Career Ladder Student Achievement Plan

What? When? Comments:Choose goal and assessments andComplete Cover Sheet

On or before August 5th, 2011

1 summative2 formatives

Email assessments to Specialist and to schedule Pre-Assessment Conference

On or before August 5th, 2011

Peer Colleague Review of Assessments Checklist (Individual plans only)

On or before August 19th, 2011

Need to have completed before the Pre-Assessment Conference

Pre-Assessment Conference completed Two-Quarter Plan: On or

before August 19th, 2011

Three-Quarter Plan: On or before Sept. 2, 2011

Bring summative and formative assessments, completed Cover Sheet, and completed Peer Colleague Review of Assessment Checklist

Plan Implementation Two QuarterThree Quarter

Post–Assessment Conference:For those with Two Quarter PlansFor those with Three Quarter Plans

On or before March 2nd, 2012

On or before May 18th, 2012

What to bring Career Ladder self- reflection1 summative assessment and scoring criteria2 formative assessmentCompleted SAP Data ChartALL Student Work from Summative and TWO Formative Assessments

The task of a teacher is to help students become their own teachers.

- Søren Kierkegaard

Student achievement is the primary objective of the Career Ladder program. The legislation requires that "teachers shall be required to demonstrate increasingly higher levels of student academic progress at higher levels of the Career Ladder." It also states that "Career Ladder teachers will be evaluated in terms of student progress as opposed to absolute performance which does not take into account entering ability" (A.R.S. 15 - 918.02.A.3.b.ii.)

What is a Student Achievement Plan?

A student achievement plan is a two-or three-quarter instructional plan that addresses the needs of all students in a class. Placement on the Career Ladder is based, in part, on the student achievement plan. The plan follows a "backwards design" model of instructional planning and is divided into two major segments:

1) PRE-INSTRUCTIONAL PLANNING and

2) POST-INSTRUCTIONAL REFLECTIONEach of these segments focuses on key elements of instructional planning as outlined below.

TEAM Plan Overview

•A team of teachers chooses a goal from Quarter 2 or 3. The team completes a Cover Sheet.

•Min. number for team: 2; Max. number for team: 4

•The team of teachers develop a summative (pre/post) assessment that assesses student mastery of that goal.

•The team teachers also develop 2 formative assessments that provide data about student progress toward that goal.

•No colleague review needed.

TEAM Plan Dates

• By August 5 the team will choose the goal of the plan and will write the formative and summative assessments. The TEAM will also email the formative and summative assessments to your specialist by August 16th.

•By August 12th: The team of teachers meets with specialist(s) to review the summative (pre/post) assessment that the team teachers plan to give, as well as two formative assessments.

•Please note: The entire team must meet together with the specialist(s) at the same time. If the team members are unable to find a time to meet together with the specialist, then the team plan is no longer an option for all the teachers. This is for the pre-conference only—the post is one-on-one.•Plan Implementation Dates are 2nd quarter or 3rd quarter.

•Post-Assessment Conference to be finished by March 2nd (2nd quarter) or May 18th (3rd quarter).

•Once the specialist(s) approves these assessments, the pre-assessment is given and the “plan” is implemented. The specialist turns in copies of the Cover Sheet to the Career Ladder office.

•If the assessments/plan is not approved, the specialist will provide feedback and the team will be given an opportunity to revise the assessments within a time frame agreed upon.

TEAM Pre Assessment Conference

During this conference, the summative assessment instrument is reviewed, as well as two formative assessments. Please bring a hard copy of the Cover Sheet as well.

•The team of teachers discuss how the summative assessment…truly assesses the goal, is appropriate in content and format, and will be scored.

•In addition, two formative assessments need to be provided and discussed in the Pre-Assessment Conference, that include higher levels of cognitive demand (Bloom’s: Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, Create -or- DOK: Level 2 or above) in at least one of the formative assessments. •Level 3 teachers provide evidence of…–Opportunities for student self-reflection

•Level 4 participants provide evidence of…–Opportunities for student self-reflection AND Evidence of higher levels of cognitive demand (Bloom’s: Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, Create -or- DOK: Level 2 or above)

•The evidence of self-reflection and higher levels must be a part of the summative assessment experience.

•Post Assessment Instrument should be same as Pre Assessment. A different prompt or reading passage is not considered a different assessment

TEAM Plan FAQsQuestion 1—What if a team member doesn’t contribute equally to the assessment?

