Chris Frost - High-Stakes Assessments - M6U1A3

High-stakes testing in schools often leads to heated conversations between educators, parents, elected officials, etc.  In my circles, most don't like them, but begrudgingly accept them as the status quo.  Scholarly research is divided on the subject, yet most of what jumps out at you online is against them.  In a seemingly unbiased publication (Pros and Cons of Standardized Testing, 2013), the Columbia University Office of Work/Life provided their opinions of the pros and cons of standardized testing.  One pro mentioned is that standardized or high-stakes testing gives teachers guidance on what to teach and when.  Because I like structure, I tend to like this aspect.  How we teach the standards is up to us, but the standards that students will be tested on are known.  We may not know exactly what the test will look like, but we have a pretty good idea of what will be on it.  Another pro mentioned is that high-stakes tests are objective in nature, meaning that they are normally graded electronically or by those who do not know the students.  If rules are followed, this removes any subjective component and makes the results very difficult to tamper with.  Columbia University also lists as a pro the ability to compare schools locally, statewide, and nationally.  Parents and students are able to engage in comparisons because of the highly automated nature of high-stakes assessments.  One of the major cons noted in the publication is the stress on students, teachers, districts, and parents.  This stress can lead to high anxiety resulting in good teachers leaving the profession, health problems, disagreements at home, and a decline in student engagement at school.  Also mentioned as a con is that high-stakes assessments only measure individual performance at the time of the test, and don't take into account Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).  A student may have grown considerably over the course of the year, but test results may show a weak performance. Also, text anxiety causes some hard-working and bright students to underperform.  A high-stakes assessment does not reflect that these students possess character traits that will lead to success in their future endeavors.

For purposes of this assignment, I interviewed the principal of Benson Primary School in Benson, Arizona.  As a parent of children attending the school, as well as a 3rd grade teacher there, I have always found her to be a very honest and reasonable person whose opinion I value. She explained that teacher evaluations do include a test score page, but the test scores of the entire school are averaged, rather than showing individual teachers or grade levels.  She jokingly said that bonuses and rewards for high test scores are only given to the principal but, in all seriousness, there are no rewards and bonuses tied to test scores 😀.  She assured me that she has never considered or implemented the moving of teachers from one grade to another based on test scores.  Also, it is not policy to release a teacher due to test scores alone.  When assessment performance in a grade varies from teacher to teacher, there is much to be taken into consideration.  She explains that, while an initial attempt is made to structure each of the grade-level classes equally based on academics and behavior, classes get skewed a bit due to legal and personality conflicts, parent requests, etc.  Also, some teachers are better able to handle behavior issues, so they may end up with more of one type of student group vs. another.  As a result, her opinion is that test result averages may be a bit misleading, and scores on high-stakes assessments alone are not a good indicator of teacher effectiveness.  She believes in multiple measures of assessment. 

I also interviewed the superintendent of the Benson Unified School District who came to us from nearby Vail School District.  Economically speaking, Vail is in much better shape than Benson.  Situated just east of Tucson, many Vail residents work in Tucson.  Benson is farther east of Tucson and job opportunities aren't as plentiful or easily accessible.  I learned from our superintendent that high-stakes assessments are treated similarly in the Vail School District.  It is the general consensus at the district level that test scores alone do not define a student, teacher, or school.  Like Benson, bonuses and rewards are not tied to test scores at Vail.  One contrast is that, because teachers are more plentiful in Vail due to nearby Tucson, more thought might be given to finding a better grade-level fit for a teacher who consistently struggles with testing.  Assessment performance would never be the only factor that drives a change, but it might carry more weight in Vail vs. Benson.  I was also very surprised to learn that much of what Benson Unified School District does is modeled after the Vail School District. Benson has worked closely with Vail in recent years to implement a lot of the same procedures, schedules, summative assessments, test prep processes, etc.  Perhaps this is one reason why Benson Unified School District has been so successful, despite being more economically depressed. Much like Vail School District, Benson Unified School District values its teachers for more than just scores on high-stakes assessments.  

Since the 2013-14 school year, Arizona's "Move on When Reading" law requires that students who score in the "Falls Far Below" category on the ELA portion of the AzMerit achievement test will be retained at the end of their 3rd grade year.  Exceptions can and will be made for ELLs with two years or less of English instruction, students with disabilities whose IEPs include that promotion is based on what appears in the IEP, and students in the special education referral process or who are being evaluated for reading impairments (Move on When Reading, 2017). This past school year, my IEP students, and also a 504 student with ADHD, took the AzMerit outside of my classroom with special education professionals who helped them based on what appears in their IEPs/504.  My school's principal told me that, since the 2013-14 school year, not one student has been retained.  Those who have scored "Falls Far Below" were covered by one of the exceptions mentioned above. Based on the lack of motivation I witnessed by some students this year during testing, I was in disbelief upon hearing that. I recall one student filling in random bubbles without reading a single passage.  It truly makes me wonder how much weight this test should carry.  

