Lindsey Hancock Warden
Benchmark Assessments
Benchmark assessments refer to the initial diagnostic assessment and the continual summative assessments that I administer throughout the academic year. I value the use of benchmark assessments in my classroom due to the many benefits they bring to my teaching practice. They allow me to determine where students are academically and in terms of readiness at the beginning of the year, as well as to continually track their progress as the year continues. Based on initial readiness, I can set a growth goal for each student. Benchmark assessments form the foundation of my communication with families regarding their students' progress towards goals. They also allow my students to take ownership of their academic work, and to develop a growth-mindset as they strive to meet their goals.
Table of Contents
Utilizing State Assessment Data
I use state assessment data from the end of the previous school year to inform my interpretation of my students' baseline level of academic readiness before we ever begin the first day of instruction. This data is added to a tracker where I compare the mastery of the standards on the state assessment to mastery of standards on my benchmarks. This form of tracking serves as a great tool to understand a student's mastery performance from the prior school year, and identify key areas of growth to focus on in the new academic year.
Please click on the slideshow below to read my interpretation of each artifact. Note that images can be expanded to full size within the slideshow in order to read smaller font sizes.
Benchmark Assessments
Benchmark assessments serve as more formal, formative assessments that allow me to track students' progress over the course of the school year. I write my benchmark assessments to look similar to the state standardized assessment by using the same question stems and selected cold-read passages, or passages that my students have not studied before. All of the questions are aligned to a specific Common Core State Standard. In the slideshow below, see samples of questions from the Mississippi MAP Assessment, the state test administered to students in my first placement school. Compare them to my teacher-created questions, which use the same stems as those found on the state assessment by clicking on the slideshow below. Please note that images may be expanded to full-screen within the slideshow in order to read small font sizes.
In this benchmark assessment artifact, my students were assessed over all of the skills I taught during the third nine weeks last year. The method of assessment utilizes cold read passages and multiple-choice questions that are based on samples found on the state achievement test. Next to each multiple-choice question, I have listed the reading standard connected to that question. This allows each individual student to quickly tally their number of questions correct for each standard as they are analyzing their own data (see below). This method of assessment helps me accurately determine my effectiveness as a teacher on the applicable standards. Based on the mastery demonstrated on this test, I had to remediate some skills while moving on from others. Aligning my benchmark assessments to the state assessment helps me make decisions that pertain directly to what I will teach and focus on in the classroom.
After I grade and return the benchmark, my students complete a post-test reflection like the one shown on the left. Students review their benchmark to self-determine which standards they are struggling the most on. Then, they engage in their own growth by writing down what they need to do or what I need to do in order for them to meet their goals. In this way, we work together to let assessment guide both student and teacher decision-making. Students keep all of their post-test sheets at the front of their binders after I read and return them so that they can continue to visit their goals and commitments throughout the year.
Assessing Reading
Another method of assessment that I utilize is diagnostic benchmark assessments of reading each year through ReadTheory.org. This free website allows me to administer a pretest in August which enables me to determine each student's reading level. The pretest contains eight passages and questions, and adjusts the difficulty of each subsequent passage and question based on the student's mastery of the previous question.
After completing the pretest, I can view each student's grade equivalent and Lexile score, which I convert into their Accelerated Reader level. I assign additional ReadTheory quizzes throughout the year, which are tailored to each individual student by the program, in order to measure reading growth. One of the big goals in my classroom is that each student grows their reading level by 1.9 years between August and May. Using ReadTheory, I gain valuable data on my students' progress towards this goal.
Please click on the slideshow below to read my interpretation of these artifacts, and to expand the photos to full screen.
References:
Mississippi Department of Education. (2016). Grade 7 English Language Arts Practice Test. Retrieved from: https://ms.nextera.questarai.com/docs/ELA_Grade_7_Practice_Test.pdf
[Screenshot of a Grade Level Progression Graph]. (2018). Retrieved October 20, 2018, from https://readtheory.org/
[Screenshot of ReadTheory Pretest entitled 'The Last Shuttle']. Retrieved October 20, 2018, from: https://readtheory.org.