A Local Assessment Toolkit to Promote Deeper Learning

Karin Hess, author of the Hess Cognitive Rigor Matrix, is a former classroom teacher and school administrator with over 40 years of deep experience in curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Dr. Hess is recognized internationally as a leader in developing practical approaches for using cognitive rigor, depth of knowledge, and learning progressions as the foundation for curriculum design and assessments at all levels of assessment systems, from developing local assessment systems to state-level grade-level standards and test specifications for large-scale state assessments. Over the years, she has contributed to Maine's early thinking about how to structure requirements for assessing high school graduation exhibitions and has provided technical assistance to Science Exemplars in the development and annotation of K-8 science performance tasks (www.exemplars.com), to the Center for Collaborative Education's Quality Performance Assessment (QPA) initiative, and to Benchmark Education's Ready to Advance curriculum for Pre-K, using learning progressions in curriculum and assessment design. Her most recent publications include a chapter in the second edition of Fundamentals of Literacy Instruction and Assessment, Pre-K-6 (Hougen & Smartt, Eds., Paul Brookes Publishing, 2020) and A Local Assessment Toolkit to Promote Deeper Learning: Transforming Research into Practice (Corwin, 2018). Karin's ongoing CBE work has included guiding the development and implementation of New Hampshire's K-12 Model Competencies and supporting school districts throughout the United States in creating and analyzing the effective use of performance scales and high-quality performance assessments for competency-based learning.

