The Benedictine Performance Assessment

Education Department Benedictine College

November 22, 2012

The Vision Successful teachers should have an impact on student learning. Their students should gain substantive knowledge and skills. Classroom teachers should be able to demonstrate that they can deliver an effective instructional unit, employ meaningful classroom assessments and analyze and reflect on their experiences. The purpose of this assessment is to evaluate:

• Your ability to analyze your classroom context and make instructional decisions based upon that analysis.

• Your ability to construct and deliver an instructional unit.

• Your ability to construct challenging, meaningful classroom assessments.

• Your students’ learning.

• Your ability to provide information on assessment data, student achievement, and the school accreditation status.

• Your ability to analyze and reflect on your experience to promote your own professional

growth. This assessment provides teachers with feedback on their own professional development. In addition, teachers who demonstrate evidence of their ability to plan and deliver effective instruction will be an asset to their school district and more professionally competitive in the job market. A glossary at the end of this document defines the terms italicized.

The Requirements You are required to teach a multiple week instructional sequence. You will describe the learning context and any specific instructional adaptations you made to meet the learning needs of individual students. Your instructional goals should be based on Kansas content standards. Your learning objectives must include outcomes in subject matter knowledge, skills, and reasoning abilities. You will also need to create an assessment plan including (but not limited to) measures of student performance before (pretest) and after (posttest) your instructional sequence. Finally, you need to analyze and reflect on your instructional design, educational context and the degree of learning demonstrated by your students. The following are format requirements for your work:

• Your completed work must not exceed 25 pages (12 point font, double-spaced with one-inch margins.) Tables and charts may be single-spaced. Be sure to insert page numbers in your document.

• Do not include any student names anywhere in your completed performance assessment.

Refer to students by number or alias.

• The document must be submitted in narrative format with the following criterion headings indicated in bold print (suggested page length in parentheses):

1. Contextual Information and Learning Environment Adaptations (4 pages) 2. Unit Learning Goals and Objectives (2 pages) 3. Instructional Design and Implementation (6 pages) 4. Analysis of Assessment Procedures (6 pages) 5. Reflection and Self-Evaluation (4 pages)

You should include a copy of your pretest/ posttest instruments that are required in BPA Criterion 6 as Attachment #1. The attachments will not count towards your 25 page maximum requirement. Be sure to use page numbers in your BPA. When it is completed clip the pages together securely with either a large stapler or a binder clip in the top left hand corner. You must address several questions when constructing a response for each criterion of the Benedictine Performance Assessment. These questions are found at the top of each of your scoring rubrics. You should read each scoring rubric carefully to make sure that you provide information in your narrative to receive the maximum score possible. The terms that are italicized throughout this document have been defined in the glossary. Notice that the suggested page length for all the criteria totals 22 pages. This gives you some flexibility in making the response for some criteria longer and some shorter. However, you MUST stay within the maximum limit of 25 pages for your Benedictine Performance Assessment.

BPA Criterion 1 Contextual Information and Learning Environment Adaptations

The teacher understands how individuals learn, understands child and adolescent development, demonstrates knowledge of appropriate adaptations, and has the ability to provide instructional strategies that afford learning opportunities for all learners. [KSDE Standards 2 and 3]

1. What are some important characteristics of students in your classroom? Describe such factors as: number of students in school and in classroom, ethnic/cultural/gender make-up, socio-economic profile, previously demonstrated academic performance/ability, developmental characteristics, district/school/community/classroom environmental considerations and students with special needs. Include a brief, general description of students in your class. Identify the groups for whom you will separate (disaggregate) data for analysis in Criterion 6. Environmental considerations that affect learning may include such factors as district regulations (e.g. about books), type of community (e.g., urban, suburban, rural etc.), and physical classroom setting (e.g. self-contained, portable etc.). You must identify the grade level(s) of the students in your class.

2. In consideration of environmental, personal, demographic and background characteristics, and

the knowledge, skill, cognitive capacities, dispositions and readiness of your students, what are the needs of your students as a group as well as individually, and the implications for your instruction. Describe and discuss the learning needs of individual or clusters of students and how these considerations will influence your approach to instruction in order to address the learning and affective needs of all students in the class.

