Paradigm Shift to Standards-Based Assessment

My school district is currently moving to a standards-based assessment model. We have developed a standards-based report card and have done some training on standards-based assessment. Some teachers have made the mental shifts necessary and have changed how they assess. Others have not. The question is not why, but how do we, as a school-district, assist teachers who have not made the shift?

Data-driven instruction

We've been slowly moving toward data-driven instruction in bits and pieces across my school district. No specific or district-wide training, just a slow progression in this direction. I'm looking for resources that teachers can use/ find to help turn classroom assessment data into information that can help transform their instruction.

IPods and fluency

I have students use IPods with Belkin tunetalk microphones to record their voices reading. We then plug the IPod into the teacher's laptop and upload the recording (as a voice memo). Teachers then convert it mp3 in ITunes and copy and paste it into a network folder. It can be used for both reading fluency and for getting a baseline sample of a student's speech patterns (for the speech and language pathologist).

One teacher had her whole class record their writings. Parents were then invited in to a writing celebration. Some students would never have been able to read their pieces aloud, but were able to be heard in the recording. It was amazing!

Book Blogs for Students

It started about 6 years ago with a blog about the Nutmeg Award books for grade 5 students at 2 elementary schools and it has blossomed into a district-wide (8 schools) discussion about the Nutmeg nominees and multiple classroom book discussion blogs with weekly homework assignments to blog. We've been using wikispaces, but our district just purchased a blogging feature on our school web page, so we'll see where that leads next.

Digital Photography

Several teachers at my school use digital cameras with students to inspire writing and a different perspective on the world. students learn the mechanics of digital photography; using shooting modes, focusing, uploading and deleting images. They also learn about photographic composition; framing, using lines, foreground and background, getting close to a subject, altering the point of view. It also encourages students to use images to speak to the viewer. It is that combination of images and text that comprises digital photographic literacy.

Document Cameras

I love how classroom teachers use document cameras to transform their instruction. Teachers can now show student work immediately, project pages from books onto their whiteboards, show maps from books enlarged and write on the projections, show objects for science lessons instead of having everyone crowd around. It's amazing!

What do you use your document camera for?