Systems for State Science Assessment (2006) / Chapter Skim
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6 Implementation and Support
6 Implementation and Support
Pages 114-135
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From page 114... ...
The chapter concludes with a brief discussion of the uses of technology for designing and implementing an assessment system. NEEDS ANALYSIS In designing or modifying a coherent science assessment system, states will want to begin with a needs analysis that includes gathering information about what assessment-based information stakeholders need.
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From page 115... ...
The school district designed and implemented its own local assessment system to supplement the state testing program -- incorporating multiple measures of student achievement that included performance assessments administered in classrooms. The state assessment provided the district with both norm-referenced and criterion-referenced data that could be used for some purposes, while the local assessments provided information on higher order thinking and reasoning skills that were not being assessed by the paper-and-pencil tests used by the state (Webb, 2002)
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From page 116... ...
The membership of the TAC should have expertise in all aspects of test design, development, and implementation, including the assessment of students with special needs. The role of the TAC will vary from state to state and from stage to stage, but it should be able to help the state specify the purpose and use of assessment results, identify potential sources of assessment data (e.g., teacher, portfolio, state test, district test)
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From page 117... ...
Some states, for example, require that the assessment director respond in writing to the advice of the TAC and provide justification for not following particular recommendations. DEVELOPING THE STRUCTURE An important step in developing and maintaining a science assessment system is the creation of documents that explain the master plan for the system.
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From page 118... ...
If a state hopes to provide information that can be used to address individual students' needs, then assessment strategies that permit in-depth assessment of student understanding of a smaller set of knowledge and skills will be needed. If both kinds of information are needed, as is the case with the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)
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From page 119... ...
The programs are built around a strong foundation of professional development that supports teachers in developing technically sound assessments. In each of these states, considerable attention has been paid to establishing the validity of both classroom and district portions of the assessment system for each intended purpose.
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From page 120... ...
There are tradeoffs inherent in any decision about where assessment should take place. For example, while ongoing classroom assessment helps teachers make instructional decisions that can enhance student learning, the results of such assessments may not be incorporated easily into an assessment system that is used for accountability purposes because they are not standardized and therefore not easily comparable.
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From page 121... ...
(2005) point out, the way a state views the role of professional test development organizations may depend on the way it views the task of assessing student learning.
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From page 122... ...
5. For each area in which the state has developed content standards, the state coordination team also develops a professional development program to en sure that all local educators are able to address the content standards and help students achieve at high levels.
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From page 123... ...
Results that are aligned with the state's academic achievement standards are to be reported for all tested students and disaggregated by major subgroups. The results also are to include "interpretative, descriptive, and diagnostic reports" for individuals that can be used to "help parents, teachers, and principals to understand and address the specific academic needs of students" (P.L.
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From page 124... ...
· describe the skills, knowledge, and abilities being assessed. · provide sample test questions and sample student responses keyed to per formance levels.
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From page 125... ...
Such information can be conveyed using standard error bands, a graphic display, or statements regarding the probability of misclassification (American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, and National Council on Measurement in Education, 1999)
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From page 126... ...
We focused our attention on the kinds of professional development that are needed to enable teachers and others to use science assessment results to improve student learning outcomes. Just as we see science assessment as an element in a coherent system, we see professional development as an important element for supporting that system.
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From page 127... ...
More formally, they devise activities, quizzes, tests, and the like to find out how and what students have learned. All of these assessment activities require that teachers have, in addition to a deep understanding of the content domain, a foundation of basic knowledge about how to develop tasks that are valid and useful in the classroom, the ways in which student learning develops, principles of educational measurement, and the subject matter they are teaching.
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From page 128... ...
Box 6-3 includes standards for assessment competency for education administrators that were developed through the collaborative efforts of a number of organizations representing school administrators and the educational measurement community.4 4In 1990, the American Federation of Teachers, the National Council on Measurement in Education, and the National Education Association published the Standards for Teacher Competence on
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From page 129... ...
SOURCE: American Federation of Teachers, National Council on Measurement in Education, National Education Association. Available at http://www.lib.muohio.edu/edpsych/stevens _stand.pdf.
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From page 130... ...
SOURCE: American Association of School Administrators, National Association of Elementary School Principals, National Association of Secondary School Principals, National Council on Measurement in Education. http://www.unl.edu/buros/bimm/html/article4.html.
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From page 131... ...
The completed system is to have multiple components, including generally stated rubrics for evaluating evidence of inquiry skills, an organized set of assessment development resources, and a collection of schema, exemplar templates, and assessment tasks. Currently, however, in our review of the use of technology in assessment, we found that most states are using technology primarily for the following purposes: administering assessments; organizing, managing, and analyzing student assessment data; making items, performance tasks, rubrics, and complete tests available to teachers; and scoring and reporting assessment data to various stakeholder groups.
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From page 132... ...
But it is also interesting to note that in 2004 Maine made its innovative multiformat science assessment available on laptop computers. Economics seems to be a primary motivator for the increase in computeradministered assessment.
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From page 133... ...
These examples of student work, if linked to specific performance levels as described by the state academic achievement standards, could facilitate students' involvement in their own assessment by allowing them to compare their performance with acceptable performance -- an important aspect of learning with understanding. Support for Assessment Development Many states and school districts have created item banks linked to state standards and made them accessible to teachers and others for use in classroom or district assessment activities.
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From page 134... ...
The committee proposes that in implementing a system, states ask themselves the following questions: Question 6-1: Has the state brought together important stakeholders and required experts to develop or revise its science assessment system so that it reflects a shared vision of science education? Question 6-2: Does the state have a written master plan for its science assessment system that specifies which types of assessments are to be used for which purposes; how frequently the different assessments will be administered; who will develop them; who will administer them; at what level of the education system they will be administered; and how the results will be scored, reconciled, and reported?
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From page 135... ...
Professional Development Question 6-9: Do the state's teachers, school administrators, and policy makers have ongoing opportunities to build their understanding of current assessment practices and expand their skills in using and interpreting assessment results? Question 6-10: Do school, district, and state education administrative personnel possess sufficient assessment competence to use assessment information accurately and to communicate it effectively to interested stakeholders?
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