Assignment 1
Use the Internet and Strayer databases to research one (1) topic from the list of recommendations the superintendent provided or your own approved topic. Justify your topic selection by highlighting its relevance to your chosen district being able to successfully meet its K-12 assessment goals. Your research should also focus on locating current issues, applications, assessment strategies, and tools related to your selected topic. Once you complete your research, submit this portion of the white paper to your superintendent for review and feedback.
Write a five to seven (5-7) page paper in which you:
Propose your research topic in which you detail its relevance to meeting one (1) or more K-12 assessment goals in your chosen school district, focusing on a specific grade level, discipline, or target student population (gifted students, students with special needs, etc.).
Examine at least three (3) key political, legal, and / or current issues related to your chosen topic. Describe at least three (3) specific needs of the students in the school district including students with special learning needs. Propose at least three (3) applications your topic has to K-12 assessment in your chosen school district. Provide at least four (4) sources that document detailed information about your proposed topic. The sources must be written within the last five (5) years. Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions. Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the professor's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length. The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:
Assess various measures for assessing learners' progress, including formal, test-based measures, and informal and observational measures.
Analyze traditional theories of assessment. Evaluate alternate forms of assessment for special populations. Use technology and information resources to research issues in educational assessment. Write clearly and concisely about educational assessment using proper grammar and mechanics.
Assignment 2
Now that your superintendent reviewed your first submission and provided feedback, you will make the suggested revisions. You will also complete this section of the white paper. You will justify your topic selection and its relevance to the school district's goal of improving its assessment results.
Note: Refer to the Overall Scenario of Assignments 1-4 by clicking here.
Write a three to five (3-5) page paper in which you:
Revise Assignment 1 using the feedback that the superintendent provided. (The revision of the previous assignment is not included in the page count for this assignment). Describe the relevance of your assessment topic in terms of meeting the K-12 assessment goals in your chosen school district as it relates to the specific focus you identified in Assignment 1. Provide specific examples of assessment goals that the school district currently uses to support your rationale. Explore at least three (3) key reasons why you selected the topic in question. Highlight the fundamental aspects of the topic that make it fit into either traditional or alternative assessment research.
Justify your response. Suggest three (3) strategies that educators could employ in order to utilize technology within the classroom and thus aid your chosen school district in meeting its K-12 assessment goals. Provide relevant examples of these strategies to support your response. Provide at least three (3) additional reliable, relevant, peer-reviewed references not previously used published within the last 5 years. Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions. Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the professor's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length. The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:
Analyze traditional theories of assessment. Apply new advances and current thought in the field of educational assessment. Evaluate alternate forms of assessment for special populations. Use technology and information resources to research issues in educational assessment. Write clearly and concisely about educational assessment using proper grammar and mechanics.
Overall Scenario of Assignments 1-4 Imagine that your locally elected board of the school district has commissioned an Assessment Task
Force to improve the overall standardized test scores of the students within the school district. The superintendent (a role played by your professor), has asked you, the Director of Assessment, to develop an assessment project proposal. The superintendent asked you to include the following in this proposal:
A research topic related to K-12 assessment. Research of a local school district's Website to learn about the established assessment goals. (Note: Do not identify individuals by name, share proprietary information, etc.) Proposed recommendations for changes to the District's K-12 assessment goals. Presentation of the proposal for the task force. The superintendent will review the parts of your proposal as you develop each part and provide you feedback. The superintendent expects you to incorporate the feedback into subsequent parts of the proposal for presentation. In your initial meeting with the superintendent, he has provided the following list of sample research topics that could be the focus of your proposal:
Bias (cultural and gender) in aptitude and standardized tests Implications of cognitive science and brain research upon assessment Implications of and Changes to No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 with respect to testing Alternate assessment methods for special populations (e.g., gifted students, students with learning disabilities) Assessing students with disabilities using computer technologies or other innovations (select one or more types of disabilities) Implications of National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers, Coaches, and Students (NETS) to school districts with respect to program assessment. The Implications of the Common Core Standards with relation to your chosen local school district, state education system, or education system on a national level Balancing the use of formative or summative assessments in the classroom with required standardized assessments You may also choose an assignment topic other than those suggested.
