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The Principal as Assessment Leader

The Principal as Assessment Leader explores the importance of effective classroom assessment to student achievement and the role of school leaders to model and spark positive change through building teacher literacy, providing targeted professional development, acquiring appropriate technology, and more. With insights from expert practitioners, this book offers to help schools make the shift to best-practice assessment for districtwide improvements in student learning.

With the compelling research that has come out in recent years, it is clear that student learning can drastically improve when assessment practices are improved. Change is required at every level—from classroom instructional designers to government policymakers. Research alone cannot spark significant change. Leaders are needed to ensure widespread implementation. The Principal as Assessment Leader delivers the motivation needed to ignite a shift toward formative assessment and overall school improvement. It includes:

An overview of the characteristics of an effective, balanced assessment system
Insight as to how principals can best support improved assessment practices in the classroom
Strategies for creating professional development that builds assessment literacy buildingwide
A guide to assessment technology tools, including what to look for, how to use them, and what to expect from staff
A guide to data analysis that staff will commit to and use to improve student learning
Information on the advantages of standards-based grading and reporting, and practical ideas for implementation
Strategies for using assessment processes to lower failure and dropout rates
Strategies for using assessment to engage learners at risk

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction by Thomas R. Guskey

Part One: Laying the Foundation of Assessment Literacy

Chapter 1: Paving the Way for an Assessment-Rich Culture
By Cassandra Erkens, who explains how principals can support much-needed shifts in assessment policy and classroom practices

Chapter 2: Build, Promote, Guide, Provide, Monitor: Action Words for Principals as Instructional Leaders in Assessment
By Susan Huff, who outlines five categories of principal practices that drive schoolwide improvements in teacher practice and student learning

Chapter 3: A Principal’s Guide to Assessment
By Chris Jakicic, who explains how to create a balanced system of formative and summative assessment

Chapter 4: Building Assessment Expertise Through Twenty-First-Century Professional Development
By Dennis King, who examines principles and effective strategies to shift from twentieth-century to twenty-first-century assessment practices through appropriate professional development

Chapter 5: A Seven-Module Plan to Build Teacher Knowledge of Balanced Assessment
By Tammy Heflebower, who introduces a seven-module professional development model to create a balanced assessment system

Part Two: Collecting, Interpreting, and Reporting Data

Chapter 6: Plug Us In, Please: Using Digital Tools for Data Collection
By William M. Ferriter, who explores how leaders can facilitate the use of meaningful technological tools to support sound assessment practices

Resources:
Data Collection: One Team’s Story
Digital Assessment Tools for 21st-Century Learning Teams
PLATO Learning, Inc.: www.plato.com
Blue Diamond Instructional Management Suite: www.buildatest.com
Turning Point Student Response Systems for K-12: www.turningtechnologies.com/studentresponsesystem/
ACTIVote Learner Response Systems: www.prometheanworld.com
Wireless Generation: www.wirelessgeneration.com
Handango: www.handango.com
Excel Pivot Table Training: http://snipurl.com/pivottabletraining

Chapter 7: Finding Meaning in the Numbers
By Nicole M. Vagle, who shows how to build a culture of collective inquiry around assessment data to promote student learning

Resources:
Types of Data
Looking at Student Work: www.lasw.org

Chapter 8: The Courage to Implement Standards-Based Report Cards
By Ainsley B. Rose, who describes the challenges and rewards of using standards-based assessment and reporting processes

Resources:
Following are some sample standards-based reports cards; these are working versions that are continually being updated.
Western Quebec School Board Report Card
Kindergarten Report Card: San Ramon Valley Unified School District
First Grade Report Card: San Ramon Valley Unified School District
Second Grade Report Card: San Ramon Valley Unified School District
Third Grade Report Card: San Ramon Valley Unified School District
Fourth Grade Report Card: San Ramon Valley Unified School District
Fifth Grade Report Card: San Ramon Valley Unified School District
English Language Development K-2 Report Card: San Ramon Valley Unified School District
English Language Development 3-5 Report Card: San Ramon Valley Unified School District

Part Three: Assessing Students at Risk

Chapter 9: Lowering High School Failure Rates
By Mark Weichel, who describes the issue of student failure and outlines six steps that a principal can take to build a school where low failure rates are the norm

Chapter 10: Assessing the Student at Risk: A New Look at School-Based Credit Recovery
By Charles Hinman, who examines the need for a school-based credit-recovery system that lowers the increasing high school dropout rate and gives students a second chance

Chapter 11: Formative Assessment, Transformative Relationships
By Tom Hierck, who examines the impact of positive assessment relationships on student success

Index

ABOUT THE EDITOR

Thomas R. Guskey