July 2008 — Features
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Elementary Schools : The Time Is Now
States throughout the country are now offering formative assessment tools to help teachers apprehend students' learning difficulties early on. Arizona, for example, offers an item bank located within its IDEAL web portal (Integrated Data to Enhance Arizona's Learning). Pre- and postassessments and performance-objective snapshots are available to all teachers in the state.
Similarly, Alaska has developed a bank of formative assessments aligned to the state's grade-level expectations in math, reading, and writing for grades 3 to 10. The assessments are intended for use by all Alaska teachers to guide them in differentiating classroom instruction. And last fall, the Pennsylvania Department of Education launched the Pennsylvania Value-Added Assessment System Performance, which empowers the state's educators with student progress and achievement data so they can make informed instructional decisions.
Technology is impacting specific content-area assessments as well. For reading, many states and districts use the formal Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills to assess reading progress and help individualize instruction. DIBELS is now available through handheld devices, which enable teachers to quickly assess students and gather student, group, and class data instantly. Scores are delivered in real time, and after a button is pushed to sync the device, data is transferred to a secure web platform that provides tools for analysis and data-driven instructional decision-making. In addition, teachers, principals, and administrators can access a range of easy-to-read reports designed to deliver the data views educators need to track progress and understand what resources and strategies are working best to improve student outcomes.
Not a moment can be lost waiting for standardized test scores or quarterly assessments to gauge student progress.
In Seminole County, FL, the school district purchased handheld units to conduct DIBELS reading assessments in 2004. "We are able to serve every student on his or her level," says Debbie Warner, coordinator of elementary reading and curriculum for Florida's Seminole County Public Schools. "Our benchmark students receive accelerated materials. They are on the computer, researching planets, and then writing stories about imaginary planets. These are activities they would never be able to do if teachers were not individualizing and differentiating instruction based on assessment data."
This focused system of data collection, analysis, and intervention has helped the entire Seminole County school district earn five straight overall "A" rankings from the Florida Department of Education.