Note: By Week 2, students should obtain professor approval on any assignment topics other than those suggested in the Overall Scenario for Assignments 1-4.
Note: You may create and /or make all necessary assumptions needed for the completion of these assignments including providing real research information.
Assignments 1-4 Your project will be broken into the following parts, which the superintendent will review and provide feedback:
Assignment Title Due Date 1 Assessment Project - Part 1
Background of Topic; Current Issues Related to Topic; and Challenges faced by the District, Evaluation of Assessment Strategies and Tools related to Topic Part 1 Week 3 2 Assessment Project - Part 2 Relevance of the Topic and Strategies for the Use of Technology Week 6 with revision of Assignment 1 3 Assessment Project - Part 3
Recommendations for Changes to the District's K-12 Assessment Goals Week 9 with revision of Assignment 2 4 Assessment Project
Presentation Presentation of the White Paper for the Task Force Week 10
Assignment 3
Your white paper is almost complete, and the superintendent reviewed and provided feedback on both of your submissions. For the final section of your white paper, you will focus on identifying the technology implications. Finally, you will make your recommendations to the locally elected board of the school district for its members' consideration.
Write a three to five (3-5) page paper in which you:
Revise Assignment 2 using the feedback that the superintendent provided. (The revision of the previous assignment is not included in the page count for this assignment). Ascertain three (3) new advances in computer and Web technologies which would benefit K-12 assessment that are related to your topic. Highlight one (1) of these new innovations that might be practical for the district to implement in the near future. Provide a rationale for your response. Propose the strategic manner in you would conduct a training needs analysis for teachers related to your topic. Provide at least two (2) additional reliable, relevant, peer-reviewed references not previously used and published within the last five (5) years. Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions. Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the professor's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length. The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:
Assess various measures for assessing learners' progress, including formal, test-based measures, and informal and observational measures.
Evaluate strategies for a variety of assessment instruments and the theories behind them. Utilize a methodology for linking assessment practices to learning objectives. Use technology and information resources to research issues in educational assessment. Write clearly and concisely about educational assessment using proper grammar and mechanics.
Assignment 4
Your white paper that you have developed on your selected K-12 assessment topic is now ready for you to present to the locally elected board of the school district. Create a presentation using Prezi or similar software in order to present your research to the task force. The information within your presentation will assist the Task Force in developing a district-wide professional development plan geared toward improving the overall test scores of the schools within the district.
Recorded Presentation Overall presentation style and structure
Present your findings in ten (10) slides using Prezi, PowerPoint, or a presentation software of your choice. (Note: Notify the professor on Week 7 concerning the software you choose to use for the presentation). Include a title slide and references section (These two [2] slides are not part of the ten (10) slide requirement).
Develop a creative, appealing presentation using your chosen tool for a professional audience, using two to three (2-3) colors, two to three (2-3) fonts, and two to three (2-3) other visuals. Provide coherent, clear, organized, and substantive content that can be easily understood by the audience. Provide audio narration of the presentation slides as if you were delivering the speech (Note: If you do not have access to a microphone, then you should provide detailed speaker notes with your presentation.)
Create a section of the presentation (first five [5] slides) in which you: Provide an overview of the white paper. The overview should include, at a minimum, background on your topic and its relevance to K-12 assessment and the demographics of the district.
Discuss the significant recommendations that you have made within the white paper regarding changes to the district's current assessment goals. Provide three (3) methods by which the Task Force might use the white paper in order to develop a district-wide professional development plan geared toward improving the overall test scores of the district.
Create a section of the presentation (last five [5] slides) in which you: Provide your personal reflection in which you highlight what you have learned from developing the white paper as well as what you have learned during this course.
Provide your personal reflection on the new technologies that you researched in Assignment 3 and the manner in which such technologies have changed your views on how to approach assessment in the classroom.
Provide your personal reflection on the manner in which you would implement the recommendations made in Assignment 3 within your own school district or within your classroom practices. Provide specific examples of the changes that you have already made or would like to make.