Assessment Information

Language Arts and Social Studies Unit Assessment Plan

Lesson Type Lesson 1 Lesson 2 Lesson 3 Lesson 4 Lesson 5
Lesson Type Lesson Type Lesson Type Lesson Type Lesson Type

Goals/Standard
Objectives
Assessed

Type of
assessment

Purpose of
Assessment

Implementation:
How will you do
the
assessment?

Feedback and
Progress
Monitoring:

How will you let

students know
about their
progress?

How will this

information
guide your next
steps in
planning
instruction?

Who else will

have access to
the assessment
results?
Why?

1
Assessment
There has been a lot of emphasis on effective assessment recently. Successful assessment
strategies allow you to fairly and accurately evaluate the real learning of all your students. See
whether your assessment strategies follow best practices in the field.

You
identify performance objectives, instruct according to these objectives, and
then assess these performance objectives.

When
objectives are not attained, you plan intervention activities to re-teach
objectives.

You
actively involve students by teaching self-assessment practices.

You
do not allow your attitudes towards assessment and standardized testing
affect your students.

You
involve parents in the assessment process. For example, share student
portfolios with parents by displaying them at conference time or sending them
home.

You
try to eliminate the mystery of assessment criteria. Students should know
the scoring rubrics ahead of time.

You
provide models of excellence.
Helpful Resources:

Timely
Topics: Assessment
http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/assessment/indexbk.htm
Reading
Resources Network: Assessment and Intervention
http://teacher.scholastic.com/reading/bestpractices/assessment.htm

Alaska Department of Education & Early Development

The Quality Paradigm Shift in Education

From Teaching and Testing to Continuous Learning and Improvement

by John Jay Bonstingl

Third Edition John Jay Bonstingl 1995. Original edition published in Schools of Quality:

2
 An Introduction to Total Quality Management in Education (ASCD 1992)

OLD PARADIGM OF TEACHING AND TESTING NEW PARADIGM OF CONTINUOUS LEARNING AND
IMPROVEMENT

Success is artificially limited to a few "winners." All others are Unlimited, continuous improvement and successes are the
made to consider themselves and their work as mediocre or aims of the school and community.
inferior.

Competition-based. Cooperation-based.

Lessons are linear, consecutive segments of one-way Learning is like a spiral with offshoots, with energy directed
communication. toward continuous improvement.

Product-oriented. Focused solely upon results, without Process-oriented. Goals are important, but the process of
acknowledgment of their short-term nature. Grades and getting to the goal is at least as significant. Assessments
rankings are important in themselves. are used for diagnostic and prescriptive purposes.

Life, including schooling, is only worthwhile if you reach your Life is a journey, and has intrinsic merit if lived with a zest
goals. The process has little or no intrinsic merit, and must be for life, love and learning. Developing a "yearning for
abbreviated whenever possible so the goals can be reached learning" is most important of all.
sooner.

The system and its processes don't matter, as long as the The integrity and health of the system, its processes, and
ends are achieved. its people must be maintained, or the system will be
suboptimized and will eventually fail.

Work is a task, not intended to bring joy and pride to the Work should be challenging, invigorating, and meaningful.
worker. Workers should take pride and joy in the products and
processes of their work.

School is a place where teaching is done to (at) students. School is a true community of learner in which
Students are passives, while teachers are active. administrators, teachers, and students learn how to get
better and better at the work they do together, so that
everyone succeeds optimally.

Teachers are isolated from each other by time and space. Teachers work together on school time to build success
with each other and with a manageable number of students
in a cohort group.

Administration is viewed as the teacher' natural adversary Administrators are viewed as teammates and partners in
(perhaps the enemy.) removing the obstacles to student and teacher success.

Teachers are viewed as the students' natural adversaries Teachers are viewed as teammates and partners in
(perhaps as enemies). removing obstacles to student's progress.

Single-discipline instruction. Multi- and cross-discipline instruction.

School learning is restricted to the curriculum, often in its School learning is the foundation for life-wide, life-deep, and
narrowest interpretation. lifelong learning. 3-Dimensional Learning.

