tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34762619928260974192024-03-19T06:34:54.060-05:00MeTA musings...where Math education, Technology and Assessment meetMatt Townsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15247211425347677596noreply@blogger.comBlogger232125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3476261992826097419.post-84817868301323155182015-08-29T21:13:00.004-05:002015-08-29T21:21:10.878-05:00MeTA musings has moved! After seven years and over 200 posts, this blog has moved to a <a href="http://www.mctownsley.net/blog">new site</a> as of August 29, 2015.Matt Townsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15247211425347677596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3476261992826097419.post-29631899617971973152015-06-16T08:06:00.001-05:002015-06-16T08:06:35.041-05:00Peter Miller: Building a Districtwide PLC Vision through Repeated StoryAn article recently published in Washington ASCD's eJournal, <i><a href="http://wsascd.org/curriculum-in-context-ejournal/" target="_blank">Curriculum in Context</a></i>,
was an attempt in summarizing my district's professional learning journey during the past several years.<br />
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A special thanks goes out to the teachers and administrators on our district leadership team who have spearheaded and refined this vision. I recall at least three times in which this team overhauled my draft professional learning agenda. I count it a true blessing to work alongside a team with such a high level of trust.<br />
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<script async="true" src="//e.issuu.com/embed.js" type="text/javascript"></script>Matt Townsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15247211425347677596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3476261992826097419.post-32763464844234438402015-06-02T22:28:00.005-05:002015-06-02T22:34:04.840-05:00Standards-based grading: Assessing AND grading 21st century skills <div class="tr_bq">
I recently received this email communication from a high school principal:</div>
<blockquote>
We are doing some work with teachers on writing across the curriculum and I am with a group that includes a couple of CTE (career and technical education) teachers. Conversation has gone to a discussion on projects that include a writing component, but has now focused on 21st Century Skills related to Iowa Core as another component of the project. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
Here is the question: Collaboration is an important skill, and a 21st century skill. With our philosophy of not grading behavior, and since collaboration is a behavior, under that presumption it would not be part of the grade. However, it is a 21st century skill and if collaboration is an integral part of a project -- or series of projects -- couldn't it be a component of the grade? Has the student learned how to collaborate?</blockquote>
This isn't the first time I've received an inquiry about including a content-neutral standard as part of the final grade! My thinking stems from some recent work I've done with an elementary school transitioning to a standards-based report card without letter grades. After spending some time writing parent-friendly standards, this group of elementary teachers started revising their assessments and creating rubrics aligned with the standards. Eventually, their focus turned to work habits and citizenship. The teachers realized a need to observe students (formally and informally) for work habits and citizenship standards using rubrics they eventually created. <i>In essence, if it's going to be reported and/or graded, it needs to be taught and assessed.</i> <br />
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Here was my response to the high school principal's email inquiry:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Hey _____,<br />
Good to hear from you. As a general rule, we ask our teachers to think about the instruction and feedback provided to students when considering what goes into the grade book. For example, your accounting teacher will likely know the exact days in which he/she taught, provided feedback, reviewed and assessed payroll withholdings. This same teacher could quickly tell you when he/she taught, provided feedback, reviewed and assessed the ideas of sole proprietorships, corporations and partnerships. The accounting teacher would also likely have a rubric for these big ideas to determine what a full and partial understanding of these standards looks like. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Could he/she point to the time in which students were taught (for example) collaboration, provided feedback on their ability to collaborate and then assessed it? Does he/she have a rubric in place for this 21st century skill? <i>In other words, if it's going to be reported and included in the final grade, it makes sense to formally teach and assess it like any content standard. </i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Does any of this make sense?</blockquote>
<b><i>How would you have responded to this high school principal?</i></b><br />
<br />Matt Townsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15247211425347677596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3476261992826097419.post-46108940924684532632015-05-30T20:28:00.001-05:002015-05-30T20:32:19.318-05:00What is standards-based grading? [a.k.a. standards-based grading defined]<div>
<span 20px="">In my experience, departments, buildings and school districts working towards consistent grading practices benefit from establishing common grading guidelines or beliefs. For example, in my current </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">school district, instead of merely saying "we use standards-based grading," we have agreed to utilize the following grading guidelines: </span><br />
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<li style="list-style: decimal outside; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">Entries in the grade book that count towards the final grade will be limited to course or grade level standards.**</span></li>
<li style="list-style: decimal outside; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">Extra credit will not be given at any time.</span></li>
<li style="list-style: decimal outside; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">Students will be allowed multiple opportunities to demonstrate their understanding of classroom standards in various ways. Retakes and revisions will be allowed.</span></li>
<li style="list-style: decimal outside; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">Teachers will determine grade book entries by considering multiple points of data emphasizing the most recent data and provide evidence to support their determination.</span></li>
<li style="list-style: decimal outside; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">Students will be provided multiple opportunities to practice standards independently through homework or other class work. Practice assignments and activities will be consistent with classroom standards for the purpose of providing feedback. Practice assignments, including homework, will not be included as part of the final grade.</span></li>
</ol>
<div style="line-height: 16.0029983520508px; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">
<em><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">** Exceptions will be made for midterm and/or final summative assessments. These assessments, limited to no more than one per nine-week period may be reported as a whole in the grade book.</span></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">For those interested, a look at <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1joKyXSX0Cbb4OcEawsXu-sOvgVYf3-KwhFXAlMRd0E8/pub" target="_blank">related scholarly literature</a> yields several definitions:</span><br />
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<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">One grading practice that is gaining popularity is standards-based grading, which involves measuring students' proficiency on well-defined course objectives (Tomlinson & McTighe, 2006). Although many districts adopt standards-based grading </span><i style="line-height: 18px;">in addition</i><span style="line-height: 18px;"> to traditional grades, standards-based grading can and should </span><i style="line-height: 18px;">replace</i><span style="line-height: 18px;"> traditional point-based grades.</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Source:</b><br />Scriffiny, P.L. (2008). <a href="http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/oct08/vol66/num02/Seven_Reasons_for_Standards-Based_Grading.aspx" target="_blank">Seven reasons for standards-based grading</a>. <span style="font-style: italic;">Educational Leadership, 66(2)</span>, 70-74.</span></div>
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<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Standards-based grading (SBG) is an approach to assessment and reporting in which scores are attached to the specific learning objectives of a course, rather than to assignments or tests. Each score represents a student’s mastery of that learning objective, and may change over time in response to evidence that her level of understanding has changed.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Source: </b><br />Beatty, I. (2013). Standards-based grading in introductory university physics. <span style="font-style: italic;">Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 13(2)</span>, 1-22 [<a href="http://ianbeatty.com/files/Beatty-2013sbg.pdf" target="_blank">PDF</a>]</span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Standards-based grading connects student grades to specific learning objectives, provides students with direct and specific information to guide their study, and often involves less grading time for the instructor than traditional methods do.</span></blockquote>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Source:</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="c1">Duker, P, Gawboy, A, Hughes, B, & Shaffer, K.P. (2015) Hacking the music theory classroom: Standards-based grading, just-in-time teaching, and the inverted class. </span><span class="c1 c3" style="font-style: italic;">Music Theory Online, 21</span><span class="c1">(2). [</span><span class="c1 c6" style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration: underline;"><a class="c0" href="http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mtosmt.org%2Fissues%2Fmto.15.21.1%2Fmto.15.21.1.duker_gawboy_hughes_shaffer.html&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNE9bUECURIXutFJbZy7oTLBb_vmfA" style="text-decoration: inherit;">Available online</a></span><span class="c1">]</span></span></div>
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<span class="c1"><span style="font-family: inherit;">--</span></span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="c1"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The goal of Standards-Based Grading (SBG) is to measure a student’s progress towards</span></span><br />
<span class="c1"><span style="font-family: inherit;">achievement of a standard, and thus to show what students are able to do. Students have multiple opportunities to demonstrate their achievement of the standard, and the final grade is based on the student’s overall mastery of the standard by the end of the term, not a weighted average of material throughout the term. Standards-Based Grading can also help instructors to more clearly communicate to the students exactly what they will be expected to know and demonstrate on assessments.</span></span></blockquote>
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<span class="c1"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Source:</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="c1"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="c1">Post, S.L. (2014). </span><span class="c1 c3" style="font-style: italic;">Standards-Based Grading in a Fluid Mechanics Course</span><span class="c1">. Paper presented at the 121st ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Indianapolis, IL. [</span><span class="c1 c6" style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration: underline;"><a class="c0" href="http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.researchgate.net%2Fprofile%2FScott_Post%2Fpublication%2F268078374_Standards-Based_Grading_in_a_Fluid_Mechanics_Course%2Flinks%2F546157bd0cf27487b4527376.pdf&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHEmVAeGBooAXgksyTzV4VVES5vaA" style="text-decoration: inherit;">Available online</a></span><span class="c1">]</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="c1">--</span></div>