As a teacher, I administered my first AzMerit achievement test at the end of March, which was earlier than many other Arizona schools.  Our early testing date required that we, as teachers, teach four quarters worth of standards in three.  This was extremely stressful for teachers and students, as we often felt rushed.  Frequently, I felt as if some students would benefit from more time spent on a concept, yet I had to move on because of time constraints.  Ironically, I felt like I was leaving children behind.  Test prep occurs almost every day all year.  In the teaching of required standards, I am prepping for the quarterly benchmark exams and, later, the state-mandated exam.  None are available for teachers to see until assessments are taken, but some teachers have been around long enough to remember what will appear.  The AzMerit test really throws students a curve when they are asked to pick two answers for a question rather than one.  This is not something students have been exposed to on any other assessments so, if students aren't prepared, this might confuse them and cause unnecessary stress.  Practice booklets are provided to teachers that contain practice tests.  Starting 2 to 3 weeks prior to the AzMerit, teachers print copies of the practice tests and review them with students.  This helps them become familiar with the verbiage and nuances they will encounter.  During this 2 to 3 week review, standards are still being taught as per the curriculum calendar.  It requires a great deal of time and thought to make this period of time engaging for students, but it is not impossible.  In a 2014 article, education journalist Katrina Schwartz suggests making the standards fit into student interests.  This could be applied year-round, as well as during test prep.  Practice assessment questions could be rewritten, or made accessible online, so they are more engaging to students.

As a veteran substitute teacher, and now a full-time teacher, I frequently hear teachers fretting about high-stakes assessments.  While I set the bar high for almost everything I do, I realize that there is only so much I can control. I will work my hardest to teach the required standards in an engaging way and prepare my students for the high-stakes assessments they will face.  At the same time, I want my students to enjoy school and love learning.  As a result, any stress I may feel about such assessments will not be made known to students.  On test day, I just want them to do their best.  That is all anyone can ask.

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References:

Move on When Reading. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.azed.gov/mowr/family-and-community/

Pros and Cons of Standardized Testing. (2013). Retrieved from http://worklife.columbia.edu/files_worklife/public/Pros_and_Cons_of_Standardized_Testing_1.pdf

Schwartz, Katrina. (2014, March 12). Retrieved from https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/03/12/how-to-teach-the-standards-without-becoming-standardized/

Chris Frost - Lesson Plan Incorporating Multicultural Perspectives - M5U5A1

I grew up in a rural, mostly Caucasian town.  One of my classmates was African American and a favorite memory of mine is running track together in high school.  We lived about an hour from Columbus, Ohio and often had to race against inner-city schools.  When we would arrive at the meet and size up our competition, Lina would always say, "Crap, they're all black."  Her stereotype of inner-city African American girls made me laugh then, and it still makes me laugh now.  She is a dear friend to this day and, based on the results of some of those races, she wasn't entirely wrong.  

I was raised in a very nonjudgmental home.  My parents never talked down about other races and cultures.  In fact, my parents spent time serving in the Peace Corps in India and I was often tortured as a child by slide shows and the smells of foreign spices.  Much like my parents, I expect my children to treat everyone with respect, regardless of race, religion, disability, etc.  We are all the same in God's eyes. When talking about diversity with my children and students, I always remind them that we have no say in choosing the color of our skin, what disabilities we are born with, and the culture into which we are born.  What we do have control over is our character and how we treat others.  

I now live in an even smaller town in Arizona, yet there is slightly more diversity because the United States/Mexico border is just 75 miles south.  As a result, there are several students with ties to Mexico.  As a teacher, my hope is to make all students and families feel safe and comfortable while at school. I don't pry for information, as I don’t want to make students feel uneasy, yet I am excited to learn about their background and culture if they wish to share.  It helps us understand why people do things a certain way, teaches us some really neat things about others, and learn how to assist students and their families.  Because I took over my class mid-year, many things got lost in the shuffle. One of those things was the fact that I had an ELL student.  I was shocked to finally learn this because he was one of my best students in terms of reading, writing, etc.  It was unfathomable to me that he started kindergarten knowing little to no English.  I learned that he had achieved the status of Proficient on his last AZELLA exam, and was in the second of his two-year monitoring phase.  Prior to parent-teacher conferences, it dawned on me that I hadn't heard back from his parents.  I asked the student if an interpreter would make them feel more comfortable and he said, "Yes."  As a result, I arranged for an interpreter, and our conference went amazingly well.  I almost missed an opportunity to meet with them because I didn't gather this information sooner.  I think my relationship with this student grew stronger after I learned more about his background and family.  He shared that he was born in Mexico, and I invited him to share information about his home country with the class.  He enjoyed sharing and I know the other students enjoyed learning. 