In addition to the text description, you may use a table to illustrate the relationship between Part 1 and 2 above. Example: Contextual Factors Given Diversity, Implications for Instruction Gender: 12 boys, 13 girls

Provide mixed gender grouping during cooperative learning activities.

Achievement: 3 below, 17 at grade level, 5 above grade level

The 3 below sometimes require peer or adult assistance and more time. 2 of the 5 above are in the gifted program, and I provide more enrichment activities within each unit such as . . .

Etc. Etc. Checklist: The Teacher Describes His/Her: N Y Environmental Factors (district, school, and classroom; all three must be present) ............. 0 1 Community (urban, rural, suburban etc.) ................................................................................ 0 1 Classroom’s Ethnic/Cultural Make-up .................................................................................. 0 1 Classroom’s Gender Make-up .............................................................................................. 0 1 School’s Socio-Economic Status (SES) Make-up ................................................................. 0 1 Students with Special Needs/At Risk Students ..................................................................... 0 1 Students’ Developmental Characteristics .............................................................................. 0 1

Total Checklist Score: /7

Rating → Indicator ↓

0 Performance

Not Demonstrated

1 Performance

Partially Demonstrated

2 Performance is Demonstrated

X Score

Demonstrates an awareness of students’ backgrounds, (Socio-cultural, class, parents, building, community and district factors), and identifies implications for instruction accordingly to meet individual needs of students.

No consideration or recognition of the implications when planning instruction for individual differences

Sources of student differences are specified, but implications when planning to meet the instructional needs of the students are not addressed.

Sources of student differences are specified, and the teacher offers reasonable implications that impact plans to meet students’ individual needs.

1

Demonstrates an understanding of the cognitive/ non-cognitive characteristics of the students in the class describes how these differences, impact the planning of instruction for the class as a whole.

No consideration or recognition of the implications when planning instruction for individual differences

Sources of student differences are specified, but implications when planning to meet the instructional needs of the students are not addressed.

Sources of student differences are specified, and the teacher offers reasonable implications that impact plans to meet students’ individual needs.

1

Total Rubric Score: _____/4

Total Score for BPA Criterion 1: _____/11

BPA Criterion 2 Learning Goals and Objectives

The teacher selects goals and objectives based upon knowledge of all students, subject matter, and curriculum outcomes. [KSDE Standard 7]

1. List and describe your unit learning goal(s) and objectives for this instructional sequence. Provide a minimum of one goal and three objectives written across all levels, (lower level, middle level, and higher level. See examples below.) Be sure to include a description of subject matter knowledge, skills/applications, and reasoning ability students will achieve if your unit learning goal(s) and objectives are met.

2. Your lesson objectives should be clearly stated, developmentally appropriate, aligned with

state/district standards or local curriculum outcomes and described in terms of student performance, not activities. (The state/district standards or local curriculum outcomes that you follow should be written out completely so that alignment can be checked. Do not merely cite the title or number of the standard or outcome.) Each objective must do the following:

a. Describe precisely what performance is expected of students b. Indicate exactly how student performance will be measured (multiple choice test,

observation instrument completed by student teacher, rubric completed by student teacher, self-assessment by student, etc.

c. State the minimum mastery level that will be used in evaluating student performance.

3. Give a rationale for choosing your range of objectives. While we expect teachers to provide objectives at all levels, we realize that in some cases it may not be appropriate to provide a wide range (e.g. at least two higher level objectives for kindergarten, or for some special needs students.) If this is the case, be sure to provide a fully developed rationale for not presenting a balance across the range of objectives.

Example of Objectives: Knowledge:

1. Each student will correctly identify the seven continents and four oceans on a map with at least 80% accuracy.

Skills: 1. Each student will be given a detailed map of their school. Using the

map, they will correctly find 20 objects hidden in the school with 80% accuracy.

Reasoning: 1. Given a map with six distinct geographical features, each student will be

able to evaluate the best location for building a new city, achieving a minimum score of 80% on a teacher-developed rubric.

