AAC Communique is also on-line in the Newsletter Archive at www.aac.ab.ca/news.html

The role of assessment specialist has fast-tracked me onto the most accelerated professional growth curve I have experienced in nearly ten years of teaching. Being an assessment specialist involves attending regional seminars five times per year with other specialists from neighbouring districts. Led by Margaret Sanders and Dale Armstrong, these seminars are collegial, thought-provoking energy infusions. Assessment-related PD is the only PD I've ever done that changes my classroom practice the very next day every single time. What I truly appreciate are the ways that Marg and Dale acknowledge assessment as a journey rather than a destination, and the classroom as a truly complex and dynamic place of learning. They validate what each of us knows and does well, and they gently guide us in new directions, all the while honouring our unique personalities, experiences and circumstances. Their modeling has changed my understanding of learning in significant and lasting ways. Lesson #1 - Well-designed PD can create immediate and ongoing change in the classroom.

This past summer, I participated in the AAC Summer Writing Workshop, an experience that helped me more fully understand the firmly rooted vision of AAC and deepened my understanding of assessment for and of learning. Again modeling what the research says about learning, the focus at the Workshop was on a process purposefully designed to lead to the creation of meaningful performance assessment for learning tasks. By emphasizing quality over quantity, the workshop allowed me to refine my task-development and rubric-building skills, both of which I use in my daily practice. The experience underscored the value of the Program of Studies as a part of daily planning, not just long term planning. I have a much stronger sense of how to integrate my observations and reflections as I design learning activities. Lesson #2 - Effective PD does not have to saturate and overwhelm the professional.

Attending the AAC Fall Conference in October was another catalyst for my professional growth. The experience was relevant, engaging, and transformational. For me, it reflected yet again the visionary and meticulous planning I have come to associate with Robert Hogg and AAC. Once you attend, you will understand why the conference is full of delegates who return year after year to soak up more assessment rays. It is, quite simply, professional time very well spent.

The journey into assessment has also led me into the land of educational research. AAC publications such as Smerging Data and Refocus have caused me reflect on and adjust aspects of my own teaching and learning. The research has both affirmed and challenged me to evolve in my assessment practices. Coming to a clearer understanding of assessment for and of learning has allowed me to make more learner-centred decisions about the data I collect and how I use it. For example, items that I previously used as quizzes part way through a unit are now used as formative learning activities for students. As well, I continue to develop metacognition and reflection tools that allow students to self-assess, and I can see the benefit of increased student awareness and motivation as a result of these learning opportunities. I take more time, without feeling rushed or guilty, to allow students to reflect and set goals when they receive assessment feedback. Each of these practices already existed in my teaching; assessment research validated their importance and my intuitive desire to 'do more with less.' Lesson #3 - Educational research is accessible, relevant to the practicing teacher, and integral to professional growth.

The most rewarding aspect of the assessment changes I am making is that the students are grateful for and interested in meaningful activities that improve their understanding without landing in the summative data bank to inevitably become part of their report card marks. What a relief it is to know that students do choose to continue learning even when an activity is not being used for summative data. High school students, although not necessarily accustomed to this, are open to learning about different types of assessment and their purposes. Honest dialogue about learning and assessment alleviates misunderstandings and develops increasingly accountable, insightful learners. Once the layers of assessment armour are peeled back, intrinsic motivation is accessible. Lesson #4 - Less talk about marks and more talk about learning is good for the educational soul.

So, exactly how does assessment fever spread through a population? Assessment specialists, Laurie Kardynal-Bahri, Gerald Knox and I, together with Bob Dulaba (our Director of Curriculum and Instruction) are hoping to find out. We have collaboratively designed a plan that we trust will impact district teachers' assessment journeys to the degree that it has impacted our own. One of our initiatives this year has been the formation of a study group consisting of one teacher from each school in the Division. Most of these teachers attended the AAC Conference, and are now participating throughout the year in three days of professional development on the topic of assessment. Using materials developed by Marg Sanders for the AAC and the Edmonton Regional Learning Consortium, the study group gives all participants the opportunity to share assessment stories and to connect the learning dots that too often remain disconnected in education. The impact of this initiative remains to be seen, but we believe the assessment movement stands to change teaching and learning in necessary and liberating ways. Lesson #5 - The assessment movement is not 'just another passing fad.' It is a set of lenses that offers us the opportunity to see learning in a new light.

