Effective+Assessment+and+Grade+Practice-Lesson+Plans

__**October 17, 2011**__ __**Homework: Reflection from articles.**__ As a district, I think that we are moving in the right direction. When we modified the report cards, it would our first step towards common assessments because we’ve identified the standards of greatest importance. When we look for common assessments, we hopefully will refer to the report cards and be able to clearly identify which standard we are assessing. If we can’t we shouldn’t assess. The school in the first article sounds like it needed to make changes, which they did. I remember starting fifth grade and noticed that the curriculum that wasn’t the same. If someone didn’t like something they didn’t teach it, and if someone wanted to create a thematic unit about something, they did it. I can say that now, with the adoption of books and rewriting curriculums we are all on the ‘same page.’ People were really concerned that //art of teaching// would be gone with all the aligning and calendars and other nonsense. However, I feel that when you walk into any of our current fifth grade rooms, our deliveries may be different but the content of what we are teaching is the same. I can tell the community and parents, with confidence, that the curriculum in each classroom is the same. That’s important with all the open enrollment happening, we have to show strength in our knowledge of the subject matters we teach. One common thread was the need for //time to actually do what is needed//. It’s hard with our current situation to think that we are actually going to get that time, the way the teachers would like it. Secondly, I don’t like sitting around for hours, debating the details of what we feel are the important concepts of a unit. There are so many meeting I walk out of and feel that we went around and around and I have nothing to take back to use.
 * Reviewed district grading criteria.
 * Rigor and relevance
 * Discussed district wide assessments
 * Discussed the big shift in discipline
 * 2014 all subjuects will be assessed and all kids must show growth.
 * Common Core Standards-math and reading are done. Social studies is based on enduring questions. Science is thematic.
 * Additional resources are available on google docs.
 * __November 3, 2011__**
 * Reviewed reactions to articles about the need to change, improve curriculums.
 * Discussed importance of common assessments. We don't need more, just better ways of assessing.
 * Broke up into groups to discuss ideas of creating great common assessments in multiple areas
 * __November 17, 2011__**
 * __Me__et with group members from Lincoln. Discussed about Insulator Lab and how to modifiy the lab.


 * __December 1, 2011__**
 * Presented our assessment (See [|project.docx] to see the 1st draft)
 * Oral Presentation rubric sounds like a great idea. It shows a common expectation we have throughout the district.
 * __December 14, 2011__**
 * Determined that the group was going to create a oral presentation rubric that we would use throughout the entire district.
 * Looked at merit pay based on studnet performance and how our district's common assessments are going to play into that.