Parent's Guide to Growing Success (from Peel)

I have had many questions about assessment and what the Growing Success Policy means from parents during parent's night. Seeing as interim reports are coming out around now, I thought I'd post a useful Parent's Guide, put together by the Peel Board:

http://schools.peelschools.org/_layouts/PDSB.SWebCreate/Resources/ParentMonographGrowingSuccess.pdf

  

Peel’s Growing Success  

Parent Monograph Series: 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The seven fundamental principles are reiterated on this site, as well as a clear explanation of the context of the policy and definition of the document.

This FAQ page is written clearly and consistently for a parent to understand the changes in assessment since they were a student and it offers the parent an insight into what their child is experiencing in terms of current assessment, as well as the purpose behind that assessment.

Citation:

CISESS, Peel District School Board,
http://schools.peelschools.org/_layouts/PDSB.SWebCreate/Resources/ParentMonographGrowingSuccess.pdf, November 2012

Interesting Resources

Textbook Resources:
Davies, A., Herbst, S., and Reynolds, B. 2012.  Leading the Way to Assessment for Learning: A Practical Guide 2nd Edition.   Connections Publishing Courtenay, B.C.

Gregory, K., Cameron, C., and Davies, A. 2011. Knowing What Counts- Self-Assessment and Goal Setting 2nd Edition. Building Connections Publishing Inc. Courtenay B.C.

Gregory, K., Cameron, C., and Davies, A. 2011. Knowing What Counts- Setting and Using Criteria. 2nd Edition.  Building Connections Publishing Inc. Courtenay B.C.

Growing Success: Credit Recovery

Credit Recovery page 83 of the Growing Success Document:

-designed to help day school students meet expectations of a course they have completed but have received a failing grade.
-must be taught by qualified teacher
-no limit on credits one can recover

Guiding Principles

-part of whole school culture, equal weighting as other course delivery
-not a replacement during intial credit attempt, including SPEC-ED supports
-an option for any studnet that fails, determination by credit recovery team
-final credit granting is done by principal
-access granted by principal but must be okayed by student
-teacher of initial program must supply credit recovery teacher with relevant information
-must have real and credible educaitonal value. Student must achieve overall course expectations
-students must be able to achieve expectations in a variety of ways
-available to every student in publicy funded schools
-final mark should refelct achievement of overall course expectations.  Could be based soley on performance in credit recovery or may include results from initial attempt at course expectations.

Credit Recovery Team

-Subset of student success team, responsible for placing student in credit recovery process.
-minimum must be comprised of principal (designate, usually VP), student success teacher, guidance head, where appropriate other staff (support staff, subject teachers, spec ed head (designate))

Every student who fails a course has the following options:
-repeat entire course
-night school
-summer school
-credit recovery

If credit recovery is chosen...subject teacher must provide

-final percentage mark for the course-breakdown of all percents

-reasons supporting a recommendation for credit recovery

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/policyfunding/growsuccess.pdf

Citation:

Growing Success Assessment, Evaluation, and Reporting in Ontario Schools, First Edition, Covering Grades 1 to 12, 2010, Ministry of Education

Special Education in the Growing Success Policy

In respect to Special Education:

Students with Special Education needs are on page 70-74...

-Mentions Special education being available to any child that requires. pg 70
-IEP explains program and any accomodations/modifications pg 70
-Assessment for special Education is to improve student learning pg 71
-Assessment and Evaluation to pg 71 :      

specify and verify student needs
support accurate decisions about student's program
support other decisions-referrals, screening, classification, instructional planning
help determine interventions to enable student to demonstrate achievement

-Instructional level must be determined by educational assessments, conducted by teachers, and professionals Pg 71
-teachers should use a variety of assessment tools: portfolios, journals, observation, rubrics,tests, projects, and self- and peer assessment.

