LSI Formative Assessment International Conference
Conference Sessions
Presenters | Title | Description |
---|---|---|
Dylan Wiliam | What Counts as Evidence of Educational Achievement? Pursuing Equity in Assessment | Join Dylan as he kicks off the conference with an insightful and thought-provoking keynote address. |
Dylan Wiliam | Q and A | This is a unique opportunity to have your questions answered by the world's foremost authority on formative assessment. This session is open to district and school leaders as well as classroom teachers. |
Dylan Wiliam | Formative Assessment: A Key Driver for Equity in Education | Join Dylan as he closes out the conference with his thoughts on how formative assessment is instrumental in achieving equity in education. |
Dylan Wiliam, Paul Zavitkovsky, & Michael Toth | Fireside Chat with Dylan Wiliam | Listen in as Dylan Wiliam, Paul Zavitkovsky & Michael Toth discuss the challenges educators face when trying to make sense of commercial assessment data, and why it is so difficult to use such data to inform the next steps in instruction. |
Panelists - Dylan Wiliam, Tanji Reed-Marshall, Ken O'Conner, Jay McTighe Moderator- Michael Toth | What Does it Mean for Assessment to Be Equitable? (Different Visions of Equitable-ness) | Join this renowned group of assessment and equity experts as they discuss, debate, and deliberate current issues in education related to equity in assessment. |
Tanji Reed-Marshall | The Intersections of Power, Equity, and Assessment Decision Making | Learn about the dimensions of power, how power is shaped by the lenses we bring to our instructional practices, and how power-laden decision-making informs how we assess students and make sense of student value. |
Paul Zavitkovsky and Laquita Louie | Getting Smarter about Equity Metrics | Back in 1998, Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam excited the educational world by reporting that rich formative assessment typically increases standardized achievement growth by one to two grade equivalents over average growth. But two decades later, widespread misuse of standardized testing has overshadowed this connection. These days, it’s more likely to hear formative assessment described as an alternative to large-scale standardized testing . . . and less likely for both to be seen as essential elements of balanced assessment. The premise of this session is that perceived incompatibilities between rich formative assessment and standardized testing come more from misguided reportage of standardized test results than from standardized tests themselves. Session participants will: |
Michael Toth | Why Instructional Systems Dampen Life Chances for Black and Brown Students | Do race and family income determine a child’s life chances? Too often, students of color and those from low socioeconomic backgrounds stay disadvantaged as they move through schools built on legacy instructional systems that deny them academic rigor and student agency. In this breakout session, Michael D. Toth – founder and CEO of Learning Sciences International, multi-award-winning education author, and director of LSI’s Applied Research Center – will reveal the invisible and inequitable instructional systems at the root of every district. Participants will learn the key systems that can shift schools from low-rigor, low-agency classrooms to authentic, culturally responsive, empowering learning environments where every student thrives. |
Jay McTighe | 7 Assessment Practices that Enhance Learning | Effective assessment is integral to effective schooling. However, assessment practices vary widely in quality, across teachers and schools. A more systematic approach can improve practice. Internationally-renowned author and consultant, Jay McTighe, will share ideas from his most recent book, "Assessing Learning in the Classroom - By Design" (Teachers College Press, 2021). He will present a set of underlying assessment principles that support seven practical and proven classroom assessment practices that can support learning, not simply measure it. |
Ken O'Connor | Are You all in for Excellence and Equity in Grading? | In her 2009 book "Grading," Sue Brookhart stated that "In a perfect world there would be no grades." That is probably true but the reality is grades aren't going away from most schools, especially high schools, any time soon. The basic issue that will be addressed in this session is how can teachers determine grades in ways that support excellence and equity. Using Joe Feldman’s “Three Pillars of Equitable Grading” as an organizing structure, the required specific grading practices will be identified and participants will be asked to consider are they “all in” on those practices. |
Deana Senn | What Does Formative Assessment Look Like in a Culturally Sustaining Classroom? | Ensuring formative assessment practices contribute toward equitable student outcomes is a crucial step in creating culturally sustaining classrooms. This session centers on how to create more equitable student outcomes through formative assessments by focusing on supporting student ownership and equity of voice. We will also examine how formative assessments can make room for student voice and agency when they understand students’ deep cultural beliefs and norms. |
Deana Senn & Bindu Sunil | How to Create a Culturally Sustaining Classroom through Student-led Teams (CR series) | Equity of voice in our classrooms is an integral focus of equitable formative assessment. A classroom environment where students routinely collaborate with peers on rigorous standard-based tasks provides the space for all learners to have equity of voice. When we focus on student strengths, along with structures and supports, deeper learning connections are made. This session focuses on how Academic Teaming can be the pathway to build equity of voice and understanding in a culturally sustaining classroom. |