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<span class="c1">...and one of my personal favorites:</span></div>
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<span class="c1"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><table class="tg" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; color: #231f20; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;"><tbody>
<tr><th class="tg-3sk9" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 10px 5px; word-break: normal;">Traditional Grading System</th><th class="tg-3sk9" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 10px 5px; word-break: normal;">Standards-Based Grading System</th></tr>
<tr><td class="tg-k6pi" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 10px 5px; word-break: normal;">1. Based on assessment methods (quizzes, tests, homework, projects, etc.). One grade/entry is given per assessment.</td><td class="tg-k6pi" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 10px 5px; word-break: normal;">1. Based on learning goals and performance standards. One grade/entry is given per learning goal.</td></tr>
<tr><td class="tg-k6pi" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 10px 5px; word-break: normal;">2. Assessments are based on a percentage system. Criteria for success may be unclear.</td><td class="tg-k6pi" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 10px 5px; word-break: normal;">2. Standards are criterion or proficiency-based. Criteria and targets are made available to students ahead of time.</td></tr>
<tr><td class="tg-k6pi" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 10px 5px; word-break: normal;">3. Use an uncertain mix of assessment, achievement, effort, and behavior to determine the final grade. May use late penalties and extra credit.</td><td class="tg-k6pi" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 10px 5px; word-break: normal;">3. Measures achievement only OR separates achievement from effort/behavior. No penalties or extra credit given.</td></tr>
<tr><td class="tg-k6pi" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 10px 5px; word-break: normal;">4. Everything goes in the grade book – regardless of purpose.</td><td class="tg-k6pi" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 10px 5px; word-break: normal;">4. Selected assessments (tests, quizzes, projects, etc.) are used for grading purposes.</td></tr>
<tr><td class="tg-k6pi" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 10px 5px; word-break: normal;">5. Include every score, regardless of when it was collected. Assessments record the average – not the best – work.</td><td class="tg-k6pi" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 10px 5px; word-break: normal;">5. Emphasize the most recent evidence of learning when grading.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span class="c1"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Adapted from O’Connor K (2002). <i>How to Grade for Learning: Linking grades to standards (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press</i>.</span></span></div>
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Matt Townsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15247211425347677596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3476261992826097419.post-21196957105541323082015-05-26T16:19:00.003-05:002015-05-26T16:19:48.210-05:00Reflecting on five years in the district office<a href="http://mctownsley.blogspot.com/2010/04/changing-roles.html" target="_blank">Five years ago</a>, I made the transition from classroom teacher to district administrator. Last year, I shared a <a href="http://mctownsley.blogspot.com/2014/07/reflecting-on-four-years-in-district.html" target="_blank">four year reflection</a> and it only seemed appropriate to share another annual reflection.<br />
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First, a summary of the action items I aspired to work towards last year around this time:<br />
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In no particular order...<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Continue attending the quarterly area curriculum director meetings (Develop existing relationships and strengthen new ones)</b><br />
I attended all four meetings this year in our area. During the first meeting, a fellow curriculum director had a familiar facial expression...one that I knew very well: a desire to change the world in one year, but not knowing exactly how to maneuver the paperwork and wade through the acronyms well enough in order to stay ahead. I invited this person to spend a few hours away from the office a few weeks later to share templates, ideas, success and struggles, and those other types of conversations about curriculum and assessment that curriculum directors get excited about! A new professional relationship was gained and others were strengthened through these meetings. My only regret is not following up with this rookie colleague more often to see how things are going on at her schools. <br />
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<b>Seek out a leadership role in the area special education director meetings (Deeper learning in this area. Consider finding an informal mentor)</b><br />
I failed in finding an informal mentor, however I successfully co-facilitated an area special education director meeting this spring. My co-facilitator and I have plans to continue these meetings next school year. Dates are on the calendar!<br />
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<b>Spend several hours observing and reflecting with district administrators in a similar role around Iowa. (Establish a more formal learning community, face-to-face or virtual)</b><br />
Major failure. We have a Google+ Community setup around teacher leadership, but it didn't happen. I appreciated the opportunities to network with district administrators around the state at the Iowa ASCD Curriculum Leadership Academy in April, however this was a one time event rather than an ongoing occurrence. I plan to volunteer at the Iowa ASCD Summer Conference at the new curriculum directors' breakfast in order to meet fellow directors from around the state. <br />
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<b>Pursue central office academic literature describing validated practices of central office administrators. </b><br />
Winner! The longer I work in this role, the more I am realizing I need to pour into principals so that they can pour into their teaching staff. As I think about the Iowa educational context, I see others around me in a similar role: central office administrators in school districts with 1100 to 2500 students who may or may not have been principals themselves, trying their best to support principals' instructional leadership in a non-evaluative way. Through an early educational database search, I have read over twenty-five <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1uv3H5glf4gKeKBNwh2IkgsIxbXQPD9MdlSxF_bGCGE4/edit#gid=0" target="_blank">studies</a>. The urban central office administrators described in these studies typically play a dual role: supporting and evaluating site administrators. I have a hunch a gap may exist in the literature capturing the perspectives of folks like me: smaller district office administrators supporting principals' instructional leadership in a non-evaluative context. It may turn into a dissertation topic! Even if it doesn't, this academic literature exploration has been beneficial for me thus far. <br />
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--<br />
Finally, I wanted publicly state how much I am excited for the upcoming school year. We all have our strengths and weaknesses and I'm grateful the administrative team has allowed me to grow during the past five years. Our superintendent is moving to a larger organization and I'm excited to learn under a new leader. I'm also jacked to work alongside our district's first instructional coach cadre. I've often felt my reach in the central office is limited in some areas. I believe the teachers a committee has selected for this cadre are all well qualified and eager to learn. I anticipate they'll push my often cautious outlook on systems change and I believe I'll look back one year from now and realize how little I really knew about instructional leadership. <br />
<br />
On a somewhat unrelated note, I am thankful for a virtual friend of mine, Bill Ferriter, whose writing continually pushes me and most recently <a href="http://blog.williamferriter.com/2015/05/22/why-blog/" target="_blank">reminded me</a> that blogging really does matter. #whyblog<br />
<br />Matt Townsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15247211425347677596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3476261992826097419.post-83344414417391944952015-05-25T14:33:00.000-05:002015-05-25T14:33:03.482-05:00Doctoral program: 12 month updateNearly one year ago, I <a href="http://mctownsley.blogspot.com/2014/07/a-new-academic-journey.html" target="_blank">started</a> a third graduate program. During the past twelve months, I've completed eighteen (18) hours of coursework, a combination of research methodology at core doctoral classes.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHrT2OGvdyFEZObHAH0eHpJGUukcwqO-pAu0R1UyEF29zQnyOZghDcCMd1viHAMc5P3RLr2xSR3ACDNzrJOTPiW3KtNIL41nk7PcMR612U6HHzUNsLPa4cS1F6FCWSK9asPf6q8XIY3pKC/s1600/semester_countdown.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHrT2OGvdyFEZObHAH0eHpJGUukcwqO-pAu0R1UyEF29zQnyOZghDcCMd1viHAMc5P3RLr2xSR3ACDNzrJOTPiW3KtNIL41nk7PcMR612U6HHzUNsLPa4cS1F6FCWSK9asPf6q8XIY3pKC/s400/semester_countdown.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>Coursework</b></div>
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While courses such as "Models of Professional Development" have been intriguing, I've learned the most from the three research methodology courses. </div>
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Research Design was a solid overview of well, research design. I learned about theoretical frameworks, ethics when engaging in human subject research, critiquing research methodology, and this thing called mixed methods research design. The instructor was well organized, supportive, yet challenged my thinking about educational research.</div>
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Quantitative Research Methods was the course that came easiest to me in the program so far. If one were to examine my undergraduate transcript, it would be pretty obvious a calculus-based statistics course was the one I struggled with the most. It was only fitting my principal asked me to teach an introductory statistics class to high school students for six years. One and two sample hypothesis testing made sense in this graduate course, because I learned from many mediocre attempts facilitating these same ideas with teenagers. Ironically, the course left a bit of a foul taste in my mouth. Quantitative research methodology seems to me so distant from the action. Crunching numbers is not currently my idea of meaningful educational research.</div>
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Qualitative Research Methods was by far the most interesting course in the program so far. Our professor was really into ethnography and in turn our primary task was to integrate ourselves into the culture of a virtual world. After a long write-up of our data collection, analysis and conclusions, the professor asked my group and several others to make some serious changes with a quick turn around. For some, the timing was not idea. For me, it was a 48 hour opportunity to figure out areas of qualitative research methodology, specifically theoretical frameworks, I had a false sense of mastery. To make a long story short, this course was filled with trials and successes, but throughout the semester I feel I grew tremendously as a consumer and critic of educational research.</div>
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<b>Cohort Camaraderie</b></div>
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Whenever colleagues or family ask me about my experiences as a distance education doctoral student, my immediate reaction goes something along the lines of "I'm thankful to do most of my coursework after 9pm and on the weekends" in comparison to driving to class in the midst of Iowa winters. I enjoy putting my son to sleep and then getting after coursework rather than missing this time due to commuting. </div>
