An example of using pre-assessment to differentiate a classroom

Background

This pre-assessment and subsequent lessons would be for a 7th grade IB language and literature class taught to a diverse group of students.  Most of the students are boarding students or third-culture kids.  They have been studying English with me as their teacher for one semester and we have examined literary devices rather extensively in that time period; however, there was little prior knowledge before the start of our classes together. 

 

Unit 4

At this point, they have learned to identify literary devices and to analyze their use as our first semester was focused on analysis (Criteria A).  However, in this unit students will shift roles and will now take the role of creator (Criteria C).  As such the goal of these first few lessons is to cement the terminology and how it is used, so that students can make more thoughtful decisions as authors.  The summative assignment will be for students to write a new final chapter to the book to explain what happens to the protagonist after the ambiguous finish of the actual novella.  In order to do this students will need to have a firm grasp on the terminology of the elements that they will be expected to include in their creative piece.

 

The pre-assessment

Students will begin the unit by taking a quick quiz using the program quizlet.

 

https://quizlet.com/_1za88v

 

The quiz contains eight literary terms and their definitions.  Questions can be matching, multiple choice, or fill in the blank.  I expect that a couple of the terms will be new to all of the students.  Thus, it is assumed that the high performers will probably not have perfect scores.  However, I cannot be sure that they do not already know them that is the whole point of the pre-assessment.  For the two terms that I expect students will not know, any student that has prior knowledge will help coach others later on in the unit. 

 

Using the pre-assessment to differentiate 

After students complete the pre-assessment, I will show them a youtube video about how to incorporate quotes into an essay (to supplement our previous unit), while I review their scores and divide the students into groups.  The students will be mixed into three groups: the top performers, those in the expected middle, and those who are struggling with the terminology, even that which we have learned previously.

Group 1: The top performers

This group is expected to be small and they will be given a collaborative project to create a storyboard that incorporates all of the literary devices we covered in the quiz.   The goal for this group is to shift their understanding of the concepts from one of purely understanding in reading or analysis to that of understanding their purpose as a creator. 
 

Group 2: The middle masses

This group is expected to be the largest.  These students have a strong understanding of the terms we have already studied in class, but have gaps or little knowledge outside of those few terms.  These students will be separated into smaller groups and given a competitive exercise to identify examples of the use of the literary devices from the quiz in our previous readings.  The teams will be awarded points in our classroom behavior game for accurate examples of the literary devices in the books from 1st semester.  The goal for this group of students is to solidify their understanding of the core literary devices and to get them to expand and explore the newer terms. 
 

Group 3: Limited prior knowledge

This group, like the top performers is expected to be small.  They will play a matching game connecting the terms to definitions and examples to start.  This will be followed by an in depth group discussion with me about the use of a framing technique.   The framing technique is the following lesson and the goal is to get these students to be experts about the upcoming topic so they can help lead the discussion on the following day.  Framing techniques in literature is one of the new literary devices for the students. 
 

The following lesson

The following lesson will be a series of presentations.  We will start with the middle group, who will expand on the works we have already studied and bring in examples of how these literary devices have been used in works that we have already studied.  Then the top performers will demonstrate how the devices could be used to create a story.  They will present the outline of the story they made and how they incorporated the elements being discussed.  Following this group, I will introduce the topic of the day as an examination of the use of the framing technique and ask the third group to introduce the topic to the class. 

High Stakes Assessments

High stakes assessments within an IB school

High stakes assessments are a common topic of debate within educational circles. Opponents argue that little more than teaching to a test happens within the classroom when high stakes assessments are used.  While proponents argue that these assessments ensure accountability and uphold standards. 

The amount of literature opposing high stakes assessments is far greater in quantity and covers all types and venues of testing.  McNeil (2000) attacks Texas's decision to rely solely on high stakes standardized exams for university admittance, citing that it creates greater inequalities as students who are behind only learn how to take a test.  Similar complaints about the marginalization of alternative forms of assessment have been noted (Penta, 2002).  Likewise with international exams such as the OECD administered PISA growing in importance for some systems, the fears of learning to the test, increased drop-out rates and cheating have arisen (Dall, 2011).  Even though, there has never been a correlation between high scores on these exams and economic success (Baker, 2007).  The plentitude of these articles does show at least one aspect of high stakes assessment very clearly and that is the stress they put on many educators.  This high stakes culture is often one of the contributing factors for teacher's deciding to leave the profession (Shaw, 2008).   

