Diagnostic Assessments and Backward Design: A Link

I had never heard of backward design before but it makes sense that when we think about designing our lesson plan, we start with the summative. What is it that we what our students to know by the end of the unit. Then, what evidence is acceptable in showing their learning? Finally, what activities will allow them to accomplish this learning? Here is what I submitted:

What is the purpose of pre-assessment?

Pre-assessment gauges a student's knowledge, skills, understanding, strength, and weaknesses before a unit or topic begins. Thus, pinpointing what specific skills or knowledge the students need to learn. This practical knowledge about students’ capabilities helps teachers establish a plan for their success throughout the unit. 

The teacher can discover misconceptions that she would need to address as well as areas that she could spend less time on than she had originally planned. Through pre-assessment, the teacher can be tipped off to potential trouble areas that can guide the focus of the unit on what’s most essential for students to learn. The teacher can also determine students’ range of depth of understanding that would necessitate differentiation. In the process of identifying and understanding their learning needs; the teacher can highlight those that may be struggling as well as students who are advanced. This allows teachers to amend, for example, presentation style and materials to meet the learning needs of different students.

Why is it important that the information on your pre-assessment align with the information on your summative assessment?

It’s important that the pre-assessment aligns with the summative assessment because teachers can then ensure their students are learning the key unit goals that are essential for them to know, setting them up for success.  

As we learned in this unit, the summative assessment rubric is a checklist of expectations for students to follow when completing their summative assessment. Likewise, teachers should use it when developing questions for the pre-assessment so that the results provide teachers with a better understanding of how to support their students to reach success, before instruction even begins. In unit 2 activity 2 of this module, I wrote, “Anytime actionable and growth mindset feedback is given - in relation to the portfolios, during observation or one-on-one, the teacher directly links her comments to the expectations set in the rubric.” In the same vein, I think the pre-assessment should also directly link to the rubric so that appropriate and relevant assessment takes place.

How can you utilize backward design to create appropriate instruction based on what your summative assessment is measuring?

I am reminded of a question that comes from Carol Ann Tomlinson, “Do my students understand what I want them to come away with as a result of this unit?”, it was quoted at an inservice I attended at work. The idea is that if teachers are unaware of why they are assigning a particular activity then students will also be unaware, resulting in students having a ‘fuzzy’ idea of their learning. So, it’s important that teachers are clear about the content they want their students to know so that students can work with the content in different ways. In the end, when the teacher needs to create different versions of the activity - to level the playing field, providing equal access to the curriculum - it’s beneficial to have a solid grasp on what we want our students to come away with so that the activities are relevant and meaningful. In order to do this successfully, backward design should begin with the objectives and goals of the unit, what students are expected to learn, and then proceed “backward” to create lessons that achieve those desired goals.

For example, in the school I work at, teachers begin by reviewing the learning objectives and concepts that students are expected to meet by the end of a unit. From there, teachers then create a series of lessons, projects, instructional strategies and formative assessments to move student understanding and skill acquisition closer to the desired goals of the unit. However, this isn’t always the case. I have worked with teachers who often scrabble when it comes to assessments because they hadn’t prepared them yet. I didn’t think anything of it, except how unprepared and stressed they were, until now. Now, I understand that it means good teaching.

How will you use the information from your pre-assessment to inform your instruction and grouping strategies in the classroom?

We don’t want to assume every student has the same prerequisite skills, readiness, and knowledge necessary for the unit. Therefore, the data from pre-assessments guides the instruction, helping teachers effectively match instruction with the needs of students. This includes differentiation decisions about content, pacing, materials, grouping, and specific learning activities. In this way, every student within the class has an opportunity to grasp the concept regardless of their previous knowledge about the topic or their approach towards it.

Pre-assessment allows teachers to answer questions such as, “Who needs my attention now? Which students need a different approach? Which students are not learning anything new, because I haven’t challenged them?” This means that teachers are prepared to provide both remediation and extension activities. 

In the beginning, teachers can arrange students according to their scores on the pre-assessment, challenging them in their zone of proximal development. For example, 

• Students who scored below standard could be grouped together, working more closely with the teacher. 

• Students who got all the questions correct could also be grouped together and given more challenging activities.

• Students that needed a bit of reinforcement could work together or in pairs.

However, I think it’s important to highlight that pre-assessment should not be used to place students in the same learning groups for the duration of a unit. Teachers should regularly check in to see how students' learning is progressing (i.e. formative assessments) to support next steps. 

In summary, I think pre-assessment puts the students and teachers on the same page and creates a better learning experience for everyone.

Align Pre-Assessment and Summative Assessment in a Grade 7 EAL Class 

Before starting the Fairytale unit, focusing on comparison and contrast writing in the grade 7 EAL class, I would have students do a pre-assessment on comparison and contrast vocabulary. This and fairytale vocabulary and elements is the main learning objective for the unit. The unit builds toward the final assessment which is a short 3-paragraph essay comparing two Cinderella stories from different cultures.

The pre-assessment would be a short 10-minute fill in the blanks to see if students can use a variety of vocabulary to express similarity and difference. Another option could be to ask students to write a paragraph comparing two things of interest to them that they can choose (i.e. two bands, two video games). I could provide a word bank of key vocabulary to ensure students use the target language, and therefore get useful data. 

Based on the data collected, I could divide the students into 3 groups based on the summative rubric:

• Group 1 are those who can use a wide variety of comparison structures accurately (Good or Outstanding on the rubric)

• Group 2 are those who demonstrate some variety of structures accurately (Satisfactory on the rubric); and

• Group 3 are those who cannot use a variety of structures accurately (Needs Improvement on the rubric)

Each group would be given a different task sheet that has their instructions. For example, I could show a video on comparing and contrasting New York and London. Then, Group 1 could discuss the differences and make a Venn Diagram comparing the two. They could also draft a paragraph comparing the two cities and peer review. Group 2 could also make a Venn Diagram but they would be given key vocabulary from the video as well as comparison and contrast words to draft a paragraph and peer review. Group 3 could be given sentence stems to scaffold the use of comparison and contrast vocabulary, such as “London has ______________ whereas New York _____________.” Then, they could get a paragraph template with a topic sentence and a word bank containing target vocabulary. While Groups 1 and 2 peer review, I would support Group 1 while they write their draft paragraph.

Utilizing the data from the pre-assessment not only informs the instruction but it positively impacts the students. Without the pre-assessment, I would not have been aware of where the students were in their learning and risk Group 3 being left behind and not succeeding on the summative or Group 1 being bored. In this way, pre-assessments help teachers adjust their instruction to meet the needs of individual students as well as group students based on their progress, facilitating remediation and extension activities. Also, I think pre-assessments can help connect with students, using the data, the teacher can meet with students and help set academic goals so they take responsibility for their learning.