Assessment Outcomes
Although my goal is that each student masters the standards, I know there will be students who cannot meet them after just one learning opportunity, while other students will exceed the standards. To help each student reach a maximum level of achievement, I will use differentiation in my instruction because each student learns differently. Response to intervention, or RtI, will be used when students are struggling to master a standard. This RtI system involves research-based interventions, external support from other teachers and educators, purposeful monitoring/assessing of skills and the students flowing in and out of "tiers" based on their growth and learning. The purpose of this is not to label students or analyze a student’s deficit. Instead, it guides me to ask what a student’s interests and needs are or what are this student’s strengths (Tomlinson, 2003, para. 14-15). Therefore, my goal translates to how I can use differentiation and Response to Intervention to help each student to master the standards.
Differentiation
“Everything that a student says and does is a potential source of assessment data,” reports Carol Ann Tomlinson (2003, para. 36). She continues to say that assessment “should maximize opportunities for each student to open the widest possible window on his or her learning” (2003, para. 36). Therefore, I will use the fullest spectrum of assessment methods allowed by each objective, despite teaching a performance-based class. As pointed out previously, there are standards that can be met without using the performance method of assessment. For example, in 8th grade choir students would be assessed by extended written response for the following standard:
ART.M.IV.8.4 Describe the impact of technology on music and culture.
In my classroom, the proficiency level of objectives will be 75% and mastery level will be 90%. After initial instruction, if it is not effective enough, I will use purposeful and specific differentiation by instruction and differentiation of assessment. Some examples of this include:
All Students:
High-Achieving Students:
Low-Achieving Students:
All Students:
- While teaching a vocal technique, I will teach with descriptive words and include kinesthetic ways to achieve the technique. For example, when singing softly with energy, I will have students “stir pudding” to simulate the movement of air behind their voice.
- For objectives that can be assessed by multiple types of assessment, I will let each student select the method of assessment they prefer.
- For sight-reading testing, I will have three sight-reading lines at different levels from which the students will be tested. Although not labeled, I will know which one is below mastery, at mastery, and above mastery. Students will select which line they would like to sight-read. If a student who read below or at mastery is successful on the line they choose, during the next testing time, I will ask them to read at the same level and at the next level as a challenge.
High-Achieving Students:
- I will invite high-achieving students to be section leaders. Their task would include leading sectionals and reporting any pitch or diction errors that they hear during rehearsal.
- On selected response methods of assessment, I will have extra questions that go beyond mastery of the set objectives. These will be optional for the students. The purpose of these questions is to give an extra challenge for the high-achieving students.
Low-Achieving Students:
- I will reassign seats, placing low-achieving students next to high-achieving students. This will be done within a voice section, keeping sopranos with sopranos etc. I will do this without providing a reason or drawing attention to the low-achieving student. Unknowingly, the high-achieving student’s skills will assist the low-achieving student, who will be receiving help in pitch accuracy, musical literacy, and sight-reading simply by being able to hear the other student.
- On selected response methods of assessment, I will have multiple questions for each objective that go beyond mastery of the set standards. These will be optional for the students. Their purpose is to give an extra challenge for the high-achieving students.
Academic RtI
Behavioral RtI
I will use tools from my Classroom Management Profile to address behavioral RtI as needed.
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