Checklist: Unit Goals and Objectives Are : N Y Aligned with State/District Standards or local curriculum outcomes ................................... 0 1 Developmentally Appropriate Given Grade Level and Classroom Context .......................... 0 1 Objectives Describe Precisely the Expected Student Performance ....................................... 0 1 Objectives Indicate Precisely How Student Performance Will Be Measured ....................... 0 1 Objectives State Minimum Mastery Level ............................................................................ 0 1 Focus of the Objectives is on What the Student Will Learn or Be Able to Do ..................... 0 1 Total Checklist Score: /6

Rating → Indicator ↓

0 Criterion Not Met

1 Criterion Partially

Met

2 Criterion Met

X Score

Balance in the Range of Objectives*

No rationale or description is provided for the range of objectives selected.

The description of the range of objectives selected lacks a convincing rationale.

The description of and rationale for the range of objectives selected is fully explained.

2

Lower Level/Content Knowledge Objectives

Absent (no knowledge objectives listed)

At least one objective is written at the lower level.

1

Middle Level/Skill or application Objectives

Absent (no skill/application objectives listed)

At least one objective is written at the middle level.

1

Higher Level/Reasoning Objectives

Absent (no reasoning objectives listed)

At least one objective is written at the higher level)

1

Objectives precisely describe student performance, how it will be measured and mastery level.

Objectives meet one or less of these criteria.

Objectives meet two of these criteria.

Objectives meet all three criteria.

4

* Candidates are expected to provide a balance in the range of three objectives across all levels and must also provide a rationale for why that range of objectives is selected (i.e., why it is appropriate).

Total Rubric Score: _____/18

Total Score for BPA Criterion 2: _____/24

BPA Criterion 3 Instructional Design and Implementation

The teacher understands and uses a variety of appropriate instructional strategies, including those that represent a wide range of technological tools, to develop various kinds of students’ learning including critical thinking, problem solving, reading, and subject matter knowledge. The teacher also uses knowledge of parents, community and agencies to support all students’ learning and well-being when planning and implementing instruction. [KSDE Standards 4, 10 and 12] Describe the Instructional Design and Implementation by addressing the following questions:

• Why were the activities sequenced in this way? • How did the instruction address the multiple learning strategies? • How did you encourage student use of critical thinking and problem solving? • How did you accommodate varied levels of reading skills? • What adaptations did you make for students who have reading difficulties? • What adaptations (if any) did you make from your original design based on contextual

information and/or diagnostic assessment data? • What changes did you make in the resources you used? • What technology (e.g., audio-video, overhead, computers, calculators, adaptive, etc) was

integrated into your instructional activities? Include information related to your instruction and to the students’ use for learning purposes.

• How was the use of community resources connected to the unit? Present your instructional design and implementation in both narrative and tabular form. Example of Design for Instruction Table: Day/Date Objective Instruction Assessment Adaptations Day 2/ Tues. Aug. 30

The students will be able to edit a paragraph for proper punctuation

I will read the book Punctuation Takes A Vacation by Robin Pulver to help students understand the importance of punctuation. We will complete a worksheet together that has missing punctuation.

The students will look for missing punctuation marks in a paragraph on their own.

I will work one-on-one with Student B in order for him to complete this task.

Day 3 Day 4 Etc.

Checklist: Instructional Design and Implementation of Instruction: N Y Are Aligned with Goals and Objectives stated in BPA Criterion Two…….………. 0 1 Are Progressively Sequenced ................................................................................................ 0 1 Adaptations are made for Special Needs Students

(e.g., language, cognitive, etc. If no adaptations are made, a rationale is stated and supported)…….…………………………………………………………. ..... 0 1

Provides Evidence that Context Data is Used in Instructional Decisions ............................. 0 1

Total Checklist Score: ___ /4

Rating → Indicator ↓

0 Performance Not

Demonstrated

1 Performance

Partially Demonstrated

2 Performance is Demonstrated

X Score

Multiple Instructional Strategies

Only one strategy is used throughout the unit.

A variety of instructional strategies is incorporated throughout the unit, but reflects only the more common type (e.g., relies only on direct instruction, including visual, verbal-linguistic, or paper-pencil).

Multiple instructional strategies utilizing multiple types/levels of learning - other than direct instruction - are incorporated throughout the unit (e.g., application of the theories of multiple intelligences, learning styles, constructivist techniques, cooperative learning).

