Collective commitments, developed by all who have a hand in doing the work, provide the safety net teachers require to feel safe during the common assessment process. Figure 1.1 (page 14) outlines a general process that organizations can use to develop commitment statements.
While developing commitment statements can take time, the work allows all stakeholders to become clear and comfortable with the changes the statements ask them to make. Commitment statements increase buy-in and provide the assurances needed to encourage intellectual risk taking. Shared agreements naturally form the parameters for all future decision making.
Figure 1.1: Transforming collective statements into commitment statements.
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Navigating the Process
Seeing the big picture of the process of collaborative common assessments does for teams what the global positioning system (GPS) does for drivers: it helps teams see the path ahead so they can anticipate next steps. And, just as most maps offer no straight line or single option to get from point A to point B, the road map for collaborative common assessments is recursive and iterative. Teams may find themselves moving from the foundation to monitor learning and going back to the foundation for clarification, and so on. Figure 1.2 offers a pictorial representation of the collaborative common assessment process. This figure maintains the same elements of the collaborative common assessment process defined in Collaborative Common Assessments (Erkens, 2016); however, inside arrows have been added to show the relationships among different parts of the process, and some terminology is different within the individual boxes because, as with any quality process, improvements must occur.
Teams find it helpful to keep figure 1.2 on hand during their work, especially as they initially learn the process. In addition, it helps when teams consider the criteria for quality during the design, delivery, and data phases.
Using Quality Indicators
Because the quality of the common assessment system can vary based on how teams implement it, it’s helpful to have a set of quality indicators to guide teams as they develop and continuously monitor their common assessment system. Figure 1.3 (pages 16–17) offers a tool for discussing, planning, and monitoring quality indicators during the design, delivery, and data phases of the collaborative common assessment process. Teams can use the listed indicators to guide decision making during the planning phases or to evaluate their current efforts. The tool includes a rating scale for teams that prefer to use it as a discussion tool about quality levels for each criterion.
Figure 1.2: A pictorial representation of the collaborative common assessment process.
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Figure 1.3: Quality indicators for collaborative common assessments.
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Teams can use such a tool in many ways. At the school level, teachers could submit their individual responses anonymously to designated leaders (teacher leaders or administrators) so those designated key leaders have a sense of how the collaborative common assessment process is going across the building. Or, a team with high levels of trust and rapport could simply conduct a round-robin to share what teachers individually scored each item and then discuss their final results. If they do not use this as a survey tool, teams could use each indicator as a discussion point as they strive to revise and continuously improve their design, delivery, and data systems. Healthy and productive teams consistently self-evaluate their processes and then make the necessary modifications or refinements to guarantee their ultimate success (Erkens & Twadell, 2012).
Conclusion
Confusion and mistrust reign when the common assessment process is approached as a series of disparate activities rather than a cohesive and integrated system. Staff need to see the big picture of the common assessment process. Members need to understand the rationale, co-create commitments to one another, and then, with a high degree of comfort in place, make themselves vulnerable and available to learning. The teaching and learning process should never be something educators reserve exclusively for the classroom. When collaborative team meetings involve exploring the team’s impact from a place of openness, inviting intellectual risk taking for creative problem solving, and sharing responsibility for challenges that loom ahead, then teachers engage the teaching and learning process within their team meetings.
Team Reflections
Take a few moments to reflect on the following questions.
• What benefits do we anticipate having, or what benefits have we already experienced, from the process of engaging in collaborative common assessment?
• Do the staff (or does our team) clearly understand the work of collaborative common assessment? If so, what evidence do we have to support our belief? If not, what evidence do we have to support our belief, and how can we help them understand it?
• Do staff (or does our team) feel safe? How do we know? Are there promises we need to provide to create a safety net? If so, what might those be? What process or processes would we have to use to create and share those promises?
• How will our current teamwork help us fully utilize the collaborative common assessment process? Are there things we might need to improve on? If so, what, and how?
• Is our team, school, or district system ready for the collaborative common assessment process? Have we identified the elements that we will need to add, modify, or delete as we embark on the collaborative common assessment process? If so, what are they?
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Evidence and Research Supporting the Collaborative Common Assessment Process
As noted in Collaborative Common Assessments (Erkens, 2016), in a culture of assessment fatigue:
Collaborative common assessments provide a powerful mode of inquiry-based professional development that seeks to improve student achievement and professional practice. For teams to develop the shared knowledge and skills of assessment literacy and instructional agility, they must work together to ask the right questions, explore their own results, and create solutions to complex challenges. (p. 5)
Collaborative common assessments require teachers’ involvement in the entire process—from accurate design to effective use of classroom assessment information. Research and evidence show that, when teachers do this well, the full process benefits learners, teachers, and schools and systems.
A Win for Learners
When everyone fully participates in the consistent and systematic process of collaborative common assessment, no question, the learners win. Educational researchers and experts (Chenoweth, 2008, 2009a; Gallimore, Ermeling, Saunders, & Goldenberg, 2009; Hattie, 2009; Levin, 2008;