Mini-Grant Summary

CABS: Classroom Assessments between Staff

Project Description:

The focus of our project was to improve classroom practices by identifying or creating CABS to focus our mathematics instruction. We met four times as a group of ten, 1 teacher from each grade K-4 through 5th as well as the Principal, MTL, Literacy Coach, and library-media specialist. At the first meeting we agreed that CABS at our school would consist of embedded assessments designed to measure progress toward the Learning Targets in order to guide instruction during curriculum units. There would also be an end of the unit assessment. The majority of these CABS would be taken directly from our Investigations curriculum. For the mathematical units that teachers did not feel were adequately assessed from Investigations materials, new CABS were created. Work sessions 2 and 3 were combined into a three-hour work session during which teachers were able to choose and create CABS for their grade level. Before the final grant meeting, math grant representatives shared their selections with their grade-level teams allowing the whole staff to become involved in the process. At the final grant meeting, we discussed how to hold teachers accountable for the CABS selected. We decided that for each unit a checklist with specific skills would be created. During this meeting, we also met with another grade level teacher to peer-monitor each other’s work.

Professional Development Gains:

As the MTL, I felt that this was a valuable experience for our staff because there were a few teachers on the grant team that were really challenged to change their assessment technique. This was also a beneficial experience because the grant team made sure to stay focused on communication and explanation of thought processes. Also, at the last grant meeting, teachers shared their CABS selections with another grade level. By doing this we were checking to see if the work we are asking of our students truly assesses what it needs to.

Successes and Challenges:

We had many successes as a grant team, mainly our ability to focus on the task at hand to create a wonderful resource for everyone in the building. Also, all grades adapted at least one previously used assessment to make it more beneficial to their instruction. All grades made sure that at least 60% of the selected CABS had students communicating mathematical ideas. From this process, we also found that our school was weak on Measurement. With Action Plan money, we were able to create more solid units based upon the measurement standards and grade level descriptors.

What challenged us was time! We did not have enough time to complete all of our math grant goals. We were not able to create rubrics or provide samples of proficient student work. The other challenging piece to me, as the MTL, was to push 2 or 3 of the teachers to not just rely on a curriculum but on themselves and their instincts in creating CABS.

Future Math Work:

For the fall, we are already planning how to continue the work we have begun. Next year, the first staff meeting of each month will be focused on Math. During this time, we will work on creating the checklists for what we want students to be able to do during each unit. We are also planning on using Action Plan money and/or grant money for creating the rubrics and samples of proficient work.

Conclusion:

This has been an excellent learning experience for me as it is the first grant that I have worked on creating and the first professional development opportunity of this size and magnitude that I have organized and led. As for the math grant team, I feel that they were able to find strength in themselves to identify and create CABS. Many times I feel that Math is something we are “scared of”. This process allowed many teachers to have more time with planning which allowed them to become more comfortable and confident with themselves as mathematics teachers.