2

Provide and Adapt Instructional Strategies

Teacher does not address implications of contextual and /or diagnostic information in planning instruction and assessment; no adaptations are considered or stated. (Referring a student to a specialist is not an appropriate strategy.)

Adaptations do not address the specific contextual needs of individuals, small group, or class. (Adaptations should be made for instruction of those groups in need of them as identified in Criterion One.)

Adaptations address the specific identified contextual needs of the individuals, small group, or class; or the teacher adequately defends the decision to not make instructional adaptations.

2

Use of Community Resources Outside of the School

The teacher does not attempt to use community resources to foster learning.

The teacher uses community resources to foster learning but it is not related to the objectives of the unit.

The teacher uses community resources to foster learning and it is directly related to the unit’s objectives.

2

Use of Technology Connected to the Objectives of the Unit

Instruction does not include technology or no rationale is given why it is inappropriate to use technology with students.

Technology is used but only by the teacher.

The teacher uses technology and guides the students’ use of technology, or a rationale is given why it is inappropriate to use technology with students in this particular unit.

2

Total Rubric Score: _____/16

Total Score for BPA Criterion 3 _____/20

BPA Criterion 4 Analysis of Assessment Procedures

The teacher understands and uses formal and informal assessment strategies to evaluate and ensure the continual intellectual, social and other aspects of personal development of all learners. [KSDE Standard 8] You must give a pretest on two of your three objectives. On the third objective, you may estimate student performance. Calculate learning gain scores using the learning gain worksheet. You must provide data for your students using the two tables shown below.

Criterion 4, Table 1: Raw Scores and Learning Gains Student K

Pre K

Post K

Gain S

Pre S

Post S

Gain R

Pre R

Post R

Gain Avg. Gain

Male Caucasian #1*

Male Caucasian #2 Male Caucasian #3 Male Hispanic #1 Male Hispanic #2 Female Caucasian#1 Female Caucasian#2 Female Hispanic #1 Average Female Students Average Male Students Average Caucasian Students Average Hispanic Students Overall Average

*Only eight students are shown on this table; you must do this for each individual student in your class. You must use male/ female and one other demographic factor. Some to consider: LEP vs. non-LEP; students identified for Title 1 or special education vs. those not so identified; low SES vs. middle and upper SES; or cultural/ ethnic status as indicated above.

Criterion 4, Table 2: Student Mastery

Objective Male % Mastery

Female % Mastery

Caucasian % Mastery

Minority % Mastery Overall %

Knowledge Objective

Skills Objective

Reasoning Objective

Average Mastery

A. What did your analysis of the learning results tell you about the degree to which each of your learning objective(s) were achieved for your class as a whole?

B. What did your analysis of each subgroup of students (if applicable) tell you about the degree to

which each of your learning objective(s) were achieved? Discuss specific evidence from the pre and post assessment data to support your answer. Make sure you address and evaluate the learning of all students.

C. Do the assessment results accurately reflect the degree of learning students demonstrated during

the classroom activities? Explain. D. Was the available instructional time adequate to cover all the stated learning goals?

Checklist: N Y Presents Graphics and Data that are Easily Read and Interpreted....................................... 0 1 Uses Narrative Which Reflects the Degree of Learning Students Demonstrated

During the Classroom Activities Compared to Assessment Results..................... 0 1 Includes Accurate Calculations of Gain Scores……………………………...................... 0 4 Includes Accurate Percentages of Students Who Attained Objective Mastery................... 0 2 Uses Identical Pretests and Posttests ..................................................................................... 0 1 Disaggregates Data By At Least Two Subgroups……………………………..…….…… 0 4 Includes “Overall Averages” as required in Table 1…………………………..…….………..0 4 Includes “Average Mastery” as required in Table 2……………………………...….………. 0 4 Total Checklist Score:_____ / 21

Rating → Indicator ↓

0 Performance Not

Demonstrated

1 Performance

Partially Demonstrated

2 Performance

Demonstrated

X

Score

Pretests are Utilized for Instruction and Evaluation

No pretest assessment data are collected, or the data/information collected is not appropriate for (aligned with) unit objectives.

Appropriate student pretest assessment data are collected, but not used for instructional decision- making.

