Formative Assessment and Social Studies Revisited

Two years ago the the Social Studies staff  looked at formative assessment. We looked at what we considered to be Eleven Attributes of Formative Asssessment. These attributes are as follows:

1) Partnership with Students

Formative assessment involves teachers and students working together to improve student learning (and teacher instruction).

2) Learning Outcomes

Learning outcomes (also called learning targets) are what the students should accomplish during the lesson. Learning outcomes make sure that the learners have a clear view of what they should achieve. 

3) Success Criteria

Students must know what the success criteria is for the learning outcome. Teachers should provide models/exemplars for students. Students should be involved  in the discussion of the success criteria.

4) Collaboration with Colleagues

Teachers collaboratively determine the power standards, essential understandings and develop assessments for the learning outcomes. Teachers collaboratively gather data and develop plans for remediation.  

5) Daily Assessment Embedded in Lesson–Formative assessment takes place on a daily basis and is a part of the daily lesson.

6) High Level Questioning/Discussions

Teachers should use questioning which goes beyond the recall and comprehension levels by using Bloom’s taxonomy. They should collaborate with colleagues to develop high level questions which will elicit intellectual discussions.

7) Teachers as Observers and Data Collectors Formative assessment involves teachers observing students on a daily basis. It also involves collecting data about students’ learning and responding to the data.

8) Data is Used to Modify Instruction 

Teachers use the data from assessments to alter their instruction (provide corrective instruction) to assist students in learning. Assessments are only considered  “formative” if the information is used to adapt teaching and learning

9) Quality Feedback to Students

Students need feedback that will help them close the gap between their work and the learning outcome. Feedback should be about the qualities of a student’s work. 

10) Students Actually Use the Feedback

Students are given time to read teacher feedback comments. Students must act upon the feedback to close the gap.

11) Student self-evaluation and peer evaluation

Students analyze either their own work or a peer’s work in relationship to the success criteria. Students self-reflect on themselves as learners. 

 

We compiled 55 simple strategies to formatively assess students understanding of social studies.

We have made great strides in some of these areas. For example, #4 - teachers have been able to collaborate in their PLCs to determine what should be taught. They have developed remediation plans. We still have work to do and will continue to move forward in assessing student understanding of social studies concepts.
FOCUS
1) Staff will focus on developing several common formative assessments to assess student learning while they are in the middle of a unit so remediation can be done well before the final summative assessment. Hopefully this way there will not be as many students to remediate after the summative assessment. 

2) Use technology for quick feedback for students. Teachers will use a variety of ways to give common formative assessments. They will use the SMART Response system (clickers), Socrative iPad app, online textbook assessments, and other technology methods.

3) Additionally, teachers will assess writing formatively by allowing students time to write in class and checking student writing along the way (e.g., checking thesis statement, checking first body paragraph, checking student use of Thinking Like a Historian in the writing, checking refuting an argument).

Teachers will be encouraged to assess learning to informally assess student learning (e.g., listening to the questions students ask during or after class, listening to pair-share and small group discussions, collecting exit passes, etc.)
RESOURCES
James Popham (who recently spoke at the Minnetonka Institute) has a book on formative assessment entitled Transformative Assessment. The first chapter can be read online. Dylan Wiliam offers many practical ideas and great analogies in his book entitled Embedded Formative Assessment. 

 Discussion of Quick Response Systems

 

Using VoiceThread to pre-assess

  Using Smartboard, whiteboards, and student self-recording   TCI guy discusses informal assessment

 

Grading in Social Studies - Emphasis on What Students Know and Can Do

Social studies teachers grades 6-12 have come a lot closer to eradicating "toxic" grading practices by following last year's department guidelines.  Several social studies staff members have been involved in our district grading committee. Many have attended professional development opportunities (e.g., Minnetonka Leadership) and have read various books on current grading practices. 

Teachers are trying their best to make grades reflect what students know and can do. A few teachers have switched to the 4 (5) point grading scale while some are still using the traditional 100 point scale. Teachers have either gotten rid of extra credit or have significantly reduced the impact of extra credit!  They are not using zeros to average into grades. In most cases grades are based on unit summative exams, essays or DBQ writing experiences, and possibly a project-based learning product. Rubrics have been developed for most essay/project type assignments and staff have spent some time making sure they are all evaluating work in a similar manner. Daily homework is viewed as formative assessment and counts (depending on the grade level) between 0 -15% of the grade.  

Secondly, all teachers as part of their Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) have implemented retake policies that require students to retake unit exams if they score below 70 percent.  Students scoring over 70 % have the option to retake.  DCE Junior High policy requires teachers to accept the second score.  At the Senior High some teachers allow retake scores to reach a maximum of 90%.

Here are some good grading practices to use:

·   Do not grade practice (homework, classwork).
- Do not allow extra credit (or minimize the impact of it)

·   Use separate systems for grading behavior, attendance, lateness of work and work habits.

·   For missing work - require that the student does the work

·   Set high expectations for achievement
- Use systems that reflect highest level of learning (retakes, performance assessments)

·   Teach resilience/persistence

·   Proficiency scales instead of percentages

·   Use smaller, more frequent assessments
- Make sure that assessments really teach what we want student to know

iPads in Social Studies

  

One of our 9th grade American Institutions teachers is piloting the use of iPads in his classroom. Mr. Bergstrom was able to use them for the last two months of school once things were up and running. He has started a blog about using iPads in his classroom entitled the iPad Experience.  In one post he discusses the immediate feedback students received by using the iPads the the Socrative app. He was also able to have students analyze political cartoons using the iPads and an app.  Check out his blog. Mr. Bergstrom attended Minnetonka's Ipad Institute this summer. Here are the presentation notes from the Ipad Institute. Here is Minnetonka data that was collected regarding the use of ipads.