Introduction to Student Learning Objectives Ashley Frame, Karen Soule
These materials have been adapted in part with permission from the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders.
Student Learning Objectives* Using student learning objectives to assess student growth *Very long...let’s use “SLOs” from here on out!
Student Learning Objectives Agenda 1. Introduction to the SLOs 2. Define SLOs 3. Importance/Challenges of SLO’s 4. SLO Process/Jaffrey‐Rindge 5. SLO Cycle 6. Tools, Resources, Next Steps
Connecting Activity • Please gauge your familiarity with SLOs and how informed you are, with 1 being no prior exposure to SLOs and 4 being very familiar. 1
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3
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No prior exposure
Little familiarity
Somewhat familiar
Very familiar
• When you hear the term student learning objective, what is one question that comes to mind?
Belief statement All students can learn and achieve at high levels This belief should be the focus of an educator’s practice
SLOs as a Measure of Student Growth An SLO is a measurable, long‐term, academic goal informed by available data that a teacher or teacher team sets at the beginning of the year for all students or for subgroups of students.
What does an SLO look like? An SLO is really a whole process that involves a written goal for students, goals for the educator (PD, etc.), a timeframe for achieving the goal, outcomes of the various steps, assessments, and reflection throughout!
Why are SLOs Important? SLOs: • put student learning first. Student proficiency of content and skills is the primary focus.
• prioritize key standards/enduring understandings. Teachers ask themselves, “What do my students need to know to be successful?”
• improve the quality of student data use. The SLO process will provide explicit guidance for teachers in selecting and gather student data.
• make teacher impact on student achievement visible. Based on data, instruction can be adjusted and differentiated in real time for maximum student achievement. Connect student learning to professional learning.
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SLO Challenges Will require significant Professional Development and oversight to establish meaningful and comparable goals Potential for corruption on goals, measures, and targets Still requires high quality assessments to measure goals and evaluate targets Setting rigorous but realistic targets for all students
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Despite the challenges, we believe that SLOs encourage and support good teaching and learning of content standards!
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The whole and its parts 1. The measurable (SMART goal) 2. The teacher’s goals/needs (professional development, training, time, etc.) 3. Assessments 4. Timeline for activities 5. Reflection and adaptation
Back to the whole and its parts… Goal for Students Goal for self/team Assessments Timeline for activities Reflection
*This could be the beginning of a template or a rubric for scoring later…
Examples of Big Ideas… • Art: Great artists often break with conventions to better express what they see and feel. • Economics: Price is a function of supply and demand. • Biology: Through a variety of mechanisms all organisms seek to maintain a biological balance between their internal and external environments. • Mathematics: Math models simplify physical relations –and even sometimes distort relations – to deepen our understanding of them. • ELA: The storyteller rarely tells the meaning of the story. • World Language: Understanding idiomatic expressions and using them wisely is important.
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Student Goal Development Goal Development generally includes the following steps: 1. Identify core content and standards 2. Gather and analyze student data 3. Determine the focus of the SLO 4. Select or develop an assessment 5. Develop a growth target/ proficiency target and rationale
Source: Lachlan‐Haché, L., Cushing, E., & Bivona, L. (2012). Student learning objectives as measures of educator effectiveness: The basics. Washington, DC: American Institutes for Research. Retrieved from http://educatortalent.org/inc/docs/SLOs_Measures_of_Educator_Effectiveness.pdf
SLO Learning Goal A Learning Goal: a description of the enduring understandings or big ideas that students will possess at the end of the course or grade based on course‐ or grade‐level content standards and curriculum. The Learning Goal requires thoughtfully identifying and synthesizing: •a description of the big idea •critical content and skills from the intended standards and curriculum that are being taught and learned (not all content and skills) •demonstration of deep understanding •appropriate instructional strategies •necessary time span to teach the learning goal
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SLO Learning Goal Describe the Learning Goal: Students in first grade will effectively be able to read and write (including the use of pictures) a variety of prose and poetry, identifying words that demonstrate feelings or emotions and analyzing the impact of these words on the reader.
