Action Research Paper Draft

Formative Common Assessments Lead to Student Success

Upon reviewing STAAR data from the 2011-2012 school year it was determined that there was a critical need for intervention in Grades 3 through 5 in Math and Reading.  The rigor of the new State assessment was evident in the 2011-2012 STAAR campus scores. Specifically, there was a discrepancy in scores of at-risk students and other students.   Students were slipping through cracks and teachers were unable to “catch” them in time.  Timeline constraints facilitate the sense of urgency to get through the curriculum at all costs.  Across grade levels, unit assessments indicated that some students had not mastered objectives and very little, if any, intervention was done on their behalf. In most cases, teachers felt that there was not enough time to go back and remediate those students who were falling behind.

We will always face time constraints and curriculum demands but we can no longer leave students behind.  Implementing the regular use of common assessments provides an opportunity for educators to pin point areas of weakness in student understanding as well as in instruction.  The results are immediate and allow for targeted intervention to occur more frequently.  My action research plan incorporates the use of PLCs to draft common assessments in Math and Science.  Incorporating formative common assessments will alleviate the need to provide extensive remediation at the conclusion of units and will result in increased student performance on unit assessments, district benchmarks and the STAAR assessment. The primary objective of this project is to close the performance gap that exists among sub populations on my campus. 

There has been quite a bit of research done to support the use of formative common assessments.  The consensus among researchers is that common assessments drive instruction and should be used to monitor learning and instructional practices (Caffrey 2009) Caffrey further suggests that teachers use formative assessments for instructional and predictive purposes and will use results to adjust their instruction, pacing and delivery methods to meet the needs of struggling students.  Additionally, when students receive feedback on their work in progress, they do better (Andrade 2011).  Using formative assessments and engaging students in their learning will result in increased student performance. Further, implementing PLCs will encourage its members to work together on common assessments to create rigorous, focused questions that assess the KUDs (Know, Understand and be able to Do).

At the beginning of the year, my administration met with the faculty to share initial results of last year’s STAAR data in conjunction with District Benchmark data.  We have been an Exemplary Title I school for the past three years and according to last year’s data, we had fallen below expectations.  The State Assessment had changed but it was clear that we had not adjusted our instructional practices to meet the needs of our students or the demands of STAAR.  This was a great opportunity to share with the staff my initial research regarding the use of formative common assessments.  Additionally, our district has embraced the concept of PLCs and our administration wanted to implement the practice on my campus. It was a great opportunity to share information on common assessments with the staff.  We were able to break up into PLCs and collaborate on formative common assessments throughout the year. The use of common assessments has been instrumental in discussing student academic concerns with parents, administration, and counselors.  They provide valuable information on student performance as well as effective teaching practices. 

Initially, my grade level was the only one participating in this project.  Although, the staff recognized the benefits of using common assessments, they could not justify the extra time needed to administer the assessment, analysis of the results, and intervention strategies.  Within my PLC, we planned our lessons together, collaborating and discussing, effective teaching strategies and lesson focus.  We divided responsibilities and each took a subject.  Each teacher was responsible for creating a 5 question assessment with the depth and rigor of the STAAR assessing the KUDs of the objective. We came together to analyze results and discuss intervention strategies for struggling students.

Although many times, it would have been too easy to skip the common assessment for the sake of time, we were getting positive results from our students.  They were performing well on unit assessments and district benchmarks.  We were able to remediate students who were struggling and provide focused interventions.  Our at-risk students were beginning to perform well and out-performing at-risk students in schools with similar demographics.  Actions speak louder than words and other grade levels on campus began to notice our success. I met with them to share ideas on how we create our assessments and use the data to provide focused support.

The needs of our community are great. I work on a Title I campus with 78% economically disadvantaged students, 39% at-risk students and 13% special education students.  Implementing the use of formative common assessments through the collaboration with PLCs will increase student performance on unit assessments and the STAAR.  Specifically, the disaggregation of the data received from common assessments will assist teachers in identifying students who are struggling and provide a focus for intervention.  It will also eliminate any unnecessary overkill of information to students who have mastered the objectives tested and facilitate differentiation thereby enriching the learning experience of all students. 

