Core Content for Assessment - Represents the Content That Has Been Identified As Essential

Classroom Assessment for Student Learning

Doing It Right – Using It Well

By Richard J. Stiggins, Judith A. Arter, Jan Chappuis, and Stephen Chapuis

Rick Stiggins is the founder of the Educational Testing Service's Assessment Training Institute, in Portland, Oregon. His ideas and strategies are used by Kentucky Department of Education content specialists when they train Kentucky educators on “Assessment”. In a recent “Education Week” article, Rick Stiggins states, “Of greatest importance, however, is that we acknowledge the key role of the learner in the assessment-learning connection. We must begin to use classroom assessment to help all students experience continuous success and come to believe in themselves as learners.”

StudyIsland can be a valuable strategic partner for educators as they work to meet “Annual Yearly Progress” and the demands of CATS and NCLB. Study Island is designed to help teachers help their students master the content that has been identified as essential for all students to know and will be included on the state assessment (Kentucky Core Content for Assessment version 4.1).

As stated by the Kentucky Department of Education, “Core Content will be directly assessed in multiple-choice items, and it will provide the context for open-response items in which students are asked to apply knowledge and skills”.StudyIsland directly assesses student learning in KCCT-like multiple-choice items and provides written response questions and stems for open-response questions that teachers can edit to meet the needs of their students.

Research evidence gathered around the world shows… …when principles of assessment for learning permeate the classroom environment…studies conducted at all levels of instruction offer evidence of strong achievement gains in student performance as measured by standardized test (Bloom, 1984; Black & Wiliam, 1998; Black, 2003; Meisels, Atkins-Burnett, Xue, Bickel & Hon, 2003; Rodriguiz, 2004).

The effect of assessment for learning on student achievement is some four to five times greater than the effect of reduced class size (Ehrenberg, Brewer, Gamoran, & Willms, 2001).

Few interventions in education come close to having the same level of impact as assessment for learning.

…the largest gains accrue to the lowest achievers.

Study Island utilizes principles of “assessment for learning” and, like other world-wide research shows, Study Island’s ownresearch shows that using Study Island makes a significant difference in a student’s achievement test scores. StudyIsland has many strategies designed to benefit the lowest achievers. There is an “automatic remediation” feature built in to most all topics that determines the level the student is currently on and then works the student back up to the student’s current grade level in order to prepare for the student’s KCCT this year. There are numerous other specific strategies for utilizing StudyIsland with Special Ed students and other targeted, low achievers, especially as Response to Intervention strategies on all tier levels.

Assessment and Student Motivation

…use assessment to help students want to learn…

According to those who study the human brain (…Caine & Caine, 1997; Jensen, 1998) …we all have an innate desire to learn; we are born with intrinsic motivation. Learning is required for survival. The brain is built to seek information, integrate it with other information, interpret it, remember it, and bring it to bear at the appropriate times. …this intrinsic motivation to learn is supported when the learner meets the following criteria:

√ Has a sense of control and choice

√ Gets frequent and specific feedback on performance

√ Encounters tasks that are challenging, but not threatening

√ Is able to self-assess accurately

Using StudyIsland as an “assessment for learning” tool helps prepare students for the “computer world” in which they will be living and most all students respond very favorably to being able to work on computer – the interactivity truly engages them and, in turn, boosts their intrinsic motivation.

√ StudyIsland allows students a great sense of control and choice. They can pick the subject, topic, number of questions and, session type each time they use StudyIsland.

√ Students get feedback as soon as they answer a question and at the end of eachcurrent session plus, at any time,they can view a variety of reports that shows their overall progress toward mastery of their required learning standards.

√ By generating a unique set of questions each time they begin a session, students are not threatened by facing direct competition with other students; students get to work on their own set of KCCT-like questions for their grade level and they get to concentrate on improving their own knowledge and skills.

√ Students can view real-time reports that show an accurate depiction, topic by topic, of where they stand in line with KCCT-style grading: N-novice; A-apprentice; P-proficient; or, D-distinguished.

[The purpose of assessment for learning] is to improve learning while there is still time to act— before the graded event.

The good news is that StudyIsland is a tremendous “assessment for learning” tool that allows all players – students, parents, teachers, and administrators – to get a snapshot of just where every student, class, or sub-group of students stands in the mastery of the KCC standards that will be assessed on the KCCT this year! This allows everyone to be proactive in tracking progress and preparing students before the graded event!

Assessment for learning can have a major motivational and achievement impact on students. It enables students to take control of their own learning by providing a clear vision of the learning targets they are to attain, teaching them to assess where they are with respect to the target, and offering strategies they can use to close the gap between where they are and where they need to be. The research on motivation, how we learn, and feedback come together to support assessment for learning as the best use of assessment in the service of student learning and well-being. [underline and bold mine]

StudyIslandis very flexible and user-friendly. It can be student-driven or teacher-driven or even a combination of both. Students can view the KCC standards for the topics on which they are working and they always have a “lesson” that helps them understand just what it is they are supposed to know and be able to do by working on any particular StudyIsland topic. This provides students with a clear vision of the learning targets they are to attain. Students can assess themselves through StudyIsland to see where they are with respect to the target and then use various strategies to close the gap between where they are and where they need to be. One strategy is for the student to examine the explanations that accompany each question (after the correct answer is chosen) to view the reasoning needed to conclude the correct answer. This is an especially strong “assessment for learning” strategy when teamed with the StudyIsland feature that allows students to “Go Through Missed” questions at the end of a session. If the student studied the explanations for the missed questions, then the student is much more likely to get the questions correct the second time through! This motivational feature enables students to take control of their own learning!

Benefits to Parents

Knowing your targets at the outset of teaching also benefits parents. Sending home or posting on your website a list of learning targets written in parent-friendly language can help communicate the depth and breadth of the academic work their children are engaged in. Understanding what the intended learning is helps parents focus their assistance in productive ways.

Additionally, being clear about the intended learning helps parents understand what grades mean in terms of what their children have and have not learned. When grades come home, parents can talk specifically with their children about their strengths and areas for improvement, and help them avoid damaging generalizations, such as, “I’m no good at reading.”

StudyIsland affords parents the opportunity to log on at any time to view real-time reports that show how their child stands in the mastery of the KCC standards on which the child will be assessed on the KCCT forthis year! Parents can pull up prioritized reports that show which standards need the most work and which are in good shape. They can view the actual KCC standards for their child’s subjects and they can identify which specific standards are covered on any StudyIsland topic on which their child is working. This feature allows teachers to communicate the targets of their teaching and the student’s learning to parents at the outset which helps parents understand the intended learning and lets them better focus their assistance as their child works on Study Island at home.

Parents love being able to look at the teachers’ assignments for their child and, they especially love to be able to look at the lessons that correspond to the assigned topics. Viewing the lessons really helps parents understand just what their child is supposed to know and be able to do. StudyIsland even has an internal email system for parents and students to communicate directly with the teachers. Bottom line – StudyIsland positively boosts home/school communication!