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ASSESSMENT & TECHNOLOGY FORUM June 19, 2004

2004 Gallery Walk Projects Title: OpenVES XL Competency Profiles and Digital Portfolios Organization: OpenVES; Southern Berkshire (MA) Regional School District Web site:  http://www.openves.org

Contacts / Presenters:	TS Vreeland, Architect and Chief Technologist, OpenVES Paul O'Brien, District Technology Coordinator, Southern Berkshire RSD
What purpose does your assessment tool serve?	It is an embedded set of assessment and portfolio management tools for teachers and students connected to a granular, standards based competency profile and portfolio repository for management of evidence of student achievement.
Please indicate the category that best describes your project:	Technology as an Assessment Tool: ___ NCLB Statewide Assessments (Preparation, Delivery, Analysis) _x_ Classroom Assessments (tests, quizzes) _x_ Electronic/Digital Portfolios ___ Computer Scored Essays ___ Information Management Systems _x_ Tools for Observation of Student Work/Behavior ___ Special Needs/Alternative Assessments ___ Other:________________________   Assessing Technology Skills (NETS Ÿ S and NETS Ÿ T): _x_ Digital Transcript _x_ NCLB 8 th Grade IT Literacy _x_ High School IT Graduation Requirements _x_ IT Certifications (Cisco, Microsoft, etc.) _x_ 21 st Century Skills ___ Other:________________________
How long has this assessment tool been in use within your organization?	Two years, with an increasing set of capabilities.
Who is the audience for this assessment tool?	Teachers, students, parents and administrators.
What technology is used? (Please indicate hardware, software, and networking requirements)	XL is a hosted, Internet based set of technologies designed to be hosted by states and free to schools, teachers, and students. Built on a pervasively XML based J2EE open architecture.
Approximately how many people are currently using this system?	3200 K-12 Students (current year) Please indicate grade level(s):__K-12 450 K-12 Teachers 0 Teacher education students 10 Teacher education faculty 1000 Other – Parents – Administrators – University and Research partners
What professional development (for students or assessors) is required to use the tool?	Students do not require any. Embedded professional development (tied to tools) is available for teachers and administrators.
To use the tool effectively, what else should the school have in place?	Broadband Internet connectivity, adequate computer to student ratio, teacher access to computers and latest browser technology.
If you haven't already addressed it, how does your tool help students or teachers demonstrate that they are meeting standards?	There are a number of aggregate and disaggregate visualizations and reports that illustrate the status of student competencies and achievement. Teachers create (or utilize) standards based activities and assessments – as students interact with those activities and assessments their competency profile is maintained. For many projects and activities student and teacher technology competencies, as well as core curriculum competencies are maintained.
What questions would you like participants to address?	How integrated and holistic must assessment components be? What is the proper level of granularity of student assessment, competency and achievement information? How do we organize and classify curriculum standards in a way that is useful for classification of instruction and assessment. What are the value added strategies needed in states to make the learning expectations and standards more comprehensible to teachers, students and parents?