What can I honestly say about my own assessment journey? Making assessment shifts is at times tricky and daunting because it challenges beliefs I have assumed to be accurate understandings about learning. Through this journey I have come to welcome the challenges, however tricky and daunting, because the shifts are, in many cases, long overdue. As a classroom teacher, there have been many defining moments, but to date there is only one defining line - the day I crossed over into the world of assessment for and of learning - and I'm delighted to say that nothing has been the same since.

New Members
AAC is pleased to announce that Clearview School Division #71, Dehcho Divisional Education Council, Horizon School Division #67, Foundations for the Future Charter Academy, Lakeland Catholic Board of Education #150, Lloydminster Catholic School Division #89, Norquest College, Red Deer Public School District No. 104, and the Raffles Institution in Singapore are now members of the AAC.

Our membership currently stands at 65 educational jurisdictions.

AAC Resources and Captions
AAC has designed and published five practical resources for advocates of student learning.
Each resource now has a caption that tells something about its contents.

For further information about these practical resources, go to the AAC web site at http://www.aac.ab.ca/resources.html Watch for the sixth professional resource in the fall of 2005 titled, Conversations: Becoming Obsessed with Learning.

Fall Conference 2005- Call for Presenters
The Alberta Assessment Consortium is looking for presenters for the 11th Annual Fall Conference at TELUS Convention Centre in Calgary, Alberta - November 4 and 5, 2005. Our conference theme this year is ASSESSMENT: Walking the Talk. We anticipate approximately 750 registrants.

This year's internationally renowned keynote speakers are Dylan Wiliam and James Popham.

The AAC 2005 Fall Conference program has practical in-depth, half-day workshops and 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.

In keeping with the conference theme, sessions will be planned around the following questions:

How do we walk the talk in…

• grading and reporting practices?
• using formative assessment practices?
• using a variety of assessment strategies in your classroom or subject area?
• involving students in assessment (self/peer assessment, setting criteria with students, etc.)?
• involving parents as partners in the assessment story?
• creating an assessment literate school?
• identifying evidence of good assessment practices as a leader?
• collecting evidence of student learning?
• implementing research-based practices in the classroom/school/district/university/province?

A Call for Presenters Application is available on-line at http://www.aac.ab.ca/presenters.html.

The deadline for submission of Call for Presenters Applications is April 13th, 2005.

Assessment MART
The Assessment MART selectively profiles assessment resources without prejudice for the interest of our readers. Profiles are written by teachers, for teachers.

Teaching Writing With Rubrics: Practical Strategies and Lesson Plans for Grades 2-8 by Laura A. Flynn and Ellen M. Flynn. Publisher: Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, California, 2004. ISBN 0-7619-3183-X (cloth) - ISBN 0-7619-3184-8 (paper).
Review by:
Laurie Kardynal-Bahri
Father Kenneth Kearns School,
Elk Island Catholic Schools Reg. Division #41

Teaching Writing With Rubrics is a guide to teaching creative writing using the authors' "Classroom Writing Program". This program introduces students to a variety of writing styles, and gives detailed instructions on how to write creatively and effectively in the genres introduced. Genres presented in the book are autobiography, biography, persuasive essay, expository essay, narrative and descriptive writing. Student examples of each genre are included for quick reference for the teacher and student.

When exploring the writing process, students use a prescribed procedure for developing creative writing pieces that involve pre-writing, a rough draft, final draft and presentation. A composition book is used for pre-writings and rough drafts, which serves as a portfolio of their writing progress over the scope of the year. Flynn and Flynn's book includes reproducible templates of guidelines, proofreading marks, editing checklists, table of contents and metacognitive reflection. These templates are to be copied and inserted into their composition book for quick referral and use. Appropriate rubrics are included in the book to evaluate all portions of the writing process and genres of writing, excluding the pre-writing piece.

Though the resource states that the creative writing strategies presented are for use in the English Language Arts classroom from grade 2 to 8, the lessons and rubrics could be easily adapted for upper grade levels and modified programs.

AAC VISION

1. Students are involved in planning and assessing their own learning.
2. Teachers and administrators understand and use classroom assessment and communication practices that support learning.
3. Assessment is an integral part of planning for instruction that reflects the Alberta Program of Studies.
4. Assessment practices promote student and teacher self-reflection.
5. Assessment Specialists and jurisdiction representatives provide effective leadership in classroom assessment practices that support learning in their jurisdictions.
6. Universities prepare teachers to provide classroom assessment practices that support learning for their students.
7. Teachers regularly use the resources of AAC to improve classroom assessment and communication of student learning.
8. Parents know and understand classroom assessment and communication practices that support learning.
9. Assessment practices at elementary, junior high, senior high and post secondary institutions are closely aligned.