Formative Assessment in a Professional Learning Community

Todd Stanley began teaching in 1997. A National Board Certified Teacher, he started out in the traditional classroom, teaching junior high students for two years, but quickly was given different growth experiences as a teacher. He taught on a gifted-accelerated team for three years, compacting three years of curriculum into two years of classroom time. He then taught at the Christopher Program, a project-based, integrated curriculum that serviced juniors and seniors, providing many outside learning experiences for students. During this time he also trained teachers from all around the state of Ohio for the Literacy Curriculum Alignment Project (LCAP), helping teachers to align their lessons to state standards and best prepare students for the state achievement tests. Next, Todd created the Ivy Program, a pull-out gifted program for third and fourth graders relying heavily on project-based learning. He currently teaches in the Reynoldsburg School District on the Quest Program, teaching Social Studies and Science to fifth and sixth graders and is the leader of the Critical Friends Group in his school. Todd lives in Pickerington, Ohio with his wife Nicki and his two daughters Anna and Abby., >Betsy Moore is a veteran teacher who retired from Reynoldsburg City Schools after 30 years of service and is currently the Executive Director of Teacher 2 Teacher (www .teacher2teacher.info), a national educational consulting company based in Ohio. Betsy began her career as a special education teacher, eventually moving on to the regular education classroom. While in the regular classroom she worked on many cutting-edge strategies including student-led conferences and short-cycle assessments. From 2000-2007 Betsy worked in the Literacy Curriculum Alignment Project (LCAP), training over 1500 teachers in more than 60 schools. She co-authored the book Short-Cycle Assessment: Improving Student Achievement through Formative Assessment, which details the process developed in the LCAP work. Betsy co-authored a second book titled Critical Thinking and Formative Assessments: Raising the Rigor in Your Classroom, which provides strategies to teach critical thinking skills to all students. In her role with Teacher 2 Teacher, Betsy provides quality professional development in the areas of differentiated instruction, vertical alignment, short-cycle assessment development, and developing critical thinking skills, to name a few. Betsy lives with her husband Dave, a retired high school assistant principal, in Columbus, Ohio. She has two grown children: Amy, who lives in Hilliard, Ohio, and Bryan, who lives in Lake Elsinore, California. Also living in Temecula are Betsy's grandchildren Aria Nicole and Micah Rhys.

• Part 1 Introduction: Why Use Short-Cycle Assessments in a Professional Learning Community?; Chapter 1 Why Work in a Professional Learning Community?; Chapter 2 How to Work Effectively in a Group; Chapter 3 Starting the SCORE Process; Chapter 4 Aligning the Curriculum; Chapter 5 Writing Assessments; Chapter 6 Administering and Grading the Assessments; Chapter 7 Data Analysis; Chapter 8 Adjustments in the Classroom; Chapter 9 Keeping Up With Collaboration;