“Leveraging a District-mandate for Formative Assessments in English Language Arts to Increase Teachers’ Engagement in Professional Learning Communities”
Presenter: Stephanie McCall -- Teachers College, Columbia University
Description: This presentation addresses how a city-wide curriculum policy which mandates formative writing assessments in English language arts, can be leveraged to alter the instructional culture of schools. We offer emerging lessons on large-scale writing assessment policy by showing how a network of small high schools in New York City have responded to a district writing mandate by partnering with two university research and professional development centers to provide increased opportunities for teacher learning and development of professional learning communities, primarily through instructional coaching.
“Seeking Fissures in Holistic Scoring: A Place to Begin Re-imaging Writing Assessment”
Presenter: Eric Turley -- University of Missouri at St. Louis
Description: This presentation focuses on moments of disagreement in holistic scoring training sessions when scorers resist moving toward consensus or inter-rater reliability. I argue these disruptions offer the possibility to re-center conversations of writing assessment around concerns of validity. Drawing on transcripts from a qualitative study of a small urban district's writing graduation exam I will consider how disruptions in inter-rater reliability provide space to re-envision the purpose of the assessment as well as address issues of consequential validity.
“Reading L2 Students: Placement Exam Scoring as Prof. Development”
Presenter: Amber Engelson -- -University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Description: The presenter will discuss her experience both as a reader and assistant coordinator of first year writing placement tests at the university level, focusing on the importance of norming session discussions in challenging the deficit model often unconsciously placed on L2 student texts. The presenter will argue that placement exam scoring sessions, if framed correctly, can be valuable professional development opportunities for teachers who have little training or experience with L2 students and their texts; conversations about assessment and what scorers value in writing could then transfer into scorers’ teaching practices during the school year. |