Choose wisely. Team members must hold each other accountable for the plan.

Question 2—What if a team member can’t pre-conference at the same time as the other members?

Choose wisely. Team members must meet together at the same time and place with the specialist for the pre-conference. (The post conferences are individual conferences.)

TEAM Plan Post Conference The Post-Assessment conferences will be conducted individually.

Team teachers implement plan, including use of formative assessments, analysis of formative results, and evidence of how these were used to inform instruction.

For the Post-Assessment Conference, each teacher will need to bring student work on the summative AND these formatives to discuss how this data was used to identify and meet student needs through differentiation. The Post-Assessment Conferences will be conducted individually.

Teacher brings student work on the formatives and discuss how this data was used to identify and meet student needs through differentiation.

Teacher brings student work on summative assessment. 

Teacher brings completed SAP Data Chart.

Teacher discusses student growth, pre/post data, and effectiveness of plan.

Mastery Requirements remain--Level IV: 80% of students in the plan must reach mastery; Level III: 66% of students in the plan must reach mastery; Level II 51% of students in the plan must reach mastery

Please do not confuse these requirements with the fact that 75% is considered to be mastery level in CUSD.

Teachers email/bring the Career Ladder specialist their Career Ladder self-reflection as well, so that this conference is combined with the Post–Assessment Conference.

Specialist may approve the plan or re-schedule if more information or refinement is needed.

Estimate total time for conference 30-45 minutes.

The criteria that Career Ladder teachers follow to implement a student achievement plan will be the same criteria that the specialists will follow to evaluate the plan. 

1) PRE-INSTRUCTIONAL PLANNING

The first step in the process, selecting a strand and concept(s), is critical. As with all instructional planning, the strand and concept(s) of the student achievement plan must align with the strands and concept(s) of the district AND target an academic (cognitive) area for Career Ladder placement evaluation. The teacher will choose a strand and concept(s) that state what the students are expected to learn by the end of the plan implementation. Remember, this is a two-quarter or three-quarter plan, so the strand and concept(s) should be broad enough to be worthy of this amount of instruction. The strand / concept can be from Quarter 2 or 3 (or from semester I or II for those curricula that are semester-based). You may choose some POs from Quarter 1, but the plan should come mainly from Quarters 2 or 3.

Once the goal is selected, the Career Ladder teacher determines what assessments will be used to demonstrate student mastery of the goal’s objectives. These assessments include the Summative (pre and post) assessment, as well as at least two formative assessments. In addition, the teacher has a teacher-peer colleague review the assessments with the Peer Review of Assessment Checklist to determine if these assessments are aligned with the goals chosen by the teacher.

PERTINENT INFORMATION IN MAKING YOUR SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT SELECTION:

English Language ArtsKindergarten, 7th Grade and 8th Grade:Use the new 2010 AZ English Language Arts Standard (Common Core).

1st Grade through 6th Grade and High School:

Use the current CUSD Language Arts blueprints.

WritingIf you choose a Writing goal, your concept and PO should come from Strand 2 or 3 of the district Writing Standards (only 1 PO is needed when using Strand 3). If your assessment involves evaluating students' writing composition, you must use three traits from the 6+1 Writing Traits Rubric (not the Holistic Trait):

PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU USE THE FOLLOWING TRAITS:

1. Conventions 2. Ideas/Content or Organization 3. Word Choice, Sentence Fluency, Voice, or Format

See also: The Beginning Writers Continuum for Primary Students - (Primary Writing Rubric) to be used with K-2 students, Pre-emergent and Emergent EL students of any grade level.)

MathKindergarten through 2nd Grade:Use the new 2010 AZ Mathematics Standard (Common Core). If you choose a Math goal, the Mathematical Practices (middle column) must be included. Example from the 1st grade blueprint, 1st quarter:

Goal: 1.NBT.5. Given a two-digit number, mentally find 10 more or 10 less than the number, without having to count; explain the reasoning used.

Mathematical Practice: 1.MP.3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.

3rd Grade through High School:Use current CUSD Mathematics blueprints. If you choose a Math goal, the process integration (Strand 5) must be included. Example from the 4th grade blueprint, 2nd quarter:

Goal:Strand 1, Concept 1, PO1Express whole numbers, fractions, decimals, and percents using connected multiple representations.

Process Integration:

Strand 5, Concept 2, PO5Represent a problem situation using any combination of words, numbers, physical objects, or symbols.