References

Caffrey, E. (2009).  Assessment in elementary and secondary education: a primer.  Congressional Research Service, 7-5700, 7-9.  Retrieved from http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R40514.pdf

Andrade, H. (2011). Getting students involved in formative self assessment.  Better: evidenced based education. 12-13. Retrieved from  http://www.bestevidence.org/word/better_spring_2011.pdf

Week 3 Web Conference Ah Ha's EDLD 5397

I was unable to attend this week's web conference.  However, I was able to watch the recording and I am glad that I did.  Although I continue to feel some anxiety with regard to writing my action research paper, the process is a little more clear.  I appreciate the way Dr. Rucker broke it down section by section in the template and the comments that were on the side were very helpful.  The part of the paper that makes me the most nervous is the Abstract.  It is the least familiar to me. 

I am definitely going to take advantage of the websites Dr. Rucker mentioned in the web conference.  These are great resources to have in our tool box.

We are in full Common Assessment Mode....

My action research project is on the use of Standards Based Common Assessments.  My project is progressing right along.  I researched Common Assessments and found some contradictory information on them.  I initially found that they were 20-25 question “benchmarks” to use to check for understanding.  My school district already implements the use of benchmarks and I was looking for research supporting the use of shorter “mini” common assessments.  According to W.J. Popham, “It is critical that all of the assessed standards be truly significant. From an instructional perspective, it is better for tests to measure a handful of powerful skills accurately than it is for tests to do an inaccurate job of measuring many skills.” Therefore, after collaborating with my team, we felt it more beneficial to administer short (10-15 questions) formative common assessment to check for understanding of standards taught. Then, I provided some initial training to my team of 5^th grade teachers on the creation and analysis of standards based common assessments.  Since then, we have created and used three Math Common Assessments and two Science Common Assessments.  We come together to disaggregate the data and to discuss the results.  .  Just as we were congratulating ourselves on a job well done, it became clear based on the results of the common assessments that there were definite gaps between what we taught and what the students understood and retained.  .  These common assessments have been a great tool to keep our team on track with each other and we have been able to establish a true PLC (professional learning community).  It has encouraged and manifested a sense of collaboration, discussion and respect for each other as educators.

Action Research holds a new meaning for me.  I knew that in order to improve upon a procedure, instruction strategy, school climate or simply to make a success sustainable, there needed to be a process in place that provided access to explore current practices and theories. More importantly, I learned that it is absolutely imperative that administrators/leaders continue to grow in their profession just as teachers are expected to adapt and grow with the changing times. 

Just as teachers get inundated with paperwork, parent concerns, behavior issues, state mandates, etc., principals do as well.  Too often we get into situations where we are reacting to triggers that could have been avoided if we had been proactive.  Engagement in inquiry enables you to take charge of something in the midst of all of the responding and reacting a principal becomes engaged in (Dana 2009). It is a process that allows you to focus on one issue for a period of time.

As I began this course, I was unaware of the technical and procedural nature of action research.  It is a very deliberate and systematic inquiry process that should be carried out over a period time.  It is critical to research literature and process the information to determine its relevance to your issue.  This issue begins with a “wondering.” It is as simple as that.  I think back at all of the “wonderings” I have had over the years as a classroom teacher and that is all they were.  I never took them a step further, which leads to my biggest concern.  Time

I continue to struggle in my career with time.  There is always so much to do and so little time to do it.  The many hats I where as a classroom teacher don’t come off when I leave campus at the end of the day.  My work comes home with me.  Grading papers, reflecting on the day’s lessons, reflecting on daily student issues, and preparation for the next day’s lessons.  Not to mention my responsibilities as a mother and wife.  Although, I know it is imperative to continue my learning and development as a leader and educator, how do I fit it all in?  Principals/leaders have asked themselves the same question.  The answer?  You find a way. I think that if you focus on fixing, modifying or improving one idea (or wondering) and you do so deliberately with the upmost best intentions, then you can get it done.  One step at a time.  I think the key to make it work is to focus on one issue and see it through to the end.  Don’t start too many projects at once as you will be spread too thin and will not be able to devote what little time you have to every project.  Focus on one “wondering” and do it well. 

Change is hard.  It is especially hard when you are comfortable.  This comfort zone becomes a dead zone where ideas often wither and die.  It is important that the right people are on board with you as a leader.  According to Harris, Edmondson and Combs (2010), everybody needs to be on the same bus and in the right seats.  This reminds me of a book I read entitled, The Energy Bus, by Jon Gordon.  It is about positive energy.  It is vital to the success of your research that you collaborate with all stakeholders and value their input as this does promote positive energy and cooperation.  According to Atul Gawande, surgeon and Harvard medical professor, “Genius doesn’t make you great; how you work in a system does” (Vargas).  Leaders cannot work alone.  As it takes a village to raise a family, it takes a team to bring about change. 