Use assessment to determine whether student requires:

-no accomodations or modifications
-accomoadtions and/or modified learning expectations
-an alternative program, not derived from the currciulum expectations for a subect/grade or a course


Accomodations Pg 72

-students may require accomodations to allow them to participate in the currciulum.
eg. visual supports to clarify verbal instructions, assistive devices, human suport
- alternate method for student to show understanding- take tests orally or extra time
-alternate settings more suitable for student

Modified Expectations pg 72

-Changes made to grade level expectations in order to meet a students needs. Modifications may include expectations under a different grade level..or decrease in the number of exectations relative to curriculum expectations

Alternative Learning Expectations pg 72

-help students learn and develop skills that are not in the ontario curriculum
-eg. social skills, speech remediation, personal care programs

-could be a combination of alternate and regular curriculum expectations or could be student is only in alternate education planning

Large-Scale Assessment (EQAO)pg 73

-Accomodations are in the IEP for large-scale assessments.
          Literacy test
          Grade 9 Math
          Primary and Juniour assessment of reading, writing, and mathematics

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/policyfunding/growsuccess.pdf

Citation:

Growing Success Assessment, Evaluation, and Reporting in Ontario Schools, First Edition, Covering Grades 1 to 12, 2010, Ministry of Education

Resources - Ministry

The Ontario Ministry of Education has taken care to add some resources for educators and parent son their website. There are a varitey of different documents, webcasts, and videos available online through this website.

Some relevant links for Special Education educators, specifically dealing with the Growing Success policy can be found here:

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/teachers/buildingfutures/resources.html

Citation:

Ontario Ministry of Education. http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/teachers/buildingfutures/resources.html. Queen's Printer for Ontario 2012; last modified 5/12/12

Growing Success Guiding Principles

To ensure that assessment, evaluation, and reporting are valid and reliable, and that they lead to the improvement of learning for all students, teachers use practices and procedures that:

1      are fair, transparent and equitable for all students

2      support all students, including those with special education needs, those who are learning the language of instruction (English or French), and those who are First Nation, Metis or Inuit

3      are carefully planned to relate to the curriculum expectations and learning goals and, as much as possible, to the interests, learning styles and preferences, needs, and experiences of all students        

4      are communicated clearly to students and parents at the beginning of the school year or course and at other appropriate points throughout the school year or course

5      are ongoing, varied in nature, and administered over a period of time to provide multiple opportunities for students to demonstrate the full range of their learning

6      provide ongoing descriptive feedback that is clear, specific, meaningful, and timely to support improved learning and achievement

7      develop students' self-assessment skills to enable them to assess their own learning, set specific goals, and plan next steps for their learning

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/policyfunding/growsuccess.pdf

Citation:

Growing Success Assessment, Evaluation, and Reporting in Ontario Schools, First Edition, Covering Grades 1 to 12, 2010, Ministry of Education

Resources - EduGains Videos

Finally, as part of the desired incomes of this assignment, the group found resources that could assist the situation, as seen in the case study, which can be found throughout this site.

One place where most of the professional development has come from in regards to the Growing Success Policy is through the Edugains website.

A useful link to that website and the training and resource videos can be found here:

http://www.edugains.ca/newsite/aer2/aervideo/learninggoals.html

Here is a synopsis of the videos found on this website:

Segment 1: The Foundation of Assessment for Learning 
Learning goals and success criteria are the foundation on which students base their ability to monitor their learning and determine next steps.

Segment 2: Developing Learning Goals 
 Learning goals are brief statements that describe, for students, what they should know and be able to do by the end of a period of instruction

Segment 3: Sharing and Clarifying Learning Goals
By ensuring that students clearly understand learning goals, teachers set the stage for students to be able to focus their efforts on achieving the goals, monitoring their progress, and setting their own goals.

Segment 4: Developing Success Criteria 
Success criteria describe what success “looks like”, and when used to give descriptive feedback when assessing, provide both the teacher and the student information about learning.

Segment 5: Helping Students Understand Criteria 
Success criteria describe, for students, what successful learning ‘looks like’. It is critical to students’ success that they and their teacher have a clear and shared understanding of the criteria.

