​

Accelerating Learning

Utilizing Pre-Assessments

to Drive Instruction

​

​

Lake Oswego School District

Fall 2021

​

​

Signal Word: Accelerate Learning + Pre-assessment

• Continue the journey to guaranteed and viable curriculum
• Build shared understanding of “mirrored” and “aligned” assessments
• Increase awareness of:
• How we can expedite learning through a focus on the use of pre-assessment
• Resources for developing quality pre-assessments
• Quality pre-assessment practices
• Look-fors at the leadership level

​

OBJECTIVES FOR THE DAY

Activating Schema

Talk as a table: What do you hear staff saying about student learning/knowledge of previous grade or course content right now?

Expedite Learning...

• Empty Vessel
• Learning Loss
• Prioritizing Needs
• Leveraging Strengths

​

Expedite Learning?

“Just ok is not ok” - AKA leaving core plans as is forever!

Turn and Talk...

What have you heard staff saying about these topics? (Expediting Learning, Pre-assessment)

Thoughts from TNTP

• Teachers can’t gate keep content because we are afraid students are not going to be able to access it. Instead, it has to be about access and using the correct scaffolds to do so!
• Importance of maintaining rigor and high expectations.
• Avoid endless remediation- spending significant time in below grade level content before moving into new learning.
• Instead, focus on acceleration- connects unfinished learning into the context of new learning, providing students “just-in-time” supports.

Flow of Step 1: Plan and Prepare

• Choose priority standards
• Deconstruct to student-friendly learning targets
• Select/revise a post-assessment
• Use resources and materials to decide which lessons match, what to skip/skim, what needs to be supplemented
• Select additional strategies for core
• Create pre-assessment
• Create scoring agreements
• Administer pre-assessment & score

Quality Pre-Assessment

Quality Pre-assessment

Pre-assessment is a change agent.

You do it so you can change something!

Back Then...

Think About This...

Why would we use a different pre and post-assessment?

Can You Relate?

What’s the Difference?

“Apples to Apples”

​

“Apples to Oranges”

​

“Mirrored”

“Aligned”

Assesses growth over time

Assesses the TEACHER

Common uses: SLGs, in defense of poor teaching

Assesses where the student is in relationship to the standard, locates missing prerequisites

Assesses the STUDENT

Common uses: CFAs, data teams, expedites learning!

It’s NOT Exactly Apples to Oranges

Think Grey Scale!

Previous Grade

Current Grade PRE

Current Grade POST

Next Grade

Tells us what is missing, which holes need filling and WHO is ready!

Tells us if holes were filled, who is proficient and who is ready for more!

If We Do Pre-assessment

Correctly Then...

Not everyone scores a “zero” on the pre! This means that different learning needs are identified and can be addressed for ALL students.

Student A

Student B

Evaluation of student achievement of course learning objectives

Post-test score

Pre-test score

Pre-test score

Post-test score

progress as a result of course instruction

What Does That Really Look Like?

A Bit of Reading

1. Take a few minutes to read the article.
2. Write down a synthesizing thought that includes the sentence frame:

I used to think... Now I think…

• Circle up with 4-5 friends to share!

Time for a Break

Common Questions

How can we speed this up?

Where can we find items and tasks?

Can’t we just give the post?

...Or secretly I am wondering why doesn’t our district make them for us?!

Flow of Step 1: Plan and Prepare

• Choose priority standards
• Deconstruct to student-friendly learning targets
• Select/revise a post-assessment
• Use resources and materials to decide which lessons match, what to skip/skim, what needs to be supplemented
• Select additional strategies for core
• Create pre-assessment
• Create scoring agreements
• Administer pre-assessment & score

The Grey Scale!

​

Previous Grade

​

Current Grade PRE

​

Next Grade

​

Average School

​

Previous Grade

​

Current Grade PRE

​

Next Grade

​

High Achieving School

Low Achieving School

​

Previous Grade

e

Current Grade PRE

Current Grade Post

Next Grade

Current Grade Post

Current Grade Post

Unfinished Learning...