Bindu Sunil | Math, Rigor, and Equity – Where’s the Intersection in the Classroom? | What was previously known as the ‘achievement gap’ has now been coined the ‘opportunity gap.’ Now more than ever it is critical all students are given the opportunity for a rigorous and equitable education. What does that look like in a classroom where students have different levels of mathematical understanding and skills? How do we create a path to opportunity and achievement for every student? This session will explore practices, strategies, and principles essential to closing the gap and getting students across the finish line, ensuring positive outcomes. |
Camile Earle-Dennis | Equity in Action: Driving Sustainable Change with SEL | When we view equity as a progression that is driven by action, we begin to see sustainable change. Through an SEL lens, participants will receive an overview of the progression of equity and learn strategies to ensure that they are creating a culture where academic equity can thrive. |
Jody Honaker | Empowering Diverse Learners with Student-led Formative Assessment (CR Series) | Researchers have found that when students are actively involved in formatively assessing their learning, academic achievement is boosted, especially for students who do not have extra support for learning at home. How do we easily support ALL students with this empowering process? See how LSI’s innovative technology platform, the Student Evidence Tracker, can support the simple, yet highly engaging routine for student-led formative assessments. |
Kaija Dupoux | Reading, Rigor, and Equity – Where’s the Intersection in the Classroom? | What was previously known as the ‘achievement gap’ has now been coined the ‘opportunity gap.’ Now more than ever it is critical all students are given the opportunity for a rigorous and equitable education. What does that look like in a classroom where students have different levels of reading understanding and ELA skills? How do we create a path to opportunity and achievement for every student? This session will explore practices, strategies, and principles essential to closing the gap and getting students across the finish line, ensuring positive outcomes. |
Sherry Bennett | Everyone Needs Allies: How to Engage Students and Parents in the Work of Formative Assessment | Sometimes the greatest skeptics of formative assessment are the students and their parents/guardians. They know what assessment is 'supposed' to look like - or at least what it used to look like. And yet, our most vulnerable students often know all too well how the story of conventional assessment ends. This session will discuss ways to engage students and parents as powerful allies in your efforts to rework the assessment narrative to support learning for all our students. |
Sherry Bennett | Hey Leaders! Looking for Ways to Infuse Formative Assessment into Your School Culture? | Formative assessment doesn't just happen because of a workshop, conference, or book study. It needs to be infused into the culture of our classrooms, schools, and districts. However well-intentioned we are with our commitment to student success, there may be roadblocks that are preventing us from achieving what we aim to accomplish. This session will look at some of these roadblocks, and offer accessible ways to begin shifting the assessment conversations. When we feel empowered, we can then begin to shift our policies and practices - or at least find effective ways to work within that which we cannot change. |
Sherry Bennett | Should Formative Assessment be Spontaneous or Planned? Yes! | The publication of the Leahy et al. (2005) article, Classroom assessment: Minute by minute, day by day, brought a renewed interest in the concept of formative assessment. In our eagerness to embrace these ideas, what may have been missed is an understanding of the amount of preparation required in order to be able to engage in these seemingly spontaneous exchanges with students. This session will discuss some design principles that can be infused into your planning processes to ensure that the intent of formative assessment can be realized in real-time. |
Mtetwa Ramdoo | Making Formative Assessments Culturally Relevant | We create more equitable assessment practices when we offer students experiences that are tailored for their cultural and linguistic diversity. Learn a few simple ways to make assessments more culturally relevant or responsive for students. |
James Payne | Leading Formative Assessment Practices Through an Equity Lens | Student-centered instruction begins with knowing the students we serve. As schools educate a more diverse and global student population, there is an increased need to ensure every student succeeds regardless of their differences. For assessment to meet the goal of improving student learning and authentically document what students know and can do, an equitably responsive approach to assessment is needed. Learn how to lead others to pair an equity lens with assessment practices to clear the path to student success for all. |
Shakira Fetherolf | How Taking Deep Culture into Account Can Create Equity in Assessment | Do our formative assessments techniques and strategies limit how students can show their understanding? Learn how to plan for more equitable student outcomes through formative assessments that take into considerations students' cultural norms. |
Paul McNeil | Using Teaming Tasks to Formatively Assess Individual Students May Be Easier than You Think | Formative assessments happen during the learning process. Having teammates with whom students can bridge, support, and deepen understanding of key concepts while learning creates an equitable approach to learning. Learn 5 ways to use teaming tasks to get accurate formative assessment data for all students while cultivating their 21st-century skills. |
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