Segment 6: Co-constructing Success Criteria 
By directly involving students in the development of criteria, teachers help students to develop a common understanding of the criteria by which performance will be judged.
Citation:

Video Library: Learning Goals and Success Criteria. http://www.edugains.ca/newsite/aer2/aervideo/learninggoals.html EduGAINS.ca

Lindsay's Article

OSSTF Growing Success Policy Workgroup Report

This article is a guideline for clarification and teacher responsibility in regards to the implementation of the Growing Success Document in 2010. The OSSTF workgroup wanted to clarify and organize the aspects of the policy that the OSSTF members needed to be aware of and to incorporate into their practice. The purpose of the article is to reflect the teacher and student responsibilities in regards to assessment, in order to create a clear understanding of the policy guidelines.

The article summarizes the seven fundamental principles of the document and connects the responsibilities required for members. The emphasis on professional judgement rings clearly throughout the document, especially in regards to assessment "of," "for," and "as" learning and self and peer reflections, as written in the document. The expectations of how a teacher is then expected to report final grades and submit information about the student’s progress is outlined in the document, clearly, to explicitly show where the responsibility lay in regards to student achievement. This is important, because in Special Education practice, students need to be assessed in modification or through accommodation and this article clearly outlines the teacher’s professional judgement in regards to those accommodations and modifications. The article clearly outlines how this is to be utilized for exceptional students, and the supports they are offered for success.

In my experience, implementing the Growing Success policy has been confusing (at best) and there have been many conflicts over the definition of "teacher responsibility" and "student responsibility," in regards to work completion (or the lack there of). This article argues that it is solely the student’s responsibility to complete work, on time, and the teacher simply needs to use their professional judgement in following non-outlined steps to assist that student in work completion. Schwatrz and Bone’s Retelling, Relating, and Reflecting discusses the importance of the foundations of learning for exceptional students and the article emphasizes the Growing Success document’s encouragement for modification and accommodation in regards to time, ownership (of the student), response (as and for learning), and celebration (of learning). (http://www.markville.ss.yrdsb.edu.on.ca/mm/UBC/510/Retell.pdf)

This article argues that the Growing Success policy allows, in every stage of assessment, professional judgement, as long as it is in the best interest of the student. This is a poignant argument to me, personally, because I feel that the onus is becoming more and more teacher centered when a student is unsuccessful in completing an assignment or, ultimately, the credit. If the student is not completing the work (for a myriad of reasons) and the teacher uses their professional judgement in every day activities (extra help in/out of class, having the student work with an LRT, having the student referred to administration or Student Success, specific IEP modifications) and the student is still unsuccessful, there should be no judgement toward the teacher when the student is unsuccessful.

Yet, even with the interpretation that the teacher’s professional judgement should be trusted, administration is still questioning that judgement by asking the teacher what steps they followed to ensure the student was receiving the help that they needed. Even if the teacher has recorded the every day steps, and followed through with their professional judgement, administration can continue to ask for a summary and explanation as to why the student was not successful in the form of a final failure report. After all of this is said and done, the administration still has the right to overturn a teacher’s decision in promotion meetings and ignore the teacher’s professional judgement.

This is frustrating, since the teacher’s professional judgement is that the student earned a specific mark based on an entire semester’s worth of work, keeping in mind all of the accommodations and modifications given to the student, but administration makes a call based on numbers or percentages, or a number of other reasons, beyond the professional judgement of the teacher.

Bibliography

- Black-Meddings, Lisa et.all. OSSTF Growing Success Policy Workgroup Report: A Resource for Local Leaders to Assist in the Implementation of Growing Success.  OSSTF, June 25^th, 2010

(http://www.osstf.on.ca/adx/aspx/adxGetMedia.aspx?DocID=dd052ff6-447a-49b1-a86f-5aeb921e864a&MediaID=81f783c5-a8a3-4f71-b5a5-aa693df87c36&Filename=growing-success-policy-workgroup-report.pdf&l=English)

- Schwartz, Susan & Maxine Bone, Retell, Relate, Reflect, http://www.markville.ss.yrdsb.edu.on.ca/mm/UBC/510/Retell.pdf

Jason's Article

The Secret of Success Criteria

This article is an explanation of using criteria, descriptive feedback and multiple assessment tools to help students with their planning, learning, inquiry, socializing, reflecting and delivery. In the past, students would sit at desks and teachers were the source of information. Times have changed and now students can find out any information they desire by using technology. Teachers have no longer become the source of information but the facilitator of the information. With the abilities of many of our students, and the training of our educators, we need to be able to simplify the process for students so they can experience the highest amount of success possible.

