The Colorado Department of Education

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Cohort I: Dance, Drama & Theatre Arts, Music, Reading, Writing & Communicating, Social Studies, Visual Arts

 

Members

Cohort I Researchers

Meeting Summaries

February 1 - 2, 2012 :
• Presentations
• Agenda
• Facilitators’ Notes
Feb 29 - March 1, 2012:
• FAQs
• Agenda
• Facilitators’ Notes

April 18 - 19, 2012

• Agenda
• Facilitators’ Notes

May 2 - 3, 2012

• Agenda
• Facilitators’ Notes

Dates & Locations

Meeting 1: February 1 - 2; The Red Lion Denver Central Hotel
Meeting 2: February 29 - March 1; The Doubletree by Hilton Grand Junction
Meeting 3: April 18 - 19 in Breckenridge (Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Breckenridge)
Meeting 4: May 2 & May 3 in Colorado Springs (Crown Plaza Colorado Spring)

 

Important Announcement:

UPDATE: May 2012

What is Happening Now:
Interim and summative assessments used in the measuring of student learning over time for the purpose of educator evaluation have been researched, reviewed, and are being set up for a one year pilot in Cohort I. These “already created” quizzes, pre-post tests, performance events, tasks, tests, or other “term” measures of academic standards have been recommended or partially recommended by the Colorado teacher content collaborative members in Dance, Drama & Theatre Arts, Music, Reading, Writing & Communicating, Social Studies, and Visual Arts. While not entirely filled, these small or significantly larger measures for each grade level expectation constitute a substantial start for helping educators to use fair, valid and credible proof points in combination with each other in order to show student learning over time. This list will be ready for voluntary use in the fall of 2013.

What’s on the Horizon:

The Cohort I Content Collaborative members will continue to grow their expertise in assessment and simultaneously carry on with the work of filling their respective content areas of this bank.
 

Researchers

Charge and Purpose
Senate Bill 10-191 mandates that 50% of a licensed educator’s evaluation will be determined by the academic achievement and growth of the student with whom the educator has provided instruction. The Content Collaboratives and a Technical Steering Committee will review and possibly augment the assessments to align with expectations in the Colorado Academic Standards. Each content area researcher will identify and evaluate acceptable academic growth measures in preschool through twelfth grade.

Each researcher will:

 1. Submit a report to that identifies and describes assessments that sufficiently measure student academic growth. The report will represent a range of assessment types used in both international and national contexts for evaluating student academic growth, preschool through twelfth grade. The description will include:

Detail on the format or mode for which the assessment is implemented or administered in the classroom setting.

What types of modifications or accommodations (if applicable) are required and available for special populations (e.g., students with disabilities or English Language Learners).

Time, training and support anticipated for administering and evaluating student academic growth using the approach or instrument.

2. Address the following key questions:

How does the assessment embody both content knowledge and 21st century skills reflected in the Colorado Academic Standards? What, if any, augmentations to the assessment would be necessary to meet this requirement?

Is the assessment representative of what teachers should be teaching based on the Colorado Academic Standards?

Is the assessment sufficient in content depth and cognitive demands to give adequate representation of student academic growth? If not, what other evidence should be considered in conjunction with the assessment to gain an adequate representation of student academic growth?

Knowing that instructional practices will also be evaluated through other approaches (e.g., classroom observations) is the assessment sufficient in scope to provide adequate evaluation of instruction in conjunction with the other components of the teacher’s evaluation? If not, what other types of assessments or evidence should be included or considered?Under what conditions can student academic growth be measured?

 

3. Submit a first draft of the report CDE on or before February 6, 2012, and the final report is due to CDE on or before February 20, 2012.