Student instruction is monitored by pretest data and used appropriately in instruction and decision-making.

1

Formative Assessment is Utilized for Instruction and Evaluation

No formative assessment data are collected, or the data/information collected is not appropriate for (aligned with) unit objectives.

Appropriate student assessment data is collected, but not used for instructional decision-making.

Student progress is monitored by appropriate formative assessment data and used appropriately in instructional decision-making.

1

Multiple Types of Assessment

Only one assessment is used, or procedures and formats are very limited to non-existent.

There is more than one assessment but no variety in the types and format of assessments.

A variety of assessment formats are used (e.g. portfolios, observation, tests, projects, performance tasks, peer assessment, etc.).

1

Rating → Indicator ↓

0 Performance Not

Demonstrated

1 Performance

Partially Demonstrated

2 Performance

Demonstrated

X

Score

Alignment of Assessments to Objectives, and Instruction.

Does not align learning objectives to instruction, and assessment.

Aligns only two among learning objectives, instruction, and assessment (i.e. omits alignment of one of the three.)

Aligns learning objectives, instruction, and assessment.

1

Student Evaluation and Performance Criteria

No evaluative or grading criteria or standards or expectations are identified.

Response includes some criteria or expectations, but connections of objectives to instruction, outcomes, and evaluation are not complete.

Response includes consideration of criteria which reflect grading and evaluation based on integration aligning instruction, performance expectations, and grading or evaluation standards.

2

Total Rubric Score: _____ / 12

Total Score for BPA Criterion 4: ______ /33

BPA Criterion 5 Reflection and Self-Evaluation

The teacher is a reflective practitioner who continually evaluates the effects of his or her choices and actions on others (students, parents, and other professionals in the learning community), actively seeks out opportunities to grow professionally and participates in the school improvement process (Kansas Quality Performance Accreditation). [KSDE Standards 9 and 10]

1. Select the learning objective where your students were most successful. Provide two or more reasons for this success. Consider your goals, objectives, instruction, and assessment along with student characteristics and other contextual factors under your control.

2. Select the learning objective where your students were least successful. Provide two or more

possible reasons for this lack of success. Consider your goals, instruction and assessment along with student characteristics and other contextual factors under your control. Explain any mid-unit adaptations you made. Discuss what you could do differently or better in the future to improve your students’ performance.

3. Reflect on possibilities for professional development. Describe at least two professional

learning goals that emerged from your insights gained while teaching this unit. Identify two specific activities you will undertake to improve your performance as a teacher in the critical areas you identified.

BPA CRITERION 5

Rating → Indicator ↓

0 Indicator Not Met

1 Indicator Partially

Met

2 Indicator Met

X Score

Successful Activities

Identifies no successful activities related to an objective, or the basis for the choice is not valid.

Identifies successful activities related to an objective, but provides no adequate explanation or analysis of reasons for the successes identified.

Identifies successful activities related to an objective, and provides an adequate explanation or analysis of reasons for the successes identified.

2

Implications for Future Teaching of This Unit Including a Focus on Unsuccessful Objectives

Provides no ideas for redesigning learning goals/objectives, instruction, or assessment.

Provides ideas for redesigning learning goals/objectives, instruction, or assessment but offers no or an inadequate rationale for why these changes are warranted.

Provides ideas for redesigning learning goals/objectives, instruction, or assessment and adequately explains why these adaptations would improve student learning.

2

Implications for Professional Development/ Continuous Learning

Provides fewer than two professional learning goals that emerge from insights gained while teaching this unit.

The teacher presents at least two professional learning goals that emerge from insights gained while teaching this unit but he/she does not describe specific activities planned for meeting each professional goal presented.

Presents at least two professional learning goals that emerge from insights gained while teaching this unit and describes specific activities planned for meeting each professional goal presented.

2

Total Rubric Score: _____/12

Total BPA Criterion 5 Score: _____/12

A Glossary of Terms For the purpose of the performance assessment methodology, the following terms have these definitions: Active Inquiry: A teaching/learning strategy in which the students are active in the pursuit of knowledge. They are asking questions, researching, and answering their own and each other’s questions. The teacher is a facilitator and guide but not the chief instructional agent. The use of inquiry does not have to be in every lesson, but it should occur often enough that it is a strong instructional component in the teaching of the unit. Adaptations: Those adjustments in preparation and delivery of instruction and monitoring the learning environment that are made by a candidate to meet the special learning needs of any students. It also includes adjustments deemed necessary by the candidate to provide fair treatment of students during the assessments of learning. Affective Domain: The affective domain includes objectives that emphasize feeling and emotion, such as interests, attitudes, appreciation, and methods of adjustment. At the lowest level, students simply attend to a certain idea. At the highest level, students take an idea or a value and act on that idea. Five basic objectives make up this domain: Receiving, Responding, Valuing, Organization, and Characterization by Value (developed by Krathwohl, Bloom, and Masia). Appropriate Rationale: (for doing or not doing something that is addressed in the rubric): A statement or description of educationally defensible reasons for not using a device or method called for in the rubric. The statement may also be used to explain why the candidate is doing something differently than is called for in the rubric. To be complete, the rationale should include a statement of how the teacher’s decision(s) will impact intended outcomes and their achievement together with a description of the learning benefits of the choice(s) that the candidate has made. Balance in the Range of Objectives: Candidates are required to provide a minimum of one goal and six objectives for a unit. The expectation of balance in the range of these objectives is that the candidate will provide two objectives for each level or type of objective. The candidate should also provide a rationale for why all the objectives were selected for inclusion in the unit. This rationale should demonstrate the appropriateness of these choices, or address why a balance may not be present (e.g., if it is not developmentally appropriate). Classroom Environment: Information related to issues of culture, safety, classroom management, physical environment, and socio-personal interaction that have potential to influence the learning environment. Cognitive Domain: The cognitive domain includes objectives that emphasize intellectual outcomes, such as knowledge, understanding, and thinking skills. This domain is important to all areas of study. It provides a system for teachers to develop lessons that require students to move beyond memorization of facts at the knowledge level to the development of higher level thought processing skills at the synthesis and evaluation levels. The six major categories include: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation (Bloom). Collaboration: The deliberate use by the teacher of educational strategies that require students to work together in pairs or other groupings to solve problems, accomplish tasks, or to achieve learning goals. Collaboration may include, but is not limited to, formal cooperative learning strategies. Community: Information about the school district or city/town as well as the attendance center that defines the community of learners in the school or classroom. Such information should focus on

definitive student characteristics to which the candidate ought to pay attention and use in planning and delivering instruction in order to help all students achieve the unit learning goals. Community Resources: These would include institutions, agencies, organizations, industry, students’ family members with expertise/knowledge, etc. Examples would include community library, museum, observatory, local media, local businesses or farms, community groups like 4-H or Kiwanis, etc. Context Data: The “Contextual Information” characteristics that are narrated in Criterion One. (e.g., ethnic, gender, SES, special needs, varying developmental levels, varying intellectual/academic performance levels, emotional and/or behavioral deviations, etc.). Critical Thinking/Problem Solving: Critical thinking/problem solving requires higher cognitive processing (e.g., using information in new ways, analyzing information/concepts and/or breaking into sub-parts or sub-concepts, making evaluations and judgments supported by appropriate rationales, creating new constructs, processes or products, etc.). Students are not to perform tasks which rely simply on rote learning, list making, recitation, or on simplistic manipulation of numbers, facts, or formulae. Developmental Characteristics: Objectives, assessments and activities should be aligned with the skills, abilities, maturity, as well as the intellectual and emotional or behavioral characteristics of the typical student at the grade or level at which one is teaching. Deviations from providing instruction at the expected developmental level of a particular grade should be explained and documented as to rationale. Diagnostic Assessment: This is given before instruction to identify the students’ ability, skills, or knowledge about the topic that is about to be taught. The teacher uses this assessment to determine students’ previous knowledge in order to prepare or adjust objectives appropriately. Disaggregation of Data: Organizing and reporting data from the diagnostic assessment and summative assessment to show the achievement levels for groups present in the classroom (gender, SES, ELL, students with disabilities, ethnicity, low and high achievers, etc.) Environmental Factors: Circumstances or conditions in the school, the district, the community and/or the classroom that might affect the students and their learning. For example, school practices, district policies or regulations, transience in the community, physical attributes of the classroom etc. Ethnic/Cultural Make-up: The diversity of races, languages, religions, beliefs and practices of the students in your classroom. Cultural practices might include dress, typical foods, and special customs. Formative Assessment: Those assessments of student performance, formal or informal, done during the unit to give both the teacher and the student feedback regarding learning and the possible need for either enrichment or remediation. Goals: General learning standards or outcomes. Goals are supported by more specific learning objectives. Group and Subgroup: A group is a number of students in a broad category – e.g. gender. A subgroup refers to a subordinate group within the group – e.g. males or females. Higher Level/Reasoning Objective: A reasoning objective requires students to analyze, synthesize and/or make judgments about (evaluate) information, knowledge and ideas. Students analyze, calculate, compare, criticize, differentiate, examine, create, organize, propose, compose, appraise, assess, and evaluate.

