Assessments: How Data Drives Differentiation
By Laura Hicks - FF/S
After 18 years in the public school system, I have administered numerous standardized tests including the ITBS and the CRCT. In today's world, so many decisions are based on the results of standardized tests that it is vital for educators to know what they are testing and why they are testing. The process of studying, organizing, analyzing, and applying data has guided my classroom instruction for many years.
As I begin my career at Darlington, I am reminded that all standardized assessment is not the same. I was given the opportunity to attend the 85th Annual Education Records Bureau (ERB) Conference titled, "Journey to Academic Excellence Destination: Innovation” on Oct. 3-5 in San Diego, Calif.
From this informative conference, I learned that the Comprehensive Testing Program 4th Edition (CTP 4) is designed to collect basic information about student achievement in areas of listening, reading, vocabulary, writing, and mathematics. Additionally, the CTP 4 includes two tests for students in grades 3-11 that measure verbal and quantitative reasoning ability.
This testing program differs greatly from the Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT), which I administered and studied for many years. The CRCT is designed to measure how well students acquire the skills and knowledge described in the state adopted curriculum including the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards (CCGPS) in reading, English/language arts, and mathematics and the Georgia Performance Standards (GPS) in science and social studies.
My purpose for attending this conference was to learn as much as possible about the standardized test, Comprehensive Testing program (CTP), developed by Education Research Bureau (ERB) that is administered at Darlington.
One of the sessions offered included presenters from the Taipei American School, an international school located in Taipei, Taiwan. These presenters discussed a powerful process for using collected data to improve instruction and to guide school improvement. Using the Data Carousel Method, teams of teachers have an opportunity to see school data and formulate what they believe to be strengths and challenges. Data is prepared for staff member groups to review at four separate stations. This process has the benefit of various perspectives as members consider and evaluate the data. Once the data is studied, groups write narrative statements, based on the information provided.
I also attended the keynote speaker Robert Tucker’s presentation on “Innovation is Everybody’s Business” and its impact on independent schools. He stressed the importance of embracing the opportunity mindset. He revealed the powerful tools and strategies to help teachers as they support their students in recognizing opportunities, seizing the initiative, adding value, and creating solutions. He also encouraged the "There's got to be a better way!" moment. Once our students experience this moment, we must encourage them to actually think deeply to solve the problem. He emphasized that critical thinking, resilience, and creativity should guide our problem solving.
An additional session that I attended brought learning to the forefront of the 21st century. Speaker Charles Fadel, founder and chairman of the Center for Curriculum Redesign, stressed knowledge, skills, character, and metacognition as necessary to make education more relevant and meaningful. He discussed the following dimensions of traditional and new knowledge:
- 21st century skills
- Performance and moral character
- Metacognition
Next, one of the most interesting sessions was titled, “When, Why, and How to Integrate CTP4 into the Classroom.” Our very own Teaching and Learning Center Director Lisa Goldin and Academic Dean David Powell discussed the reasons to administer the CTP as well as the process of analyzing, interpreting, and utilizing the data to guide instruction and raise student achievement while facilitating authentic learning in the classroom.
Standardized tests have been a prominent part of assessment for some time. As an educator, I view testing as an avenue to monitor student learning over time. It provides me insight into some of the strengths and challenges of my students so that I may structure my instruction to meet those individual needs through differentiation. However, using data to change instruction does not always come easily. The sheer volume of data provided lends itself to fostering a, sometimes overwhelming, sense of frustration. Teachers must be taught how to interpret and analyze the results in order to utilize them as a guiding force in planning for all learners.
As I teach intentionally every day, I am continuously refining and molding my data-driven instruction so that I may best meet the needs of my diverse learners. I will continue to evaluate my fifth-graders’ CTP4 scores from last year, along with ongoing, formative assessments including writing, open-ended response questions, and performance based tasks, so that I may provide the most balanced and informed instruction to all of my students on a daily basis.
