Important NoticeGrade 7 English Language Arts TestBook 1 only

The University of the State of New York

THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

Office of State Assessment

Albany, New York 12234

January 20 – 23, 2009

___________________________

In Question 17 of the Grade 7 English Language Arts Test Book 1, the answer choices

are labeled A, B, C, B.

The test book should be administered "as is." If during the test students ask any

questions about this item, they should be told to fill in the circle on the answer sheet for

the letter that appears next to their choice in the test book.

To ensure that this question remains a valid measure of students' skills and abilities in

English language arts, a careful analysis of the data for this multiple-choice question will

be conducted after the answer sheets have been scanned.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, and we thank you for your

cooperation.

Mix it Up at Lunch Day is November 13, 2008

Mix it Up is a simple call to action: take a new seat in the cafeteria to meet new people and make new friends. It's a nationwide campaign that encourages students to cross social boundaries. See www.mixitup.org for specific ideas about organizing, publicizing, educating, and acting so the day has lasting impact on students' understanding of bias and tolerance. Downloadable supplies, differentiated k-6 and 7-12 are available.

Teaching Tolerance recommends Mix it Up Day as a way to help students make important connections that prevent bullying and keep kids from leaving school. For other, similar activities and ideas see www.tolerance.org .

Please feel free to use this blog to post your questions and share your results.

Free Rice Vocabulary Game

The vocabulary game at www.freerice.com has been updated! It has new words, an auditory feature so you can hear the words, and posts totals by day of rice that is sent to hungry people. It also requizzes you periodically on words you miss so you have a chance to learn from your mistakes.

For those who are unfamiliar with free rice, it is a free vocabulary quiz game where correct answers accumulate grains of rice that are donated to third world countries by advertisers. The game ascertains your vocabulary knowledge and adjusts the challenge to the individual user's level. It's easy, addictive, and could be lots of fun in the classroom.

Laboratory Classroom Pilot Project: Guided Reading in Action

In collaboration with Gibson Elementary School in the Norwich CSD, I have designed and will pilot a professional development opportunity that is new for us. We call it Laboratory Classroom. Two teachers, Fran Nial (Kindergarten) and Wendy Swingle (second grade), along with their Principal, Mrs. Lewis, have agreed to host Guided Reading in Action.

Laboratory Classroom: Guided Reading in Action will give eight teachers a special, two-day opportunity. The agenda includes review of best practices for guided reading instruction (hosted by me), observation of instruction, and then participation in reflective conversations with each other, me, and the teachers. The goal is for hosts and visitors to learn together.

If you enjoy professional collaboration, learn by watching and talking, and want to know more about Guided Reading, call or email me at 335-1243 or ostrandl@dcmoboces.com. You could become a participant of the Laboratory Classroom pilot.

Assistance for Students at Risk

I attended the Masonic Model Student Assistance Program training on July 14-16 along with teachers from several DCMO districts. The trainers provided a wealth of resources to be used by student assistance teams as they intervene with students who struggle. The program offers incredible opportunities for all varieties of student assistance teams as they implement RTI, AIS, or otherwise try to help individual kids. Teams learned ways of interacting, diagnosing students' difficulties, brainstorming interventions, and designing intervention plans. I encourage you to seek out those from your district who attended the program to find out what they learned. You can learn more yourself at www.masonicmodel.org

High School Literature: Questions of Curricula

A question was asked of me this morning about the use of two books in high school English classes: The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeanette Walls, and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. The books are highly acclaimed, but may fall outside the bounds of what is typically taught in our region. Here are the questions: Are schools assigning these books to students? If so, at what level? Did you acquire any special permission or use any special procedures given the somewhat mature nature of the content and language? Have you encountered any problems with their use? If may also be helpful to know/share whether you have included other books of this nature and the procedures you used. What are your thoughts about the nature of what high school students should be reading? Thanks for sharing your ideas, resources, or experiences. Post them here or email them directly to me.

An Interesting Book on Grading

I chose to read a book on grading this summer as part of the study of school leaving - A Repair Kit for Grading: 15 Fixes for Broken Grades. It has me rethinking some of the grading practices that I used for years as a teacher. For example, I gave zero's, averaged in participation grades, and reduced scores when assignments were late. I organized my gradebook in categories: homework, tests, quizzes, writing assignments, participation. Ken O'Connor presents convincing arguements why these and others may not be the best practices because they do not result in grades that represent learning. Sometimes I think he's right on; sometimes I'm not sure. Here are a few of the 15 "fixes":
1. Don’t include student behaviors (effort, participation, adherence to class rules, etc.) in grades; include only achievement.
2. Don’t reduce marks on “work” submitted late; provide support for the learner.
7. Don’t organize information in grading records by assessment methods or simply summarize into a single grade; organize and report evidence by standards/learning goals.
12. Don’t include zeros in grade determination when evidence is missing or as punishment; use alternatives, such as reassessing to determine real achievement or use “I” for Incomplete or Insufficient Evidence.
13. Don’t use information from formative assessments and practice to determine grades; use only summative evidence.
15. Don’t leave students out of the grading process. Involve students; they can – and should – play key roles in assessment and grading that promote achievement.
I would love to hear people's thoughts about these statements. I will facilitate a discussion of grading practices at LINKS this year. Please join me! (LINKS 10 is at Afton Central School this year on August 5-7.)