Foreword Acknowledgments About the Author Introduction Module 1: Are My Students Thinking Deeply or Just Working Harder? Infusing Rigor Into Instruction and Assessment: Laying the Groundwork for Deeper Learning for All Students 1.1 What Is Cognitive Rigor? 1.2 Developing a Common Understanding of What Cognitive Rigor Is and What It Is Not 1.3 Seven Common Misconceptions About Rigor 1.4 Bloom Meets Webb: Origins of the Hess Cognitive Rigor Matrix Reflections 1.5 Getting Started Applying Your Understanding of Rigor and Deeper Learning Part 2: Support Materials for Module 1 I. A Workshop Plan for Module 1 II. The Hess Cognitive Rigor Tools: About the Tools in This Module III. Strategies and Tools for Professional Developers and Teacher Planning IV. Kid Tools: Resources for Use With Students to Support Deeper Thinking Module 2: Is the Task Appropriate to the Text? Examining and Using Increasingly Complex Texts 2.1 What Makes Texts Complex, and Why Should Every Teacher Care? 2.2 The Thinking Behind the Tools in Module 2 2.3 Five Key Learnings From a Text Complexity Analysis Process 2.4 Understanding Quantitative and Qualitative Complexity Measures 2.5 Unpacking Overall Text Complexity Using a Qualitative Analysis Approach 2.6 A Detailed Discussion of What to Look for-Eight Qualitative Complexity Factors Reflections Part 2: Support Materials for Module 2 I. A Workshop Plan for Module 2 II. The Hess Text Complexity Tools: About the Tools in This Module III. The Importance of Teaching About Text Structures IV. Sample Instructional Strategies for Teaching About Text Structures V. Sample Text-Based Assessment Strategies Module 3: What Does This Test Really Measure? Designing and Refining High-Quality Assessments for Deeper Learning 3.1 What Is a High-Quality Assessment? 3.2 Assessment Purposes and Use: Formative, Interim, and Summative 3.3 Developing and Refining Rubrics and Scoring Guides 3.4 What Can You Learn From Analyzing Student Work Products? 3.5 Developing Anchor Papers for Performance Tasks and Anchor Sets for Calibration 3.6 Cognitive Labs: An Effective and Efficient Alternative to Piloting New Assessments Cognitive Lab Part 1: Observe and Document-Done While Students Are Working Cognitive Lab Part 2: Small Group Interview Cognitive Lab Part 3A: Interpret Student Work Samples and Make Decisions Cognitive Lab Part 3B: Collaboratively Interpreting Evidence in Student Work 3.7 Guidelines for Creating Task Validation Teams: Analyzing Technical Quality of Assessments Local Assessment Cover Page for Task Validation Analyzing Assessments for Technical Quality: Conducting a Task Validation Reflections Part 2: Support Materials for Module 3 I. A Workshop Plan for Module 3 II. The Hess PLC Tools: About the Tools in This Module III. Strategies and Tools for Professional Developers and Teacher Planning IV. Sample Formative Assessment Strategies V. Sample Performance Assessment Design Strategies Module 4: Where Do I Start, What Do I Teach Next, Which Supports Work Best? Using Learning Progressions as a Schema for Planning Instruction and Measuring Progress 4.1 What Are Learning Progressions (or Learning Trajectories), and How Can They Be Used to Scaffold Instruction and Guide the Design and Use of Assessments of Deeper Learning? 4.2 Four Interrelated Guiding Principles of Learning Progressions 4.3 Standards, Learning Progressions, and Curriculum: How Are They Related? 4.4 Zooming "In" and Zooming "Out" of Learning Progressions: Two Sides to the Same Coin 4.5 Applying the Four Interrelated Guiding Principles to Better Understand a Learning Progression 4.6 Providing System Coherence: Using Learning Progressions for Instructional and Assessment Planning 4.7 Lessons Learned-Using Learning Progressions to Guide Instruction and Change Assessment Practices 4.8 Looking for Increasing Rigor-by Observing Shifts in Teacher and Student Roles 4.9 Suggested Ways to Get Started Using the "Looking for Rigor" Walk-Through Tool #26 Reflections Part 2: Support Materials for Module 4 I. A Workshop Plan for Module 4 II. The Hess LP Tools: About the Tools in This Module III. Strategies and Tools for Professional Developers and Teacher Planning IV. Strategies and Resources for Use With Students Module 5: Is This a Collection of Tests or an Assessment System? Building and Sustaining a Local Comprehensive Assessment System for Deeper Learning 5.1 Rethinking What It Means to Have a Comprehensive Local Assessment System 5.2 Five Indicators of a Comprehensive Local Assessment System 5.3 Multiple Measures and Common Assessments 5.4 What Exactly Are "Common" Assessments and Where Do They Fit in the Local Assessment System? 5.5 Revisiting Alignment From a Systems Perspective 5.6 Interpreting Results From Local Assessment Analyses Reflections Part 2: Support Materials for Module 5 I. A Workshop Plan for Module 5 II. The Hess Alignment Tools: About the Tools in This Module Appendices Appendix A: Summary of Hess Tools to Guide Local Assessment Development, Instructional Planning, and PLC Activities Appendix B: Instructional and Formative Assessment Strategies to Uncover Thinking Appendix C: Troubleshooting Tips When Designing Assessment Items and Tasks Appendix D: Sample "What I Need to Do" Rubrics-Science, ELA, Mathematics, Blank Template Appendix E: Student Profile: Science Inquiry Learning Progression Appendix F: Student Learning Progression Literacy Profile-Grades 7-8 Appendix G: Writing Persuasively Learning Progression (Strand 7, LPF) Appendix H: LPF STRAND 7 (Grades K-2) Sample Lesson Planning Steps Using Learning Progressions Appendix I: An Expanded Glossary for Understanding and Designing Comprehensive Local Assessment Systems References Index

"Karin Hess has a gift. She understands the complex and technical world of assessment, but she is able to convey concepts, techniques, and strategies in a way that is clear, practical, and right on target for today's schools and classrooms. Her central focus on transfer is operationalized in practices that depend upon and promote cognitive rigor, literacy, and student performance. This IS assessment for deeper learning. But her greater gift-and the one offered to teachers and instructional leaders so ably in this invaluable resource-is her richly developed 'toolkit' of professional development modules. Karin Hess not only gives us the why but also the how and the what if around developing great assessment practices." -- Chris Gareis, Professor of Education and co-author of Teacher-Made Assessments: How to Connect Curriculum, Instruction, and Student Learning "Using Karin Hess's tools and protocols ensured that our district curriculum, instruction, and assessments are rigorous and aligned with state standards. By having us focus on cognitive rigor and plan for challenging questions and tasks, we are better equipped to guide our students to challenging and higher cognitive levels. This also allows our students to transfer their thinking to non-routine situations. Thank you for guiding and supporting our vision!" -- Marcia Smith, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning