Private: Teaching Reading: 3-5 Workshop

Professional Development > Private: Teaching Reading: 3-5 Workshop > 8. Assessment and Accountability > 8.2 Analyze the Video | Assessment and Accountability

English Language Arts

3-5

Analyze the Video | Assessment and Accountability

Watch the video, "Assessment and Accountability," taking notes as you watch. After you watch, jot down your answers to the questions below. If you prefer to watch the video in segments, pause the video when you see the next chapter heading.

Video Summary

In this video, Professor Kathryn Au discusses standards, benchmarks, rubrics, portfolios, and high-stakes tests. You will also see classroom examples that illustrate the strategies and research Professor Au describes. As you watch the video, consider the following questions:

How do standards and benchmarks inform assessment?
What role can students play in their assessment?
How can teachers prepare for high-stakes tests?
How does assessment focus instruction?

How do standards and benchmarks inform assessment?

In this segment, Professor Au discusses the importance of linking assessment to grade-level benchmarks and instruction. (If you are watching the video in segments, you will find this image at the beginning of the video.)

How can you build assessment into your instruction?
How can you document ongoing classroom assessment?
What is the difference between standards and benchmarks, and how do they impact your teaching?
How do end-of-the-year benchmarks influence daily assessment?
How can you make anecdotal records useful and manageable?

What role can students play in their assessment?

In this segment, Professor Au discusses using grade-level benchmarks to guide students’ collection of evidence. (If you are watching the video in segments, you will find this image approximately 10 minutes into the video.)

Discuss your experience using rubrics. What changes might you make after watching the video?
How can students use rubrics to guide learning?
Describe how portfolios are developed and how they can be used as an assessment tool.

How can teachers prepare for high-stakes tests?

In this segment, Professor Au suggests ways of preparing high-stakes tests, while warning of their limitations. (If you are watching the video in segments, you will find this image approximately 17 minutes into the video.)

Why are high-stakes tests not always accurate measures of student learning?
What are the best ways to prepare students for high-stakes assessments?

How does assessment focus instruction?

In the final video segment, Professor Au focuses on how teachers use assessment to inform instruction. (If you are watching the video in segments, you will find this image approximately 24 minutes into the video.)

How does assessment help differentiate instruction?
How can you use assessment results to create small, flexible groupings in your classroom?
Based on what you learned in the video, what changes might you make in your assessment practices?

Series Directory

Private: Teaching Reading: 3-5 Workshop

Credits

Produced by WGBH Educational Foundation. 2006.

Closed Captioning
ISBN: 1-57680-815-7

Sections

8.1 Before You Watch | Assessment and Accountability

8.2 Analyze the Video | Assessment and Accountability

Watch the video, "Assessment and Accountability," taking notes as you watch. After you watch, jot down your answers to the questions below. If you prefer to watch the video in segments, pause the video when you see the next chapter heading.

8.3 Extend Your Knowledge | Assessment and Accountability

8.4 Put It Into Practice | Assessment and Accountability

8.5 Reflect on Your Learning | Assessment and Accountability

Supplementary: Assessment Chart

Handout

Supplementary: Examine the Literature Response Chart

Handouts

Supplementary: Focused Anecdotal Records Assessment: A Tool for Standards-Based, Authentic Assessment

Handout

Supplementary: Literacy Assessment and the Future

Handout

Supplementary: Assessment Conversations

Handout

Supplementary: Retelling Guide

Handout

Supplementary: Sample Rubric

Handout

Workshops

Workshop 1 Creating Contexts for Learning

This session examines how classroom organization, routines, and grouping practices can enhance literacy skills in the middle grades. Literacy expert Jeanne Paratore discusses teaching strategies that foster reading and writing skills. Classroom examples illustrate the research.

Workshop 2 Fluency and Word Study

This session focuses on how students in the middle grades develop vocabulary and reading fluency. Literacy expert Richard Allington discusses specific teaching strategies that help build fluency and vocabulary, illustrated by classroom examples.

Workshop 3 Building Comprehension

Comprehending text is one of the main goals of reading. In this session, literacy expert Nell Duke discusses what good readers do and strategies teachers can use to help students build comprehension skills. Classroom footage provides examples of comprehension strategies.

Workshop 4 Writing

This workshop examines the relationship between reading and writing in the middle grades. Literacy expert Nadeen Ruiz discusses the connections, conventions, and inventions that provide a framework for teaching writing, illustrated by classroom examples.

Workshop 5 New Literacies of the Internet

This workshop focuses on the evolving use of networked technology in education. Literacy expert Donald Leu discusses strategies that help students effectively read, write, and communicate on the Internet. Classroom examples illustrate strategies for using Internet resources in the classroom.

Workshop 6 Teaching English Language Learners

Changing classroom demographics call for a range or teaching strategies. In this session, literacy expert Robert Jim�nez discusses strategies teachers can use to create a successful learning environment for all students, while supporting English language learners. Classroom examples illustrate the research.

Workshop 7 Teaching Diverse Learners

In this session, literacy expert Dorothy Strickland discusses how teachers can meet the diverse needs of readers and writers in their classrooms. Classroom examples and teaching strategies address different aspects of diversity, including culture, language, background, ability, and learning approaches.

Workshop 8 Assessment and Accountability

This session explores assessment, standards, and outcomes. Literacy expert Kathy Au discusses the strategies teachers can use to assess students' understanding in reading and writing. Classroom examples illustrate how students can participate in their own assessment.