Stiggins

The development of clear purpose
Educators understand the reasons for assessment and the practical uses of assessments. Educators know the difference between assessments for learning and assessments of learning and know how to use each effectively to improve student achievement and classroom instruction.

The development of clear learning targets
Educators have a sound understanding of learning targets, which targets are most important to student learning, and how to effectively change instruction to have the greatest postive impact on student learning.

Principles of sound assessment design
Educators understand the various types of assessments, how and when they are best used, measure what they are properly designed to measure, and avoid bias.

Effective communication of assessment results
Educators record assessment results in ways that meet student needs. These results are kept confidential and are used to promote student growth. Results are interpreted properly, without distortion of fact, and are effectively communicated to students and stakeholders alike.

Strategies to involve students in their own assessment
Educators involve students in the assessment process when applicable. Assessment measures are clearly stated and allow students access to assessment procedures with minimal secrecy. Students are involved in their own goal setting and tracking, and students are involved in the communication of their assessment results.

Scenario: You are a new principal of a (K-5, K-8, 5-8, 9-12—take your pick) school. How will you introduce Stiggins’ 5-step assessment model to your faculty?
This scenario required that I first understand how my 9-12 teachers are currently using assessments in their classrooms and courses. A solid understanding must be built to allow teachers appropriate buy-in time when changing assessment model. I may begin by forming PLC's centered around assessment methods, allowing teachers to come to some consensus in regards to the question "What is assessment and how should it be used in daily classroom instruction?". After this I would introduce the five step model, assuming that all teachers have some working knowledge of assessment usage. I would then set in motion the wheels to develop common assessments throughout the school at the building level, department level, and course levels. In developing these assessments, I would want teams of teachers developing these assessments to ensure that the design of these assessments is sound in terms of measuring benchmarks and learning targets as well as properly written assessment items. Through this introduction, teachers should be able to properly implement this assessment model and create meaningful, informative assessments that will improve classroom instruction and student achivement.

a. Teacher buy-in to the process?
Teachers would need the working background knowledge on assessment as defined by Stiggins, as well as a common understanding of the purpose of assessment. This may require teacher inservice time, a norming process for teachers to agree upon how assessments will be used within the district, training on writing/creating proper assessment tools such as rubrics, project design, test items/banks, criteria for assessment, and learning targets that reflect district curriculum goals.

b. Improved student achievement results?
Teachers will need to understand that assessment IS different from testing, and that district created assessments as well as other assessments used by the district are to be used not just for assessment of learners, but also to inform instruction. In recognizing that assessment is to be used to inform instruction, teachers will now have an additional set of data that they can use to assess their classroom practice. This can sometimes be seen as a radical idea for teachers, however continued professional development paired with continued collaboration between teachers to improve classroom practice will be essential to the improvement of student achievement. When teachers begin to look at student data in regards to their own instructional methodology and change classroom practice in order to meet student needs, all learners can be assured that they are being provided a quality education.

===5. Interview at least three teachers and one administrator and observe how assessment practices are developed in your current (real) school. How do teachers use daily assessment data? Do they use the Stiggins model? Would they consider its use if they do not currently use it?=== Teachers in ASD have commonly said that they use assessment on a daily basis to teach and reteach information in class. They use it to gain understanding as to whether students are "getting it" or not. Administrators see assessment as a tool that teachers use to gauge where students are in terms of their learning. Numerous types of assessment were mentioned including running records, data walls, homework, eye contact, and flexible grouping. All of these had pointed towards teachers "tracking" students to better educate them.

As for the Stiggins model, informally many of the teachers I had interviewed seemed to use this model. One teacher was formally trained in the Stiggins model and continues to employ it in her classroom. Administrators had a positive viewpoint on the Stiggins model, and plan to continue to push teachers to use this model when designing lessons, units, and courses. Professional development centered around developing clear learning targets that build towards clear instruction is currently in the works with the desired outcome being a district wide protocol that positively impacts instruction. As the teachers I have interviewed already either formally or informally use tihs model, I would expect that this professional development will take root in the district and not be viewed as another passing phase.