Task Force on Assessment and Accountability

At last week's CATS Task Force meeting included a PowerPoint from consultant Doris Redfield who looked at Writing Portfolios over time. Various recommendations were presented. Here are some bits and pieces.


Robert Holland (2007): Problems with large-scale portfolio assessments:

• Failure to yield reliable comparative data
• Large differences in the way teachers implement portfolios
• Differences in the opportunities given to students to revise their work
• Variations in the degree of assistance that students receive from peers, parents, teachers, and other sources

Elizabeth Dick, 2008 (writing and literacy expert)

• Maintain the writing portfolio assessment as part of the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS).
• Emphasize the need for district and school leadership to ensure that the writing portfolio procedures outlined in 703 KAR 5:010 and in Part 1 of the Kentucky Writing Handbook are being implemented and that teachers’ professional growth plans and performance evaluation documents address appropriate expectations for writing instruction. (LS)
• Consider ways to hold students more accountable for their writing performance (HS end-of-course? Graduation? In-class grading practices?)
• Continue to support increased state funding of the eight Kentucky Writing Project sites which provide teaches across grades and content areas with quality professional development through the month-long Summer Institutes, Saturday Mini-Conferences, and Advanced Institutes. (I)
• Consider a course in writing instruction as a condition for teacher licensing in Kentucky. (I)
• Provide writing cluster leaders, who serve as instructional leaders in their schools, with more instructional support and professional development opportunities. (I)
• Provide schools with more specific writing portfolio audit feedback and more tools for ensuring accurate portfolio scoring. (I; could be an assessment issue if portfolio writing remains in the accountability system).
• Schools must be encouraged to analyze students’ working folders across grade levels and accountability grade portfolios annually. (Program evaluation issue?)

Kentucky Association for Assessment Coordinators (2008)

• Any assessment that limits opportunities for learning is a mistake.
• We believe that, if educators focus on teaching for learning, the accountability systems and test scores will take care of themselves.
• Issues of greatest importance include:

• Resolve the writing portfolio issues (see KAAC’s 2004 position paper and
  recommendations)

  Expand the use of on demand writing (at grades 3 through 12 will increase
  more effective writing opportunities – discuss Elizabeth Dick’s point).