focus will be on how to foster quality staff and professional development for teachers in the interest of improving student performance and achievement through classroom assessment.

Once again this year's conference will feature a diversity of sessions including in-depth workshops. In addition to breakout sessions, delegates can choose to attend one of three half-day workshops on Saturday morning.

Registration details for both the pre-conference Leadership Day and the conference will be sent to schools through jurisdiction representatives in May. To register use the conference Program Guide (brochure) or go to the AAC web site for on-line registration. Register early to avoid disappointment!

Call for Presenters
The AAC 2003 Fall Conference program has practical in-depth, half-day workshops and practical breakout sessions. We are seeking workshop facilitators and breakout presenters. If you are interested, please see the workshop and breakout session topics, themes or focus to determine if you would like to be considered as a speaker. Complete and submit the Call for Presenters Application. This information and application form is available on-line at www.aac.ab.ca and through your AAC jurisdiction representative. The deadline for Call for Presenters is April 15th, 2003

Special Thanks to 2001 Fall Conference Sponsors

XEROX The Document Company Minolta Business Equipment Lemermeyer Anderson Architecture Lifetouch Canada Gage Publishing Workun Garrick Architects Office Depot Morgex Insurance Metro Community College Royal Executive Inn Alberta School Employee Benefit Plan	Fantasyland Hotel, Edmonton IKON Office Solutions Alberta Teachers' Association TELUS EPCOR The Impress Corporation Lexmark - Kent McMullen Classroom Connections Apple Canada Zambelli's (Leduc) Daryl Prochinsky Architecture
Thank you to the member school jurisdictions that contributed door prizes for the conference.

Developing an Assessment Specialist Team
Sustainable Program to Enlarge the Provincial and Local Base of Assessment FOR Learning Specialists

AAC will implement a sustainable program to enlarge the provincial and local base of assessment for learning specialists. This cadre will enlarge the current narrow base of assessment expertise and leadership in the province and at the jurisdiction level (see recommendations from the soon to be published Implementation Study- Phase One Final Report (January 2003) on pages 47 and 48 re: Provision of Quality Professional Development Opportunities, B-2 and Facilitation of Networking and Sharing (Knowledge, Skills and Expertise, C-2 and C-6).

Outcomes

• enlarge the base of assessment expertise (build capacity) across the consortium in support of improved student performance and achievement
• increase local leadership, self-reliance, advocacy and support for classroom-based assessment for learning

Qualifications

1. exemplary teaching experience… recognized as outstanding teachers
2. evidence of prior involvement with assessment- e.g. AAC, Alberta Learning, district initiatives
3. involvement and leadership in other school or district professional development initiatives
4. district commitment to assessment that will enable specialist to receive training and to be provided with opportunities to advance and advocate assessment for learning to improve student performance
5. personal commitment and willingness to participate in all of the activities
6. work on upcoming district and province-wide projects and to attend the Summer Development Workshop
7. be involved in the ongoing assessment learning community

Program

1. Initial Two-Day Training Workshop (Friday, April 11 and Saturday, April 12 in Edmonton)

2. Summer Development Workshop (2003)

Participation will be restricted to the Assessment Specialist Team plus selected participants and project leaders from previous Summer Development Workshops and others whose specialization may be essential for assessment development.

(Note: Assessment revision using materials developed prior to 2002 in the AAC materials collection will be done on assignment by selected specialists in the next few months. Summer workshop participants will develop new materials.)

3. Ongoing Support
This will be defined during the next several months. On-going support may include activities such as:

• Facilitation Training in partnership with the regional professional development consortia
• An AAC "assessment help desk"
• Linkages to AAC Implementation Study phase 2 initiatives (professional development activities and identification of best practices)
• Linkages to the Request for Performance Assessments (RPA) initiative (for details see http://www.aac.ab.ca/request.html) (active advocacy and in-service at the local level)
• Fall Conference involvement including participation in Leadership Day 2003

LIGHT AND OPTICAL SYSTEMS… A COMPREHENSIVE TEACHER'S RESOURCE

• The Optics Unit Framework (43 pages) enables science teachers to effectively and efficiently teach and assess learner outcomes and assist students to discover and apply science concepts.
• A Teacher's Guide to Light and Optics (60 pages) includes hands-on activities that explore the transmittance and absorption of light, how objects are seen, the laws of reflection, how light is refracted and the characteristics of mirrors and concave and convex lenses.

Order through:

Let's Talk Science
1584 North Routledge Park
London, ON N6H 5L6
Toll free tel: 1-866-352-3060
Fax: 1-519-474-4085

Our entire staff attended the conference in Edmonton in 2002. It once again reaffirmed the changes that we brought forth with our new report card for the upcoming year. It also provided the framework for each teacher to better understand what we were attempting at our school and the reasons why.

More teachers are now accessing AAC's website for assessment material and are routinely discussing alternative ways to have students demonstrate their learning.