The Growing Success document uses 3 principles that will help us in our Case Study:

·         Support all students, including those with special education needs, those who are learning our language of instruction (English or French), and those who are First Nation, Metis, or Inuit.

·         Provide ongoing descriptive feedback that is clear, specific, meaningful, and timely to support improved learning and achievement

·         Develop students’ self-assessment skills to enable them to assess their own learning, set specific goals, and plan next steps for their learning

The beginning of the article uses these principles to explain the roles of the teachers in this process:

 So basically, the Ministry of Education sets out curriculum that is to be followed by the teachers in Ontario. 

·         Along with those curriculum documents, the Ministry explains in the Growing Success documents how the curriculum is to be utilized to assess and evaluate students based on learning skills and work habits.

·         Based on the Growing Success documents, teachers must give descriptive feedback to the students based on their work....but how can this be done?

 Teachers can develop descriptive feedback for their students based on the success criteria that are provided. The success criteria are based on the understanding of the curriculum documents that is interpreted by the teachers. Once teachers understand the criteria that students need to meet, then teachers are to co-construct criteria with the students so that the students know exactly what is expected of them (Greenan, 2011). “When golfers swing their golf clubs, they know where to aim-towards the flag marking the next hole. Pilots file flight plans before getting permission to leave the ground... (Davies et al., 2012). Clearly students will produce better work if they know what is expected of them not only working in class, but specifically what is required to create the best product to hand in to teachers. Not only that, but IF students are also building the criteria with teachers then they should know exactly what is required for the specific skill and topic they are working on (Greenan, 2011).

After success criteria is formed by teacher or teacher/student, then it is important for the students to learn to assess themselves and the work of others. “It is imperative for success in the 21^st century that students become reflective and meta-cognitive thinkers who are able to independently determine the next steps for their own learning and work” (Greenan, 2011). 

In my experience, we have studied this extensively in the PD sessions we have had this year. We have even had a seminar in which every Halton Secondary School was linked in watching the seminar and able to be interactive by asking questions that would be shown on a separate feed. Discussions could occur and teachers could clarify as the speakers continued dialogue. They would break frequently and the teachers in our school would then have time to discuss what was being said. As for the actual process, I have been working with some online courses that have the criteria and the assessment tools available to show the student exactly what is expected of them. I have had students reflect and evaluate themselves based on their work habits but not really their school work. I have also had students peer assess but descriptive feedback needs to be taught to students as well. It is important for the involvement of students in their own assessment and criteria building to keep students interested and more willing to complete their work.

Bibliography:

Davies, A., Herbst, S., and Reynolds, B. 2012. Leading the Way to Assessment for Learning: A Practical Guide. Courtenay, British Columbia, Canada. Connections Publishing.

Greenan, M. 2011. The Secret of Success Criteria. Retireved from http://www.cpco.on.ca/News/PrincipalConnections/PastIssues/Vol14/Issue3/SuccessCriteria.pdf

Ministry of Education. 2010. Growing Success: Assessment, Evaluation and Reporting in Ontario Schools. Retrieved from http://www.cpco.on.ca/News/PrincipalConnections/PastIssues/Vol14/Issue3/SuccessCriteria.pdf

Lynn's Article

"Making Decisions About Assessment Practices for Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing"

Given the discussion in ER module 1 around uncertainty for how to apply the Growing Success  policy to students with special needs, this article was chosen out of interest regarding how teachers make determinations about who and in what ways student assessments are modified or accommodated.

