0 = I didn’t really try to accomplish my goal.
Figure 1.4 (page 12) can provide your students with guidance in setting and tracking their personal learning goals.
Figure 1.4: Student progress chart.
Visit go.SolutionTree.com/instruction for a free reproducible version of this figure.
Monitoring Element 1
Specific student responses and behaviors allow the teacher to determine whether this element is being implemented effectively and producing the desired effects.
• Students can describe how they have progressed on a scale.
• Students can explain the learning goal for the lesson.
• Students can describe how their current activities relate to the learning goal.
• Students can explain the progression of levels of performance on the scale.
Use this list to monitor student responses to element 1.
To monitor your own use of this element, use the scale in figure 1.5 in combination with the reproducible “Tracking Teacher Actions: Providing Scales and Rubrics” (page 23). As with other proficiency scales, level 3 or higher is the goal.
Figure 1.5: Self-rating scale for element 1—Providing scales and rubrics.
The following examples describe what each level of the scale might look like in the classroom.
• Not Using (0): A teacher does not typically articulate learning goals in her class. When she does, she does not embed those goals in a scale.
• Beginning (1): A teacher posts a learning goal embedded in a scale but does not review the goal or scale with his class or explain how daily assignments relate to the learning goal.
• Developing (2): A teacher has established a routine for using learning goals and scales. At the beginning and end of each lesson, she describes how the content in the lesson relates to a specific part of the scale. However, the teacher does not make sure students understand how to use the scale and isn’t sure if the routine is having an impact on students’ understanding of their progress.
• Applying (3): A teacher presents learning goals and scales and asks his students to translate scales into student-friendly language. He leads students in defining unfamiliar terms then puts them into small groups to generate specific, action-oriented descriptions of each level of the scale. He monitors each group to make sure each student understands the scale and the concept of a learning progression. Once the students have an understanding of the learning goals and scale, the teacher checks to ensure that students can describe how the scale relates to classroom activities.
• Innovating (4): A teacher has had a great deal of success introducing and using proficiency scales with her class. However, some students who are English learners are having difficulty understanding the different levels of knowledge depicted in the scale. To help ensure that these students can use the scale, the teacher asks a friend of hers to translate the scale into the students’ native language, which in this case is Spanish. She also pairs monolingual Spanish speakers with students who speak both Spanish and English when discussing the various levels of the scale.
Element 2: Tracking Student Progress
An effective educator facilitates tracking student progress on one or more learning goals using a formative approach to assessment. Research has shown that feedback—making students aware of their progress toward learning goals—is associated with an increase in student achievement (Bangert-Drowns, Kulik, Kulik, & Morgan, 1991; Bloom, 1976; Haas, 2005; Haller, Child, & Walberg, 1988; Kumar, 1991; Lysakowski & Walberg, 1981, 1982; Tennenbaum & Goldring, 1989; Walberg, 1999). Feedback is particularly effective when accompanied by clear goals and when given frequently (Bangert-Drowns, Kulik, & Kulik, 1991; Marzano, 2007). Element 2 focuses on assessing students often and giving them feedback on how they are progressing toward their goals. There are seven strategies within this element.
1. Using formative scores
2. Designing assessments that generate formative scores
3. Using individual score-level assessments
4. Using different types of assessments
5. Generating summative scores
6. Charting student progress
7. Charting class progress
The following sections will explore each strategy to provide you with guidelines to effectively implement this element. Read through each before creating a plan for your classroom. Teachers may use the strategies individually or in combination. Remember, these are not merely activities to be checked off; they are methods of creating a practice that combines your art with the science of tracking student progress. Reflect on your use of each strategy by filling out the “Strategy Reflection Log” on page 331.
Using Formative Scores
Using formative scores throughout a unit of instruction helps teachers and students monitor progress and adjust as necessary. This strategy works in conjunction with proficiency scales, as the class is familiar with the levels of learning progression featured on the scales. Teachers give assessments periodically throughout a unit or term, which allows students to progress up the scale.
To create assessments that generate formative scores, the teacher designs assessment tasks that correspond to 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0 content (as specified on the scale for each learning goal). For 2.0 content, forced-choice or selected-response tasks (multiple-choice, matching, true or false, or fill-in-the-blank items) are common. For 3.0 and 4.0 content, short- or extended constructed-response tasks (short written or oral responses, essays, oral reports, demonstrations, or performances) are common.
The teacher then grades these assessments using scores from the proficiency scale. When students review their scores, they know where they are on the learning progression and what they need to do to get to the next level.
Designing Assessments That Generate Formative Scores
An assessment for formative scores should contain items or tasks that correspond directly to levels 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0. Level 2.0 items and tasks address basic details and processes that are relatively easy for students. These items are often forced-choice recognition and recall questions or fill-in-the-blank items. Level 3.0 items and tasks address ideas and processes that are more complex but were still taught directly in class. Level 3.0 informational items and tasks are often open ended and ask students to write a few sentences. Level 4.0 items and tasks require students to make inferences or applications that go beyond what was taught in class. These items ask students to generate original ideas and often take the form of comparing, classifying, creating analogies, or
