Overview
Sensible Assessment in Action
What is Sensible Assessment?
The individual needs of all students are paramount when planning for instruction and assessment, building a safe and nurturing learning community, making instruction accessible to all students, and involving parents and guardians in all phases of student learning and engagement.
The Sensible Assessment Practices in Action document and video series was created to offer guidance to educators, including general and special education teachers, interventionists, instructional specialists, and related service providers on how they can “assess” their incoming students without necessarily having to “test” using formal assessments. The assessment and instructional practices in the document apply to all student learners, including students with disabilities and English learners.
Valuable resources are directly linked in the Sensible Assessment Practices in Action document and each video below is accompanied by an annotated list of video-specific resources used in developing the presentation. Foundational resources are categorized first, followed by resources referenced in the webinar, in addition to other relevant ancillary materials related to those topics referenced in each webinar. These resources complement the Sensible Assessment Practices document and embeds key information contained in the guiding documents, Adapt, Advance, Achieve: Connecticut’s Plan to Learn and Grow Together, Plan for Reimagining Connecticut Classrooms for Continuous Learning, and Connecticut’s Framework for Accelerating Educational Opportunity and Access.
Video Series: To conceptualize what Sensible Assessment Practices in Action would look like in the classroom, we developed the Sensible Assessment Practices webinar series, which are short, focused webinars that provide examples, considerations, and resources specific to each phase of the school year referenced in the document.
Overview of the Sensible Assessment Practices Webinar Series (PDF) and YouTube Video
The Overview provides a brief description of the webinar series developed to support district administrators and teachers in preparation for the start of the school year.
Early Indication Tool (EIT) for Teachers (PDF) and YouTube Video
This webinar describes an EdSight Secure report that provides teachers with historical student-level data and Early Indication Tool (EIT) support levels for their incoming students. The EIT is an EdSight Secure report provided to administrators to allow for timely student interventions with the ultimate goal of improving student engagement and outcomes. The video offers a demonstration of how district data coordinators can use school roster information and the linked Batch Data Lookup Tool to generate custom reports for rosters of students.
Start of the School Year (PDF) Webinar Resources (PDF) and YouTube Video
This webinar discusses considerations for gathering qualitative and quantitative data prior to working with students in the fall. Teachers must gather relevant student information from multiple sources to create a foundational understanding used to shape teaching and learning opportunities and build educational success for each student. Student-specific data, as referenced in this webinar, will include more than a test score. The goal is to integrate assessment and non-assessment data in order to prepare for this new year of learning.
Building Community(PDF) Webinar Resources (PDF) and YouTube Video
The most critical role that vertical and horizontal school teams have is the one centered on building community and supporting students’ social and emotional health. In this webinar, we will provide information on classroom community building and ideas to establish norms in the fall of the year, regardless of the learning platform. Planning should include multiple ways to engage with families to ensure consistent communication and make them partners in the learning process.
Beginning with a Unit Designed for Success(PDF) Webinar Resources (PDF) and YouTube Video
The school year should start with an introductory lesson that is accessible and meaningful, with grade-level skills embedded throughout. This webinar provides a model to support teachers creating introductory units; sharing considerations for inclusive practices that promote engagement, build community, and focus on students’ social and emotional well-being.
Instruction and Assessment Cycle (PDF) Webinar Resources (PDF) and YouTube Video
The Instruction and Assessment Cycle shares strategies for teachers shifting to fully on-grade instruction. It describes the purpose, considerations, and applications for diagnostic, interim, and summative assessments, while emphasizing the value of formative assessment processes, differentiated instruction, and tiered instruction (Scientific Research Based Intervention) that should be embedded in the learning environment.
The complete video series is available on YouTube.
For more information on the Smarter Balanced and NGSS Interim Assessments, visit Connecticut Interim Assessments: Smarter Balanced and Next Generation Science.