The Growing Success (2010)  document provides “policies and practices” (p.1) that govern “assessment, evaluation, and reporting in Ontario schools” (p.1). Similarly, the United States recently implemented educational reform which focuses on standards, accountability, and reporting. This article, in response to the reform, details research regarding teachers’ recommendations and justifications for accommodations or alternate assessments for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. (The article uses the acronym SDHH; I will do the same). The researcher accurately identifies the diversity among this group of students: members of the Deaf community, hearing losses that range from mild to profound, use of amplification such as cochlear implants or hearing aids, have Deaf parents or hearing parents; and the factor that has the greatest impact on linguistic and literacy development - when the student first had exposure to an accessible language, either spoken or signed. 

Cawthon states, “accommodations are meant to make it possible for students with disabilities to gain access to test content without changing the difficulty of the item” (p.4). In order to participate meaningfully in assessment, consideration has to be given to students’ linguistic and academic backgrounds. 

372 teachers and other educational professionals responded to 3 vignettes; they provided “accommodations or alternate assessments” (p.4) recommendations and justification for these recommendations. Controlled conditions in the fictitious vignettes included test subject, either Math or Reading, student skill level in these subjects (2 or 5 grade levels below), and type of communication mode (American Sign Language (ASL) or a combination of sign and speech) (p.4). How teachers make decisions regarding who receives accommodations, types of accommodations, or alternate assessments, according to the article, vary within a range from “systematic to intuitive” (p. 5). Systematic decisions are based on patterns in behavior while intuitive are made more on feeling and experience. Perhaps the “professional judgement” repeatedly referred to in the Growing Success document. 

Similar to variation among Canadian provincial assessment and evaluation standards, there is inconsistency among guidelines for accommodations, modifications, and alternate assessments in the United States. Common accommodations given to SDHH are: additional time, change of language (that is, teachers or school staff interpret the written English directions or test items into ASL), or use of a scribe. These accommodations are similar to those used in both provinces I have worked with SDHH, Ontario and Alberta. For EQAO assessments interpretation of the question is permitted for Writing and Mathematics sections but any interpretation or “reading” of the questions in the Reading section is forbidden. 

The study found teachers more commonly accommodated for Math by changing the language of the assessment than for Reading. Cawthon suggested this may be related to teacher concerns about validity of reading assessments if the language of the directions or test items were altered. Teachers also expressed concerns about students’ low reading levels impacting Math assessments. Alternate assessments, however, were more likely to be recommended in Reading; these alternate assessments were more likely to be recommended if students were significantly below grade level in both Reading and Math. 

Although there are similarities in the accommodations chosen in both the U.S. and Canada, there is no consistent method to determine who receives accommodations or alternate assessments nor which accommodations or alternate assessments are chosen. In the current study. teachers tended to recommend the accommodation “signed response” or alternate assessment based on student performance levels or communication mode with the greater percentage citing student performance level. Students who were at or close to grade level tended to be given extra time.

As evidenced through this current study, it is not uncommon for teachers to struggle with this issue. Some limitations of the study are noted: the vignettes were fictitious, participants were unable to ask clarifying questions about students or the situations presented, and participants worked with students in a variety of capacities (not solely classroom teachers).

Given the diversity among the population of SDHH, one would not want to see a standardized accommodation or alternate assessment put into place. As was discussed in module one, each student must be looked at on an individual basis. The ongoing issue though as presented in this article is - what do teachers base these recommendations on? Similarly, the Growing Success document allows teachers to determine which curriculum expectations they will use to evaluate students (p.38) and allows school boards flexibility to develop their own guidelines within the ministry’s criterion (p.2). 

In my experience, the choice to accommodate/provide alternate or not and the extent and types of these accommodations/alternates used are largely dependent on the teacher’s understanding and interpretation of the policy and curriculum expectations. Again, we are back to a teacher’s professional judgement. Will teachers, educational staff, and school boards continue to struggle with how to accommodate, modify or provide alternate programs for SDHH as well as other exceptionalities? Absolutely, the level of understanding teachers possess, the type and amount of supports available, and the level of accountability they are held to by school and board administrators will all have an impact. The challenge then continues to be how to implement the policies and procedures within the Growing Success document as they relate to students with special needs. At what point is an accommodation or alternate assessment no longer a valid or reasonable way to assess students? 

