>>Linda: The United States is at a moment
where it could really transform its assessment systems.
Most of our testing is multiple choice tests, pick one answer
out of five, which is something you will never do
in applying knowledge in the real world.
Our assessments need to evolve to reflect the skills
and knowledge that we actually value and that we need schools
to teach and our children to learn.
>>Human beings are naturally learners.
We are learning every moment of every day.
In school, we have particular things to learn and we know
that students learn more effectively when we're clear
about what the goals are.
>>Chinasa: I kind of like, I want like a goal in my head
about what to do with information that I get.
So if they're going to teach me how to do a one page equation,
I want to know what can I do with that?
>>Erin: I look at the beginning of the year and I say,
what are the big ideas that I want students to know
in the whole year and what are the major skills I want them
to be able to do?
And then I backwards map those skills
and ideas into little chunks.
I try to have a really clear learning outcome every day
that's measurable, so at the end of class, students can say,
"This is how close I got
to meeting the outcome for the day."
We use the language, emerging, developing,
proficient or advanced.
If they know where they are on that rubric, then I don't have
to own that for every student
and I think that's really powerful.
>>Linda: Assessment should occur early and often
and throughout the process.
>>Lisa: I do a lot of formative assessments,
so formative assessments meaning, it's not summative,
it's not a test at the end of the week or the end of a unit.
You're doing a lot of small check ins with the students
to see where they're at and to see that they're growing a lot.
>>Teacher: How do you know that?
>>Student: Because I read it in the Saturn book.
>>Teacher: In the Saturn books, so you're making a?
>>Student: Connection.
>>Teacher: From text to?
>>Students: Tips.
>>Teacher: Very good.
>>Sheela: They are being steered very gently
and very strategically, and the formative assessment gathering
process is essential to that.
You really have to know what kids know and don't know.
>>Linda: In a lot of cases, we give students written feedback
on the paper that they've written but then we move
on to the next thing and we don't give them the opportunity
to actually rewrite that paper.
And the research evidence is extremely clear that one
of the strongest positive influences on achievement occurs
when students get formative feedback
that they immediately can apply.
>>Chinasa: I think that's one of the things
that the kids don't really like, is doing the reflecting,
but I think it's actually one of the things that helps us a lot.
I think doing it kind of like helps you see the bigger
picture, because I don't think that if I didn't do reflecting,
I wouldn't really think about what I'm struggling with.
I would just kind of want to move on.
>>Linda: Summative assessment just simply means an assessment
from which we can draw a judgment
about whether somebody has, at that moment, learned.
A false distinction has cropped up in the United States
which seems to suggest that it's okay
for external summative assessments
to just be multiple choice tests.
In other countries, summative assessments
that occur periodically are essays and oral examinations
and project based assessments, so that what you're able to see
about what students can do reflects more
of what you actually want them to be able to do
in the world beyond school.
>>Jill: So tonight is exhibit night.
Every nine weeks, we have this big celebration of learning
and the halls will be filled with parents and children
who are all here to celebrate what their children have
accomplished in the past nine weeks.
We also use exhibits to assess the learning of our students.
I like to go up to students and have them explain an exhibit
to me so that I understand, did they get the big idea?
Did they just do a project
or do they really understand what they did, why they did it
and what it means in terms of the bigger picture?
What we find is that because the learning is so rich and it's
so meaningful, that our students do very well
on standardized tests.
>>Linda: Many schools that I've worked
with have graduation portfolios
where students have to complete projects.
They often need to collaborate with others effectively as part
of the work that they're going to present.
They need to communicate in multiple forms.
They need to be critical and creative problem solvers
because they're going to run into barriers and obstacles
and they have to solve them in order
to complete this major project.
So the blend of the cognitive and the non-cognitive skills
that result often in them defending their work to a panel
of outside evaluators really prepares them for the range
of abilities they're going to need to have
when they leave the boundaries of school.
And I think it's possible
to value these non-cognitive skills throughout school
in the same way we value the academic skills.
>>Erin: We try to bring in people from the community
to watch or judge their presentations
and then just do things that's like, in your life, in a job,
you might have to make a presentation to your boss
about why your proposal should work.
>>Student: So ninety-one percent of the people I surveyed said
that fifteen dollars for one unit is a perfect price
for them.
>>Woman: Really nicely done, good presentation
and I really like your product.
>>Erin: So trying to model assessments
after real life experiences, I think is really important.
No one in their job, I don't think, has to bubble
in a standardized test.
>>Having a hundred and thirty students means it's really easy
to have no idea if your students are learning anything
because there's so many of them.
That's when in the last couple of years, I've realized,
the more that I can get them to take ownership
of their learning, then I don't have to own
that for every student.
>>Student: Something that I'm good at is researching in books
and interviews and articles and to make sure
that the information is accurate.
>>Linda: Ideally, assessment is primarily for the student
and the student should own big parts of the assessment process.
That can happen in a variety of ways:
one is that they are continually engaged in self assessment
and peer assessment, using rubrics.
>>Student: So writing strengths.
>>Student: Creating good claims.
>>Student: And then, areas for growth.
>>Student: I need to analyze my evidence in depth.
>>Linda: When kids have that opportunity,
they begin to value assessment.
Assessment is for me, as a way to get the feedback
that allows me to become the person I want to be.
>>If we do this well, the kind
of learner we should produce is someone who is self-initiating
and self-motivated, understands the standards internally
and is continually driving towards excellence,
is continually developing their own learning skills,
and is able ultimately to learn on their own, independently
and collaboratively with others, in a world that is going
to be very unpredictable and in
which those learning skills are going
to be the most important determinant of success.