Content Covered

​

Previous Grade

​

Current Grade PRE

​

Next Grade

​

Content Missed/Skimmed

​

Previous Grade

​

Current Grade PRE

Current Grade Post

Next Grade

Current Grade Post

​

​

Current Unit Post-Assessment

Previous Unit Materials

Previous Grade Level Post-Assessments

Ask your colleagues!

​

Bonus: It will take mere seconds to share if they named docs by standard!

Hold on to this idea. It’s not a direct copy/paste!

Using the Post as a Guide Can...

• Increase alignment to standards
• Increase teacher clarity about standards
• Increase rigor in teaching and learning
• Increase quality of tasks/questions asked in class and on the pre-assessment
• Support the creation of aligned assessments
• Aligned assessments = increase in the quality of education for ALL students
• Save time!

• Cause “teaching THE test” = a poor quality of education
• Cause “teaching THE test” = invalidating results
• Offer an unintended endorsement of mirrored assessments

​

Be Great!

Be Terrible!

Using the Post as a Guide for Clarity

Oh, that’s what it means!!!!

If they have to do… Then we would have to teach them xyz!

A Paired Example:

Leaders Can Ask...

• Have you looked at the summative assessment from the grade below to use their items/tasks?
• Have you looked at the standard deconstruction from the grade below to see what kids should already know?
• Is there a recent assessment you have already done that has the info you need? (i.e writing, a previous lab)
• Can you get the info you need through a quick sort, rather than points/scores etc?
• What would give you the most actionable information?
• Which items do you think kids might know?

Leadership Look-fors

Table Talk: What would it look like, sound like and what evidence would exist if pre-assessments were being used properly?

Leadership Look-fors

• Aligned assessments, not mirrored
• Alignment to the standards of focus
• Short
• Actionable
• Timely use
• Revision in the core plan based on strengths/needs
• Aligned progress monitors (will be a combo of progression and prioritized need)

The Best Indicators...

What we hear teachers and students SAY about pre-assessment should change AND the number of students in need of intervention would decrease!

​

​

​

80

​

15

5

What If?

Circle up with 3-4 friends from outside of your school to discuss how would you respond to each situation

​

“We don’t want to give a pre-assessment because they get everything wrong, everyone gets a zero anyways?”

What If?

​

“They haven’t had normal school in a year and a half. Half of them probably didn’t even sign in - who knows if they remember anything. I basically have to teach the grade/course below.”

What If?

​

“They have missed so much. There are so many gaps/holes in their understanding. They need everything.”

What If?

​

“A pre-assessment isn’t going to help me right now. We are rushed for time. We already have a core plan and are just going to follow it.”

Teams Are In Different Places

At a minimum, teams should be:

• Using and reflecting on ELA maps to improve quality and viability
• Initial unit mapping math to improve equitable access

​

Consider diving into the use of pre-assessment:

• When time allows and/or
• For specific situations where the team knows there is unfinished learning on a standard or you hear discussion of teaching down/below level

​

​

​

​

What Next?

For Schools:

• Consider timing/readiness for this mini-pd
• Work with EdEx coach to adjust the plan if needed

For Teams:

• Focus on the biggest group of kids that the core plan is NOT going to meet the needs of
• Consider which pre-requisite targets need to be addressed
• Select efficient scaffolds/strategies that will allow for access to grade level content

​

Resources

Please find this and other presentations

@ www.educationalexcellence.org

Thank You

Your feedback is important to us.

​

Please fill out the survey.

We read every response!

​

​

PRESENTED BY

Monitoring Student Progress Effectively

​

LP* 1

+ Success Criteria

Learning

Intention

LP* 2

+Success Criteria

LP* 3

+Success Criteria

LP* 4

+Success Criteria

*Learning Progressions

Common Formative Assessments 2.0 /Figure 1.8 (p.16)/Larry Ainsworth

Quick Checks (CFAs)

LP* 1

+Success Criteria

Learning

Intention

LP* 2

+Success Criteria

LP* 3

+Success Criteria

LP* 4

+Success Criteria

Core LP* + Prioritized Need =

Quick Checks (CFAs)

EdEx Suggested Revision

+ Prioritized Need

+ Prioritized Need

+ Prioritized Need

+ Prioritized Need