Instrument: An assessment or test for the purpose of measuring student ability. Integration: The teacher has the knowledge and ability to import appropriate content, information or processes from other disciplines (subjects) as a means of expanding student thinking, and/or understanding and showing relation and relevance between subject fields i.e., a social studies teacher integrates math skills into a geographic map lesson, an English teacher incorporates history lessons into a Renaissance Literature unit, an elementary teacher integrates math, science, social studies, and language arts into a unit. Learner-centered Instruction: Classroom learning activities in which the learner and not the candidate is the center of focus. The candidate may serve as facilitator but not as presenter or director. The student works independently or in a small group that is in charge of the learning sequence, timing, goal setting, and production of evidence of learning. Learning Context: Information about the school, community, or individual students that should impact the manner in which the candidate plans, executes, and assesses learning for all students in the class. Low and High Level Objectives: When Bloom (1956) originally presented his taxonomy, he described six cognitive objectives as hierarchically arranged from low-level (knowledge, comprehension) to high level (application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation), with higher-level objectives building on the lower ones. Bloom’s cognitive objectives can be used when planning assessments. True/false, matching, multiple-choice, and short answer items are often used to assess knowledge and comprehension (low-level objectives). Essay questions, class discussions, projects, position papers, debates, student work products, and portfolios are especially good for assessing application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluations (high level objectives). Lower Level/Knowledge Objective: For the purposes of the BPA a knowledge objective requires students to define, list, memorize, name, recall, recognize, recite or record. Knowledge objectives may involve student comprehension where students demonstrate that they understand the meaning of what they have learned by describing, distinguishing between, discussing, explaining, expressing, identifying, locating, or reporting. Middle Level/Skill Objective: A skill objective requires students to apply the information that they have learned. Students apply, demonstrate, illustrate, practice, translate, interpret or dramatize. Non-Verbal Communication Among Students: The use of positive non-verbal strategies could include, but is not limited to the following: using hand or body movements to indicate understanding, showing answers, raising hands up, nodding, using eye contact, smiling, using hand gestures to indicate, for example, “Good job!” These non-verbal strategies fall generally into the categories of active listening and will complement such things as use of body language, paying attention, facing the speaker, etc. Objective: A statement of what students should be able to do as a result of instruction. Objectives must be specific, observable and measurable. They should be focused on the outcomes expected from the instruction and not on the activities done as a part of instruction. Properties: The characteristics, elements or contents of an assessment system or instrument. Psychomotor Domain: The psychomotor domain is concerned with motor skills and the performance of the skill. This domain is important to sciences, family and consumer science, technology, physical education, art, and music teachers. The major categories range from perception at the lowest level to origination at the highest level. The seven major categories include: Perception, Set, Guided Response, Mechanism, Complex Overt Response, Adaptation, and Origination (developed by Simpson,).

