District Administration- August 2008 - (Page 61)

ing and assessment of learning. This is in line with the work of Rick Stiggins, Robert Marzano and others that advocates the use of formal and informal assessment during the learning process to guide instruction and student behavior in the attainment of content and skill mastery. This formative assessment guides learning as it happens. There is also a place for summative assessment, obviously, as end-point measurements, but data from this type of assessment is often used to guide instruction for future learning of other students the following year. Formative assessment is frequent and provides regular feedback to current students and their teachers. Weber and his team have developed excellent assessment practices: 1. Assessment is linked to the content and performance standards set by the state of California and sets the basic competency level expected for students. 2. Initial assessment determines the current level of each student. 3. The gap between expected and current performance is identiﬁed. 4. Students are placed in intervention activities based on their current performance levels. 5. Frequent measurement using short, one-to-one inventories guides the movement of students into appropriate learning activities based on their current performance. 6. Students receive frequent and meaningful feedback on their performance. 7. Teams of teachers meet regularly to review data and make instructional decisions for learning units and for individual students. 8. End-of-year standardized tests provide feedback about how the school’s students are doing overall. Progress monitoring is the essential link to help teachers determine the extent to which students are closing the gap between expected levels of performance and actual performance. If teachers can see and feel this gap in a quantiﬁable way, they are more likely to seek ways to close the gap for their students. DA Eamonn O’Donovan is assistant superintendent of special education services in Capistrano Uniﬁed School District in California. www.DistrictAdministration.com WORDQ AND SPEAKQ ARE SIMPLE AND EASY TO USE: WordQ is an easy-to-use software tool used along with all standard writing applications. It assists individualized learning by those who struggle with writing. Word prediction suggests words to use and text-to-speech feedback helps students independently review their work. WordQ helps develop confidence, improves productivity, increases self-esteem and fosters a spirit of inclusion. SpeakQ plugs into WordQ, adding simple speech recognition. It helps users, particularly those with learning disabilities, who cannot use other speech recognition systems because of reading demands and complexity. SpeakQ features a simple training interface where the computer speaks and the student responds in their voice. To keep using speech recognition simple, there are no verbal commands. School network pricing available. Download a WordQ & SpeakQ demo or call for a free CD demo www.wordq.com 1-866-629-6737 WordQ and SpeakQ are trademarks of Bloorview Kids Rehab The easiest way to share the valuable ideas and insights of District Administration is to have your associates request a free subscription to DA Magazine DIGITAL EDITION Sign up for your complimentary subscription today! www.DistrictAdministration.com/ w www. DigitalMag See it First Digital Edition August 2008 61 http://www.wordq.com http://www.wordq.com http://www.DistrictAdministration.com/DigitalMag http://www.DistrictAdministration.com/DigitalMag http://www.DistrictAdministration.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration- August 2008

District Administration - August 2008
Contents
Editor's Letter
Letters
News Update
Curriculum
English Language
8th Annual Salary Survey
Do You Know the Drill?
The Evolution of Notification Systems
How Well Does This Web Site Work?
New Products
Problem Solutions
Technology Books
Profession Opinion
Supervisor's Opinion
Crisis Response
Speaking Out
Calendar of Events
Understanding the Times

District Administration- August 2008