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Another response I often share with inquisitive minds is the uniqueness of classmates in multiple timezones. Most recently, my group work has consisted of a guy in California and another in Georgia. The three of us have an ongoing texting thread in which we clarify assignments, coordinate our group work and keep up on each others' personal lives. We established a routine of using a three way conference call while working collaboratively through Google Drive beginning around 9pm CST. </div>
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<br />Our entire cohort continues to share class questions and personal updates through our closed social media community. About ten of our twenty one cohort members continue to participate actively in this online community.</div>
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<b>Looking ahead to years two and three</b></div>
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Beginning this summer, the coursework emphasis will change a bit. Because I was able to transfer in twelve elective credits in educational leadership, I will continue taking two courses per semester. During three consecutive semesters, we will be taking a "dissertation mentoring course" in which we'll learn about the dissertation process and write the first three chapters. This leads up to summer 2016 in which we'll each (hopefully) defend our dissertation proposals on campus. </div>
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In year 3, we will continue to take a core doctoral class in addition to dissertation research hours. If all goes well, I will collect data summer 2016 and write it all up fall 2016 and spring 2017. Defending in early April 2017 is an ambitious dream. I'll keep you updated during the next two years! </div>
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Matt Townsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15247211425347677596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3476261992826097419.post-27376904616555025302015-05-11T22:41:00.002-05:002015-05-11T22:41:35.655-05:00(A start to) a Standards-Based Grading Literature ReviewA while back, I started a personal log of every standards-based grading article I read. It has turned into a <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1joKyXSX0Cbb4OcEawsXu-sOvgVYf3-KwhFXAlMRd0E8/pub" target="_blank">publicly available document</a> growing each month as new articles and dissertations are discovered and published. <br />
<br />
It feels like it could be a nice gift for any graduate students currently starting a literature review on standards-based grading. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1joKyXSX0Cbb4OcEawsXu-sOvgVYf3-KwhFXAlMRd0E8/pub" target="_blank">Enjoy</a>! <br />
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Static link: www.tinyurl.com/sbgliteratureMatt Townsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15247211425347677596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3476261992826097419.post-7466397276442509342015-03-16T13:27:00.002-05:002015-03-16T13:27:22.984-05:00NTY pretty much sums up the struggles of math education<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Pi does deserve a celebration, but for reasons that are rarely mentioned. In high school, we all learned that pi is about circles. Pi is the ratio of a circle’s circumference (the distance around the circle, represented by the letter C) to its diameter (the distance across the circle at its widest point, represented by the letter d). That ratio, which is about 3.14, also appears in the formula for the area inside the circle, A = πr2, where π is the Greek letter “pi” and r is the circle’s radius (the distance from center to rim). <b>We memorized these and similar formulas for the S.A.T.s and then never again used them, unless we happened to go into a technical field, or until our own kids took geometry</b>. (Emphasis mine)</blockquote>
<br />
"Why Pi Matters" - <i>New York Times</i>, March 13, 2015<br />
<br />Matt Townsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15247211425347677596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3476261992826097419.post-86164568664847395072015-02-28T07:38:00.000-06:002019-12-13T10:40:23.748-06:00Standards-Based Grading: Converting to Letter Grades [VIDEO]<span style="background-color: yellow;">NOTE: This content has been updated and is available <a href="http://mctownsley.net/how-do-teachers-determine-letter-grades-and-gpas-from-standards-standards-based-grading/">here</a>.</span><br />
<br />
In my experience and observation, teachers and systems have used one of three systems when converting standards to letter grades in a standards-based grading environment. <br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cVxFGRMf9rI" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
In the video above, I suggested each standards to letter grades conversion method has its own limitations, however they also bring with them specific strengths. <br />
<br />
<b>Strengths and limitations when considering the Marzano Method</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Some student information systems or grade books may not allow teachers to average standard scores and in turn the teacher would need to do this calculation and override the final grade.</li>
<li>One limitation of this method is that a student can have a poor understanding of a concept (standard), however it does not dramatically affect the overall letter grade and in turn a grades-driven student may not be driven to continue learning the concept.</li>
<li>Although a broad scale was illustrated in the video (3.00 - 4.00), it could easily be further broken down to include plus and minus letter grades (i.e. 3.00 - 3.25 = A-). The conversion scale parallels many schools' grade point average scale. For some buildings/districts, this may be helpful in communication with parents while in others in may create additional confusion.</li>
</ul>
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<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Strengths and limitations when considering the Convert to Percentages Method</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Because this method uses total points and percentages, this method probably plays the best with many student information systems and grade books. </li>
<li>One limitation of this method is that a student can have a poor understanding of a concept (standard), however it does not dramatically affect the overall letter grade and in turn a grades-driven student may not be driven to continue learning the concept. </li>
<li>I'm going out on a limb and believe this method may be the easiest for parents and students to understand due to their experience with traditional grade books. </li>
</ul>
<div>
<b>Strengths and limitations when considering the Piecewise / Logic Function Method</b></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>I have not yet seen a student information system or grade book that allows teachers to create this type of standards to final grade conversion, therefore it will take a teacher manually calculating the grades or utilizing a spreadsheet to do the calculation. In turn, final grades will likely need to be manually overridden by the classroom teacher.</li>
<li>The teachers I have spoken with indicate this method helps grades-driven students focus more on their current weaknesses and less on a percentages/averages game. </li>
</ul>
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<span style="color: red;">What other strengths and limitations have you experienced with these three methods?</span></div>
</div>
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<span style="color: red;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">What other standards to final grade calculations have you used? </span></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Feel free to add your experiences in the comments! </span></div>
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<br />Matt Townsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15247211425347677596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3476261992826097419.post-1304429946981989042015-02-11T20:51:00.005-06:002015-02-11T20:51:59.030-06:00Why does a 4-point grading scale make sense in standards-based grading? [ACTIVITY]Experience it yourself:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Invite four teachers in a room to score 20 essays, math problems or lab reports using a 10 point scale. </li>
<li>Look at the diversity of scores among the 20 essays, math problems or lab reports. </li>
<li>Now, ask the same four teachers to score the same 20 student work samples using a *4-point scale.</li>
<li>Once again, examine the diversity of scores among the 20 essays, math problems or lab reports. </li>
</ol>
<div>
*The same exercise could be done using a 3-point scale or a 5-point scale.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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--</div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">I (sort of) gave this exercise a try once and concluded "When using a smaller scale (4 scoring possibilities vs. 10 scoring possibilities), mathematical logic kicks in: humans are more consistent when given fewer scoring possibilities."</span></div>
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Matt Townsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15247211425347677596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3476261992826097419.post-44078892718547364532015-02-05T21:34:00.002-06:002015-02-05T21:34:41.545-06:00Class rank...an example of higher education adapting to K-12 policies and practices. <b>Myth</b>: High schools must adapt to the way higher education operates. <br />
<br />
<b>Reality</b>: When high schools change the information they're willing to provide about their graduates, higher education will eventually adapt.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://thegazette.com/subject/news/iowa-regents-approve-new-standardized-class-rank-standard-for-in-state-applicants-20150205" target="_blank">Case in point</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Applicants to University of Iowa, Iowa State University, and University of Northern Iowa who graduate from high schools that do track class rank will continue to be assessed under the original formula. Only those students without class rank will assessed using the new model.<br />But that number is growing. About 31.6 percent of freshmen across the three regent schools in fall 2013 didn’t have a class rank.<br />The board charged its staff to create a standard alternate admission calculation for those without class rank because each university has developed a different approach for assessing those applicants</blockquote>
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What would happen if high schools stopped calculating grade point average or issuing letter grades?Matt Townsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15247211425347677596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3476261992826097419.post-23060304531091304992015-02-02T20:42:00.000-06:002015-02-02T20:42:36.803-06:00SBG Video Project<a href="http://erictownsley.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Eric</a> and I have embarked upon a new project: a 12 episode video series communicating the most pressing standards-based grading topics we've encountered during our experiences as teachers and administrators.<br />
<br />
The first episode (embedded below) describes standards-based grading and provides an overview of the series. <br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OtQVnkDkWDk" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
In the second episode, we do our best to flesh out the similarities and differences between competency-based education and standards-based grading. <a href="http://sbgpodcast.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">We will be posting the rest of the videos as soon as they're recorded</a>!<br />
<br />