ScienceIf your assessment involves evaluating students' scientific understanding, you might want to use the Scientific Inquiry Rubric:

Scientific Inquiry Rubric K-3 Scientific Inquiry Rubric 4-6 Scientific Inquiry Rubric 7-8 Scientific Inquiry Rubric 9-12

The teacher may use a variety of assessment tools with the target population. The following types of assessments may be used to show evidence of student achievement (some may need to be used in conjunction with others in order to support the instructional plan):

selected response essay performance assessment observational assessment personal communication/interviews other assessments may also be appropriate

Please note: Teachers at all Career Ladder Levels may use the District Writing Diagnostic Prompt as their summative assessment. However, Level III and Level IV teachers must meet the additional requirements of self-reflection (Level III and Level IV) and higher levels of Blooms/DOK (Level IV).

Although the following assessments are valid for specific uses, they would not be appropriate to use in a student achievement plan:

Stanford 9, or any other norm-referenced tests Accelerated Reader/STAR tests AZELLA, Special Ed., etc. tests tests of rote memorization such as spelling tests, names of states

and capitals, matching vocabulary and definitions, math facts, etc. DRA/DIBELS (more information about DRA and DIBELS) Any assessment that is taken home by students, that requires

multiple class sittings to complete, or that combines

instruction/guided practice.

All teachers at all levels must write beside each assessment question/prompt the PO number of the performance objective being assessed.

If creating a selected response assessment, a teacher should include at least four questions related to each selected PO.

If using a writing assessment, all teachers at all levels will be asked to discuss how they are using three of the Six Traits to assess the PO.

Level III and Level IV teachers: Be able to given evidence of opportunities for student self-reflection. Self-reflection must be a part of your assessment but does not need to be scored.

Level IV teachers' assessments must also give evidence of higher levels of cognitive demand (Bloom’s: Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, Create -or- DOK: Level 2 or above), as well as the opportunities for student self-reflection. Self-reflection must be a part of your assessment but does not need to be scored.

In addition to the Summative Pre-Assessment, the teacher needs to bring two Formative Assessments to the Pre-Assessment Conference. At least one of the formative assessments must include higher levels of cognitive demand (Bloom’s: Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, Create -or- DOK: Level 2 or above).

Understanding Formative AssessmentFormative Assessment: An active and intentional learning process that partners the teacher and the students. The goal is to continually gather evidence of learning and improve student achievement.

Purpose: To provide teachers and students with the concrete, specific information they need to evaluate and improve instruction and learning.

Formative Assessment should…

Assess the formation of the student’s understanding

Create outcomes that suggest future steps for teaching and learning.

Monitor student progress to prevent or identify weakness or conceptual misunderstanding

Focus on the task not the student.

Provide explicit feedback to address on-going teaching and improve student’s achievement of intended instructional outcomes.

Guide teacher’s instruction.

Inform students so that then can adjust their learning strategies.

Possible FormativeData Tools Outcomes

Portfolio Common Assessments Essays Quizzes Rubrics Graphic Organizers Checklists Short Answers Socratic Seminar Response Cards Interactive Notebooks Read-Write-Pair-Share RAFT Summary Admit/Exit Slips Think-Pair-Share

DOCUMENTATION for each student is required as evidence that the formative assessment was

used in the plan.

Please provide the following required DOCUMENTATION at your post conference.

CLASS ROSTER

STUDENT SAMPLES

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT TOOLS

By August 5th, the teacher must email his/her specialist to schedule the pre-assessment conference.

Peer Review: During the pre-assessment conference, the summative assessment will be analyzed to make sure it truly assesses the levels at which the PO’s are written. Having the assessment reviewed (and refined) by a peer before the conference will increase the likelihood that the assessment will be approved. See the Peer Review of Assessment checklist. This completed checklist must be provided at the Pre-Assessment Conference.

The selection of these assessments and peer review must happen by August 12th.

The pre-assessment conference must be completed by August 19 th for Quarter 2/Semester I plans.

The Pre-assessment conference must be completed by September 2 nd

Quarter 3 plans.

A) The Pre-Assessment Conference --

Before the teacher pre-assesses students, the teacher must have a pre-assessment conference with his/her specialist. During this conference, the specialist will review the assessments with the teacher.

The teacher needs to bring the following documents to pre-assessment conference:

1. summative and formative assessments, 2. completed Cover Sheet, and 3. completed Peer Review of Assessment checklist

Cover Sheet: Complete and Bring to Pre-Assessment Conference

Choose 2 or 3 quarter option. This plan is to be implemented over two or three quarters.