Action Planning Template
Goal:  Through the development and use of standards-based common assessments we will increase the passing percentage on the 5th Grade Mathematics STARR assessment by 10% from the previous school year.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Interview 5th grade team members regarding benefits of common assessments.	Tawny Wagner	August 20, 2012 – August 31, 2012	Interview Questions	Analyze Responses, Reflection
Meet with team to discuss components of formative and summative assessments including creating norms for the PLC	Tawny Wagner	August 20, 2012 – August 31, 2012	Literature: ·                      Common Assessments Quick Guide (Washoe County School District 2009) ·                      Wake Up Call (Martin 2006)	Reflection through weblogs and journaling. Feedback from peers.
Discuss with team Essential Objectives to assess on common assessment and create formative common mini assessment for the weekly lessons. (Continue this process weekly)	Tawny Wagner, Christopher Kenroy, Stacy Klamm and Cristina McGowen	September 3, 2012 – May 2013 (Will continue weekly throughout school year)	5th Grade Math Curriculum by Unite Literature: ·                      Common Assessments Quick Guide (Washoe County School District 2009) ·                      KUDs and Texas’ Response to Curriculum Focal Points (TEKS)	Scores on Common Assessments, Benchmark scores, unit assessment scores, Feedback from peers, observations, Reflection on weblogs
Immediately after giving common assessment, meet with team to disaggregate results and analyze.  Determine differentiation strategies and remediation for small group intervention and enrichment opportunities.	Tawny Wagner, Christopher Kenroy, Stacy Klamm and Cristina McGowen	September 7, 2012 – May 2013 (Will continue weekly throughout school year)	Completed weekly common assessment. KUDS, TEKS	Student Response to Intervention, Observation of Student work and student engagement, Re-evaluation on re-taught TEKS, Reflection through weblogs and journaling. Results on unit assessments.
Meet with Administration and team to go over benchmark results and discuss progress of common assessments.	5th Grade Team, Administration, and Math Specialists	After every District Math Benchmark throughout school year.	CDB Item Analysis, TEKS, and KUDs	Use data to determine if adjustments are necessary
Provide a one page bulleted summary to administration on our use of common assessments	Tawny Wagner	December 2012	Common Assessment Results, Remediation Results, Unit Assessments, Benchmark Assessments Team Feedback	n/a
Mid-Year survey of 5th grade team on use of standards based common assessments in 5th grade mathematics	Tawny Wagner	December 2012	Survey Monkey	Analyze feedback from Team and Make adjustments accordingly
Final survey on 5th grade team on benefits of common assessments and data review of STARR results	Tawny Wagner Administration, Math Specialists	May 2013	Survey Monkey, Preliminary STARR Results	Analyze feedback and STARR results and make recommendations for following year.
Provide a one page bulleted summary to administration on our use of common assessments	Tawny Wagner	May  2013	Common Assessment Results, Remediation Results, Unit Assessments, Benchmark Assessments Team Feedback	n/a

Man, I really struggled with identifying a research topic for our Action Research Plan.  I will be going back into the classroom this year (after being a Specialist for two years) and I am feeling so overwhelmed with everything that will be on my plate.  My campus is really pushing several initiatives this year AND our Principal is very anxious about the STARR as we did not do as well as she had expected.  Therefore, I want to focus my efforts on researching a topic that is meaningful to both myself and my campus.  I feel like I have narrowed it down to the use of common assessments and PLCs.  Is anybody else overwhelmed?

Educational leaders who blog....

Educational leaders could use blogging in various ways. Principals could use blogging to encourage professional growth in their faculty. For instance, a principal could post an article that was relevant to the campus vision on their blog and encourage his/her faculty to read and respond. It would be a great way for principals to get a pulse on their faculty's interest and support of the campus vision and on pedagogical articles.
Additionally, it would be a great opportunity for principals to network and talk, share and learn from each other. Specifically, principals of campuses with similar demographics and/or climates can collaborate on such issues such as State testing, resources, budgets, parental involvement, attendance, etc. It would be a great start to a professional learning community.  Finally, blogging can be a useful tool for leaders to reflect on their decisions, actions and goals.  It could be used as a journaling option.