A big thanks goes out to <a href="http://iowaascd.org/" target="_blank">Iowa ASCD</a> for publicizing this video series. Matt Townsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15247211425347677596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3476261992826097419.post-72397619915350232092014-12-27T22:55:00.000-06:002014-12-27T22:55:17.871-06:002014-15 goals [mid-year review]Prior to the beginning of the school year, I <a href="http://mctownsley.blogspot.com/2014/07/reflecting-on-four-years-in-district.html" target="_blank">publicly reflected on my past four years as a district administrator</a>. In addition, I established several goals for the 2014-15 academic year. In no particular order, they were...<br />
<ul>
<li>Continue attending the quarterly area curriculum director meetings (Develop existing relationships and strengthen new ones)</li>
<li>Seek out a leadership role in the area special education director
meetings (Deeper learning in this area. Consider finding an informal
mentor)</li>
<li>Spend several hours observing and reflecting with district
administrators in a similar role around Iowa. (Establish a more formal
learning community, face-to-face or virtual)</li>
<li>Pursue central office academic literature describing validated practices of central office administrators. </li>
</ul>
We're now exactly halfway through the school year, so I thought it might be a good idea to provide an update on each of these goal areas. <br />
<br />
<b>Continue attending the quarterly area curriculum director meetings</b><br />
<i>Looking back: </i><br />
Within my area of the state, we've had several curriculum director meetings. I was able to attend both of them and met several directors new to the area or to their positions. I invited one director who works within thirty miles of me to spend a morning together for the purpose of sharing ideas. Although this director is shared between two districts, I felt our contexts were close enough that we established a lasting professional connection for years to come. <br />
<br />
<i>Looking ahead</i>:<br />
I plan to attend the remaining curriculum director meetings as well as several other meetings that may be geared towards central office administrators. Our district was awarded nearly $400,000 grant for next school year to implement a teacher leadership system (more about this in a future post), so I anticipate reaching out to several area curriculum directors who have previously established similar teacher leadership systems to learn the ins and outs of a new area of education for me.<br />
<br />
<b>Seek out a leadership role in the area special education director
meetings</b><br />
<i>Looking back:</i><br />
I've emailed and talked on the phone with a person who is well respected and well-versed in special education. I had hoped to have at least one special education director meeting under my belt by now.<br />
<br />
<i>Looking ahead:</i><br />
We're co-planning the first special education director meeting, however it will likely not take place until February. The realist in me believes two quality meetings will be a success for this school year and hopefully enough momentum to build on for future years.<br />
<br />
<b>Spend several hours observing and reflecting with district
administrators in a similar role around Iowa.</b><br />
See comments above describing the curriculum director meetings, morning planning and anticipated time that will be spent discussing the teacher leadership system. I have also made informal contacts with several district administrators from other areas of Iowa to throw out the idea of a virtual meeting every month or two to bridge our physical distance travel constraints.<br />
<br />
<b>Pursue central office academic literature describing validated practices of central office administrators. </b><br />
<i>Looking back:</i><br />
This is a goal area I have not much progress, if any at all, since the summer months. <br />
<br />
<i>Looking ahead:</i><br />
Beginning in a little over one week, I will begin a graduate course entitled "Instructional Leadership that Facilitates School Improvement." I am hopeful the readings and discussion will director or indirectly point me in the right direction. The first snow day we have this year, I plan to do some serious EBSCOhost and ProQuest searching!<br />
<br />
I welcome your accountability and look forward to posting another update around Spring Break as well as another at the end of the school year. <br />
<br />Matt Townsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15247211425347677596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3476261992826097419.post-29474602422036552552014-11-23T21:24:00.000-06:002014-11-23T21:24:22.604-06:00Smarter Balanced Assessments: Implications for Iowa School LeadersMembers of the Iowa Department of Education’s Assessment Task Force have <a href="https://www.educateiowa.gov/article/2014/11/04/iowa-task-force-recommends-new-state-assessment">recommended</a> that Iowa lawmakers adopt the <a href="http://www.smarterbalanced.org/smarter-balanced-assessments/" target="_blank">Smarter Balanced Assessments</a> as Iowa’s new state test for public and accredited nonpublic schools starting with the 2016-17 school year. Iowa students are <a href="https://www.educateiowa.gov/pk-12/student-assessment/statewide-assessment-requirements-0" target="_blank">currently required</a> to complete Iowa Assessments in grades 3-8 and 11 in math and reading to meet state and federal accountability laws. The Iowa Assessments (formerly Iowa Tests of Basic Skills and Iowa Tests of Educational Development) are developed by Iowa Testing Programs at the University of Iowa and used for various purposes in other states as well. <br />
<br />
<b>Why do we need new assessments?</b><br />
"The Iowa Department of Education released a report in October 2013 that was commissioned in March 2013 to align the Iowa Assessments, Form E, to the Iowa Core/Common Core State Standards in Reading and Mathematics. The study compared Form E to a set of standards that were not used to develop Form E." (Source: <a href="http://itp.education.uiowa.edu/documents/Alignment_Q_and_A.pdf" target="_blank">Iowa Testing Programs</a>) <i>Yes, you read that right: Our current state standards were not used to develop our current state accountability assessment! </i> The Iowa Department of Education commissioned a study to "determine the level of alignment between our Iowa Core standards and the reading and math portions of the Iowa Assessments in grades 3-8, 10 and 11." The nearly<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bwwpam0AnwTsbnA4alZQVUdSTGM/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank"> two hundred page report</a> released in October 2013 suggests it varies greatly by grade level ranging from under 50% to 100%. To be fair, Iowa Testing Programs' <a href="http://itp.education.uiowa.edu/documents/Alignment_Q_and_A.pdf" target="_blank">response</a> questions the study's methodology while acknowledging Form E was not designed to assess our current state standards. <i>In summary, Iowa school districts are currently in a predicament: we are required to teach state standards while being held accountable via assessments that were not designed to accurately measure the required standards. </i><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>What are the Smarter Balanced Assessments? </b><br />
The <a href="http://www.smarterbalanced.org/smarter-balanced-assessments/" target="_blank">Smarter Balanced Assessment system</a>, initially designed to align with the Common Core ELA and math standards in grades 3-8 and 11—"includes both summative assessments for accountability purposes and optional interim assessments for instructional use—will use computer adaptive testing technologies to the greatest extent possible to provide meaningful feedback and actionable data that teachers and other educators can use to help students succeed." Smarter Balanced is one of two national assessments being developed to assess students on the common core. (The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (<a href="http://www.parcconline.org/parcc-assessment" target="_blank">PARCC</a>) is the competing assessment group some states have voluntarily joined.) In addition to selected response (multiple choice) items, students will complete technology-enhanced items, constructed response items (non-multiple choice), and performance tasks. Sample Smarter Balanced items and performance tasks are <a href="http://www.smarterbalanced.org/sample-items-and-performance-tasks/" target="_blank">available online</a> and the first operational testing in other states will begin in Spring 2015.<br />
<br />
<b>Nostalgia and economic impact: my first reaction</b><br />
When I first read about the task force's recommendation I was a bit surprised. I remember taking the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills as a third grade student at South Elementary. We had to put prop special folders up on our desk to ensure classmates in our pod would not be able to see our answers. We were required to use #2 pencils and to do our best filling in the bubbles as neatly as possible. In a way, the Iowa Tests are as much a part of our state as attending the Iowa State Fair or picking up sweet corn in August along the road from a local farmer. The Iowa Assessments are written by Iowans and administered to Iowa students annually. Without a doubt, losing this contract would be a negative blow to <a href="https://itp.education.uiowa.edu/">Iowa Testing Programs at the University of Iowa</a> and an economic hit to Iowa's <a href="http://iowascreativecorridor.com/home/">Creative Corridor</a>. Like the Iowa Assessments or not, it may be hard for some Iowa educators to imagine administering an assessment that does not include the infamous introduction,<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"You are now going to take a vocabulary test. Please find the section for Vocabulary on<br />
page 3 of your answer document. (Pause). Now turn to page 1 in your test booklet. Please read the directions for this test silently while I read them aloud."</blockquote>
Oh, those were the days of sharpening #2 pencils and watching the clock closely to count down the remaining time left for each test! <br />
<br />
<b>Implications for Iowa school leaders</b><br />
Nostalgia aside, school leaders should seriously begin thinking through some of the implications adopting the Smarter Balanced Assessments might have on their buildings/districts. A number of Iowa schools piloted the Smarter Balanced Assessments during the 2013-14 school year, however my understanding is that none of these buildings administered the entire battery of tests. <i><b>If</b></i> Iowa legislators require the Smarter Balanced Assessments during the upcoming legislative session, several implementation questions come to mind for school leaders to consider:<br />
<ul>
<li><i>What assessments will students in grades 5, 8 and 11 complete in order to meet Iowa's <a href="https://www.educateiowa.gov/pk-12/student-assessment/statewide-assessment-requirements-0" target="_blank">statewide science assessment requirement</a>?</i> (Will we continue with the Iowa Assessments? What about social studies, even though it is not required?)</li>
<li><i>How will student "growth" be measured using the Iowa Assessments (past) and Smarter Balanced Assessments (future)? </i>We will be transitioning from "Not Proficient, Proficient and Highly Proficient" to Smarter Balanced Assessments' <a href="http://www.smarterbalanced.org/news/smarter-balanced-states-approve-achievement-level-recommendations/" target="_blank">four achievement levels</a>. (H/T <a href="http://www.twitter.com/iowa_ed" target="_blank">Karen W</a>.)</li>
<li><i>Because the Smarter Balanced Assessments will all be eventually be administered online, what type of technology infrastructure (number of devices, bandwidth, etc.) will be needed?</i></li>
<li><i>Will adequate funding be appropriated to school districts to purchase the Smarter Balanced Assessments? </i>The full suite of summative and interim assessments and the Digital Library on formative assessment is <a href="http://www.smarterbalanced.org/resources-events/faqs/" target="_blank">estimated to cost $27.30 per student</a>. This is compared to less than $10.00 per Iowa student for the Iowa Assessments.</li>
<li><i>Because the Smarter Balanced Assessments must be administered during a twelve week window at the end of the school year, how will this impact schools who are used to administering the Iowa Assessments during the fall or midyear?</i></li>
<li><i>How will schools realistically plan test schedules when the assessment is untimed?</i> (Source <a href="http://www.smarterbalanced.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Preliminary-Summative-Blueprints-Supporting-Document.pdf" target="_blank">pdf</a>)</li>