State the number of students in the target population. This number must remain at a level of at least 15 students throughout the implementation of the plan.

Elementary teachers will identify the subject area and grade level.

Secondary teachers will name the subject and grade level and state the name of the course.

Special education teachers must meet the following requirements regardless of the teaching assignment. Please check with your specialist if you have fewer than 15 students on your caseload.

1. All full-time participants must teach students at least 50% of the student contact day. This time must be documented.

2. Teachers who teach self-contained special education classrooms must use their whole class.

3. Teachers who do not have a self-contained classroom must include at least 15 students in their plans, unless the entire caseload number is less than 15. In the latter case, teachers must include their entire caseload in the plans.

4. Plans must reflect the needs identified in students I.E.P.s, if appropriate. Students having the same I.E.P objectives, or the same concepts but different objectives in their I.E.P.s may be grouped together.

5. Strands/concepts must follow the required Career Ladder format.

The Plan’s Goal: Identification of strand, concept(s) and PO(s).

Teachers will state an academic strand (broad area of

study within a specific content), concept(s) (skills and knowledge that students are expected to know and be able to do), and POs (performance objectives) to be reached during the instructional period of two or three quarters. (If you choose a Writing goal, your concept and POs should come from Strand 3 of the district Writing Standards).

What to consider for this portion of the plan:

What do you want students to know and be able to do at the completion of this plan?

It may be necessary to provide an extension of the concept(s) for students in the population who already know a significant portion of the content being assessed, or modification of the concept(s) for those with special needs.

uring the Pre-Assessment Conference, be prepared to discuss the following:A challenging performance level for all students in the target group: The mastery level of performance should maintain district standards (e.g., a minimum of 75%, a score of 3 on a 4-point rubric, or a score of 4 on a 6-point rubric).

Assessments should match and be labeled with the strand, concept(s), performance objectives (POs), and activities.

During the Pre-Conference, the teacher must be able to describe the assessment in terms of the following criteria:

How the assessment appropriate in content and format? Features such as vocabulary, content, print size, and interest level of the assessment instrument must be appropriate for the population.

How the assessment scored according to standard criteria? Student work should be scored using predetermined criteria to ensure objectivity, fairness, and quality measurement. What type of skill or knowledge are you assessing? What will the students do? How much time will you give the students? Will manipulatives such as calculators, base-ten blocks, counting bears, or supplementary resources such as a dictionary, a thesaurus, etc., be used? What instructions/assistance will you provide?

Include evidence of higher levels of cognitive demand (Bloom’s: Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, Create -or- DOK: Level 2 or above) and opportunity for student self-reflection.

How this assessment appropriate for all of my students? How will I re-assess at a higher level for students who already

demonstrate significant understanding of the content (scoring 51% or higher)?

Will certain students need modifications and/or accommodations to the pre-assessment?

What do I expect the results of the pre-assessment to tell me?

Career Ladder teachers are held to all policies of the Chandler Unified School District.

Teachers need to pre-assess new students as they are enrolled. Students who enter after November 6th for a two-quarter plan and after January 8th for a three-quarter plan may be excluded from the pre- and post-assessment. 

Teachers need to keep all SAP documentation until a new plan is submitted.

Please contact an instructional specialist at the IRC (224-3700) if you have any questions regarding the student achievement plan expectations.

Professional Standards of Written Communication Chandler teachers are expected to model high standards of written communication to students, parents, and the community. Teachers will demonstrate high standards in mechanics by carefully proofreading for spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and usage. It is good practice to have a colleague proofread your plans. In addition to mechanics, teachers are expected to demonstrate high standards in content by using sufficient details, examples, descriptions, and insights.  

Choose goal and assessments (1 summative and 2 formative)Complete Cover SheetHave peer review assessments with Peer Review of Assessment ChecklistEmail assessments to and schedule pre-assessment conference with Specialist Bring the following documents to your Pre-Assessment Conference: 

summative and formative assessments, completed Cover Sheet, and completed Peer Review of Assessment checklist

The optimist says assessment will drive instruction in the future and new and better assessments are being developed to do the job. But the cautious optimist says this will only happen if educators at all levels understand the difference between sound and unsound assessment and can integrate sound assessments into the instruction process in effective ways.

-Stiggins and Conklin