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Jaffrey‐Rindge Student Learning Objective Pilot Learning Goal Component • LEARNING GOAL Rationale Student Learning Objective (SMART goals) Standards and content Student population Interval of instruction Instructional Strategies
Targets Targets identify the expected outcome by the end of the instructional period. There are two key components of the targets associated with SLO: Starting Level: If we expect all students to all achieve the same end goal, then we can skip this step, but more likely there will be some differentiation of goals. End Goal: What performance demonstrates that students met the learning goal using your assessments? 18
Baseline Data •Information about students’ level of performance at the “start” of the interval of instruction. •Generally includes the most recent data available and can include the prior year’s assessment scores, results from a beginning of the year benchmark assessment, a pre‐assessment, or other evidence of students’ learning, such as portfolio work samples that measure the pre‐requisite knowledge and skills necessary for the course. •Used to establish SLO targets and the amount of growth that should take place within the allotted time period.
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Jaffrey‐Rindge Student Learning Objective Pilot Targets Component • Baseline Data • Growth Target • Criteria for Effectiveness ‐High Level of Performance More that 90% of students meet agreed upon target
‐Typical Level of Performance‐ Between 75% and 90% of students meet agreed upon learning target
‐Low Level of performance Less than 75% of students meet agreed upon learning targets
So what does that mean? Look at the data! Based on the data, what needs doing? What problems exist? What do your students need?
Back to the whole and its parts… Goal for Students Goal for self/team Assessments Timeline for activities Reflection
*This could be the beginning of a template or a rubric for scoring later…
Choosing Professional Goals…questions to start What training do you/your team need? What does your Master Plan suggest? With whom do you need to work/consult? What curricular changes do you need to make? • What instructional changes to do you need to make? • • • •
Back to the whole and its parts… Goal for Students Goal for self/team Assessments Timeline for activities Reflection
*This could be the beginning of a template or a rubric for scoring later…
Assessments and Scoring Assessments should be high‐ quality and designed to best measure the knowledge and skills found in the learning goal of this SLO. The assessments should be accompanied by a Scoring tool such as clear criteria or rubrics to describe what students have learned. Assessments and Scoring should be: •designed to best measure the knowledge and skills found in the learning goal •accompanied by clear criteria or rubrics to determine student learning from the assessment •high quality measures used to evaluate the degree to which students achieved the developed learning goal. Assessments should be used to support and measure the learning goal. Not vice versa. 25
Choosing/Creating assessments Which assessments are you going to use and why? What do you know about them (valid? Reliable?) and what’s important about them? Are they available (written already, in Performance Plus, purchased, etc.) or do you need to do some work?
High Quality Assessments
Aligned Reliable for Scoring Fair and Unbiased
• the assessment(s) are specifically designed or selected to measure the type of knowledge and cognitive processes that you are trying to make inferences about
• allows for different scorers to reach the same score • provides clear descriptors that are coherent across the performance levels in the rubric
• provides opportunity and access for all students • are free from unnecessary information that can cause a distraction • Presents a clear and identifiable prompt or question 27
Jaffrey‐Rindge SLO Pilot component Assessments • Data Sources • Assessment Timeline • Assessment Scoring
So, now you have an SLO... Select assessments, interventions, and keep track of it all!
Back to the whole and its parts… Goal for Students Goal for self/team Assessments Timeline for activities Reflection
*This could be the beginning of a template or a rubric for scoring later…
Timeline for activities What
When
Who
Outcome
Workshop for writing
September 2014
8th grade team
Strategies to implement for writing prompt
Create first writing September 2014 prompt and rubric
8th grade team
Draft common assessment, develop shared understanding
Administer first writing prompt
8th graders
Develop baseline data for common assessment, start to calibrate scoring
October 2014
Back to the whole and its parts… Goal for Students Goal for self/team Assessments Timeline for activities Reflection
…
Reflecting throughout Improvement cycle… What’s working/What’s not? Informal/Formal reflection? Recording changes/progress made?
Jaffrey Rindge SLO Pilot Year Template Component Rationale What enduring understandings or big ideas are worked toward through this goal? Why is it important?
Student Learning Objective (SLO)
Learning Goal
What is your SMART goal (e.g. specific, measurable, appropriate, realistic, time limited)?
Standards and Content (e.g. CCSS, state or national frameworks)
Student Population Which students will be included in this SLO? Include course, grade level, performance level, and number of students.
Interval of Instruction What is the instructional period for this SLO (e.g. one semester, one year, beginning/end dates)?
Instructional Strategies What are the key instructional strategies that will be implemented to support students in reaching the growth target for this SLO?