<li><i>Given the Smarter Balanced Assessments only measure the Common Core Standards and Iowa has added several additional standards to create the Iowa Core Essential Concepts and Skills, would this transition de-value our state's added standards? </i></li>
<li><i>How might any <a href="http://mctownsley.blogspot.com/2014/11/iowa-state-standards-under-review.html" target="_blank">changes recommended by state standards task forces</a> during the next several years align (or not) with the required state assessments? </i></li>
</ul>
<div>
<b>Finally, school leaders should keep in mind this change would not take place until 2016-17 at the earliest and is now in the hands of our state's elected officials. </b> Iowa initially joined the Smarter Balanced Consortium several years ago and then <a href="http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2014/08/iowa_withdraws_from_smarter_ba.html" target="_blank">later withdrew as a governing state</a>, illustrating our state's roller coaster relationship with this assessment. If Iowa legislators approve the task force's recommendation, our student assessment system will experience the first major overhaul in quite a few years. Stay tuned! </div>
Matt Townsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15247211425347677596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3476261992826097419.post-56492983118487075312014-11-03T15:17:00.000-06:002014-11-03T15:27:31.297-06:00Iowa state standards under reviewI subscribe to the Iowa Department of Education's YouTube channel and after listening to the November 2014 edition, I am thankful to have watched this episode. <br />
<br />
Under <a href="https://governor.iowa.gov/2013/10/branstad-signs-executive-order-83-to-ensure-local-control-in-the-development-of-iowa-core-standards-and-assessments/" target="_blank">Governor Branstand's Executive Order 83</a>, Iowa will <a href="https://www.educateiowa.gov/article/2014/10/31/iowans-weigh-state-academic-standards" target="_blank">begin this fall regularly reviewing its state K-12 standards</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The review of science standards will be followed by reviews of the other parts of Iowa’s statewide standards, which cover social studies, mathematics, English language arts and 21st century skills. Each review will follow a similar format.</blockquote>
I have a lot more questions than answers about what this means for Iowa's schools right now. Here are a few questions mulling through my mind: <br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><i>What impact might this science review have on Iowa's adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards?<br /></i></li>
<li>One of the selling points to Iowa educators after adopting state standards for the first time in 2008 (<a href="https://iowacore.gov/about-iowa-core" target="_blank">and later modifying math and ELA in 2010 to align with the Common Core</a>) was that districts would be spending less time chasing standards documents and more time focusing on quality instruction. If any of the content standards significantly change in the near future, school leaders around the state can expect to hear an outcry from classroom teachers...and rightly so, in my opinion. <i>How much will the standards change, if at all?<br /></i></li>
<li><i>Will this be an opportunity for our state's science, social studies and 21st century skills to move towards grade-level rather than grade-span standards?<br /></i></li>
<li><i>How might this review process <i>(positively or negatively) </i>influence the <a href="http://www.ihsma.org/FineArtsIowaCore.shtml" target="_blank">movement to create state fine arts standards</a>? </i></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><i style="font-style: italic;">What will the review process look like and what type of timeline will there be for each content area?</i> (This question will likely be answered in the near future)<br /></li>
<li><i>How might this process influence the <a href="https://www.educateiowa.gov/resources/boards-commissions-committees-councils-and-task-forces/assessment-task-force" target="_blank">state's assessment task force</a> charged in 2013 to "study the state’s assessment needs and to recommend a new state assessment for public and accredited nonpublic schools"? <br /></i></li>
<li>...and a likely political hot topic: <i>How might this review process impact Iowa's current involvement with the Common Core State Standards</i>? Presumably, any significant changes to the Iowa's math and/or English Language Arts standards that come out of the review process would require Iowa to change its status as a Common Core state. Why? "To allow for some state-level customization, a provision in the voluntary adoption guidelines allows states to supplement the common core standards with state-specific standards, up to an additional 15 percent," however removing standards is not allows. (<a href="http://www.ascd.org/publications/newsletters/policy-priorities/vol16/issue4/full/Coming-to-Terms-with-Common-Core-Standards.aspx" target="_blank">Source</a>)</li>
</ul>
<div>
On a somewhat related note, is anyone else pleased with the new <a href="http://iowacore.gov/">IowaCore.gov</a> website rolled out by Department of Education?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFhpDSarW0gEx6vyLkMkN4TPjF0BM4snG8byuK5SPSBL8x76srCNnW1vb6cdFEsAKDFEEg1rLz74ghorzSWobrTuKFoNt5Uz-K_b21jsErp3WLASs7Kn1gPdBwT_qfzVvZudwl3wnvCZk-/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-11-03+at+3.10.06+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFhpDSarW0gEx6vyLkMkN4TPjF0BM4snG8byuK5SPSBL8x76srCNnW1vb6cdFEsAKDFEEg1rLz74ghorzSWobrTuKFoNt5Uz-K_b21jsErp3WLASs7Kn1gPdBwT_qfzVvZudwl3wnvCZk-/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-11-03+at+3.10.06+PM.png" height="226" width="400" /></a></div>
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I can see the <a href="https://iowacore.gov/content/iowa-core-parent-guides" target="_blank">Iowa Core parent guides</a> coming in handy during parent/teacher conferences and in conversations with parents who are interested in learning more about what their students are learning in school. </div>
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Looking back five years from now, will this review process significantly change what our students are expected to know and be able to do? I look forward to reflecting again in November 2019!</div>
Matt Townsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15247211425347677596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3476261992826097419.post-19907823495351112362014-10-05T22:39:00.001-05:002014-10-09T07:18:39.630-05:00There's no such thing as the "Common Core Police"If you're active in social media, you've likely seen something along the lines of...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkM0u73NOD_EhUOv8Atv92ieurWSs50rxfQeJo_8FBr11Au7mIWYALSgkmxs8JNoy-5DYlkJaKwUbPH26rEVbMdcaclFK6pAXFHuyheOH6jrJIUsVqz_nWIy5yJDYxAqp703HJgDpoBKk9/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-10-05+at+10.13.36+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkM0u73NOD_EhUOv8Atv92ieurWSs50rxfQeJo_8FBr11Au7mIWYALSgkmxs8JNoy-5DYlkJaKwUbPH26rEVbMdcaclFK6pAXFHuyheOH6jrJIUsVqz_nWIy5yJDYxAqp703HJgDpoBKk9/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-10-05+at+10.13.36+PM.png" height="352" width="400" /></a></div>
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(<a href="http://dailysignal.com/2014/10/02/6-steps-subtract-2-numbers-common-core-homework-one-picture/" target="_blank">Source</a>)</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Note</b>: Rather than drafting a response, I initially thought I could ignore these types of posts or simply invite those closest to me into a conversation outside of social media. With the number of these posts increasing by the day (or perhaps I am now starting to look for them), I thought it might be helpful to post my thoughts in one place for easy reading, in the event a few heads might be turned. Here it is:</span></div>
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Hello! As a district curriculum director and former high school math teacher, *I thought it might be helpful to let you know this specific type of homework is <b>not required</b> by the Common Core State Standards. In fact, the third grade standards mention the word "subtraction" two times. </div>
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One of the third grade subtraction standards says:</div>
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"Fluently add and subtract within 1000 using strategies and algorithms based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction." (<a href="http://www.corestandards.org/Math/Content/3/NBT/" target="_blank">Source</a>) </blockquote>
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I don't know about you, but that sounds to me like a pretty reasonable thing to ask students to learn (and not at all related to the photo!). You might be wondering..."then why are students being required to do <b>this particular subtraction</b> <b>method</b> if it's in a textbook associated with the Common Core?" </div>
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Here's the quick answer in the form of an analogy: Sports memorabilia and clothing are often licensed by the NFL, NBA or MLB. In other words, if you want to wear a <i>real</i> Chicago Cubs hat, it will have a Cubs logo and MLB logo on it indicating it has been authorized by Major League Baseball. <i>This is in stark contrast to educational publishers.</i> <b>There's no such thing as the <i>Common Core Police</i>. </b> For example, if you and I wanted to create a math textbook and stamp "Aligned with the Common Core" on it, we could and no one would stop us from doing so. We could write the most ridiculous math strategies into the textbook. Parents and students across the country would falsely assume this type of learning was synonymous with the Common Core State Standards. It's that easy and it's happening all around us. Check it out for yourself. Compare the approaches of the fifth grade textbooks in two neighboring school districts in Iowa and you'll likely see two different philosophies towards teaching the standards. <a href="http://www.corestandards.org/about-the-standards/myths-vs-facts/" style="background-color: yellow;" target="_blank">The Common Core State Standards establish what students need to learn but do not dictate how teachers should teach. Instead, schools and teachers will decide how best to help students reach the standards.</a></div>
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Bottom line: the Common Core State Standards aren't perfect. I invite you to <a href="http://www.corestandards.org/read-the-standards/" target="_blank">read the standards</a> first hand and come to your own conclusions rather than relying on textbook publishers, bloggers and commentators outside the classroom walls to paint a picture for you. </div>
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I'd be happy to talk with you more about it on the phone or in person if you're interested in learning more based on my work with the standards, publishers and most importantly, teachers. </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*While the homework problem you posted on your social space may be different, the same ideas I've discussed below likely apply to your situation as well. </span></div>
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<br />Matt Townsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15247211425347677596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3476261992826097419.post-49800199182391488232014-09-11T16:47:00.000-05:002014-09-11T16:47:12.597-05:00A sample process for identifying reporting standardsIn my work with our district and in consulting with several others over the years on the topics of professional learning communities and standards-based grading/reporting, the topic of aligning standards horizontally and vertically frequently comes up. Before I share a sample process of this alignment work, I thought it might be helpful to answer two frequently asked questions:<br />
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<b>Who should be involved in writing, creating, revising the standards we will report to students and parents?</b><br />
My first response is almost always, "teachers!" Teachers are the professionals closest to this work and I believe they should play a large role in this decision-making process. While the district office can provide protocols and templates, we're not teaching these skills and concepts, so it doesn't make sense for us to mandate an arbitrary list without significant teacher input. <br />