I had a United States map hanging in my classroom last year that garnered more interest than anything else.  Students would be near it when they lined up to leave the classroom and were always talking about where they had traveled, where they had lived, etc.  We live in a town near several military installations so there is diversity in terms of student hometowns.  I never would have guessed that a $1.00 map from Dollar Tree would be such a conversation starter!  My thought for next year is to add a world map to the mix.  At the beginning of the school year, we could do some activities to learn the ancestry of students.  I envision the activities involving both student and family, and inviting some parents to speak to students about their culture.  Had I thought of this last school year, I could have invited a student’s mother to speak who is from Germany.  Next year, I may have a student whose parents hail from Vietnam.  My experience has been that students really enjoy learning about culture and diversity.  Unfortunately, time is limited, and we spend a great deal of time on mathematics and reading.  My hope is to incorporate multicultural elements into other subjects.  I like to spend the last 15 minutes of the day reading to students.  Perhaps I can choose books with a multicultural perspective.  Another idea is to have students do writing assignments that cause them to think globally and multiculturally.  I will continue to have multicultural books in my classroom. If I determine that books about other cultures would be beneficial, I will use my Scholastic coupons to purchase them.  When creating word problems for mathematics, I will include ethnic names and topics.  This might help engage students of various backgrounds.  It will take some creative thinking, but multicultural elements can be incorporated into subjects other than just social studies.  

How will I know if students are developing cultural competence in my classroom?  Well, the first thing that comes to mind is how students are treating others.  Are they being kind to one another regardless of race, religion, culture, etc?  If so, that is a good start.  Also, I will feel successful if interest is piqued when a student shares information about his or her culture.  If I hear conversations between students about where they are from, where they go to church, what holidays they celebrate, etc., I will know they are interested in learning about others, which helps lead to understanding and tolerance.  If I continue to see that my classroom books about different cultures, languages, holidays, etc. are being checked out, I will know that students are enjoying becoming more culturally competent.  

With my own children, as well as my students, I will continue to emphasize that our differences make us unique.  If we were all the same, life would be rather boring.  We all have different stories, and sharing our stories helps us learn new things.  As I mentioned in the second paragraph, we have no control over where and how we are born.  We do have control over our character and how we treat others, which is what I will drive home to students as much as I possibly can. 

Candidate has analyzed in detail different ways s/he will know if students are developing cultural competence.

Chris Frost - Differentiating for and Anticipating Student Needs - M5U3A2

When I first started teaching full-time, I'll admit that I taught to those students who were engaged, which were my medium to higher-level learners.  Two groups of students, my disengaged learners and ADHD students, were often unfocused and engaging in undesirable behaviors. I was convinced that they didn't want to learn and it bothered me that they were interfering with the learning of others.  It finally dawned on me that I was the one who needed to make changes.  As a result, I shifted my focus to finding ways for all students to learn, regardless of ability level.  I knew this would benefit my disengaged learners and ADHD students, as well as my engaged students, who were sometimes adversely affected by those who weren't.

My disengaged learners had the ability, but lacked the will.  Because I had a habit of calling on students with hands raised and eager faces, I realized that my disengaged learners were not receiving much attention.  I decided to differentiate affect by working to build better personal relationships with my disengaged learners.  Whenever I had a chance, I would strike up a conversation about a common interest or an interest of theirs.  They began seeing me as someone who cared about them and their interests, which helped them focus on me a little more.  From there, I changed the way I called on students.  Rather than calling on students with hands raised, I differentiated the process by pulling name sticks at random.  All of a sudden, students knew that they might be called on at any time, which heightened engagement.  I suddenly had students solving problems on the classroom whiteboard who had never done so previously.  I noticed a change in their participation level, as well as their confidence level.  My disengaged learners finally felt like someone cared about and had faith in them.

