Comprehensive Assessment System for Secondary Literacy
This microcredential represents an educator's leadership and evaluation of assessment systems for secondary literacy instruction and intervention. This includes facilitating discussions to interpret and analyze data and collaborating and communicating with all stakeholders while monitoring and adjusting the assessment system as needed.
This is the first microcredential in the Using Assessments to Inform Adolescent Literacy stack. This stack fulfills competency area 2 of the Secondary Literacy Interventionist endorsement.
To earn this 0.5 credit microcredential, you will collect and submit two sets of evidence demonstrating your effective and consistent assessment practices supporting adolescent literacy instruction and intervention. You will also complete a written or video reflective analysis.
This microcredential asks candidates to take a systems approach to a comprehensive assessment plan, not just an individual classroom. Therefore, evidence needs to reflect a comprehensive systems approach at a school or district level rather than individual student data.
These competencies are applied within the framework of Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) including curriculum and instruction. Therefore, all students receive Tier 1 instruction which includes differentiated instruction in small groups, Tier 2 instruction includes students who need a re-teach or pre-teach opportunity separate from the Tier 1 instruction, Tier 3 instruction takes place separate and apart from Tier 1 and 2 with a smaller group of students, but is not a part of special education.
Comprehensive Assessment System :A Comprehensive Assessment System includes all assessment types (formative, summative, diagnostic, and screener) in order to provide individualized information for teachers to make decisions, such as adjusting instruction, improving curriculum, monitoring gaps and/or redundancy across assessments (data/findings), etc.
Growth vs. Proficiency :In the simplest analogy possible, proficiency is a destination; growth is the journey
Stakeholders :Stakeholders may include teachers, administrators, families, community leaders, and policymakers.
Mr. Jones recently joined the high school as the literacy specialist. As part of his responsibilities he must create a comprehensive assessment system which includes analyzing available assessments to understand the information received from each, developing an assessment schedule and assessing the schedule to ensure collaboration around data and time for interventions/extensions, providing professional learning experiences around interpreting data and improving instruction, as well as identifying any redundancies within the assessments and making recommendations to the administration if some are found.
The principal has also asked him to complete an assessment schedule for the year and communicate this with all stakeholders, ensuring that students are not over tested and that all understand the information being gained from each assessment given. As a component of the schedule, Mr. Jones also plans time for intervention based on the data gathered.
If Mr. Jones finds any gaps in the assessments, he will look for evidence based assessments and curriculum to offer as modifications to the comprehensive assessment system.
Category: Preparation and Planning
Submit the evidence below to demonstrate your effective and consistent planning for assessment practices supporting adolescent literacy.
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Read the Introduction to Utah’s K–12 Literacy Framework to gain a sense of its intent and purpose.
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Read Element 3: Assessment and Feedback to develop an overview of the essential evidence-based practices.
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Review the definitions for Self-Assessment Scales (page 2) to prepare for conducting a self-assessment.
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If possible, create a team (e.g. administrator, instructional coach, reading interventionist, literacy specialist or director, counselor, Special Educator, General Educator, etc.) to complete the self-assessment for Element 3 for secondary (page 18). If you are not able to create a team of 3-4 people, then at minimum, partner with another colleague to have this conversation.
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Refer to the Lines of Evidence (pages 23-25) to identify the site’s/district’s current level of implementation for the critical indicators listed for Element 3 (page 24).
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Create an action plan using the Literacy Framework Planning Tool (pages 26-29) for Continuous Improvement for the critical indicators listed in Element 3.
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Develop a process for monitoring efforts and evaluating progress towards your site’s/district’s goals.
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Continue to use the Literacy Framework Planning Tool for Continuous Improvement process to refine and monitor progress.
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Submit the following for review using the provided template: 1) description of need, 2) action plan with proposed solution, 3) action steps with who is responsible for what, 4) and timeline. and 5) 2 types of evidence that you will collect and monitor. Example lines of evidence can be found on page 24 of the Utah’s K-12 Literacy Framework.
Template for Action Plan - Comprehensive Assessment System for Secondary Literacy.docx
Category: Implementation
Submit the evidence below to demonstrate your effective and consistent implementation of assessment practices supporting adolescent literacy.
Submit the two pieces of evidence that you identified in your action plan. You can choose to submit photos or documents or a video explanation.
Be sure to follow your district or charter guidelines for student privacy.
Review Criteria
Criterion 1: The submitted assessment plan for secondary literacy (Template for Action Plan) demonstrates effective and consistent planning, and aligns with the critical indicators defined in the self assessment tool for Element 3 in the Utah K-12 Literacy Framework.
Criterion 2: The two lines of evidence submitted demonstrate effective implementation of assessment to support adolescent literacy instruction, and align with the critical indicators defined in the self assessment tool for Element 3 in the Utah K-12 Literacy Framework.
Explain your rationale for the two pieces of evidence you included in your Template for Action Plan and submitted. How does this evidence demonstrate your effective and consistent implementation of an assessment system to support secondary literacy?
Based on your planning for continuous improvement, what are your next steps for professional learning for educators AND for communication with stakeholders?
https://www.uen.org/k12educator/downloads/LitFramework.pdf
Utah’s K–12 Literacy Framework intends to:
● Provide districts, charters, and schools with an evidence-based framework and self-assessment tool to identify strengths and areas for growth to improve student literacy outcomes
● Provide LEAs, building administrators, teachers, and other stakeholders with evidence-based practices that will yield positive literacy outcomes for students.
Supporting Adolescent Readers: A Guide for Secondary Educators
https://www.schools.utah.gov/file/698c8c65-8753-4609-a841-0af3951d6d59
This guide supports educators in providing high-quality, effective instruction for adolescent readers, focusing on four key areas:
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Assessment
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Framework and Planning for Reading Intervention Classes
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Evidence-based Instructional Practices
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Adolescent Reading Motivation
Assessing Reading: Multiple Measures, Revised 2nd Edition
https://www.corelearn.com/assessing-reading-multiple-measures-2nd-edition/
The text provides a collection of tests for the comprehensive assessment of skills related to reading. These assessments can help identify why a student is having reading difficulty, determine what the next step in instruction should be to remediate that difficulty, and monitor progress throughout the course of instruction. Data entry forms are available for free download.
Template for Action Plan
https://usbe.midaseducation.com/microcredentials/resource/asset/e5067a9a-06a5-11ed-b06f-02420a000208/Template%20for%20Action%20Plan%20-%20Comprehensive%20Assessment%20System%20for%20Secondary%20Literacy.docx
Download, complete, and submit this form for your evidence of preparation and planning.
Michelle Barney
Jill Tucker
250 East 500 South
Salt Lake City, UT 84111-3204
Phone: 801.538.7807