Technology Standard IV:

Assessment for Administration and Instruction

 

 

 

 


Technology

Standard

 

In Technology Standard IV, Assessment for Administration and Instruction, teacher candidates will use technology to analyze problems and develop data-driven solutions to support student learning and to accomplish school improvement goals.

 

Technology Indicators

 

Instructors will examine the task products in terms of three proficiency indicators:

–        Use appropriate technology to collect, manage, analyze and disseminate data that support continuous improvement.

–        Analyze data related to student and school performance.

–        Apply findings and solutions to achieve instructional and school improvement goals.

 

 

Knowledge, Skills,

Abilities

Needed to

Complete the Task

 

The task for this technology standard will require the following knowledge, skills and abilities:

 

·        Knowledge of word-processing, spreadsheet, and database applications.

·        Knowledge of formative and summative assessment.

·        Knowledge of basic descriptive statistics.

·        Skills to record, manipulate, and display data in appropriate formats (e.g., charts, figures, graphs, tables).

·        Skills to use web browsers to access voluntary state curriculum, online data, reports, and resources.

·        Ability to analyze data, to draw conclusions, and to make appropriate instructional decisions to improve student performance.

·        Ability to communicate conclusions derived from data and the rationale for instructional decisions.

·        Ability to interpret student and class performance data to ensure continuous improvement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Promise and Practice of Technology

 

 

 

 

Standard IV – Promise of Technology

 

Watch “The Promise of Technology” video and then read the following comments from the www.mdk12.org web site on using student classroom data to improve instruction.

     “…Collecting student performance data and not using it to inform instruction would be a waste of valuable teacher time, and yet that is exactly what occurs in many schools. The usefulness of the classroom monitoring data is to help you understand where your students are in relationship to the content standard indicators (that) staff is responsible for teaching so that you can make informed decisions about what you need to do next…” (MDK12.org)

 

Watch “The Practice of Technology” video and then read the following comments from a practicing teacher on using student classroom data to improve instruction.

     “When I plan and facilitate instruction, I don’t want to make assumptions about how my students are learning.  I make many decisions as I teach, and it is important that I base those decisions on current and valid assessment data.  I need to have the skills and knowledge to use multiple data sources to gain an accurate assessment of student learning.  I need to collect and analyze relevant and valid data to monitor student learning.  I have to integrate both formative and summative data and to check congruence between anecdotal and informal observations and objective measures of learning. 

 

     I can use a variety of technology tools to collect, analyze, and use essential data to make the choices that optimize and support student achievement.  Education technologies such as spreadsheets, statistical analysis software, electronic grade books, and qualitative data management systems provide tools to organize and integrate data so that it provides the richest description of student learning and guides instructional decisions.  By choosing and using some of these technology tools to gather and use essential data, I meaningfully connect assessment and instruction.”

 

 All teachers should regularly ask these questions:

·        Are my students mastering the content standards?

·        What evidence of my students’ performance do I have?

·        How will I use student performance results to drive my instruction?

 

Technology Standard IV: Assessment for Administration and

                                              Instruction (Continued)

 

Assessment Task

Familiarize yourself with the Scoring Tool for Technology Standard IV: Assessment for Administration and Instruction. Use this tool to guide you when completing this assessment task.

 

The following is an exercise for teacher candidates on using technology for student assessment and making data-driven instructional decisions. 

 

Assume that you are a classroom teacher preparing for your initial grade level or content area team meeting. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss student and class performance during the first six weeks of school.  Your school improvement plan includes achieving the following three school goals for student performance:

·        Each student will achieve a score of 7 out of 10 on each assessment of a targeted objective from the Voluntary State Curriculum.

·        Each student will achieve a score of at least 4 out of 5 for homework completion and accuracy on a scale of 1 – 5, where 5 indicates that homework is always complete and accurate.

·        Each student will have at least a 95% school attendance rate. 

 

To demonstrate proficiency in this technology standard, use the provided Class Grade Book to develop the following required products for your team meeting

·        Completed “(Your Last Name)_My Grade Book” spreadsheet with the individual and class averages.

·        “My Students’ Performance Graph” with student average performance on Goal/Objective 3.

·        “My Sorted Grade Book” with sorted student performance on Goal/Objective 3.

·        Written answers to “Data Analysis.”

·        Written answers to Instructional Decisions.”

 

To provide an authentic context for the data, you will choose a standard and its three goals/objectives in one content area from the Maryland Voluntary State Curriculum (VSC). The VSC can be found at http://mdk12.org/instruction/curriculum/index.html.  In choosing, identify a standard that supports the content you are teaching.  Then select three related goals/objectives from that standard that can be assessed through a quantitative measure.

 

The Class Grade Book contains performance data for your class of 25 students. The students’ scores reflect their performance on one standard and  three related goals/objectives for a selected content area. Each week, for each goal/objective addressed, students completed a variety of assessments. The total point value of each assessment was 10. The data in the chart represents five assessment scores for each of the three goals/objectives.

 

The Class Grade Book also includes attendance data and an overall average score for homework assignments for this period.