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<b>Wouldn't it be easier if we copied another district's report card or list of standards?</b><br />
Sure, it might be easier in the short term. When the standards are written in a way that doesn't make sense to those teaching them, it becomes easy to throw the standards under the bus. When the reporting standards need revision and they were written locally, a solution becomes obvious: we can revise them! It is also important to note that in all of the schools I have worked with, teachers report the most benefit from <i>doing this work</i>. They learn more about the intent of the state/national standards. Teachers dig deeper into the wording of the standards and pay closer attention to what a thorough understanding might look like as a result of the cognitive dissonance this process can create.<br />
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Now that we hopefully agree teachers should play a prominent role in drafting reporting standards, it only makes sense to share with you a process that seems to be gaining some traction. It is far from perfect, but I hope it assists at least one person. (If you find this literacy example beneficial, I'd love to hear from you in the comments).<br />
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<b style="color: #616161; line-height: 21px;"><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit;">1. LOOK AT STATE STANDARDS</span></b><br />
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<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><a href="https://www.educateiowa.gov/pk-12/iowa-core/iowa-core-literacy-standards" rel="nofollow" style="color: #835ea5; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Iowa Core Literacy Standards</span></a></li>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit;">2. IDENTIFY "NEED TO KNOW' STANDARDS</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/fdsesbg/8-20-14-next-steps/power_standards_visual.png?attredirects=0" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-bottom-style: none; color: #835ea5; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEjjMx4Hn8opulY2s_As5TMWK05VW3dlkQXKuJeklkAIsVzbryZYuOgbZoJoDju1K5m12fw8XQaFBkHG7-RvIJT1sw-EuVOcEESxP5MsHcPw6q-oGwXKBq_lG93FtMzqpF1dMbcVYfFEEpTIqvhn3NDn0vop2nUjnWtmH40ShXh4hzyz8W3xH3b337ph8KKMHmYI1oSfDaszzmZ7RIn0FZtccEIzGr_8kh5h-g20Vi8KA6G8woXoCq2Xvm8KLVY=s0-d-e1-ft&width=400" style="border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border: none; margin: 7px; padding: 0px;" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">A possible protocol that can be used to discern the "need to know" power standards that will appear on the report card. </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">i) For each standard, individually complete the following template</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/fdsesbg/8-20-14-next-steps/Screen%20Shot%202014-08-24%20at%209.27.07%20PM.png?attredirects=0" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-bottom-style: none; color: #835ea5; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEiPgaknIo2JVVu-K46SqgK3mWuBsIRMMMNBn2CDCn__nd0Akn5IXS-Biw0udiEeK6RwwiDqd4lwbp8R7NTn6_mPK5iNtGLqaqpcPTTdrkDSXkn99QHPO4JV8nhg8xZZdTfXerU2XrT9CetzujUbKqLAMdg077FGttyPiUs_i08Bf-Bf0U6cNqMNE5wE5t6rdF0gKq3bGR4eLypNKrzgXROw8pwJU5elHukyzvyMrmSmtCK-nH5NSXNMxu2wjpu9V-tLHg=s0-d-e1-ft" style="border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border: none; margin: 7px; padding: 0px; width: 673px;" /></a>ii) <span style="line-height: 1.5;">Reach consensus on the Yes and No's through </span><i style="line-height: 1.5;">horizontal</i><span style="line-height: 1.5;"> (i.e. all of the 2nd grade teachers) discussion.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">iii) If a standard has 3-4 "Yes," it should strongly be considered in the "Need to Know" (Power Standard) category to be included on the report card.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;">iv) </span><span style="line-height: 1.5;">Depending on the number of 4s and perhaps 3s, the team will need to determine a </span>reasonable<span style="line-height: 1.5;"> number of standards that can be assessed and reporting in each reporting period.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">v) After horizontal agreement, meet with at least one grade level above (i.e. second grade teachers meet with third grade teachers) and at least one grade level below (i.e. fourth grade teachers meet with third grade teachers) to reach vertical consensus on the list of "need to know" power standards proposed for the report card.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">[IF NEEDED, RE-WRITE THESE STANDARDS INTO PARENT/STUDENT-FRIENDLY LANGUAGE]</span></i></div>
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<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Example 6th grade reading parent/student-friendly language (from Waukee Middle School, Iowa)</span></span></li>
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<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/fdsesbg/8-20-14-next-steps/Classroom-Posters.001.jpg?attredirects=0" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-bottom-style: none; color: #835ea5; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEh0GnF0utsRsvSXpQTObcIYLfpMZsDEU2LUcb0CG4n1xKibQCl-K5UhKyv2AQFELo73CU1u0CFdSVuKRQXkNA1gRP06L3oIaWOwdgidcVFtAOnnXH8s8n4BOYx8aZC7t6MtHijH05fbi0wslvM7GODMBnq0FPfqn0suz4uw_E11X7199DWtWJqzQryRCAJOxYkS8HzFvvYbVCOPs8B4DyHn8yBDNE3RP8z43FzIiuyPBqPB4fnftr9iGSpEtw=s0-d-e1-ft&width=320" style="border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border: none; margin: 7px; padding: 0px;" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit;">3. IDENTIFY ASSESSMENTS THAT MATCH THE STANDARDS</span></b></div>
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<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Look at the assessments you are already giving to students. </span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Match up prompts/questions that elicit students' understanding.</span></li>
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Sample rubric below (used with permission from Lori Davidson, Center Point - Urbana teacher)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUEa_3ufhLl0bCMxCyfYiyCsHQ9xD9rhY9GnB36ZdeBJ9TPJul-P3Yh1yX7EYC05eTg8yMYd96M7Q-J5Zry6TFyU5fiibay4RcbIkhz-ZRE2DH-1KQ65j9sdVwISVbBfmfdq9D5WoUKZtc/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-09-10+at+11.39.04+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUEa_3ufhLl0bCMxCyfYiyCsHQ9xD9rhY9GnB36ZdeBJ9TPJul-P3Yh1yX7EYC05eTg8yMYd96M7Q-J5Zry6TFyU5fiibay4RcbIkhz-ZRE2DH-1KQ65j9sdVwISVbBfmfdq9D5WoUKZtc/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-09-10+at+11.39.04+AM.png" height="193" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">You may find out your assessments are not as well aligned to the standards as you'd like. This is an opportunity to revise assessments and/or create new ones that better align to the "need to know" standards. </span></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit;">4. (TRY IT OUT!) GIVE STUDENTS SCORES BASED ON STANDARDS FOR ONE UNIT </span></b></div>
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<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Administer and score at least one of the assessments you identified in Step #3 to discern the coarse or fine grain-ness of the standards (see note below).</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">By completing the steps above, each horizontal team of teachers will begin to figure out the appropriate number of "need to know" standards for each reporting period. When it is challenging to score the assessments based on the standards, the standards may be too vague. When it becomes challenging to keep up with scoring and reassessments (or if it is challenging to <i>write</i> reassessments), the standards may be too specific. Finally, the number of "need to know" standards must be viable enough for the majority of students to learn them in a given year. It is more important for students to learn...than it is to merely cover the content!</span></div>
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Matt Townsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15247211425347677596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3476261992826097419.post-57263824560738077952014-08-24T14:05:00.002-05:002014-08-24T20:36:27.069-05:00Standards-Based Grading: College admissionsA teacher from a local school district (<a href="http://www.kcrg.com/subject/news/education/testing/new-grading-system-coming-for-iowa-students-teachers-20140812" target="_blank">perhaps in response to a local TV station's news story</a>) emailed me with the following inquiry last week:<br />
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Matt,<br />
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I had a teacher make the following argument against SBG and I would like your thoughts so I can be as prepared as possible...<br />
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They said that some of the more prestigious schools of higher learning are not accepting students grades that went through a SBG system as accurate because of the opportunities to reassess. I believe the example he cited was the Naval Academy. He indicated that a student was told they would need to attend the U of I for a year to prove themselves before their application would be considered.<br />
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Have you heard of this craziness?<br />
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Thanks,<br />
[Name]</blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here was my response:</span></div>
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It is good to hear from you. I had not heard about the Naval Academy or similar examples. Here are a few things that may be worth sharing with this teacher and others as it comes up.<br />
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<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Our high school transcript has not changed, therefore unless college/university admissions offices treat our students just as they have prior to standards-based grading (in other words, the information teachers use to generate a grade for a class has changed to more accurate reflect learning, however a letter grade still exists and is reported)</li>
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<li style="margin-left: 15px;">While many institutions of higher learning continue to grade the same way they've been doing it for many years, some are slowly evolving. <a href="http://web.mit.edu/registrar/reg/grades/freshmangrading.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">MIT, for example, freshmen are graded pass/no-pass during the first semester</a>. </li>
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<li style="margin-left: 15px;">We know that some students who are homeschooled do not receive letter grades, however they are admitted to colleges and universities across the country based on their evidence of learning such as academic portfolios, ACT or SAT scores, etc. </li>
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In summary, I cannot believe this Naval Academy example is true. The college admissions representatives and administrators I've talked with over the years readily admit the rigor or grades varies from school to school and that the changes we've made in our district will not negatively impact our students.<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
<span style="color: orange; font-family: inherit;">What insights do YOU have for this "craziness?" </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Update: </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://twitter.com/BradLatzke/status/503684873853210624" target="_blank">Thank you, Brad Latzke for pointing out</a> the </span><a href="http://www.qcsd.org/cms/lib04/PA01000005/Centricity/Domain/58/Hanover_summary_of_SBG.pdf" target="_blank">Hanover Research Council’s Study on </a><br />
<a href="http://www.qcsd.org/cms/lib04/PA01000005/Centricity/Domain/58/Hanover_summary_of_SBG.pdf" target="_blank">Standards-Based Grading and College Admissions</a><br />
