WestEd’s Assessment for Learning experts will present at the 5th National Council on Measurement in Education Special Conference on Classroom Assessment this September 19–September 20, 2024 at the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago, Illinois.
This year’s theme is Reclaiming the Promise of Balanced Assessment Systems: Achieving Deeper Learning at Scale for Both Students and Adults.
To address the conference theme, WestEd experts will present on a number of topics including:
- Deepening student and adult learning through formative assessment
- Supporting teachers and leaders to accelerate English Learners’ academic and language learning
- Minnesota Department of Education’s approach to data and assessment literacy professional learning
- WestEd’s framework for collaborative assessment evaluation
View a comprehensive list of WestEd’s presentations below.
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WestEd Presentations
Thursday, September 19
Organized Session: Leveraging Formative Assessment Principles to Deepen Student and Adult Learning Across a State Education System
Time: 10:15am – 11:30am
Location: Palmer House Hilton: Floor Third – Salon 7
Presenters: Barbara Jones (WestEd) and Eboney McKinney (Arizona Department of Education)
This session will highlight a state-level, systemic approach to deepening student and adult learning through formative assessment. It will showcase a framework describing how each group in an educational system can enact formative assessment principles, articulating a vision for shifting toward greater collaboration and coordination in educational decision making. This framework describes a shift at each level of the system to move from centralized authority to collective responsibility for learning anchored in inquiry and evidence.
In this session, panelists will share their key learnings as a result of engaging in this process of scaling and improving formative assessment practices, including how formative assessment principles have contributed to
- improving adult and student learning cultures,
- facilitated a leadership style at the state agency that is relational, distributive, and focused on capacity-building, and
- enhanced students’ learning experiences.
Organized Session: Supporting Teachers and Leaders to Accelerate English Learners’ Academic and Language Learning through Formative Assessment
Time: 3:00pm – 4:15pm
Location: Palmer House Hilton: Floor Third – Salon 6
Presenters: Barbara Jones (WestEd), Melissa Castillo (United States Department of Education, Office of English Language Acquisition), and Patricia Garcia-Arena (WestEd)
In this session, the presenters will introduce key principles demonstrating how formative assessment can align with English Learner instruction to support students and teachers alike. This session is designed for state, district, site, and classroom leaders seeking to leverage the role of formative assessment within a comprehensive assessment system. By attending, participants will leave with a deeper understanding of how:
- educators and English Learners can leverage formative assessment as an important strategy to reach content and English language goals,
- leaders can support this work through establishing a common language grounded in formative assessment principles while also addressing misconceptions about what formative assessment is and is not, and,
- how to design supports for teachers and leaders to increase their depth of understanding, facilitate a shift in ownership, and integrate formative assessment practices into their instruction.
Friday, September 20
Organized Session: Minnesota Data and Assessment Literacy at Scale: A Coordinated, Statewide Professional Learning Approach
Time: 9:45am – 11:00am
Location: Palmer House Hilton: Floor Third – Salon 6
Presenters: Brendan O’Shea (Minnesota Department of Education) and Meghan Bell (WestEd)
The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) recognizes the role that data and assessment tools and practices can play in supporting learning for all students. The state has rolled out a coordinated set of resources to support districts and schools to build the capacity to design and sustain balanced, coherent, and equitable assessment systems.
Hear from MDE leads about the Minnesota Data and Assessment Literacy pathway which provides a robust set of on-demand professional learning modules tailored to the learning needs of both educators and leaders. The modules provide videos, articles, and downloadable tools for educators and leaders to use as they apply their learning toward making changes within their schools and districts.
This series of modules serves to support communicating a vision for balanced assessment systems in Minnesota, as well as an approach to scaling professional learning on data and assessment literacy.
Paper Session: Reimagining Assessment System Evaluation: Lessons Learned from Collaborative Research
Time: 11:10am – 12:25pm
Location: Palmer House Hilton: Floor Third – Salon 5
Paper: Reimagining Assessment System Evaluation: Lessons Learned from Collaborative Research
Presenters: Tiffany Katanyoutanant (WestEd) and Markie Zainal (WestEd)
Effective assessment systems are living entities that need frequent attention to ensure that tools and practices are connected to instruction. As learning systems and goals evolve, states and districts need to ensure that their assessment systems are also adjusting and remain aligned. In the spirit of continuous improvement, what are the supports that state and local education agencies need in order to conduct accurate and actionable evaluations of their assessment systems?
WestEd’s work seeks to identify practices and tools that inform agencies how well their assessment systems align with principles of balanced, equitable, and informative systems. This presentation will share insights into WestEd’s framework for collaborative assessment evaluation, designed to authentically engage partners in critical discussions of assessment systems and their efficacy at gauging student learning and informing instructional decisions.
Email Danny Torres, Associate Director of Events and Digital Media, for more information.