3
OLD PARADIGM OF TEACHING AND TESTING
(continued)
Tayloresque factory model: Rule by compliance, control,
command. Authoritarian, hierarchical. Management based
upon fear.
Centralized control over resources, curriculums, teaching
methods, length of class periods, etc.
External validation of truth and the "one right answer" for
every question asked by teacher, text, test.
Testing as the primary means of assessing results of the
learning process.
Instruction is set up to generate (right) answers.
Teachers are expected to know everything about their
subjects. They give students data and information; students
memorize it, then forget most of it.
Parents are outsiders, often made to feel unwelcome, even if
unintentionally.
Business sometimes welcomed to "adopt" a school; kept at
arm's length.
People of the community are not encouraged to take part in
the life of the school, or in the education of the community's
young people. They are not encouraged to take pride in the
community's schools.
Ultimate goal: Students as products of the school.
Copyright John Jay Bonstingl 1995. All rights reserved. Permission to duplicate or otherwise use this material solely
NEW PARADIGM OF CONTINUOUS LEARNING AND
IMPROVEMENT
New model: Lead by helping and by providing vision and
support, making it possible for teachers and students to
take pride in their work together and to have joy in the
processes and products of continuous improvement. (In
Japan this is called kaizen.)
Site-based management of resources, curriculums,
teaching methods, length of class periods, etc.
External and internal truths are discovered through
teachers' and students' questioning together.
Testing, when appropriate, to help modify (improve) the
teaching-learning process. Other modes include process
portfolios, exhibitions, performances, etc.
Instruction is set up to generate better and better questions,
followed by student inquiry into some of the areas of those
questions. Student performances demonstrate improve
understanding of the nature of the questions and some of
the ways they might be solved.
Teachers are experts in their field. But more importantly,
they are the most enthusiastic and dedicated learners in the
classroom. Students learn from teachers, other students,
the community and other sources, and incorporate these
learnings into their lives, applying their insights as
appropriate to real-life challenges.
Parents as partners, suppliers, and customers. They are an
integral part of the student's progress from the very
beginning through the end of the schooling process.
Businesses invited to become partner (secondary suppliers
and customers) in the students' continuous progress, not
for direct commercial gain.
People of the community are brought into the school and
made welcome, encourage to contribute time and talents to
the betterment of their school and the community's children.
Ultimate goal: Students as their own products, continually
expanding their interests, improving their abilities, and
developing their character-getting better and better every
day, and helping other to do the same.
4
nonprofit educational use is hereby granted, provide this copyright notice is given. For further information, please contact
The Center for School of Quality, PO Box 810, Columbia, MD 21044 USA. Telephone (410) 997-7555. FAX (410) 997-
2345.
Linguistic
Culminating Essay
reviews project
accomplishment
Journals
Logs
Portfolios of written work
Word processor products
Newspaper Articles
Discussions
Debates
Storytelling
Write poem, myth, legend,
short play
Relate a short play or
novel to...
Give presentation on...
Lead a class discussion
on...
Create a talk show radio
program
Write a newsletter,
booklet, or dictionary
Invent slogans
Create an audio tape
Conduct an interview
Write a letter
Use technology to write a
letter
Musical
Original songs-write lyrics, compose
music
Dances that illustrate a concept
Song or musical collage
Musical mnemonics
Rhythmical patterns
NSTRUCTIONAL TECHNIQUES AND ACTIVITIES
Logical Kinesthetic Visual/Spatial
Scoring sheets Exhibitions-public Pictorials-chart or graph of
Out-loud problem solving demonstration of knowledge student progress in study unit
Puzzles gained: Mind maps
Games Timelines
1. books
Outlining Models
Strategizing 2. videotapes Photographic essays
Translate into Videotapes
mathematical formula 3. experiments Collages
Timeline Art work
Design and conduct an 4. art work Clusters, graphs
experiment Create slide show,
Make strategy game 5. models videotape, or photo album
Make a calendar Design a poster, bulletin
Interpret data 6. skits board, or mural
Hypothesize about... Manipulatives Visualize
Create story problem Products Use memory system
Write a computer Simulations Create a demonstration
program Role plays piece
Categorize facts and Creative movement Develop architectural
information Rehearse and perform a drawings
Set up a lab project play Make a film or an
Describe the symmetry Create a movement or advertisement
of... sequence of movements to Vary color, size, and
Use inductive or explain... shape
deductive reasoning Choreograph a dance Color-code a process
Select and use Do a reader's theater Invent a board or card
technology Invent a board floor or game
adventure game Illustrate, draw, paint,
Make task or puzzle sketch, sculpt, construct
cards Use overhead projector
Build or construct Use technology
Plan and attend a field
trip
Use qualities of a
physically educated person
Devise a scavenger hunt
Make a model
Design a product
Select and use
technology
Interpersonal Intrapersonal
Peer review- students decide Reflective journal track process and
together on skills and criteria to learning: also:
evaluate 1. daily or weekly goals
Collaborative learning or service
projects 2. learning method
Teaching others, peer or younger
5
 Sing a rap or song that explains...
Indicate the rhythmical patterns
Give presentation using musical
accompaniment
Explain how the music of a song is
similar
Present a short class musical
Make an instrument and
demonstrate it
Use music to enhance skill building
Create musical game
Collect and present songs
Write a new ending to a song
Use musical technology
student tutoring
Leadership skills
Create and implement group rules
Conduct class meeting
Identify and assume a role
Organize or participate in a group
Use conflict management strategy
Accommodate learning differences
Mentoring, apprenticeships, or
tutoring programs
Culturegrams
Multiple perspectives
Help resolve local or global problem
Multi-ethnic perspective
Use tele-communications
International issues
3. results
Self assessment activities
Describe feelings about learning,
setting, achieving goals
Managing self-directed projects
Describe qualities you possess that
will help you be successful
Create personal analog
Explain your personal philosophy
Use emotional processing
Describe personal values
Use self-directed learning
Explain the purpose in studying
Explain intuitive hunches
Receive feedback
Use technology