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Matt Townsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15247211425347677596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3476261992826097419.post-61296214907513039382014-08-08T21:55:00.004-05:002014-08-08T21:55:28.134-05:00Eight Questions from ASCD<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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ASCD asked me a few questions. <a href="http://inservice.ascd.org/education-resources/eight-questions-for-emerging-leader-matt-townsley/" target="_blank">They posted the responses on one of their blogs</a>.</div>
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<br />Matt Townsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15247211425347677596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3476261992826097419.post-44125703299902652592014-07-28T15:37:00.004-05:002014-08-05T21:38:20.439-05:00A new academic journeyThis year will mark my eleventh in education, <a href="http://mctownsley.blogspot.com/2014/07/reflecting-on-four-years-in-district.html" target="_blank">fifth as a school administrator</a>. I have spent five of the past ten years simultaneously completing graduate coursework and a working full-time job. This summer, I embarked on yet another academic journey: I completed the first semester of an Ed.D. program. I couldn't be happier with my decision to enroll at the University of West Georgia (UWG). Before I share a little bit about the coursework so far, I thought it might be helpful to explain why a doctorate and why UWG's school improvement program.<br />
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<b>Why an Ed.D.?</b><br />
When I completed my first graduate program at a research one institution in 2009, my advisor took me aside less than an hour after oral comps and asked me if I'd ever considered continuing on for a Ph.D. At the time, I was a math teacher and was looking forward to an increase in pay due to the <a href="http://www.education.iastate.edu/cit-online/" target="_blank">newly acquired degree in curriculum and instructional technology</a>, so it should come as no surprise that a possible assistantship covering tuition and a small stipend did not appear to add up! I couldn't see myself giving up a full-time job and going back to school full-time for three to five years. Neither could my wife...and that was before we had our son. When I went back to graduate school a second time for <a href="http://www.uni.edu/coe/departments/educational-leadership-postsecondary-education/educational-leadership/progr--3" target="_blank">administration</a> while continuing to work full-time, it was with the idea of the coursework being one last cognitive hurrah. At the time, attaining a terminal degree felt like a distant and dreamy aspiration. <br />
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Fast forward to about a year ago, only one year after finishing the second program. I was at a meeting with a number of other central office administrators. In conversation with a fellow curriculum director, I learned about his journey: masters degree in education and additional coursework in administration (sound familiar?). He shared about transferring some of his additional coursework into the doctoral program at one of our state universities while still maintaining a full-time job. It seemed too good to be true, so over the next several months, I contacted department chairs and several trusted faculty friends. They all confirmed a doctoral degree would require a great amount of persistence, but it would not be uncommon to transfer in a few post-masters hours, <i>as long as I did it now to meet credit recency requirements</i>. All of a sudden, a terminal degree came back into the picture. I was told it would be a challenge to prioritize time, make it work financially, and persevere through a dissertation, but that it could be done. Could I finally act on this distant and dreamy aspiration of researching and writing about a narrow topic in the field of education while working full-time? Thankfully, my lovely wife supported me fully moving forward, knowing the cost would only increase in the future and our time together as a family would be impacted to a smaller degree now when compared to the years ahead of us.<br />
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<b>Why the University of West Georgia?</b><br />
I eagerly updated my resume, requested letters of recommendation and completed the application for summer/fall 2014 admission consideration. To make a long story short, I decided to apply at one of the three Iowa public universities, but then, the harsh Iowa winter of 2013-14 hit. We had a fair amount of snowfall and record low temperatures. Driving over sixty miles each way at least once per week for class was out of the picture. Around the same time, I learned about the <a href="http://www.westga.edu/eddsi/" target="_blank">University of West Georgia's Ed.D. in school improvement</a> through Google searches. It seemed too good to be true:<br />
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<ul>
<li>NCATE accredited public brick-and-mortar university</li>
<li>program with over ten face-to-face cohorts and three hybrid cohorts preceding me</li>
<li>hybrid coursework primarily completed online from home with several spring/summer visits to campus in Carrollton, Georgia</li>
<li>interdisciplinary school improvement focus marrying my curriculum and educational leadership coursework and experience</li>
<li>...and let's be real, in-state tuition for out-of-state students enrolling in the program (cheaper than in-state Iowa tuition) didn't hurt either.</li>
</ul>
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Earlier this summer, the on-campus orientation was a fantastic opportunity to meet several UWG faculty members, the twenty-three other cohort members and see the campus from which I plan to earn a final degree. I had no idea nearly one hundred applicants were interested in our twenty-four cohort slots. I also learned UWG is a vibrant, growing and well-respected institution within the <a href="http://www.usg.edu/inst/" target="_blank">University System of Georgia</a>. Lord willing, I will complete the coursework and dissertation in three years, so that I can walk across the stage in April 2017. I have no idea if additional academic reading will spur additional blogging topics or if time split between family, work and graduate courses will even allow for it. This "in between semesters" feeling of free time to think and read at leisure surely won't last long. :) </div>
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The new journey has started! </div>
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<br />Matt Townsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15247211425347677596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3476261992826097419.post-80135713240908598692014-07-23T10:34:00.002-05:002014-07-23T10:34:38.228-05:00Reflecting on four years in the district office<a href="http://mctownsley.blogspot.com/2010/04/changing-roles.html" target="_blank">Four years ago, I made the transition</a> from high school math teacher to district administrator. It was bittersweet, because I felt energized teaching high school students, very much enjoyed interacting with my co-workers, but at the same time felt like I couldn't pass up an opportunity in the same district to possibly have an even bigger impact on students. <br />
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I am now enrolled in my second graduate program in four years. (More about that in a future post) As I reflect on the past four years in the district office, one statement from a book I recently finished entitled, <i>The Human Side of Change: Reform, Resistance, and the Real-Life Problems of Innovation</i> comes to mind:<br />
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"The most dramatic change in moving from a staff position into a [formal] leadership role is the loss of peers" (Evans, 1996, p. 151)</blockquote>
While I continue to enjoy quality relationships with teachers in my district, the distance between us has naturally widened. I now have responsibilities beyond classroom walls. Rather than working with twenty-five students at a time on a daily basis, I am charged with helping nearly one hundred adults that I can only gather together several times per year, see, feel, understand, share, and implement a common vision. I don't think I realized how close I became with the other high school math teachers during the three minute hallway conversations in between classes, spontaneous after school meetings and carpooling to the annual state math teachers conference. There were three or four of us in the math department, depending on the year. I thought we worked well together. Looking at the team now, I think they're even tighter as a team! The teacher who replaced me is wise beyond her years as an educator, so I feel really good about leaving a group of educators who have improved since my departure. <br />
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Don't get me wrong. I enjoy working with my current administrative team and I couldn't imagine starting my beyond-the-classroom career with a better group. We are fortunate enough to meet together on a nearly weekly basis for several hours. While our roles all include positional authority, three of them are charged with leading buildings, one the entire district and me...well, I wear quite a few hats (mentoring and induction lead, professional learning coordinator, special education director, technology director, Title 1 director, gifted education director, curriculum director, etc.) that often overlap with the rest of the team. While I feel a definite part of the team, I do not have a "hallway discussion" confidant anymore. As Evans (1996) suggested, it has been a dramatic change. <br />
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This year, I am interested in connecting even more with district administrators in similar roles. Here are a few action items I plan to pursue during the 2014-15 school year. In no particular order...<br />
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<ul>
<li>Continue attending the quarterly area curriculum director meetings (Develop existing relationships and strengthen new ones)</li>
<li>Seek out a leadership role in the area special education director meetings (Deeper learning in this area. Consider finding an informal mentor)</li>
<li>Spend several hours observing and reflecting with district administrators in a similar role around Iowa. (Establish a more formal learning community, face-to-face or virtual)</li>
<li>Pursue central office academic literature describing validated practices of central office administrators. </li>
</ul>
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I welcome your accountability and look forward to posting a few updates along the way. </div>
Matt Townsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15247211425347677596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3476261992826097419.post-12013480403394677072014-05-20T20:48:00.002-05:002014-05-20T20:48:45.083-05:00Standards-Based Grading, student information systems and supplementary gradebooksI am a district administrator in a mid-size Iowa school district that uses a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3dyJAkYsew" target="_blank">standards-based grading philosophy</a>. A number of years ago, <a href="http://mctownsley.blogspot.com/2009/04/standards-based-grading-and-student.html" target="_blank">I wrote about PowerSchool as a student information system and grade book</a> as a teacher in the context of standards-based grading. Since that time, teachers in the district across all disciplines and grade levels have started to use standards-based grading. This system change has introduced a new set of questions about student information systems and grade books that I will attempt to describe in the following paragraphs. <br />
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<b>Elementary </b><br />
In our elementary building, we have been communicating student learning through a standards-based report card for the past twenty or so years. No letter grades are assigned. We use an E (exceeding), P (proficient), D (developing) and AC (area of concern) scale for each student target. <br />
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Teachers communicate with parents individually throughout the school year through Friday Folders, phone calls, emails and parent/teacher conferences. For a variety of reasons, we do not use a student information system for the purpose of communicating student learning. <br />
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<b>Secondary</b><br />