 

“Additional Data” can be found on a second tab at the bottom of the Class Grade Book.  This chart contains additional information on the same 25 students, including whether each student has been classified as Limited English Proficient (LEP) or has an Individual Education Plan (IEP).  On this worksheet you will also find student scores on the Reading and Math portions of the Maryland School Assessment (MSA).

 

As you analyze the data in the Class Grade Book, you will make observations and instructional decisions for individual students and your class.

 

Please note that for the purpose of this task, the type of data provided has been limited.  In an actual school setting, data collection will also include non-numeric assessments to provide a complete evaluation of student performance.

 

Complete the following in preparation for your grade level or content area meeting:

 

“My Grade Book” Spreadsheet:

 

q     Before you begin, save the Class Grade Book under your last name and add the words “My Grade Book” (e.g. Smith_My Grade Book).

 

q     Using the renamed “(Your Last Name)_My Grade Book,” select a content area and fill in a standard and three related goals/objectives for your class. Select these from the Maryland Voluntary State Curriculum (VSC). Please note many areas in the VSC are in draft form and all formats are not identical.  Go to  http://mdk12.org/instruction/curriculum/index.html

 

Individual and Class Averages:

 

q     Calculate the individual and class average score for each of the three objectives on “(Your Last Name)_My Grade Book.”

Note: Report each average to one decimal place.

 

q      Calculate the class average for homework and attendance performance.

Note: Report each average to one decimal place.

 

q      Save this file and print the chart of averages before going

       to the next step.

 

“My Students’ Performance Graph”

 

q     Create and label a graph that shows each student’s average performance on Goal/Objective 3.  Place it in a new worksheet (tab) on your spreadsheet and label the graph appropriately.

 

q     Save the file as “My Students’ Performance Graph” and print before going to the next step.

 

“My Sorted Grade Book”

 

q     Sort the average student performance on Goal/Objective 3 in descending order.  Save this sorted spreadsheet as “My Sorted Grade Book” and print.

 

“Data Analysis and Instructional Decisions”

 

Use your student and class performance averages, graph, and sorted data, as well as the additional student data provided, to complete the reflection statements below.  Write well-developed descriptions and be sure to support your descriptions with student performance data.

 

Data Analysis

1.       Describe how well your class met the three school goals for student performance, which are that:

§         Each student will achieve a score of 7 out of 10 on each assessment of a targeted objective from the Voluntary State Curriculum.

§         Each student will achieve a score of at least 4 out of 5 for homework completion and accuracy on a scale of 1 – 5, where 5 indicates that homework is always complete and accurate.

§         Each student will have at least a 95% school attendance rate.

 

2.       Describe patterns you see when you look at attendance and/or homework data and each student’s average performance on Goal/Objective 3.

 

3.      Describe patterns you see when you look at the “Additional Data” worksheet (LEP, MSA scores, and IEP) and each student’s average performance on Goal/Objective 3.

 

Instructional Decisions

 

1.      Select one of the patterns you described above in Step 2 or 3 related to Goal/Objective 3.  Identify and explain specific strategies you would implement to improve student performance based on that pattern.

 

2.      Look at all the performance data, including the “Additional Data” worksheet, and identify other adjustments in instructional strategies that need to be made for the class or group of students.  Support your decision based on the data findings.

 

3.      In an actual classroom, you would generally have more information on your students than provided here.  With this in mind, describe what additional student information would be useful to make further  instructional decisions and explain why that information would be useful.

 

 

Submit the following products:

·        Completed “(Your Last Name)_My Grade Book” spreadsheet with the individual and class averages.

·        “My Students’ Performance Graph” with student average performance on Goal/Objective 3.

·        “My Sorted Grade Book” with sorted student performance on Goal/Objective 3.

·        Written answers to “Data Analysis.”

·        Written answers to Instructional Decisions.”

 

Technology Standard IV: Assessment for Administration and                                         Instruction (Continued)

 

 

Evaluation

 

The Scoring Tool for Evaluating Technology Standard IV: Assessment for Administration and Instruction will be used to assess the products associated with this task.

 

Sample Products

 

A sample product will be available as an example of student performance on http://www.mttsonline.org.

 

 

Instructor Notes

 

·        Provide teacher candidates with a copy of the scoring tool for this task to facilitate their understanding and assist in the development of a quality product. You are encouraged to establish an appropriate context and purpose for this task.

 

·        Due to confidentiality of student data, the data used in this performance task has been invented to represent a typical set of data from a K-12 school. If the teacher candidate can gather or access authentic data, that data can be substituted for the Class Grade Book upon approval from the IHE instructor or supervisor.

 

·        If teacher candidates need additional help with spreadsheets, they should be encouraged to do an Internet search for free tutorials. 

 

Recommended Placement in Teacher Education Programs

 

 

This task is appropriate for teacher candidates in their junior or senior year of the program or near the end of their graduate/post-baccalaureate program.

 

Reference

 

This task and its supporting materials were developed from Maryland’s Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to Use Technology (PT3), USDOE 2003 Grant. Performance assessment materials will be available for each standard on the PT3 website:

 http://www.mttsonline.org

 

Any use of these materials should credit Maryland’s PT3 2003 Grant P342A030142. For additional information, please contact Dr. Louise A. Tanney, PT3 Director, 410-767-0416.