Data Sources
Assessments
What assessment(s) will be used to measure baseline and growth? As applicable, attach copies of formative and summative assessments (e.g. pre‐testing, progress monitoring, post‐testing, performance tasks).
Assessment Timeline How often will you collect data to monitor progress? When will you complete your summative assessment?
Assessment Scoring What specific scoring criteria and/or rubric will be used? As applicable, attach copies of rubrics, exemplar written responses, etc.
Targets
Baseline Data What information is being used to inform the creation of this SLO? Summarize baseline performance for the group. Attach a roster of student scores on the baseline assessment.
Growth Target What are expectations for student growth for this SLO? Using students’ starting points, identify the number or percentage of students expected to reach each achievement level.
Criteria for Effectiveness High Level of Performance – More than 90% of students meet agreed upon learning targets. Typical Level of Performance – Between 75% and 90% of students meet agreed upon learning targets. Low Level of Performance – Less than 75% of students meet agreed upon learning targets.
The SLO Evaluation Cycle
Source: Lachlan‐Haché, L., Cushing, E., & Bivona, L. (2012). Student learning objectives as measures of educator effectiveness: The basics. Washington, DC: American Institutes for Research. Retrieved from http://educatortalent.org/inc/docs/SLOs_Measures_of_Educator_Effectiveness.pdf
III. Midcourse Check‐In How are your students progressing toward your growth targets?
Which students are struggling/exceeding expectations?
What additional resources do you need as you work to achieve your SLOs?
IV. Final Review of SLO Scoring and Attainment
Teacher
Evaluator
• Administer the final assessment(s) to students. • Collect all relevant information and compile it in a useful way for the evaluator.
• Ask teachers to complete an end‐of‐year reflection. • Score SLOs, and set up a final meeting with the educator. • Prepare to give feedback and plan next steps.
Jaffrey‐Rindge PILOT YEAR: Student Learning Objective Review Educator:
Year: 2014‐15* Review Date:
School(s): Course/Grade Level: Collaborating Educators:
Content Area:
Summative Data Record the actual number or percentage of students who achieved the targets. Educator Comments Share any comments you wish to include about factors that influenced these outcomes. Date
Signature
Outcomes
Administrator Comments Date
Signature
Effectiveness x High level of performance – More than 90% of students meet targets. X Typical level of performance – Between 75% and 90% of students meet targets. X Low level of performance – Less than 75% of students meet targets.
Reflecting on the SLO Process Integration
Alignment
How does the SLO process fit into your current work?
How does the SLO process align with the goals of your system?
Challenges
Positive
What implementation or technical challenges do you foresee?
What are some potential positive outcomes of using SLOs?
What Lies in the Future for SLOs? •
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SLOs can be considered an investment in our profession. They highlight best practices, create opportunities for collaboration, and provide a valuable link between instruction, curricula, and assessment. If implemented sustainably and well, SLOs can drive professional learning, nurture assessment literacy, and build educator capacity for data‐driven instruction.
Belief statement All students can learn and achieve at high levels This belief should be the focus of an educator’s practice
How Do You Prepare for SLO Pilot? • What three take aways do you have from this session? • What are three remaining questions that you have? • What are next steps that you can take based on where you are?
Things to Check out • New Hampshire SLO Video Module • New Hampshire Networks • Center for Assessment – Center for Assessment Link page http://www.nciea.org/slo‐toolkit/
Instructional Guide http://www.nciea.org/wp‐content/uploads/3_Instructional‐ Guide‐for‐Developing‐Student‐Learning‐Objectives.pdf
• Dept. of Education Phase I and Phase II Task Force reports
References
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Lachlan‐Haché, L., Cushing, E., & Bivona, L. (2012). Student learning objectives as measures of educator effectiveness: The basics. Washington, DC: American Institutes for Research. Retrieved from http://educatortalent.org/inc/docs/SLOs_Measures_of_Educator_Effectiveness.pdf Lachlan‐Haché, L., Cushing, E., & Bivona, L. (2012). Student learning objectives: Benefits, challenges, and solutions. Washington, DC: American Institutes for Research. Retrieved from http://educatortalent.org/inc/docs/SLOs_Benefits_Challenges_Solutions.pdf What Works Clearinghouse. (2009). Using student achievement data to support instructional decision making. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance. Center for Assessment American Institutes for Research link
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This presentation was adapted from the American Institutes of Research using their materials.
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