In our middle school and high school, we transitioned to a <a href="http://mctownsley.blogspot.com/2013/02/standards-based-grading-district-wide.html" target="_blank">standards-based grading philosophy system-wide</a> several years ago. Prior to this change, we had asked our parents to sign-up for daily or weekly email progress reports and emphasized a need to look for assignments in which their student may not have turned in. The grades reported online could be viewed as a timeline of activities and events written in ink. Parents may have asked teachers questions such as...<br />
<ul>
<li>What can my daughter do to raise her grade?</li>
<li>Will there be any extra credit available in this class?</li>
<li>Can my son turn in his missing Civil War project for partial credit?</li>
<li>Is there any way my child can re-do the Chapter 3 Project?</li>
</ul>
Today, our grade books report students' <i>current</i> level of learning. In other words information is written in pencil using a new metaphor: a barometer or thermometer sharing where a student's strengths and weaknesses currently are in the content area. We encourage our parents to ask questions such as...<br />
<ul>
<li>When is the next opportunity to reassess on [standard]?</li>
<li>When was the last time my student was assessed on [standard]?</li>
<li>What practice opportunities are available for my son to practice [standard]?</li>
<li>What standards does my daughter still need to learn?</li>
</ul>
We use a 4, 3.5, 3, 2, 1 scale with accompanying narratives listed below.<br />
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Standards are converted to letter grades in each course. For example, if there were ten standards in a grading period and a student earned 4's on all of the standards except for one in which she earned a 3, the final grade would be 39/40 = 97.5% translated into an "A" using 90, 80, 70, 60 cutoffs. A subset of our teachers would prefer not to average the standards into a final letter grade, because it may give off a "points chasing" aura for some students in the midst of a system that is designed to focus on learning. Aside from several pilots, our system continues to use this final grade conversion method, because it plays well with our student information system's grade book. </div>
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<b>Supplementary grade books</b></div>
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In addition to contacting our student information system *vendor to share our concern, a committee of teachers was charged with looking into solutions, including by not limited to alternative grade books. Several criteria for a successful grade book have been suggested by the committee:</div>
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<ul>
<li>visually appealing way for students and parents to easily identify students' current strengths and weaknesses;</li>
<li>ability to sync with student information system (class rosters, course names, current grades) on a daily basis, so that teachers do not have to duplicate data entry, keep up with schedule changes, etc;</li>
<li>and most importantly, alternative ways to convert standards into a final grade, calculated by the grade book.</li>
</ul>
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Before grade book vendors start emailing or leaving comments on this post, we have looked at a number of your products already, however none of them have met our expectations(!). The purpose of this post is not to throw these vendors under the bus, but instead to lament on the complex relationship between standards-based grading, student information systems and supplementary grade books. In other words, it is not as easy as it sounds to come up with a solution that simultaneously meets our teacher, student, parent, district and *Department of Education needs. </div>
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Looking back, I am very happy the stakeholders in my district have not let perfect get in the way of progress. We still have work to do in the way we communicate student learning, however we're not sure if any supplementary grade books currently available are the solution. </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>*You may be wondering why we do not switch student information systems (SiS). In Iowa, we are required to submit a myriad of data to the Department of Education three times each year. This data comes from a student information system extract. Currently, three SiS are supported by the Iowa Department of Education. In conversation with districts who use the other two, I have confirmed a similar grade book feature set, therefore switching SiS would not be a significant improvement. </i></span></div>
Matt Townsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15247211425347677596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3476261992826097419.post-58417698659778743982014-04-30T12:03:00.001-05:002014-04-30T13:34:26.870-05:00June 2014: One of the most exciting months ever for Iowa educators?<b><span style="color: blue;">*Dr. Tom Guskey is coming to Des Moines</span></b> (<a href="http://news.drake.edu/2014/03/19/education-leadership-symposium-implementing-standards-based-grading/">Thank you, Drake University!</a>)<br />
<b>Target audience?</b> K-12 educators and administrators<br />
<b>When? </b>June 18, 2014<br />
<b>Cost? </b>$150<br />
<b>Description:</b><br />
<i>As educators align instruction and assessments with the Common Core standards for student learning, most find they also must change their grading policies and revise their report card. Learn how to develop new standards-based grading policies and practices that are better for ALL students, gain the support of parents, and don’t create excessive work for teachers.</i><br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;">**The Iowa Competency Based Education Conference is returning to Des Moines</span></b> (<a href="http://iowaascd.org/index.php/events/event-registration/">Thank you, Iowa ASCD!</a>)<br />
<b>Target audience? </b>K-12 educators and administrators, higher education<br />
<b>When?</b> June 23-24, 2014<br />
<b>Cost?</b> $250 for Iowa ASCD members and $295 for non-members of Iowa ASCD.<br />
<b>Description:</b><br />
<i>Come learn how students can learn and demonstrate competencies which will endure throughout time. CBE provides a strong framework for teachers and administrators to understand the Iowa Core and ensure students are college, career, and citizenship ready.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Among the featured speakers include Rose Colby, author of Off the Clock and Tom Vander Ark, author of Getting Smart. Several Iowans will be joining the conversation and sharing their expertise, including the pilot schools of the CBE collaborative.</i><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: blue;"><b>***A few Iowa practitioners are leading a two-day standards-based grading workshop in Cedar Rapids</b> </span><a href="http://www.aea10.k12.ia.us/profdev/coursesdetail.cfm?class=29530">(Thank you, Grant Wood AEA!)</a><br />
<b>Target audience? </b>Secondary teachers and administrators (pre-service students and faculty welcome)<br />
<b>When? </b>June 30 and July 1, 2014<br />
<b>Cost? </b>$80 or $160, depending on credit<br />
<b>Description:</b><br />
<i>This course will highlight grading and assessment practices described in contemporary educational literature. Beliefs about assessment, homework and grading will be challenged and refined as they relate to the Iowa Core Curriculum characteristic of effective instruction, assessment for learning. Participants will learn how to grade based on state standards.</i><br />
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<b style="background-color: yellow;">Will June 2014 be one of the most exciting months ever for Iowa educators? </b><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*Dr. Guskey might be the godfather of standards-based grading, if there ever was one. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">**For what it's worth, I believe there are <a href="http://mctownsley.blogspot.com/2012/02/what-is-difference-between-standards.html">distinct similarities and differences between standards-based grading and competency-based education</a>. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">***It's a shameless plug: I am one of those two guys. I hope you'll consider attending the other two events, but I think we'll be involving participants in a hefty dose of standards-based grading at the classroom level. It's the cheapest option and in my opinion, the biggest bang for your buck.</span><br />
<br />Matt Townsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15247211425347677596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3476261992826097419.post-87308209268382759582014-04-20T21:44:00.001-05:002014-04-20T21:44:11.550-05:00When a student forgets a pencil...About five years ago, I had a really impromptu conversation with a fellow teacher from down the hall. I asked her how she handles students who forget or do not have a pencil with them when they come to class. After this conversation, I asked a number of other teachers how they handle the same situation. Some were pretty black and white:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I will ask them to borrow one from a friend."</blockquote>
or<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I will let them go back to their locker, but only three times each quarter."</blockquote>
Other teachers were less stringent in their responses:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"It depends if it is the first time or a repeat offender."</blockquote>
and<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I have a collection of brand new and used pencils in a drawer. Students can borrow them anytime."</blockquote>
Still others saw the pencil conversation through a different lens. For several, the answer was a lesson in economics.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I want students to understand the need to come prepared, so I have them for sale in my room."</blockquote>
I was reminded of the economics of forgetting a pencil when I recently visited a school over an hour's drive from home. I couldn't help but take a picture of it with my phone:<br />
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As a teacher, I'm pretty sure I tried all of these ideas at one time or another. For some reason, this classroom scenario has stuck with me for a number of years. It brings up a number of other questions (in no particular order):</div>
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<ol>
<li>What does the way a teacher handles students who forget pencils, say about his/her educational philosophy?</li>
<li>What does the way an administrator handles adults who do not come prepared to meetings or professional learning, say about his/her educational philosophy?</li>
<li>Is the way a forgetful administrator or teacher expects to be treated similar to the way he/she treats staff and students in the pencil context described above?</li>
<li>How would you want the teacher of <i>your</i> children to handle the "I forgot my pencil" scenario?</li>
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I think I have many more questions than answers right now.</div>
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<br />Matt Townsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15247211425347677596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3476261992826097419.post-75212193450630822082014-04-04T08:29:00.003-05:002014-04-04T08:31:13.040-05:00Win with Reading!Students in our elementary school are challenged to read, read, read, read. If we meet our participation goal, the elementary principal will kiss a pig!<br />
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I will be sharing my love for reading with several classes during the next few weeks. This morning, I started my day with fourth grade students reading a children's version of <i>Who's on First?</i><br />
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We listened to Who's on First this morning by Abbott and Costello. Thanks <a href="https://twitter.com/mctownsley">@mctownsley</a>! <a href="http://t.co/vhEDai4X1s">pic.twitter.com/vhEDai4X1s</a><br />
— 4E Mrs. Schroeder (@4ESchroeder) <a href="https://twitter.com/4ESchroeder/statuses/452074859858636800">April 4, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Thank you, 4E!Matt Townsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15247211425347677596noreply@blogger.com0