Developed by Meri Holden, Kodiak High School, from Teaching and Learning Through Multiple Intelligences by Linda
Campbell, et.al., 1992
BEST PRACTICES IN SOCIAL STUDIES

Increase Decrease

In-depth study of topics in each social studies field, in which Cursory coverage of a lock-step curriculum that includes
students make choices about what to study, and discover the everything but allows no time for deeper understanding of
complexities of human interaction. topics.

Emphasis on activites that engage students in inquiry and Memorization of isolated facts in textbooks
problem solving about significant human issues.

Student decision-making and participation in wider social, Isolation from the actual exercise of responsible citizenship;
political, and economic affairs, so that they share a sense of emphasis only on reading about citizenhip or future
responsibility for the welfare of their school and community. participation in the larger social and political world.

Participation in interactive and co-operative classroom study Lecture classes in which students sit passively: Classes in
processes that bring together students of all ability levels. which students of lower ability levels are deprived of the
knowledge and learning opportunities that other students
receive.

Integration of social studies with other areas of the Narrowing social studies activity to include only textbook-
curriculum. reading and test-taking.

Richer content in elementary grades, building on the prior Assumption that studetns are ignorant or uninterested in
knowledge children bring to social studies topics: This issues raised in social studies.
includes study of concepts from pyschology, sociology,
economics, and political science, as well as history and Postponement of signifcant curriculum until secondary
geography. Students of all ages can understand, within their grades.
experience, American social institutions, issues for social
groups, and problems of everyday living.

Student's valuing, and sense of connection with, American Use of curriculum restricted to only one, dominant cultural
and global history, the history and culture of diverse social heritage.
groups, and the environment that surrounds it.

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Student's inquiry about the cultural groups they belong to , Use of curriculum that leaves students disconnected from,
and others represented in their school and community, to and unexcited about social studies topics.
promote students' sense of ownership in the social studies
curriculum.

Use of evaluation that involves further learning and that Assessments only at the end of a unit or grading period;
promotes responsible citizenship and open expression of and assessments that test only factual knowledge or
ideas. memorization of textbook information.

From: Best Practice: New Standards for Teaching and Learning in America's Schools, by Steven Zemelman