On the other hand, it has been pointed out that the majority of these fears about high stakes testing are opinions.  They are written by educators, but are based solely on the views or experiences of an individual and are not supported by empirical research (Mitchell, 2006).  In one of the more balanced approaches to high stakes, Foust, Hertberg-Davis, and Callahan (2009) conducted a qualitative study analyzing the effects on students enrolled in AP or IB programs.  They found that there were notably advantages and disadvantages.  Advantages included collaboration with like-minded students, superior class atmospheres, and pride in what they were accomplishing.  While stress, fatigue, and unflattering labels from others were some of the noted disadvantages.  However, it is important to note the disadvantages presented in this study varied significantly from what opponents of high stakes testing have listed.  

Another aspect that has surely been a guiding factor in the promotion of these types of exams is the simplicity with which they communicate a certain level of achievement.  The IB has been praised as creating an easily measured global standard (Anttila-Muilu, 2004).   

And since plenty of the other research out there is based on an individual's experience, here is my throw into the gauntlet.

 

International division of a Chinese public school

I have been teaching the IB program in the international division of a Chinese public school for about half a year.  They were recently authorized for the diploma program (DP), but the middle years program (MYP) has been a part of the school for more than five years.  The MYP has always been internally assessed and as such does not have any high stakes exams for the students.  This has created quite a lot of additional pressure on the first cohort of DP students and their teachers as the pilot group.  There are (as of yet) no consequences for DP teachers if students perform poorly.  For the students, most of them chose to enter this program in hopes of graduating with an IB diploma and the opportunities that brings with it.  So, the pressure on the students can be tremendous. 

As the teachers are all new to the program, there is considerable and noticeable teaching to the test.  We focus on the exact skills outlined in the IB standards.  That being said, it is not all bad.  The standards are well developed and emphasize key knowledge and skills.  However, the narrowing of what to study is also significant.  The real downside to this is that the curriculum tends to be Eurocentric, western-centered, and overly academic (Burnold-Conesa, 2010; Cambridge and Thompson, 2004; van Oord, 2007).  It also limits our ability to teach to student interests and some of the topics covered can be difficult to engage students. 

The lack of any kind of rigorous assessment in MYP has led to the majority of students entering the DP program unprepared for the workload and often lacking the core skills.  This has created a realization of one potential downfall in the lack of an assessment to progress from MYP to DP.  And at least within the IB world, a high stakes assessment for MYP may prove beneficial in better preparing students for the rigors of the DP program.  However, within our school, all of the students were admitted into the DP program this year, which ensured that at least some of them would be vastly unprepared as they had never even made the grade in previous years.  School policies have since been set to screen students based on performance for entrance into the DP program.

Compared to other DP programs

Several other educators have blogged about the influence of the IB DP on their school cultures.  In both of these schools, teaching to the test was quite common (Harding, 2016; Karaplino, 2016).  In one of these schools, teachers evaluations are even closely tied (although unofficially) to results (Karaplino, 2016).  Which leads me to further speculate that teacher retention/benefits/bonuses will soon be affected by the results of the DP exams.  I, also, noted other similarities such as screening students (from next year for our school) and using previous exams for preparation.  Overall, I get the impression that IB DP preparation runs fairly similar regardless of location.

Conclusion

High stakes assessments have advantages and disadvantages, although those the negatives are often cited are not necessarily the true downsides to them.  For example, teaching to the test can be beneficial, IF what the test measures are valuable skills and well defined standards.  Within the IB, the program and how it is taught appears to have been standardized and while this is beneficial in upholding the standards established, I am left wondering at what cost?  The main aim of the IB is to prepare students for university admittance and to this end, it succeeds.  However, culture should also be considered and with an admittedly western emphasis, is it worth sacrificing local cultures to be competitive internationally?  Does an international program have to western in order to be competitive?  ...Questions for another day.

References

Anttila-Muilu, S. (2004).  Globalized education: the international baccalaureate.              International research in geographical and environmental education, 13 (4).

Baker, K. (2007).  Are international tests worth anything.  Phi Delta Kappan, 89 (2). 101- 104.

Burnold-Conesa, C. (2010).  International education: the international baccalaureate, Montessori, and global citizenship.  Journal of research in international education, 9 (3).  259-272.

Cambridge, J. & Thompson, J. (2004).  Internationalism and globalization as contexts for international education.  Compare, 34 (2).  161-174.  DOI:10.1080/0305792042000213994

Dall, A. (2011).  Is PISA counter-productive to building successful educational systems?  Social alternatives, 30 (4).  10-14.