This research provides a starting point for gathering information regarding how teachers make recommendations about assessment accommodations or alternate assessments. While keeping in mind individual learner needs, perhaps finding commonalities among students’ learning behaviours and the accommodations/alternate assessments they are given and analysing the results can provide us with a direction for how to support teachers’ interpretation and implementation of the Growing Success policy. 

Works Cited

Cawthon, S.W. (2011). Making decisions about assessment practices for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. Remedial and Special Education, 32(4), 4-21.

Growing Success Assessment, Evaluation, and Reporting in Ontario Schools, First Edition, Covering Grades 1 to 12, 2010, Ministry of Education.

Remedial and Special Education-2011-Cawthon-4-21.pdf

Desired Outcomes

Through excellent discussion and use of personal knowledge, the group came up with a specific set of desired outcomes, as follows:

Desired Outcomes:

- investigate types of assessments being used for various exceptionalities.

- work with teachers to determine strategies for teachers to apply "as," "of," and "for" learning assessment and peer/self reflection activities in the alternative classroom setting.

- develop a "working document" which teachers can refer to when selecting assessment activities following the Growing Success Policy of "as," "of," and "for" learning, and peer/self reflection.

Case Study

Part of the process of this assignment was to create a case study that might occur in any school. We developed a case study based on our personal knowledge and experience in order to present the need for our guidance. Here is our fictional case study:

Jane is an LRT for a small rural high school. The school offers many Special Education programs, that she oversees, but are all run by classroom teachers. During the course of a regular Team Meeting, one of these classroom teachers, Alex, approaches the subject of the Growing Success document for his mixed-exceptionalities alternative education class. The class is a full day program that offers grade nine and ten students with exceptionalities a self-contained classroom where they can earn credits at their own pace. Often the lessons are connected, so that every student can work together and share their ideas, even though they may be earning different level credits. The goal of the program is to teach coping skills and learning strategies and to reintegrate these students back into the mainstream school.

The class is composed of nine mixed-exceptionality students who are struggling in the regular credit courses, but are capable of earning credits and therefore not eligible for a K-credit class.

Alex teaches three students with severe behavioural exceptionalities (ODD) caused by FAS, two students who are deaf and hard of hearing; one student requires an ASL interpreter, the other an FM transmitter. There are also four students who have various learning disabilities and difficulty coping in the regular classroom. Aside from Alex and the interpreter, they have one full time Education Assistant, making the adult to student ratio 1: 3.

His program goal is to integrate all of these students back into the mainstream population. He was concerned that because of the group of students that he teaches, he would have trouble putting together Growing Success activities where the eclectic group would strive in the "as," "of," and "for" learning assessment model, as well as be constructive with self and peer reflection. Because of the nature of the student’s exceptionalities, he was looking for support from the LRT to create a model where these students could be familiar with the Growing Success policy when they are eventually integrated back into the mainstream school.

Jane understands the importance of familiarizing the students with the Growing Success policy for the reintegration of the students, but also the difficulty of engaging such a class in the policy.

Jane is asked to create a working document outlining strategies connecting IEP modifications and accommodations while using the Growing Success policy in this classroom

Introduction

Welcome to the Final Educational Round Assignment for the Special Education Specialist Group 5: Implications of the Growing Success Policy in Special Education.

This collection of resources, literature, and information is meant to provide classroom teachers with information in how to encorporate the Growing Success Policy into their own classrooms, in regards to students with exceptionalities.

The purpose of this assignment is to provide a space for teachers to come together around a current case or topic in the Ontario education system. As a group, we discussed the need to implement a document, accessible to teachers, which includes strategies and current context for implementing the Growing Success policy expectations in inclusionary classrooms with an emphasis on students with exceptionalities.

The members of this group have all offered their personal experiences to create a case study and develop a collection of resources that would offer leadership and guidance to an individual in that situation.