Cycle 1 Goals for Kristen Tibbetts

School Year 2011-2012

Standard VI: Student Assessment
Teacher uses a variety of assessment tools directly linked to instruction that
measure and communicate student progress and assesses students at various stages
of the learning process.

Developing
Confidence
Demonstrating
Confidence
Area of Strength
Uses a variety of
Assessment tools
Knowledge of a
variety of
assessment tools;
uses some of these
tools.
Uses a variety of
assessment tools.
Uses appropriate
assessment tools to
gather a variety of
information.
Measures student
progress
Measures student
progress at the end
of the learning
process.
Measures student
progress at
appropriate stages
in the learning
process most the
time.
Consistently
measures student
progress at
appropriate stages
in the learning
process.
Communicates
student progress
Provides feedback
to students
inconsistently.
Regularly provides
feedback to the
students.
Frequently
provides specific
and constructive
feedback to
students on their
progress.

Goal Setting:
My goal is to use on-going, meaningful formative assessments to create
differentiated learning opportunities geared to the individual child.





Action Plan:
I plan to work towards achieving the goal by using backwards design.

! Foremost, I will ask myself "What do I want my students to know and be
able to do?" before designing a unit.
! Next, I will create the summative assessments in each curricular area to
discern student progress and understanding along their learning
continuum. The focus for these summative assessments will be to
develop child-appropriate, purposeful tools to attain information.
! Then I will design the activities, projects and formative assessments for
the unit. This will elicit a "consistent measurement of student progress at
appropriate stages in the learning process."
! Before creating daily lesson plans, I will administer pre-assessments to
determine how to best differentiate instruction so it's meaningful for the
individual learner. This will allow me to provide "specific and
constructive feedback to students on their progress" and to gear my
instruction to the child's needs.
! Finally, I will plan the day-to-day activities so student learning
progresses purposefully, yet flexibly, with each child.









Cycle 1 Reflection
Kristen Tibbetts, Grade 2
May 21, 2012

This year my goal was "to use on-going, meaningful formative assessments
to create differentiated learning opportunities geared to the individual child." Using
informal assessments, observations and anecdotal notes, I differentiated my
students' instruction, curriculum and activities in language arts. In the areas of
reading, writing and word work, each student worked within his/her own level and
interest.
Some of the reading assessments that I used included IRI, running records,
reading conferences, reader's workshop journal reflections, guided reading
observations, fluency recordings in Garageband, literature circle responses, oral
presentations and short comprehension quizzes. These methods guided how I
grouped students, selected their instructional text, and planned lessons and
activities.
Next year I want to improve how I assess students' reading fluency. I plan to
add more frequent Garageband recordings for the students to self-assess their
fluency. After reading a book or passage approximately one grade level below their
independent comprehension level, students will listen to the recording. Then they'll
add an oral critique of how they feel they improved. Each student will keep an
electronic Progressfolio of oral reading progress. I will transfer this folder of
reading samples onto the end-of-the-year photo/video DVD I that make for each
student. I think this process will allow the students to better assess their oral
reading by listening critically and being reflective.
Of all the areas of assessment that I used, I most improved at individualizing
students' word work. I began the year by administering the "Primary Spelling
Inventory" for Words Their Way. Students with exceptionally high scores on this
test (students who got most of the words correct) were given a more complex
assessment called the "Elementary Spelling Inventory". Each word was analyzed
for spelling patterns and concepts, not for accuracy alone. I was looking to see
what each child didn't know, not what he/she did know. Based on a student's
achievement, a level of "sort" was assigned for weekly study. Students sorted the
words in varying methods, broke apart/chunked the words, made new words out of
the given words, and wrote the words several times on dry erase boards and
handwriting paper. Weekly assessments were recorded on a chart so that I could
track each child's understanding of spelling patterns. Students ranged in sort
complexity from book one, Words Their Way: Letter Name/Alphabetic to Words
Their Way: Derivational Relations.
The best part of the word-work differentiation was that I looked at each
child's understanding in a new way. Two trends emerged: students who were
working at their level of understanding grew exponentially in their ability; students
who were working with words that were too high (above their true level of
understanding) needed to review easier word patterns at the end of the year. By our
March formative assessment, sixteen students jumped ahead to word sorts that
were far beyond second grade, three students maintained steady growth, and six
students were moved from Words Their Way to individualized spelling lists to
solidify sight words prior to moving onto third grade. You may see examples of
student assessments, work and word lists at each level (attached).
Thank you for the opportunity to think about children individually through
this Cycle 1 goal. It impacted my instruction and curriculum in many meaningful
ways.