Foust, R.C., Hertberg-Davis, H., & Callahan, C.M. (2009).  Students’ perceptions of the non-academic advantages and disadvantages of participation in advanced placement courses and international baccalaureate programs.  Adolescence, 44. 289-312. 

Harding, D. (2016). My experience with high stakes assessments in international schools. The teacher is always learning,  retrieved from http://mymusingoflearning.blogspot.com.au/2016/01/high-stakes-assessments.html

Karaplino, P. (2016). The implications of the assessments on students and teachers.             Wondering about education, retrieved from https://karaplino.wordpress.com/2016/01/29/the-implications-of-the-assessments-on-students-and-teachers/

McNeil, L.M. (2000). Creating new inequalities: contradictions of reform.  Phi Delta Kappan, 81 (10).  728-734.

Mitchell, R. (2006).  High stakes testing and effects on instruction: research review. Center for public education, retrieved from http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/Main-Menu/Instruction/High-stakes-testing-and-effects-on-instruction-At-a-glance/High-stakes-testing-and-effects-on- instruction-Research-review.html

Penta, M.Q. (2002). Student portfolios in a standardized world.  Kappa Delta Pi record, 38  (2).  77-81.

Shaw, M. (2008).  The impact of alternative teacher certification programs on teacher shortages.  International journal of learning, 15 (3).  89-96.   

van Oord, L. (2007).  To westernize the nations?  An analysis of the international baccalaureate’s philosophy of education.  Cambridge journal of education, 37 (3). 375-390.  DOI: 10.1080/03057640701546680

Experimental application of classroom rules and procedures

Follow through on classroom rules is an essential part of maintaining a productive learning environment.  Rules mean nothing if they are not accompanied with consequences and/or rewards.  However, the choice of how to proceed when a rule is followed or violated is really up to the teacher.  And since the dynamic of each class is also unique, the same policies may need to change from class to class.  I have used a number of different strategies over the years and seen other teachers use exponential more.  Among the strategies I have used are:

• Candy rewards - this system highlights good behavior with sugar.  Especially effective with younger students, the candy reward system has brimming young faces drooling as soon as I say 'good job today.'  Major drawbacks to this system are the expense, bad teeth, hyperactivity that follow, and that one student that always complains because his behavior is never satisfactory enough to actually warrant a treat. 
• The book - I used the book in conjunction with the candy reward system.  The book is a punitive form of maintaining classroom order.  It was used school wide at the time and each teacher rated the students behavior each class on a scale of 1-10.  Anything less than an 8 was detrimental.  Additionally, if a particular student was being troublesome,  I would write their name in the book and they got detention.  As it was a school wide initiative, it was particularly useful in confronting issues with students that reached across subjects.  On the other hand, the scoring system was subjective from teacher to teacher and the consequences for students were never fully explained to the teachers either. 
• Game building - this is a system I created in my first year of teaching.  I would have students build up points over the week and when they reached a certain number of points we would play a game in class.  The games were always related to the content anyhow, so later I just started incorporating the games into the lesson and class became more fun and there was less of a need for a reward system. 
• Self-established rules - in this system students draw up their own rules and decide on the procedures to accompany it, as well as the consequences of breaking the rules.  It is advantageous in that students take ownership of the rules and they really believe in maintaining them.  On the other hand, at least from my experience, it is often difficult to get students to set realistic rules.  Too often the rules my students set end up being things like "do not kill anyone," which is a good rule, but not often that important for my classroom.  Occasionally, though...

This past week, my middle school students and I paused from our usual instruction to reflect on the classroom rules.  I have two broad rules in the classroom, "respect each other" and "be prepared to learn."  However, both of these rules were being blatantly ignored by all.  Most especially in terms of respecting each other.  Seeing as how the previously set procedures had proven ineffective, we had a class meeting to decide how to address these issues and one of my students proposed an outrageous form of applying the class rules.  It was just crazy enough to get the whole class (including myself) completely on board in about twenty seconds of time.  He suggested we make the class into a giant role-playing game (RPG).  So, each class when students maintain the rules they get experience points and as they build experience they level up.  If they break the rules, then I take away the points for the day.  Additionally, our homework is no longer homework.  Instead, they are monsters and creatures of the deep that they must vanquish in order to build more experience.  It, naturally, has been a phenomenal amount of work prepping, but if it keeps that class learning I will do it!  And I'll admit, I have been having fun building the game, too.