Going forward, I will offer students more choice in the process of practicing a skill, which will stimulate disengaged learners.  By giving students options, they feel as if they have some control over their learning, and can choose options that interest them.  This will lead to product differentiation.  I will also have students work collaboratively.  When doing assignments individually, it is much easier for a disengaged learner to "zone out."  When working with a partner or team, there is more pressure to contribute and not let your team down.  I will differentiate content by providing more hands-on learning opportunities.  For example, a simple dry erase board could be used to solve problems instead of a worksheet.  Resources such as math manipulatives and/or technology tools would pique the interest of a disengaged learner.  I will differentiate process by striving to relate what I am teaching to student interests.  Thought will be put into selecting and/or creating assignments that students find fun and relevant.  If students don't understand why a lesson or assignment is purposeful, especially a disengaged learner, they are less likely to be engaged.  The following resources provide suggestions for engaging students and helped me develop the above plan.

http://educationtothecore.com/2015/08/5-strategies-for-reaching-disengaged-students/

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/classroom_qa_with_larry_ferlazzo/2012/05/response_several_ways_to_connect_with_disengaged_students.html

http://www.teachmag.com/archives/4190

I had one ADHD student this past year.  She was quite capable of doing the work, but had difficultly getting started, staying on task, and finishing.  Because I knew she was very bright, and I had little knowledge of ADHD, I did very little differentiating of instruction initially.  Over time, I realized that the work she did complete was high-quality, but there was little getting done.  I was expecting her to do the same amount of work in the same timeframe as my medium to higher-level learners.  She would get distracted, lose focus, and I would constantly be redirecting her. It became frustrating for both of us so I decided to change course.  I began differentiating process by setting small goals for her to complete within a certain timeframe.  I would tell her that I expected her to have x number of problems completed by lunchtime.  She was still doing the same work that my medium to higher-lever learners were doing, but content was adjusted to smaller quantities.  This worked wonders and less redirection was required.  In addition, I differentiated the learning environment by providing her with preferred seating where there were minimal distractions and she was close to me.

Going forward, as recommended in the following resource, https://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/adhd/adhd-teaching_pg3.html, I will divide content into smaller units.  I will encourage cooperative learning with a partner who I feel is able to keep the ADHD student on track. The Think-Write-Pair-Share strategy provides variety and allows students to express themselves in writing and orally.  To differentiate process, as recommended in the following resource, http://onlineresourcekit-adhd.blogspot.com/p/differentiating-curriculum-teaching.html, I will provide a daily checklist to ADHD students that can be marked as tasks are completed.  Additionally, homework assignments will be written down so that they are remembered.  My plan for next school year is to implement a ticket reward system where students receive a ticket when they are caught in the act of following classroom rules, staying on task, etc.  Tickets can also be taken away if rules aren't followed.  Tickets can be redeemed weekly for prizes, which should help incentivize ADHD students, as well as other students, as described in this resource https://www.education.com/reference/article/add-adhd-strategies-tips/.

Differentiating instruction for learners on opposite ends of the spectrum can be accomplished in a variety of ways.  This past school year, I found I had enough higher-level learners who were eager and willing to help the struggling students.  This was a blessing to me, and it challenged my higher-level learners to be patient, kind, and intuitive.  They had to think of ways to help struggling students gain understanding of a concept.  This required positive communication skills.  Being paired with a higher-level learner, my lower-level learners received peer instruction and feedback, which I found to be quite effective.  Some students respond more favorably to peer feedback than teacher feedback. If formative assessment reveals that a student is struggling, I will often spend time differentiating content with him or her during their specials period.  I try to avoid this unless absolutely necessary because I know students look forward to specials.  But, when necessary, meeting with them during that time gives me an opportunity to work one-on-one with students or in a small group.  If a student is struggling and I sense that he or she is overwhelmed by a particular assignment or its length, I will differentiate the process so that it's not so daunting.  This might mean breaking it down into smaller parts.  Finally, for students who have mastered a concept and are ready for higher-level concepts, I will have assignments on hand that serve this purpose.  I will differentiate content by having them write about what they are learning.  For example, they could write a persuasive or informational essay.  They could write the procedures followed to learn the skill, which might help a struggling student.

Please click the link below to view my flowchart for differentiating instruction based on students' individual needs.

https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1Inx-1daSyTlGa11TXKXV9Jck6p8efGPPIa1ZQ9mQkos/edit?usp=sharing

References

Education.com. (2014, October 3). Strategies for Students with ADHD. https://www.education.com/reference/article/add-adhd-strategies-tips/

Ford, K. (n.d). Differentiated Instruction for English Language Learners. http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/differentiated-instruction-english-language-learners

NSW Government. (2015). Differentiating content, process, product, learning environment.
http://www.ssgt.nsw.edu.au/documents/3_content_pro_etal.pdf