Quality Performance Accreditation (QPA): A process by which schools are assigned a status based upon performance and quality criteria established by the state board. The performance criteria include meeting state requirements on assessments, attendance, and for high schools, graduation rates. There are eleven quality criteria which include a school improvement plan, a staff development plan and having fully qualified staff. Schools may be assigned one of four levels of accreditation status ranging from “Accredited” to “Not Accredited”. Rationale: (for doing or not doing something that is addressed in the rubric): A statement or description of educationally defensible reasons for not using a device or method called for in the rubric. The statement may also be used to explain why the candidate is doing something differently than is called for in the rubric. To be complete, the rationale should include a statement of how the teacher’s decision(s) will impact intended outcomes and their achievement together with a description of the learning benefits of the choice(s) that the candidate has made. Readiness: Student readiness is the students’ previous knowledge, skills and understanding of concepts related to the unit objectives. It includes the knowledge that is foundational to achievement of the current unit’s objectives as well as previous knowledge of the concepts to be taught. Reading: Understanding the communication of written ideas through skills taught by every teacher across the curriculum. Every teacher should reinforce important reading skills by incorporating them into instruction every day. Some teaching strategies include vocabulary building; using content-based reading material to help students identify main ideas and supporting information; providing questions to generate interest in a reading passage; and many developed systems to teach reading skills such as Question-Answer Relationship (QAR), Survey, Question, Read, Recite, and Review (SQ3R), and Know, Want, Learn (KWL), which all involve questioning and reviewing. Rubric: An assessment tool that defines quality of performance as well as identifying skills, knowledge, or concepts possessed by the student. Special Needs: A description of students with special needs should not be limited to Individualized Education Program’s (IEP). Students with social, familial, emotional, cognitive, language and/or other needs should also be addressed. Students who are functioning below grade level or who have difficulty in reading could be included in the special needs area. State/District Standards or Local Curriculum Outcomes: Objectives should be aligned with state standards. However for areas where there are no state standards candidates should use district standards or local curriculum outcomes. Subgroup: A group is a number of students in a broad category – e.g., gender. A subgroup refers to a subordinate group within the group – e.g. males or females. Summative Assessment: A comprehensive test given at the end of the unit of instruction to check the level of student learning. Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The Taxonomy of Educational Objectives is a three-domain scheme (cognitive, affective, and psychomotor) for classifying instructional objectives. Each domain is organized in hierarchical order, ranging from low-level categories to high-level categories. The system is based on the assumption that learning outcomes can be described in terms of changes in student performance. Therefore, the taxonomy provides a structure for writing instructional objectives in performance terms (Gronlund).

Technology: For the use of the Benedictine Performance Assessment, technology includes a wide range of technological tools that a teacher can use to enhance instruction. Examples include audio-visual devices, overhead projectors, computers, calculators, copy machines, telephones, cameras (video and still), adaptive technology, robotics, etc. Unit Learning Goal: The primary goal set by the candidate to guide the learning. The unit learning goal is stated in terms of student performance. It will be further subdivided into subordinate tasks or unit objectives.

Sample of Attachment #2 Learning Gain Scores You must calculate a learning gain score for each individual student. Once you have figured every student’s gain score, you must calculate the average gain score for the entire class as a whole. Interpretation

Formula: (Post-assessment - Pre-assessment) You are dividing the actual gain (numerator) by the potential gain (denominator). You are calculating

------------------------------------------- how much the student gained out of the total possible that they could have (100% - Pre-assessment) gained from pre to post assessment. where: pre-assessment is the percent correct on pre-unit assessment post-assessment is the percent correct on the post unit assessment Interpretation Ex. for student #1 below: 70 - 45 25 Student #1 demonstrated a gain of 25 percentage points out of a potential 55 ----------- = ------ = .45 percentage points that they could have gained. Thus, they gained .45 (or 45%) of 100 - 45 55 the possible percentage points they

could have gained from pre to post

assessment. Example for when a student scores higher on their pre-assessment than they did on their post-assessment: Interpretation Ex. for student #2 below: 50- 75 -25 Student #2 could have gained up to 25 percentage points, but instead they lost

---------- = ------ = - 1.00 25 percentage points (or 100% of what

100 – 75 25 they could have gained).

Pre Post Individual Assessment Assessment Student Student # Score Score Gain Score 1 45% 70% .45 2 75% 50% -1.00 3 60% 80% .50 4 40% 40% .00 5 65% 70% .14 6 90% 95% .50 7 53% 59% .13 8 60% 90% .75 9 40% 95% .92 10 42% 45% .05 11 58% 88% .71 12 24% 30% .08 13 45% 89% .80 GROUP AVERAGE GAIN SCORE .31 (or a 31% average learning gain for the entire

class).